I love the frantic calls that I get from my kids:
"Mom, I have to be at a party in half an hour and I have to bring a desert. No, I don't want a store bought desert. What can I make?"
"Mom, I have half an onion, cool whip and a six pack in my fridge. What can I make for the cute boy I have invited for dinner?"
Best yet: "Mom, I miss your risotto! Can I learn how to make it?"
I was at the last Nationals Game in RFK Stadium yesterday. The day was beautiful and the Nats were tied with the Phillies. In the middle of the game, my phone rings. Our daughter, a grad student in California, wants me to give her my recipe for stuffed peppers. Uh, hold on, could I talk to her boyfriend, he is actually going to do the cookin? Ok - take ground beef...uh, we are making this for some friends who are vegetarian. So, I stood in the walkway outside of the seats and tried to scream directions for making stuffed peppers in a way that I had never made them before. The crowd inside the stadium erupts and I miss the Nats go ahead run and the double play that takes them out of the inning.
I have no idea whether they were edible, but it is kind of fun that they call and ask for help, even if they disregard it.
The Better Homes and Garden New Cookbook recommended by mythreesons is a great basic cookbook.
There are two other cookbooks that you might want to take a look at: The Starving Students' Cookbook and Where's Mom Now That I Need Her? Surviving Away From Home. (I like this one for the title, if nothing else!)
There are also sites on line that can be really helpful. I can look up a recipe and e-mail it to my kids. Recipe.com, allrecipes.com and, for the more adventurous, epecurious.com. On recipe.com you can search by ingredient, type of food, course, and I forget what else. I have even found an old family recipe for Italian cookies that I had lost by searching several different ways.
The daughter, you know, the one that called during the Nats game? On her bookshelf, here at home, are the cookbooks that she received for graduation from high school. It may be time to ship them out to her. Well, maybe not - I enjoy sharing those recipes with her - uh, her boyfriend.
Happy cooking, and keep the fire extinguisher handy.
\('!')/ Big HUGS,
P&CMom