Who was your greatest influence

[TheMetalChef]

My mom, a great cook, always learning and passing it on. Always interested. Julia Child, Madeline Kamman, Jeff Smith, our first TV chefs on PBS. My chef/instructors at CIA, etc...but it all comes back to mom for having us cook with her, learning her recipes, her love of seeking new ideas/methods etc. Definitely mom was my greatest influence.

Jeff Smith was absolutely my #1 influence early on. I had half a dozen of his cookbooks growing up.

He was so much about authentic with everything he did. That kind of faithfulness and respect for the regional tradition just doesn't happen much anymore.

 

[BreezyCooking]

My greatest cooking influences were both of my parents & my grandmother on my father's side - FABULOUS cooks, all 3 of them!!

While all my little compatriots were dining on Spaghetti-O's, cheeseburgers, & meat/potatoes, I was having Portuguese soups & stews, homemade Asian dishes (unheard of back then), & all sorts of Czech delights (bread & potato dumplings, sauerkraut, liver & blood sausages, etc., etc.). And my grandmother's tripe soup & her Czech pastries were to die for!!

Mom also LOVED the PBS cooking shows (this was back in the dark ages before cable) & not only had her own library of cookbooks, but was always taking out more from the local library so we could read them together like they were novels - lol!!

I will never be able to thank them enough for not only introducing me early on to the joys of reading & literature, but also - of course - to the joys of cooking & experimenting with new foods & ideas.

 

[justplainbill]

Breezy, could you be so generous as to provide us with the recipe for the tripe soup?

 

[BreezyCooking]

Since my husband would rather eat worms & die than even THINK about consuming tripe, I've never made it myself. Which is a shame since the markets around here do carry nice-looking tripe upon occasion.

However, there's a very strong possibility my dad has the recipe, so I'll ask him when I speak to him next & post back Bill.

The soup really was excellent. I mean, let's face it, even little kids would scarf it up fully realizing what was in it - lol! It was creamy-thick & chock full of perfectly prepped tripe, carrots, & potatoes.

 

[TheMetalChef]

So we can safely assume it is not the traditional "Pepper Pot" New England preparation...

 

[letscook]

I have to say my mother for one, as I was from a family with 8 kids and helping out. She lets me cook even tho my mess was big afterward, But the main one goes to a Home economics Teacher - She was and is great and inspired all of us. Not just in cooking but anything to run a household. So my hat goes off to Eunice Hicks-Miller Union Springs High School Class of 1972. You don't find any of her anymore. Take a Bow Mrs H.

 

[BreezyCooking]

So we can safely assume it is not the traditional "Pepper Pot" New England preparation...

Definitely not. Not even remotely close. (I do love Pepperpot too though!)

 

[TheMetalChef]

Definitely not. Not even remotely close. (I do love Pepperpot too though!)

I just noticed you're in C-Pep. Where do you go for your tripe?

Down here in L-Burg, it's almost impossible to find (as are a number of other really basic ingredients you expect to find everywhere)

 

[BreezyCooking]

While I don't buy it (because, as I said, my husband doesn't eat it), nice pristine tripe is nearly always available at our local Super-WalMart. Since we have a large Hispanic population here, they not only have an entire aisle devoted to Hispanic grocery items, but also have a Hispanic section in the dairy department, & in the fresh meat department devoted to primarily Hispanic cuts of meat like tripe, beef tongue, & other delicacies of that nature. If my husband was a red-meat eater, I'd definitely be buying & cooking with a lot of these things (I LOVE beef tongue!!), but it's simply not worth it if I'm the only person in a household of 2 that will eat it - lol!

 

[TheMetalChef]

Wow. So he doesn't eat red meat at all? You poor woman...

 

[freefallin1309]

My wife Both of my grandmothers couldn't cook worth a ****, my maternal grandfather did the cooking for that house hold, and my mother rarely cooked, and my paternal grandfather only grilled (and he used a gas grill, I can't stand the flavor of gas in my food) I learned how to cook hands-on, and I was horrible. Then I met my wife. Before she went to school, she was already a good cook. Then after graduations and add the experience ... and wow.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Wow. So he doesn't eat red meat at all? You poor woman...

It really isn't that big a deal, & I totally credit his lifestyle choice (he hasn't eaten ANY red meat products for 37 years) for my good health. Every single person in my immediate family has high blood pressure/hypertension & extremely high cholesterol. Heck, my brother had all the above when he was still in his 20's. I, on the other hand, since hitching up with hubby 30 years ago (we've been married for 20 of thos years as of next month) have both low/normal blood pressure & normal cholesterol levels. I attribute it completely to my healthy diet, which I most likely wouldn't have if it weren't for the husband.

Now, that said, I do enjoy red meat if I feel like it when we dine out, & I'll also make it for myself when he's away on business. But that's a drop in the bucket. And he wouldn't mind at all if I wanted to make it for myself all the time - it's not an ethical principle with him, but health.

And it's certainly made me very well versed in interesting recipes for poultry, seafood, & vegetarian dishes - lol!!

 

[TheMetalChef]

My wife complains bitterly that I've made her gain weight, with all the rich food I like to prepare.

Well, maybe not bitterly...

 

[msmofet]

My wife complains bitterly that I've made her gain weight, with all the rich food I like to prepare.

Well, maybe not bitterly...

it feels great when someone makes that complaint doesn't it?

 

[JohnL]

My mothers aunt was my biggest influence, after her it was PBS chefs. Jeff Smith in particular. I always felt that I learned more technique from his show than recipes.

 

[freefallin1309]

My wife complains bitterly that I've made her gain weight, with all the rich food I like to prepare.

Well, maybe not bitterly...

I blame my wife for any weight I've gained ... I can't help myself

 

[TheMetalChef]

it feels great when someone makes that complaint doesn't it?

Doesn't it though? It's why I started cooking in the first place!

 

[TheMetalChef]

Jeff Smith in particular. I always felt that I learned more technique from his show than recipes.

That is exactly what I'm talking about.

Even in his cookbooks, he emphasized technique over formula.

 

[CharlieD]

My mother and ( I hate to admit) my ex wife. My mom is an amazing cook, but my ex was even better, and I have to say I am pretty good my self, but she was just unbelievable.

 

[Claire]

The Jeff Smith thing: I think it was Our Immigrant Ancestors and I think it was a recipe for potica. This was my mother-in-law's specialty, and Jer and I decided to tackle it. I'm not sure which ingredient it was, probably for the dough, because I'm not a baker and need recipes to be exact (the filling I could wing it). Well at some point in the recipe it said something like "now add the XXXXX." Huh. We read and reread the ingredients. Then, in a panic, wound up calling relatives we barely knew, but who had made potica before! We've done it once since, but it is so much work that I buy it from Vermont Country Store now.