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Copyright © 2010 Andrea Langworthy
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Pampering myself after a recent root canal, I decided to see if there was a good movie on television. I landed on the home of tear-jerkers, cable network’s Lifetime channel. I watched one film after another. Interspersed between scenes were commercials for a new series, Mom’s Cooking. “Does your mom have a favorite dish? they asked. Would you like to learn to cook it? If the movies I’d seen hadn’t made me cry, the ads for this cooking show would have. “Boo hoo,” I wailed. “I miss my mommy.”
Billed as a “heartwarming” half-hour, the premise is this: the host takes a person home to Mom’s kitchen where they will learn to cook a favorite recipe from childhood. Maybe one that has been passed down through generations. What I wouldn’t give to be transported to the kitchen on West 49th Street where my mother simmered sauce all day for what was a family favorite, spaghetti. Mom was proud that the meat she browned for the dish wasn’t plain old ground beef. She paid a little extra for ground round. The five of us kids liked this meal so much we had it every Christmas Eve. It was the only thing that could get us away from the tree where we’d been shaking gaily-wrapped boxes all day, hoping to get some idea of what was inside.
As we got older, Mom tried to introduce us to more elaborate cuisine. But chicken cacciatore and turkey tretrazini were wasted on our simple palettes. We begged for porcupine meatballs made from the recipe on the side of the Minute Rice box, beef stroganoff with egg noodles, and sloppy Joe’s made with two kinds of Campbell’s soup and served on soft white hamburger buns. I always stuck my potato chips right inside the sandwich to give it a little crunch.
I missed the premiere of the back-to-back episodes of Mom’s Cooking last Monday morning. “What’s the best dish your mom cooks?” the promo had asked. Curious to see what had happened, I watched the first show later via the Internet. Daughter Ursula, prodded by host Joe C., followed her mother’s instructions and made barbecued ribs and rhubarb brown Betty. My mother made ribs, too. They fell off the bones just like Ursula’s did. I wished they’d made apple crisp instead of brown Betty, though. Just thinking about my mother’s apple dessert makes my mouth water.
After I watched the video, I was sorry my mother and I hadn’t cooked side-by-side more often. Mom didn’t have us kids assist her in the kitchen much. It was a lot easier to do it herself. But she did let us help with desserts. We could use the hand-held mixer to beat cake batter and she let my sister and me, the two oldest, stir chocolate for homemade fudge. We took turns keeping our eyes on the thermometer, too. If Mom had been feeling extra patient, she may have let us shave the semi-sweet chocolate over the double boiler. For sure, we licked the spoons later.
I may watch the cooking show. Or check it out again at www.mylifetime.com. See what you think. My mother has passed on but if you’re lucky enough to have your mom and she still lives in the family home, the two of you could cook on TV. What recipe would you pick? It’s hard to decide, isn’t it? Everything my mom made was scrumptious. I wonder if she’s “up there” teaching the angels how to bake bundt cake. Or lemon bars. Talk about heavenly.