Bringing Personality back to Weddings, with Cookies

To continue the cookie trend, I thought I'd mention a fabulous article on the New York Times site right now about the tradition of homemade cookie tables at Pittsburgh-area weddings.

As a Patriots fan, I find it difficult to admit that I admire anything having to do with Pittsburgh. But this tradition is fantastic. For weeks leading up to the wedding, families of the wedding party spend time together in their kitchens, mixing and baking and preparing whole tables-worth of traditional homemade treats like pizzelles and buckeyes.

Maybe it's because I'm a sucker for those cheesy family moments, but there's something really special about the idea of so much hard work, cooperation, and love going into wedding preparations. In an age when weddings are micro-managed until all the fun and personality is gone, the idea of a table full of treats made from scratch and with care is enchanting.

The more we can make any act of cooking a family or a regional tradition, the more members of younger generations will look forward to it. And that's they key--teaching kids to love cooking and to take pride in the food they make from an early age. And if it takes copying something that Pittsburgh does well, well, I guess that's OK.