Thinking Back Thursday ~ Learning How To Cook…

in my parents kitchen, cir. 1970

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the days when I was a newlywed, trying to learn how to cook!  I suppose the reason for these thoughts stems from recent conversations I’ve had with our soon-to-be DIL, Jennifer.  We’ve been discussing a few “domestic things” in recent weeks, and Jennifer has even scoured a few of my cookbooks looking for simple recipes.  I hear that she’s been sharpening her culinary skills!

Unfortunately, I didn’t feel much need to “sharpen my culinary skills” prior to marriage!  I took a quick “crash course” in cooking from my daddy, as I observed him in the kitchen a few times.  I watched and then wrote down everything he did, in a spiral notebook, which I still have today!  Armed with that little bit of knowledge, I sailed off into marital bliss…without so much as a cookbook!

Fortunately, my husband is very gracious and never complained as I found my way around the kitchen!  I knew how to make spaghetti, cakes, and brownies when we got married.  That was pretty much it!  From my crash course with daddy, I learned how to cook peas, stewed tomatoes, and creamed corn– the fresh kind, not the kind in cans!  Oh, and I could make cornbread!

Two things that intimidated me the most,  were cooking rice, and making gravy!  I don’t know why I ever thought either of these things was so difficult, but for some reason, I was convinced that I couldn’t cook them.  For several years, I bought Minute Rice, which was okay, but not as good as regular rice.  Finally, after years of marriage, I learned how to cook the rice dry, in a pot, on top of the stove!  Such a simple thing, yet it eluded me for years!

I don’t actually remember when I learned how to make decent gravy.  I made a lot of bad gravy before I learned how to make good gravy.  I’d add too much water, not enough flour, or too much flour, and not enough water.  Actually, to this day, my husband makes better gravy than I do!  He got his talent honest, because his daddy was a fantastic cook.  

I always found it quite interesting that my daddy, and my father-in-law, did most of the cooking in their households in their later years!  Both of their wives worked later hours than they did, so both men already had supper cooking when their wives got home from work.  My husband knows how to cook a few things, but I’ve always done the majority of the cooking in our household, while my husband is my assistant.  I wonder if he’d like to take over my kitchen one of these days, after retirement… 

I still remember baking my first hen– what a disaster that turned out to be!  Nobody told me that I needed to boil the old hen before I baked her, and when we tried to eat the baked hen, the meat was so tough that the fork actually bounced off!  My first couple of attempts at stuffing, or “dressing” as we say here in the south, were just as disastrous. 

Another dish that I was late in learning how to prepare is “chicken and dumplings”.  I’ve always liked chicken and dumplings, but I used to consider it “old people food”, because our parents were always cooking it!  Occasionally, I’d try making a pot of dumplings, but they never tasted like mama’s….and rolling those dumplings???  Forget that!  Someone finally told me about frozen dumplings.  These days, I can make chicken and dumplings that even mama would be proud of–and I don’t even have to roll those dumplings! 

I’ve decided I’d like to try and provide Jennifer with a little help in the kitchen, by making her a cookbook.  I’m sharing  favorite recipes from my collection of cookbooks, plus a few favorite family recipes of my own.  Perhaps with the help of a cookbook, Jennifer will never have to experience the trial and error method like I did!  I’d have given a million dollars if someone had done that for me.

I’m joining Thursday’s Friends today.  Hop on over and join us.