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**Old Glory** · February 3, 2023, 05:40 PM

My Mom was an amazing cook. Growing up in an Italian family everything was made from scratch. My Mom and aunts would spend all day Saturday making homemade pasta and raviolis for Sunday dinner. We had 20 or so people every Sunday for dinner. Pastas, roasts, fried veggies (Italian Tempura), braciola, antipasto salads, home made cannoli, it was unbelievable. An Italian feast every Sunday was normal.

Then my parents got divorced. My mom had to work so it was shake n' bake, hamburger helper, etc unless she found time to make her old from scratch meals like lasagna. For a while it was government cheese and powdered milk. She did her best and kept us fed. I did get to go to a few Italian feasts on holidays on my Dad's side of the family though.

My Mom eventually remarried and was able to get back in the kitchen. My step Dad went to the market every day on the way home from work. Again it was amazing like living in Europe. Always fresh ingredients cooked exceptionally well every night for dinner. Steaks, chops, chicken, all cooked at restaurant quality. She had all kinds of cook books and was always trying something new. My friends would have frozen pizza for dinner and we were having grilled quail. My buddies' Sunday dinner was boiled ham and potatoes and we were having coq au vin. My Mom was Julia Child. We had large gatherings for holidays and her cooking was renowned.

I watched her cook and started cooking at around 13. Just basic stuff. Pancakes, pasta, sauce, etc. Then my Mom passed away. It was an blow to the family. She was the person who held it all together. All our traditions were going to disappear.

Thanksgiving came and no one knew what to do. I stepped up and grabbed her recipe box and said I would host. I made all the family favorites from escarole soup, stuffing, turkey, to sweet potato pie. My first time really cooking was taking over for my Mom for the whole family. It was crazy I was panicked but it all worked out and I have been hosting ever since.

My grilling and BBQ game was changed forever after getting Meathead's book and joining here.

Cheers to you all!

**58limited** · February 3, 2023, 05:45 PM

From mom, on my own, youtube/internet, and AR.

**smokin fool** · February 3, 2023, 05:58 PM

Bala in Muskoka and Blue Mountain in Grey-Bruce ....hung with a coupla brothers whose father was in the restaurant business, owned a very chic joint.
They had picked up some tricks of the trade from they're father which filtered down to me when they cooked for the crowd. Whether we were skiing or boating when it came to vittles there was no hamburgers or hot dogs with these boys it was prime rib or porterhouses with all the trimmings.
Then there's my lovely bride my mate for life....she's pretty good with corn flakes and toast, grilled cheese....darn good with coffee and tea....didn't take long for me to realize....cook or perish.

**JCBBQ** · February 3, 2023, 06:10 PM

Self taught. After I got divorced I went into direct competition w my ex wife for the love of our two daughters. She’s a terrible cook. I won their hearts and minds. 😂

**ofelles** · February 3, 2023, 06:44 PM

My mother taught me some very basic stuff. I then worked in a couple of fast food joints then at a Sizzler as assistant manager. Always had an interest in cooking just with raising kids and working I didn't do it much. Burned a lot of burger and steaks, but at least Sizzlers gave me some skills at cooking cheap steaks.

When I was going through my divorce in 1988 several of my friends who were in the same shape started a support group. We'd me a each others house every month and bitch about the ex's and the host fixed a meal. Being guys it turned into a competition of course! This and having custody of my oldest girl helped my improve. Cook books and asking questions mostly.

Little by slow I started cooking more and more. Branching out and experimenting. I learned I was pretty good at reading a recipe and knowing whether I'd like it and what mods I could do to improve it to my tastes. I also discovered that if I use quality ingredients I will have much better results.

About 20 years ago my wife and I got involved in a social group that met every month for a pot luck. Well, I felt I needed to cook/grill up the tastiest meals of course. I was willing to prepare something other than a green bean casserole or a pasta salad and used my ability to "taste" a recipe before I tried it. I was lucky and made some very good stuff.

After going through a some cheap grills over the years, that don't work so well and rusted out after a couple of years, I started to get serious about grilling then smoking. I internet help considerably. Got my Yoder in 2018, then joined here. Between the knowledge I have gained here and continuing to use the very best ingredients I can find, if anybody has a potluck or BBQ they say "invite Orion for sure!"

**DavidNorcross** · February 3, 2023, 06:55 PM

I taught myself how to cook. My wife taught me how to prepare food.

When I first started cooking, I would work frantically making a huge mess of everything. She taught me how to prepare some of the meal ahead of time, clean up as I go and think about the cook from beginning to end. Now, I really think the two of us could cook for an army and it would not be a problem because we work together so well.

**mrichie1229** · February 3, 2023, 07:03 PM

I learned a lot about baking from my mom and grandma. As far as cooking goes, my mother gave me some room to try different things (like cooking homemade pancakes) when my dad was working second or third shift. I learned the basics of barbecue from my dad who had a Weber Kettle and Smokey Mountain, and back in the 70s won 3rd place in a barbecue competition at the State Fair.

I took my rudimentary tools and advanced my skills after I got married. My wife and I were very basic cooks at first, but we enjoyed trying new recipes so we've both grown over the years. I've also grown a lot in my barbecue skills thanks to Meathead's cookbook, AR, and YouTube. So much so, that my dad has told me on more than one occasion that he prefers my barbecue over his.

**SheilaAnn** · February 3, 2023, 07:45 PM

Watching my dad and grandma. And I hate to admit it, the step-monster. She had a few exceptional dishes. My passion for food started early, I guess. Mostly because I loved to entertain. I did go to culinary school. And as I have mentioned before, I devour cookbooks and read them like novels. Plus, I’ve been in the biz all my life watched and absorbed all I could. I have always enjoyed the grill and did very minimal smoking until I started lurking here in The Pit for about 3 years. And then because a member a couple years ago.

**CHNeal** · February 3, 2023, 08:01 PM

I was 8 when my pop passed. Mom had to work 2 sometimes 3 jobs to keep us fed and warm so thats what she did. As the man of the house it fell to me to make sure my brothers and sisters got taken care of while she worked. So i learned to cook. It started with opening cans, then progressed to add this to that and on and on. Until one day mom just left a recipe on the counter….
I never forgot that amazing feeling that I got watching my little brother and sisters smile while they ate what I cooked. That led me to a couple decades in the restaurant / bar business which led me to a couple of divorces. I wanted a family more then I wanted that life so off to the trades I went and never looked back.
I still love to see those smiles at the table. I did a bunch of catering several years back and it was ok for a while but the shine is off that penny. Now Im back to just watching my little family smile at what I cook and life is grand!

**MBMorgan** · February 3, 2023, 08:14 PM

Hmmm ... hard to say. Dear ol' Mom was an OK 50's era southern cook. She could fry chicken. Everything else was pretty much post WWII convenience foods ... TV dinners, chili bricks, etc. Dad couldn't boil water. As an early teenager, I independently "invented" grilling with a steel grate from a local metal shop, a few cement blocks, charcoal briquettes, and gasoline as the starter (bad idea).

Got married in my late 20's and started fiddling around in the kitchen trying to emulate dishes I had a few years earlier while "seeing the world (mostly Northern CA)" in the USAF. Eventually discovered cable TV and the likes of The Frugal Gourmet and the rest is history ... except, of course, for the grilling and smoking. A rough few years with an old Brinkman bullet smoker followed by a few more (better years) with a Weber kettle, and I was off to the races.

Over the years, my wife and I have pretty much split cooking duties. She does the "normal" stuff and I take care of more exotic dishes and everything done outside (or inside if flames are involved).

**RichardCullip** · February 3, 2023, 08:26 PM

My mom taught me the basics. I learned the rest by some trial and error over the years.

**LA Pork Butt** · February 3, 2023, 08:44 PM

My mother broke her big toe just before summer when I was in High School and couldn’t get around very well. So, she would tell me what to do and each step of the way I would shown her the progress. She would say that looks about right. After a summer of coaching I got pretty good at cooking what folks would call down home cooking. Give me some onion, garlic and bell pepper and I can make most things taste pretty good. To this day I cook by sight rather than taste.

**Bad Hat BBQ** · February 3, 2023, 08:51 PM

Mom was not a great cook...raised 5 kids on her own; other things mattered.
As we got older my 2-oldest sisters took charge of the kitchen....
Oldest....was awesome but needed to a well-stocked pantry/fridge...champagne taste on a beer budget.
2nd Oldest...could make something really good out of nothing...

As things progressed, we would ask (and joke) for Mom to bring her coveted Chip Dip (Mix of Sour Cream, Cream Cheese, Onion soup mix and garlic salt)....and it would be awesome if she could bring it to my next BBQ but she is long gone...

Started outdoor cooking on my own with fired turkeys about 30 years ago. BBQ-U on Public television may have been my greatest influence.......

**barelfly** · February 3, 2023, 08:58 PM

My mom and dad both influenced me a bit, mom in the kitchen and dad on the grill. But, I’d have to say my grandmother is the one that has been the greatest influence, as I’ve learned a number of family recipes from the New Mexican food restaurant they ran for a bit that was my grandfather’s sister’s restaurant prior. I think that is what is most special to me, knowing that I have not only the New Mexican food knowledge, but also the German influence, where she is from.

but the rest, I remember when my wife and I were just married 23 years ago, I loved watching Emeril on Food Network, and that turned into watching Rachel Ray and then Bobby Flay - back when Food Network actually taught you technique and how to cook compared to what it is today.

But great thread! Enjoyed reading everyone’s comments here on this.

**FireMan** · February 3, 2023, 09:02 PM

I learned nothing growin up, cept how to fry an egg & put bread into a toaster. I graduated to cookin outside on a cheap gas grill & burnt everything very well cept chicken. I turned chicken into charred wood. But hey, slather bbq sauce, probably Open Pit & you have BBQ chicken. That made it a little moister, very little. That & saliva & you were good to go.
Decades went by & things got worse. Then I met my wife & I thought I had been dropped into paradise. I think it was two or three years before I had the same thing twice. She was a master cook & I was still burnin toast & fryin eggs. Then one day I saw a rerun of Martin Yan & thought mebbee I could do some Chinese cookin. And, it wouldn’t go up against anything my wife put together, feelin I could never approach her skill & knowhow, bein she was a born & raised a Minnesota farm gal & workin in the restaurant business/food service for 30 years. That mix-up with Chinese & the wok began approaching 25 years ago. A couple of years later I got a used Weber & picked up my chicken experiment where I left off decades ago until I watched a Raichlen episode. It was a life changing moment. After acquiring 7 Yan books & a couple of Raichlen’s books my life began to change spectacularly. I am a book nut. I now have a 100 cook books give or take 20.
As much as I learned & grew from my quest for cookin, the real game changer was when I stumbled across Amazin Wibs. I know, I know, it is what I call it. The one thing that stands out in my mind is I had taken delivery of Meatheads & Kenji’s book at the same time & could not pick either of them up due to comin out of a 1 month stay in the hospital from heart surgery. I was weaker than a gummie worm, so it took awhile to build up to holdin Meathead’s book to,start usin it. I must say so, that I am a pretty good cook now as anybody who has been in this here Pit. Ya hang around long enough & it rubs off on ya.

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