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Post by Meri-Lyn on Aug 22, 2014 19:05:06 GMT
DH's mom doesn't really cook, and his step-mom's is same old, same old. So yes, better than them. The one I really compete with was his grandmother. Old school Italian/Spanish cooking. To.Die.For! If I could be half as good as she was, it would be a feat. She really was the best. There are few recipes that we recreate (like her baked chicken), but then there are some, sadly, that were lost to time (her empanadas and palomilla steak are two of them.)
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Post by gmcwife1 on Aug 22, 2014 19:12:43 GMT
Probably about the same I guess. She was a working single mother way back when so she didn't have time to cook fancy or anything. She was also from the generation that cooked their pork to death so dh didn't know pork chops could be tender I try to cook her Puerto Rican beans and rice and do as well as I can, but there is no way I can cook it as well as she does. I also cook healthier due to being in a more health aware generation. I also love cooking shows so I enjoy trying different things. I have a lot of advantages she didn't have so it doesn't feel like one of us is a better cook than the other, just different
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Post by grate on Aug 22, 2014 19:27:15 GMT
BETTER! She was not a great cook. His dad is another story though. I can never make sauce like his in my dh's eyes.
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my3freaks
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,206
Location: NH girl living in Colorado
Jun 26, 2014 4:10:56 GMT
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Post by my3freaks on Aug 22, 2014 20:07:53 GMT
Here's the mac & cheese recipe we use. It is so good! My husband is the one who makes it, and I'm pretty sure he leaves the thyme out, and he uses more than 4 slices of bacon. I buy 3 blocks for Cracker Barrel Vermont white cheddar to use. (It's much cheaper if you get it at Walmart or Target than it is at the grocery store). I think we've used Tilamook once too. It gets baked in a glass 9x13 pan.
Ingredients
Kosher salt
1 pound elbow macaroni
4 cups milk
2 or 3 sprigs thyme
4 cloves garlic, smashed and divided
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 1/2 cups shredded sharp white Cheddar
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into thin strips
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
Leaves from 1/4 bunch fresh thyme
Instructions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook for 8 to 9 minutes, until al dente. Drain.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a small saucepan heat the milk with the thyme sprigs and 2 garlic cloves.
Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat.
Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, to keep lumps from forming.
Strain the solids out of the milk and whisk it into the butter and flour mixture. Continue to whisk vigorously, and cook until the mixture is nice and smooth.
Stir in the 4 cups of the cheese and continue to cook and stir to melt the cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the cooked macaroni and the parsley and fold that all in to coat the macaroni with the cheese mixture.
Scrape into a 3-quart baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
While that bakes, heat a saute pan.
Add the bacon, render the fat and cook until crispy.
Add onion, garlic and thyme leaves and cook for about 5 minutes to soften the onion.
Season with salt and pepper.
To serve, scatter the bacon mixture over the mac and cheese
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lavidaloca
Shy Member
Posts: 12
Jun 27, 2014 23:58:20 GMT
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Post by lavidaloca on Aug 22, 2014 20:22:23 GMT
My mother I law raised 7 kids alone after her DH died. The oldest was 12 and youngest was turning 5. There was a lot of mystery dinners for him growing up.
So I do happen to cook better, but our circumstances are different than hers. Who knows if her DH hadn't passed it might be different.
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ChrisinCT
Shy Member
Posts: 30
Jun 26, 2014 0:17:32 GMT
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Post by ChrisinCT on Aug 23, 2014 17:46:24 GMT
I am a much better cook than my MIL was, but not as good as my Mom!
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Post by ceepea on Aug 23, 2014 18:59:47 GMT
His mother never really cooked anything. They are a lot of frozen pot pies and cup-a-soup. So he thinks I'm a great cook. He did love his Grandmother's cooking though. She made a lot of casseroles.
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azredhead
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,755
Jun 25, 2014 22:49:18 GMT
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Post by azredhead on Aug 23, 2014 19:30:01 GMT
my3freaks -I think I'm gonna steal your mac n cheese! It's one of my favorite things but I'm scared to try it from scratch and it's hard to find places that do a good creamy sauce. This sounds really good!!
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finaledition
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,896
Jun 26, 2014 0:30:34 GMT
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Post by finaledition on Aug 23, 2014 20:14:14 GMT
I think my husband prefers his mom's cooking. There are a handful of traditional Italian dishes that she makes that are excellent. My husband says she puts the love in it ( which is true, I don't love to cook). Some are just not really dishes I enjoy no matter who is cooking them. But give her a recipe outside of her repertoire and she's not a good cook at all. Particularly desserts. If it came to a blind tasting test, I could win in the dessert category :-).
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Post by 2peafaithful on Aug 23, 2014 20:30:22 GMT
My husband said she wasn't a very good cook. He loved his grandmothers cooking and his dads new wife cooks well. She is hispanic and can cook up a storm! She cooks everything in bulk and for the masses. It is so funny to watch because she cooks she doesn't cook for 2-4 or 6 she cooks to feed a large group even if she doesn't have a large group and will post it on FB or take to neighbors.
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Post by Scarlet Ohana on Aug 23, 2014 20:40:44 GMT
For sure! It's scary eating anything at my MIL's since she has meat in the Freezer from 1987. In the 17 years I've been with DH I can only remember eating one meal prepared by my MIL. We've had many BBQ's made by my FIL, but I make sure and bring the meat!! It's a miracle those two have caught Salmonella with all the ancient cans of veggies in the cupboard.
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PrettyInPeank
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,691
Jun 25, 2014 21:31:58 GMT
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Post by PrettyInPeank on Aug 23, 2014 20:42:59 GMT
I just asked my husband. He said, "I like her cooking better because she never makes me help." So I asked whose food tastes better, and he said mine by far.
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valleyview
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,816
Jun 27, 2014 18:41:26 GMT
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Post by valleyview on Aug 23, 2014 20:55:06 GMT
I am a better cook than MIL was, BUT there are some dishes that she made that she mastered so well that we still make them regularly. She made great slaw, scalloped potatoes and cranberry salad. Her fried chicken and hamburgers were legendary, but she could not cook vegetables, roast meat, or bake. She was typical of her time - she had a regular rotation of dishes and prepared them with the competence of repetition.
BTW - burger secret is iron skillet and garlic salt. DS now has that skillet.
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Post by leftturnonly on Aug 23, 2014 21:20:02 GMT
Cranky Pea's thread about our dh's praising or not praising our cooking got me to thinking about what mine liked or did not like.
Oh yes. I never could make cornbread like his Mom. Used to make me laugh. Ofcourse not. She used tons and tons of bacon grease in her cornbread. I on the other hand inherited a dh with high cholesterol and heart problems. Not the same flavor at all.
So...how does your cooking compare to "his Mom"? Does he ever ask you to make something like she used to make/cook? No, he didn't. God Bless him. She had her strengths and weaknesses, and I have many happy memories of sitting around her table. For the most part, though, he preferred his own cooking to either of ours. Fine by me! (Boy, do I miss him.)
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Post by leftturnonly on Aug 23, 2014 21:21:43 GMT
I just asked my husband. He said, "I like her cooking better because she never makes me help." So I asked whose food tastes better, and he said mine by far. Smart man!
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Post by Prenticekid on Aug 23, 2014 22:38:57 GMT
I'm a much better cook than my mother. Probably my MIL too, but I think she did a fabulous job for what she had to work with and the fact that she had 8 kids. I would never say that I cook better than she did "healthwise" - just different. I hved many more ingredients to work with than she ever did, kwim? My ex loved my cooking and so did his mom.
Two things that my ex wanted to have cooked "like mom" (but in no way were complaints) - oatmeal and sloppy joes. First, he was the youngest of 8, and by the time he got his oatmeal it was thick and lumpy. He ate it for 20 years before I came into his life! So, I just learned to let his oatmeal cool off and then shoved the thickened top into the rest of it. Voila - lumpy oatmeal just like mom's! LOL As to the sloppy joes, I grew up with sloppy joes that was ground beef in homemade BBQ sauce on a toasted hamburger bun. He grew up with ground beef in cream of mushroom soup open faced on one slice of bread. They did from time to time have "Manwiches" after that product came out. I would say we were having sloppy joes for dinner and he'd be slightly disappointed to see my family's version. I just learned to just say "Manwiches" for my version and started making his family's version and calling it sloppy joes. I will say that he never got up from the table without both thanking me and complimenting the meal.
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ComplicatedLady
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,083
Location: Valley of the Sun
Jul 26, 2014 21:02:07 GMT
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Post by ComplicatedLady on Aug 23, 2014 23:43:21 GMT
I asked my dh and he said "Yes. Yes, you do." His mom doesn't cook much though, so it's not really a tough contest. She's an awesome baker though--definitely better than I am. I suck at baking.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 10, 2024 10:27:18 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2014 0:22:20 GMT
I'd like to think I cook better... his mom always made On-Cor. When we were first married, I made a lot of On-Cor too (because I had heard that husbands like if their wives cook like their moms do). Finally a few months into it, he asked one night, "um... do you know how to cook anything else?" I think he was pleasantly surprised to find out I actually do!
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suzastampin
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,587
Jun 28, 2014 14:32:59 GMT
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Post by suzastampin on Aug 24, 2014 0:48:31 GMT
Better. She couldn't cook to save her soul.
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Post by mdoc on Aug 24, 2014 3:13:23 GMT
My MIL is an excellent cook. I can't hold a candle to her in the kitchen - I know it, DH knows it and my kids know it. But there are things I can do that my MIL can't, so I don't worry about it. And I'm happy to go to her house and eat her wonderful cooking a few times a year, and she always makes DH's favorite desserts (which we all like). Yum.
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Post by wholarmor on Aug 24, 2014 3:21:44 GMT
My MIL cooks very nice meals for us. Salads at every dinner. I don't usually cook as fancy as her. I can cook, but I don't really like to. DH does like some things that I make better than how his mom made it. He also cooks dinner many nights. I'm missing him this week as he's away for a conference. I'm not eating much, lol.
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Post by bosoxbeth on Aug 24, 2014 3:44:37 GMT
My cooking is way better!
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Post by bosoxbeth on Aug 24, 2014 3:45:01 GMT
My cooking is way better!
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Post by *leslie* on Aug 24, 2014 4:46:16 GMT
This is an interesting question. I need to ask my husband if there's anything his mom makes that he misses and maybe he wants me to try to make.
I think we make different things well. She makes a terrific Thanksgiving dinner. I've never been happy with my turkey. I make marinara sauce from scratch and she uses a Lawry's sauce packet.
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craftchickapowpow
Full Member
My Circus My Monkeys
Posts: 206
Jun 26, 2014 16:12:18 GMT
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Post by craftchickapowpow on Aug 24, 2014 5:52:43 GMT
It took about 10 years but my pizza is better than hers was. I have been trying for 40 years to make cinnamon rolls as good as hers were and still no. I'm not a great cook and DH is better so he cooks a lot.
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Post by jumperhop on Aug 24, 2014 5:59:34 GMT
A million times better. And thats not saying much. My husbands Mother would keep a pot in the frige every night she would put the families leftovers in in. They would eat the hodge podge leftovers Saturday night for dinner. The thought makes me want to hurl. jen
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