What’s Will B. Cooking for Dinner

Ever since I was young I have always enjoyed watching my Mom cook, whether I was visiting her or one of the sporadic times I was living with her when I was very young. I believe my love for cooking comes from these memories. The one thing that was always present on the counter in the kitchen was her Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

This cookbook was first published in 1930 and by 1938 it had already sold a million copies. Throughout the years it has been updated and re-released. When my Mom was killed some 21 years ago, my sister was the executer of her estate and set a meeting so that all the siblings could including myself could go through some of her possessions and find something, we wanted to remember her by. Before the meeting ever took place, I made it known that the only thing I was interested in was her Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Well it happened to be the one thing my little brother wanted as well. I can’t blame him for that. It broke my heart not to not be the one to get it. In the end I walked away not claiming anything as a keepsake because for me it was the only possession that I felt a deep connection with to remember my Mom. I later purchased my own Better Homes and Gardens cookbook to remember her by.

I collect cookbooks and have roughly 40 or so in our library of books. I do from time to time follow recipes word for word but mostly I use these cookbooks for inspiration for recipes I have enjoyed thinking up. When it comes to wanting to make a meal filled with nostalgia or to stir up memories from my childhood I always without fail turn to my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It never fails to put a smile on my face as I read over the different recipes and remember fondly all the meals my Mom would cook. These are my most cherished memories that never fail to make me happy.

This cookbook I feel is a must in any kitchen and would make a wonderful gift for a young adult striking out on their own for the first time. The book is the end all be all to home cooked meals. It is also filled with a lot of knowledge on how to substitute this for that when you don’t have certain ingredients. It has a weight in measures guide right up front and is filled with lots of tips on cooking as well as covering the basics of cooking.

For my memories of dinners at home it was always the classics I loved best. Meat loaf, pot roast, lasagna and spaghetti to name just a few. Roasted chicken was high on my list though right under pot roast. For me nothing says home comfort food like pot roast with potatoes and carrots. Of course, yeast rolls are a must to soak up the Au jus.

As any good southerner knows you don’t cook meals, you fix em’. What will you be fixin’ for supper?