Cooks and Recipes

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

Cooks and their relationship with their recipes generally fall into one (or maybe two) categories.  First there is the sharer.   I am a sharer. I'm thrilled if someone asks for a recipe I made.  It confirms my belief that it was worth making.  I carry copies of my recipes and try to give them to people whether they ask or not.  My Mom was also a sharer but I think she may have regretted it somewhat when a recipe she shared with my mother-in-law ended up being printed in a recipe book under my mother-in-law's name.

Then there is the "just say no" category.  This cook will get a snide smile when you ask for the recipe claiming that it's a family secret, state secret or giving it to you would mean he/she would have to kill you. 

Next is the just "can't say no" recipe holder.  This person doesn't have the conviction of the "just say no" but does not want to share the recipe.  From this cook you'll get sudden amnesia.  I can't remember   what was in it, how it was cooked, where it came from, where the recipe is now and who are you anyway?

The sneakiest is the alter-er.  My Mom had a friend like this, she made some of the best food and shared her recipes with my Mom.  However, when Mom made the recipes, they just didn't taste the same.  Her friend just shook her head in wonderment.  My Mom figured it out when her friend  gave her the recipe for homemade wine and instead of grape juice, the recipe was changed to grapefruit juice.  Mom stopped asking for the recipes.

And last but certainly not least is the assumer.  Shortly after I was married,we had another couple over for dinner and I made a recipe that my Mom had made for years.  The next day I called her in a frenzy there was barely enough food for two people let alone four.  She asked me if I doubled the amount of meat and I said no you didn't tell me to double the meat and she said "I assumed you knew that." Sometimes you can't even trust your Mom.  Many assumers give out their recipes in the original form  under the assumption that the recipient has ESP and knows all the changes they made to it. "Oh, didn't you know that I doubled this, eliminated that, added this and then cooked it at an entirely different temperature."  

Well here's a recipe to share but if you put it in a cookbook under your name I might not buy it.

                                            Pork Chops with Apples and Stuffing


Large Bag of Pepperidge Farm Stuffing Mix (made according to package instructions)
21 ounce can Apple Pie Filling
6 boneless Pork Chops

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.  Brown pork chops on one side.  Spread pie filling in the bottom of the pan.  Place pork chops on top of filling, browned side up.  Spread stuffing over pork chops.  Cover pan with foil and bake 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake ten minutes more. 

I know what you're thinking, PIE FILLING???  But think about it, nothing goes better than pork and apples.  Try it, you'll like it.