Food Friday: Ya-Bra

Do you have a name for a family recipe that makes little sense to anyone outside of the family? In my family we have a few, Soupy Macaroni and Pink Stuff are two recipes that come to mind.

In some cases a recipe name could be an "anglicized" version of an ethnic recipe name. It also might just reflect what the family thought it looked or tasted like. While the recipe might have deep family ties to an immigrant ancestor, it could  be something the family cook found in a magazine, newspaper, or tasted at a  potluck.

When I looked at today's recipe from a Missouri congregation of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now called Community of Christ), my instant reaction was "what's that?" Reading the ingredient list it becomes obvious that it's a take on stuffed grape leaves or Yaprak Dolma. In this version, cabbage leaves are used, probably as a substitute for a difficult to find ingredient.

This family may have referred to this dish as Ya-Bra because it sounds somewhat similar to the Turkish pronunciation of Yaprak (perhaps the closest the family could come to figuring out how to spell it).