He Said: Whatcha Got Cookin'...?

I love food.

If I'm not buying it, cooking it or eating it, I am thinking about it. While it hasn't been the best thing for 30 years of weight issues, it is definitely part of what it means to savor life. As a child, I was plagued with horrible ear aches and sore throats; and while it did mean lots of cold, frosty drinks, my mother said that once the tonsils came out I couldn't stop putting food in my mouth! It's true, and I really haven't looked back.

When our kids were young, we made meals every night of the week - Sunday dinner type meals - and I figure I've peeled more potatoes than the Irish military! It was a small thing that I could do for my family, and very natural, as I truly believe I was born to cook. I may have gotten it from my great-grandmother who owned a restaurant in Swanzy, New Hampshire and people came come from miles around to eat her food. In the same way that I feel close to my flea market finds, I am definitely a genetic reproduction of my ancestors. I seem to just know what to do with things... it's innate and I relish every trip to the grocery store. The possibilities are infinite and that's how I roll (Parker House, in case you were wondering..).

Now I'm not always well loved for my food concoctions and sometimes my path to the final dish is muddled. My meal bloopers include a lunchtime treat for my wife that we called NOODLE HAM CHUNK which is still the root of much amusement for Jenny, and a chocolate pie I made for my sister using chex mix as the crust. Oh how could I forget a cocoa cake- like filling (laced with coconut) which I have never ever been able to replicate... I was 12 when I made it! I've dredged chicken cutlets in pancake batter - thinking I'd found a new way to make fried chicken (can you say heavy?). I've replaced Bechamel sauce in chicken divan with unflavored plain yogurt, all the time thinking "this thick creaminess will be delicious" (can you say bitter?) I've followed the directions on an unsweetened chocolate package - for a child who was desperate for brownies to take to school - only to discover that I had made just FUDGE. (can you say uncontrollable tears...hers, not mine?!) Still I am ever curious, willing to try new things, adventurous and interested. And, of course, ready with my spoon to taste (no double dipping, I swear).

Some of my concoctions do pay off... like this delicious breakfast casserole with apples and maple syrup

Now that our girls have been gone (for the last 4 years), I don't cook as much at home due to long days and a whole lot of cooking at work, but I still fantasize about dinner, what I might make and what foods might make great combinations for magazine stories or web sites. I'm maniacal about it; my assistant walks through the door at 9 am and I am eager to hear about what she roasted, grilled, sauteed or baked the night before... and I assure you by the end of the day I have already asked her several times what's on the menu for that night (she thinks I'm a freak). True to my nature, I've had many assistants over the years and they've all endured the quizzing.

When I met Linda MacDonald - from the fabulous Restyled Home blog and now a compatriot in the FMS magazine - I instantly felt connected to her very traditional values and attentiveness to a proper meal time with all her family in attendance. It was a real hook for me in our friendship, and having read about her culinary feats on her blog (she has magical menus that inspire her husband to complete renovation projects) I knew that she would be a great new source of inspiration. After all, her Canadian-ness was downright international and I knew that it would be a source of fresh and flavorful fare. So, what came next? A simple e-mail everyday: sometimes I fill out only the subject line and send it with great anticipation of what delectable menu will fill my mailbox and what new ideas I might glean. I liken it to Breakfast at Tiffany's when Holly Golightly gives the weather report to Sallie Tomato at Sing Sing. Linda didn't get the parallel, but then she hasn't seen the movie. Now I sometimes get messages out of the blue with a "just in case you were wondering, (nah-nah, nah- nah) I've prepared a pork roast with two kinds of potatoes (carbo loaders, I say!) and coconut cream pie for dessert." These can come on particularly long days for me when rolling out a Pillsbury prepared pie crust would be way too much effort. But that's okay; we both get something out of it.

I feed my mind and she gets to brag.

My first culinary success? A jelly roll I made during summer vacation at age eleven... who's bragging now?

We dined with the MacDonalds several times during our visit this summer, and while the ice tea seemed like a complicated request (though there may have been some nerves with the author of ENTERTAINING SIMPLE in the house ) Linda made a mean seafood chowder (there must have been the meat of twelve lobsters in there) and a deliciously decadent Mulligitawny soup. Both were so memorable it's as though I've consumed them over and over again in my mind. Oh, and did I leave out the biscuits? Pure genius...and kudos to her husband, Paul, who made them.

From time to time I will send Linda an idea I've been working on, and while I have some national clout in food preparation, it's not always enough to sway her to try something different (you might have guessed she passed on trying out my cheeseburger soup recipe). That's okay; I've got things to try and she's got chicken to dredge in pancake batter (I never did tell her that one didn't work out...)!

If you're so inclined, post a comment and let us know what you've been cooking up in your kitchen! A deliciously detailed menu will be just fine!

***(blogged by Matthew Mead)

*************************************************

To hear Linda's take on the topic, head on over to her blog for the She Said alternative entitled, On the Menu.