Bon Appétit!

I remember helping my grandmother prepare her specialities. English cuisine is not renown, but she spent much of her life in France and was a good cook! I remember the Sunday lunches of roast lamb, Yorkshire pudding and fondu Bourguignon. Unfortunately she did not pass this talent on to my mother. My mom could not make a dish of Hamburger Helper properly. Being an artist was her excuse. She was incapable of following a recipe and used her artistic licence with oven temperatures. Her birthday cakes always came out lopsided and she managed to burn just about everything.

Luckily, my grandma’s cuisine genes came my way. Feeding four boys was a challenge. I thank God for the Chinese who invented the noodle. Pasta was a frequent standby. I usually planned enough food for dinner so I would have leftovers for my lunch the following day, but the appetites of 4 young men often meant empty dishes.

I usually always cooked at home and made my own version of enchiladas, meatballs, soups, etc. I also became quite adept at baking. A batch of cookies would disappear once the boys were home from school. A cake would be gone at snack time. Looking back, it was a lot of work, but the boys appreciated my home cooking. When they left for college and the nest was empty, I prepared a small cookbook with their favorite dishes. They enjoy cooking, for the most part, but like it even more if I visit and cook for them. The childhood memories of mom’s homemade dishes live on.

— MCW