Mom's best kitchen advice, which she got from her mother was, "If you can read, you can learn to cook." In other words, stay out of my kitchen kid, you're on your own. And she's right, if you're motivated to learn to cook there are TONS of resources out there. I learned to cook 'cause mom worked and she needed me to get dinner started when I got home from school, before she got home from work. That was a great lesson from mom, to be able to take care of myself in the kitchen. She and I are kindred foodies, she clips recipes just like me, but we both never get to try them, because my dad is one of the pickiest people on the planet, and I live alone so no sense making anything elaborate all the time. Mom was never one to entertain though. I love to entertain but don't often have the time.

My two "go to" recipes I got from mom are potato salad and cucumber and sour cream salad, but I don't really have recipes, I just make them the way she did with her ingredients. She and I also share soup making skills, and she taught me how to bake cookies. I also have inherited all the kitchen appliances she bought but never used, including a food processor, my former bread machine, crepe pan, knife set, yougurt cheese maker, etc.

Also, mom hauled me to the farm market as a kid, and I definately developed my passion for gardening and fresh fruits and veggies from her. That's another thing we share. We also both like whole grain foods.

Mom was not a cook. Her claim to fame was the Tamale Pie recipe on the back of the Bisquick box or a tuna casserole with a can of peas dumped in for the "vegetable". I detest both (and canned peas) to this day.

My Mom was famous in my house for her peanut butter and butter "sammitches". My DS, 4 years old at the time, insisted that I call his "Mema" and get HER recipe for peanut butter and butter sammitches. Apparently I didn't have the same knack as my Mom! I called, and she giggled at the request and shared her secret- she put butter on both pieces of bread and then "floated" the peanut butter in between. She also advised that it was crucial that they be cut into exact quarters.
Now my Mom was self taught and very accomplished in the kitchen- everything she cooked was wonderful from pie crust to bread to Beef Wellington.
But I will never, ever forget my son's quest to get his Mema's recipe for peanut butter and butter sammitches.

My mother was known for her fudge...

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Fudge
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 cup marshmallow fluff
1 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cook sugar and milk to soft ball (234°F). Add other ingredients. Mix well and pour into buttered pan about 9"x9". Cool and cut into squares. Makes about 2 pounds
The Boston Cooking School Cook Book 1945

My mother is 86 and still has her mind but she is either unable or unwilling to give organized responses to questions....like exactly how do you make her "napoleon".
Her homemade version, which she hasn't made in forever is something like..
a rich butter, sugar, egg....? large flat hard 'cookie' made in a springform? pan. Make about 10 or however tall you want it.
Layer in btw the hard cookies...yea I don't know what she did there - it wasn't boxed vanilla pudding but sort of similar with another ton of butter, sugar, eggs. Every 4th layer or so sometimes she would do a layer of apricot jam or some other fruit jam. Then frost it with another ton of butter sugar, eggs? I have no idea. The whole thing is a study in pale yellow. Dust with finely crushed nuts. Then you cover it and let it sit for 2-3 days so the hard cookie layers get soft. AMAZING! Everyone drooled and loved it and didn't eat anything else till it was gone. So good with coffee or tea for breakfast, lunch, dinner!

My mother was a terrific cook. I remember she once roasted 21 chickens, one per day, to find the perfect combination of moist meat and crispy skin!

I'd have to say her best recipe was creamed sweetbreads and mushrooms. Without meaning to, she had an infallible method for getting picky kids to eat exotic foods. We didn't have much money, plus my father was a meat-and-potatoes man (weird for a Japanese-American, he hated rice). So she'd save up to buy things like lobster or sweetbreads, and cook them up late at night (she was also a working mother, very rare in those days) to eat them all by herself.

So we'd smell something yummy and go running downstairs in our pj's, and beg for a taste. "Oh, you wouldn't like this," she would claim. "This is grown-up food."

Well, those are magic words to any kid. We'd keep begging and finally she'd give us a small taste. So my sisters and I not only grew up with great everyday food (oxtails, corned beef, grilled Porterhouse steaks [Chicago had fabulous beef, of course] and salmon teriyaki), but also developed a taste for lobster in garlic butter sauce, and those magnificent creamed veal sweetbreads.

When I got older I tried making them myself. It isn't difficult, but the procedure for preparing sweetbreads is very time-consuming, and by this time they had gotten to be both expensive and hard to find except by special order.

I've gotten my DH hooked on them now, and we try them everytime we see them on a restaurant menu. So far the best sweetbreads have been at Andre's Bouchee in Monterey, CA, and the second-best at Fleur de Lys in San Francisco.

But nobody cream sauces them with mushrooms over crispy toast points like my mother did, darn it!

My mom was a good cook but she never seemed to enjoy cooking. Because of that I didn't learn how to cook until I went to college. Don't have any mom/grandma's recipes to share but I am looking forward to some of the best recipes from your moms!

Al

I don't know how to choose. My mother's recipes don't actually work as written down kinds of things. And there is too much wisdom to single things out. So here's a random nugget:

It's the bones that make the arroz con pollo taste right. It might be easier and "diet" to use fillets, but it won't taste good.

My mother was a good cook, and she liked being in charge of the kitchen. So she never taught me to cook. I am self taught, plus majored in foods in college.

She did know how to fry chicken, made delicious buttermilk pie, and the smell of freshly baked pound cake, when arriving home from school.

My mom gave me lots of great advice about cooking and entertaining -- and a lot of other things, too. She still does.

This recipe of hers is always a huge hit at any gathering. We served it after our son's bar mitzvah, and we got so many requests for the recipe, we had to print it in the synagogue bulletin.

I think if you use this much butter on ANYTHING, it would taste good!

Baked pineapple

1 20-oz can crushed pineapple (dont drain)
½ c sugar
2 T flour
2 large eggs
¼ lb. butter
3 slices bread

Beat eggs and mix into pineapple. Stir in sugar and flour mixed together. Toast bread and cut into small cubes. Melt butter in frying pan. Add toast cubes and stir to crisp the cubes. Put pineapple mixture into greased 1 ½ qt. casserole and put buttered cubes on top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

I don't remember any particular advice my mother gave me about cooking, but without question her apple pie was the best in the world. I don't have a recipe although I tried hard to write down her instructions. There's something missing...probably her touch. I do know she grated her apples and it didn't seem to matter that much what kind she used, they were always good.

You may remember me saying I grew up, poor as Job's turkey, in a very rural area...just my mom and us 5 kids. My dad had died when I was 9 and I was next to the oldest. As was the practice if somone died, people in the community always prepared food and Mom's apple pie and her fried chicken were always requested. I can't fry chicken like her either..just a dismal failure, I guess.

jude

My mom's best "recipe" was Thanksgiving dinner - she always made a perfect turkey and her gravy was the best (and she taught us how to make it). And a big bowl of mashed potatoes and rolls and pies. But the best part was having the whole family together - mom and dad, sisters and husbands and eventually grandchildren.

Those were the best meals I ever had.

I can't remember any one particular piece of advice either. I was an observer/absorber.. But Mom's fried chicken was the best. She cut it up differently from any way I've ever had and it was also skinned. The crust was the best - very delicate and tasty. I never learned how she did it because cutting up a chicken, well, I don't want to eat it after I've cut it up!

jude, I grew up very rural too, and very poor at times, although both my parents were alive. We ate a lot of venison, turtle, dandelion greens, berries picked from the National Forest, pheasant, rabbits, squirrels, whatever could be foraged or shot. Not necessarily in season or with a license either, LOL.

My mother was often absent and wasn't much of a cook, although she worked at the local college in food service. Grandma mostly raised me and she did all the cooking and taught me to cook. My favorite dish that she made was blueberry crisp, I still love it and I've posted it here before:

Blueberry Crisp-Grandmas
================
3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, unsweetened
2 tbls lemon juice
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
.
Heat oven to 375. Arrange berries in ungreased square baking dish (8 inch) and sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine remaining ingredients until crumbly.
(I use a pastry blender, grandma used two knives). Crumble topping over berries and bake until topping is lightly browned and berries are hot, about 30 minutes.
Makes 4-6 servings.
Note: I double this and it still comes out good. Plus blueberries are low in calories, have lots of fiber and no fat, contain antioxidants C, E and beta carotene and have been found to be as helpful in urinary tract health as
cranberries. That's why I need ice cream with them, they are just too darned healthy. LOL

My other favorite and a favorite of my family, is her farmhouse white bread. I was seven when Grandma taught me to bake this bread, she said the more I handled it, the better it would be, I couldn't mess it up. Now it's what I make when I want a sweet, eggy white bread and I often use it for making cinnamon rolls:

BREAD (GRANDMAS RECIPE)

1/3 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
2 eggs
1 pkg yeast
1 tsp salt
4 4 ½ cups flour
vital wheat gluten (optional)

Mix milk, butter and sugar, heat until butter melts and liquid is very warm. Add eggs, then beat in flour, salt and yeast until stiff dough forms. Turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 7 8 minutes. Turn dough into greased bowl and let rise in warm place until double. Punch down dough, shape into loaves or dinner rolls and let rise again. Bake at 350 until done (25 - 30 minutes for loaves, 12-15 minutes for dinner rolls)

Makes 1 large or two small loaves or 18 dinner rolls

Annie

My Mom was a wonderful cook and there wasn't anything she made that I didn't like. Besides great food she also made pickles and jam in the summer from produce from the garden. I loved her mustard pickles. My son would sit and eat an entire jar all by himself. Her strawberry jam was also wonderful not to mention her pies. Another specialty item was "wilted lettuce" made with home grown leaf lettuce. She wasn't what you would think of as gourmet but everything was made with love.
Joann

I was hoping for more good recipes but I've got to try that Crazy Crust Pizza, sounds good and super easy too! Yum!

My Mom was a wonderful cook. Everything she cooked was delicious! I just wish so bad I would have made more of an effort to get all her good recipes. Unfortunately she's in a nursing home now and hasn't cooked in several years. A stroke took away all her wonderful recipes! Just want to tell everyone who has their mother(and/or father) still and they are in their sound mind to get their recipes and also write down all the family stories about your relatives and stuff because ever though you've heard the stories a hundred times, you still tend to forget all the details! You think you have all the time but in an instant they can be gone!

My Mom was a great cook but I never recall her using a recipe for anything.

Like Momj47 here best meal was Thanksgiving. A:ways perfect turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes. perfect gravy and warm , fresh baked dinner rolls.

She made the most amazing Butter Tarts but the "recipe" was never recorded : (

Stuffed spareribs was a specialty of hers and, until this forum, I never knew they weren't something every Mom made.

My mom was a great cook. She cooked mainly Greek style peasant food because that's what my dad insisted on. Stuffed grape leaves were her hallmark dish! She made the best, and our family could never get enough of them. My husband especially loved them, so they became his standing birthday, Christmas, and Fathers Day present from her. Eventually, she was unable to cook them any longer, and I took over the responsibility. Here's her recipe:

Yaprakia/Dolmathes
(Stuffed Grape Leaves)

Filling:
1½ pounds lean ground beef or lamb
1 large onion, finely chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup long grain white rice
1 can tomato sauce (8 ounce)
1 tablespoon mint
1 tablespoon dill weed
1 tablespoon oregano
½ cup chopped, fresh parsley (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
16 ounce jar grape leaves (approximately 50 leaves)
Juice of one lemon
Beef broth, chicken broth, or vegetable broth

Remove rolls of grape leaves from jar and unroll. Rinse under cold water and drain well in a colander. Set aside badly torn leaves for use later. Cut stems off grape leaves.

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent; cool. Mix rice, onion and garlic mixture, tomato sauce, mint, dill weed, oregano, parsley (if using), salt and pepper in large bowl; mix well. Add ground beef or lamb to filling ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Lay a leaf, vein side up, in your hand or on work surface, with stem pointing toward you. Place tablespoon of filling (depending on size of leaf) on the part of leaf where stem begins (near center). The filling should form a narrow cylinder; do not over fill or the rolls will burst during cooking. Tuck in side edges to secure filling. Roll from you toward the tip or point of the leaf, forming a small cylinder approximately 2½ inches long and ¾ inches wide. Do not wrap too loosely or the roll will come undone during cooking.

Stove Top Method:
Line bottom of 5 quart Dutch oven with a single layer of the reserved torn grape leaves. Place rolls seam side down in bottom of pot, tightly together in concentric circles, layer upon layer. You want a tight fit so that rolls don't unravel when cooking. Continue until all rolls are in pot. Any leftover filling may be rolled in cabbage leaves or lettuce leaves or made into tiny meatballs and placed on top of rolled grape leaves in pot. (Optional: Cover top with another single layer of the reserved torn grape leaves.) Cover rolls completely with broth and lemon juice.
Place a heavy plate that fits inside the pot upside down, over rolls as a weight to keep leaves from unrolling. For good measure, place a clean rock or stone on top of the plate to secure the plate and the rolls. Cover pot and bring to slow simmer. Simmer gently about 75-90 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from heat when done. Let stand covered for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Baked Method:
Line bottom of 13 x 9 baking dish with a single layer of the reserved torn grape leaves. Place rolls seam side down in rows in baking dish, layer upon layer. You want a tight fit so that rolls don't unravel when cooking. Continue until all rolls are in baking dish. Cover top with another single layer of the reserved torn grape leaves.
Cover rolls completely with broth and lemon juice. Cover pan with aluminum foil that has been greased on inside. Bake at 350° for 75-90 minutes until both meat and rice are done. Let stand covered for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Note: My mom always made the dolmathes in her pressure cooker, so that's how I make them too. It only takes 35 mins.

Yaprakia/Dolmathes may be served hot, warm, or cold. If hot or warm, serve with avgolemono sauce prepared from the broth or with plain, unflavored yogurt. If cold, serve with plain, unflavored yogurt.

My Mother was a very plain country cook. She didn't use many recipes and her best foods were the fruit cobblers she made and the mashed potatoes and the cornbread stuffing she made on Thanksgiving and Christmas. She didn't use recipes for any of those.

My mom is bad cook but a good baker. Unfortunately, or fortunately I don't really have a sweet tooth. My favourite though would have to be the sour cream coffee cake she made.

My Mom was a good cook. She didn't try new things like I like to do, probably because she made the things that she knew her family liked. But she was a very good cook. When she passed away a year ago last January I heard so many stories of how she took people baked goods when they were in need. One young family that had a child born with disabilities told that she brought them homemade bread, a pie or banana nut cake about every two weeks and said she could stay with the baby if the Mom had something to do. We heard many of these stories.

I guess her specialty was peanut brittle. She always made alot of peanut brittle and took it to alot of people in our little small town.

Her Mother, my Grandmother was a great cook. She made the best rolls, cinnamon rolls, carrot cake, fried chicken and the list could go on and on. She made the best breakfast also, she always split yesterdays rolls and toasted them the next morning. I love toasted rolls and always think of her when I toast yesterdays rolls! I don't ever remember having store bought bread at her house.

This post has brought back alot of memories.

Angelaid--my mother, bless her little cotton socks, had tastebuds in her feet. My dad could whip up baked beans, pancakes, and anything grilled, but she opened random cans, combined the contents and hoped for the best.

Still--she did tell me that on the first date, never order the most expensive thing on the menu.

My mother was a good cook & baker. In the kitchen, she blended her PA German & Iowa farm girl heritage with that of my father's German-Russian traditional foods.

Mom owned one cookbook (now with me). I love reading the recipes & even use a few of them myself. I don't know how often she used the book though it was very worn by the time of her death in 1970. That cookbook is, 'The Modern Family Cookbook', Meta Given, copyright 1947.

I especially loved her chicken 'n dumplings. They were the perfect comfort food. She also made a mean meatloaf! The one dish though that I really hated was stuffed green peppers. Oh, how I hate green peppers! lol

As a baker, Mom made all of her breads, cakes, pies, cookies, etc. I am the youngest of her children & by the time I was old enough to be aware she no longer needed recipes for the family's favorites.

We ate simple meals that you would expect to see from the blending of two farming families.

Here is an old family recipe for sugar cookies passed down through my mother's family. It originated with my great grandmother Harriett Runnels (1836-1913) & is from approximately 1855.

HARRIETT MARIAH RUNNELS' CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIES

This makes a LOT of cookies. I use the large 5-6" cutters & get 4-5 dozen.

Ingredients:
2 Cups Sugar
2 Eggs (slightly beaten)
1 Cup Butter (softened)
1 Cup Whole Milk (soured)
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Nutmeg (freshly grated)
5-6 Cups All-Purpose Flour

Glaze: 1 Egg & 2 Tablespoons Water Blended

Cream the softened butter with the sugar until light & fluffy. Add the beaten eggs and continue beating until mixture is light yellow.

Stir in the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground nutmeg.

Alternately, add equal portions of the all-purpose flour and soured milk, stirring well after each addition. When the flour is completely blended into the butter/sugar mixture, you will have a soft dough.

Shape dough into a ball, cover, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours until slightly firm before rolling.

When chilled, divide the dough into two equal portions and return one portion to the refrigerator.

On a lightly floured pastry board, roll one portion of the dough to a thickness of approximately 1/4 inch. Cut cookies using traditional Christmas shaped cutters. Place cookies on a non-greased baking sheet and brush lightly with the egg/water glaze. Sprinkle with granulated sugar or colored sugar crystals. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Cookies will puff slightly during baking. Do not overbake. They should still be white but set. The cookies will be slightly firm to the touch but should still be soft. These are not a crunchy type sugar cookie.

/tricia

Maybe your Mom's don't/didn't need a "recipe" written down on paper but I'm saying get it from them..."hey Mom tell me how to make 'such and such'" and YOU write it down. If we don't do this, these recipes will be lost forever!

Mom was a good cook. Not very adventurous, but wholesome healthy meals were always on the table. She rarely used any prepared stuff.
A typical meal was meat, potatoes, vegetable and a tossed green salad. Always, always served with this "dressing":

No recipe, just ingredients to taste.

Mayo, ketchup, sugar. Yup. That's it.
Sort of a down and dirty 1000 Island dressing.
I've made it myself in a pinch!

I am far more interested in trying new things. I am very fortunate to have a DH who will eat anything I put in front of him (or make his own if I don't want to cook). He also provides great, honest, feedback...gently. LOL

Mom doesn't really cook much anymore since she's alone, but still makes food from scratch.
Typically a salad with lots of veggies and some meat tossed on top. One bowl meal.

I learned to cook without a recipe from her and am grateful for that. I'm not afraid to throw things together to make a meal. I still eat pretty simply as I like to taste what I'm eating.

I don't remember EVER having rice at home (mom thinks it looks like maggots and still doesn't really like it). Pasta only when she made spaghetti. Her sauce was awesome and that's where I learned to like a little sweetness in tomato sauces.
Mostly meat and potatoes since that's what dad preferred and we raised beef!

Fun thread!

Deanna