Diner Days- Puddings and More

Diner days- Puddings and More

I was raised in the kitchen at my parents’ Bassett Diner in the mid 50’s. Feeding customers is what they did. Dottie was making bread pudding, tapioca, stews, soups, and chili con carne. Bernie served coffee and cooked all of the short orders: omelets, home fries, grilled muffins, and grilled cheese sandwiches.

My oldest grandson, Kai, loves diners and I have taken him to a few when he comes up from Texas. Johnny B’s was a favorite for both of us. I even got to serve coffee at the Johnny B’s Diner before the Pandemic closed its doors. The diner stood on the spot where my parents had the Bassett Diner transported from Glenmont to Bassett Street in the South End of Albany. At first, we thought Johnny B’s was the original one, but a diner researcher assured me the Bassett Diner burned down and the Glenmont one replaced it.

Diners even find relatives. Over my travels, my sister and I have eaten at a lot of old diners throughout New England. Several years ago, while spending a day in Waldoboro, Maine, we stopped in Moody’s diner. We were looking for some Cline relatives who were alive. After all, the original Cline settlers came from Germany to act as a buffer with the French and English in the early 1700’s in the Old Broad Bay Colony in Waldoboro. As for finding any relatives, the cemeteries were hiding some, but I needed a new plan. I got an idea.  I asked the waitress for a local phone book.

My sister looked up from the menu puzzled and asked, “What are you going to do, call a Cline up?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I plan to do.”

That day, we met the eldest of our tribe, Ralph Cline who welcomed us with open arms. He was a decade younger than his cousin, our dad. Sadly, they never met, but Ralph was very close to our aunt and uncle who helped to raise our dad in Owl’s Head as a young boy.  We all visited Uncle Harvey and Aunt Marion shortly before they passed away. Uncle Harvey had taken our dad lobstering every day. That was his trade. Dad once told me, those were the best years of his life.  Dad said he ate lobster for three meals a day and never tired of it. They welcomed dad with open arms since they never had any children of their own. Before we left Moody’s Diner that morning, we ordered dessert.  Normally, we’d get a slice of one of their famous pies at Moody’s, but after tasting Indian pudding at the Maine Diner along the Southern Maine coast, we set a course to sample another dish of warm Indian pudding. It’s made of cornmeal and molasses. Mom made many bread puddings, rice and tapioca pudding, but never Indian pudding. Here’s Mom’s recipe for tapioca pudding that I re-made with a holiday twist using eggnog!

Fluffy Eggnog Tapioca Pudding

1 egg separated

6 T. sugar divided

3 T. Tapioca

2 cups of eggnog

1 tsp. vanilla

Beat egg white in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until foamy. Gradually beat in 3 T. of sugar until soft peaks.

Mix tapioca eggnog, egg yolk and remaining sugar in a medium saucepan. Let stand 5 min.

Bring to a boil (a boil that doesn’t stop boiling) on medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, fold in egg white mixture; stir until blended. Stir in vanilla. Cool 20 minutes, serve warm or refrigerate. Garnish with a cinnamon stick. Makes 6 servings.