W2

     When it comes to family dinners and recipes, I have to say that I am pretty lucky. Both my mom and my dad know how to cook mouthwatering meals. My mom is very precise with her cooking. You can't even talk to her while she is in the kitchen preparing our amazing thanksgiving dinner. Everything has to be perfect; from the creamy texture of her homemade gravy to making sure that she has the cheesiest broccoli casserole on earth. I also can't forget to mention her special homemade stuffing that has the perfect balance of spices along with golden brown edges and the perfect degree of moistness in the center. I could go on and on about her delicious thanksgiving dinner, but I think it’s better if I stop before I start to really miss it.

     Another thing worth mentioning about my mom's ability to cook is that she is a great baker as well. Apple pies, sugar cream pies, heresy bar pies, dump cake, brownies, and butterscotch scotties are just a tiny list of some of her favorite desserts to make. She also makes fudge, almond joys, and buckeyes for Christmas treats to give to the family. My mom definitely personalizes her food with her precision in the kitchen and determination to make food she knows her family will enjoy.

   With my dad, on the other hand, he uses more improvisation. He likes to create new recipes, and uses the trial and error technique. Luckily, there are rarely any flaws in his cooking. For instance, my dad's cheesy potato casserole has been through a couple stages. The first time he made the casserole he had added onions to the recipe. I did not like it this way (I am kind of picky), so next time he tried a different approach. He carefully boils the sliced potatoes until they are almost considered to be mashed. He then would put them in the baking pan, add butter, salt, and would load them up with almost the whole thing of Velveeta cheese. Instead of unions this time, he crumbled sour cream and cheddar potato chips on top of the casserole creating a crispy outer layer. My dad knows how big of a fan I am of potatoes (mashed, smashed, loaded, baked, garlic), so this simple but delicious casserole has become one of my favorites. He continues using this technique and has recently been using hash browns, making it his hash brown casserole as well.

     In addition to my dad making the perfect cheesy potato casserole, nobody can beat my dad's famous fall off the bone ribs. I have been to many different steak houses and tried their ribs and honestly none of them compare. I work at outback steak house, where their ribs are pretty good, but still don’t beat my dad’s. He uses a special rub for his ribs that I still don't know what is in it, and uses mouthwatering Montgomery inn barbeque sauce. I have never eaten a batch of his ribs that weren't literally falling off the bone. His ribs have been my favorite meal since I can even remember. For every birthday, my sister and I get the dinner of our choice and my choice is always his ribs with the cheesy potato casserole. Not only does my dad like to try different combinations with every food he makes, but he also likes to get good feedback on his meals. If we don't like something he makes, he feels like he has let us down in some way. He is always worried about what we think, which reflects how much he cares when he creates his special dishes.

   I value both my mom and dad’s cooking and hope that I can someday be passionate about creating delicious recipes for my future family.