My Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown #312
My favorite Mother-in-law's Chicken and Asparagus Rolls
and you know all the whys and wherefores of this countdown, right? Homemade cookbook, friends contributed, Handyman said I couldn't/wouldn't do it, I'll show him, yadda yadda yadda....
...and the rest is cookbook history!
Just remember, the countdown is not all about pretty food and food design---it's about the people and the stories.
And (the most important thing) proving my husband wrong--and that I can and WILL make every recipe in this cookbook
Don't let the pictures or the (kind of weird) name throw you off.
I, too, was skeptical--but once I made them and tasted them, I discovered this is a real fancy appetizer!
Do not go by my photos alone! Serve these cool or at room temperature.
You could even make some fancy dipping sauces. These are yum, yum, yum!
Now comes the story--it's getting harder and harder to think (one, because I'm getting old and two, because memories are hard to think of on demand. Like right now!)
First of all---this is my mother-in-law's 13 appearance in the Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown.
You can check out all her recipes by clicking here.
She was a great cook.
I had my first Lobster Thermador at her house before Rich and I were married. It was so fancy!
She made things like Chicken Curry (I had never heard of curry)
And Frankfurter Puffs---Not just frankfurters, but in puffs! (who knew that a frankfurter was just a hot dog--not me--until I ate one.
And variations of Franconia potatoes (that's what her recipe card says anyway. As far as I can tell, it's just baked French potatoes, cream filled cottage potatoes, stuffed baked potatoes)
These were fancy sounding dishes/recipes to me.
I was in awe. And heaven! I was in heaven because food is a love language, right? Her children loved her cooking, I, just being introduced to the family fell in love with it too.
We were lifelong recipe sharers, so one time I asked her what her favorite meal was as a kid, and she answered in a letter:
I loved my grandmother's homemade chicken and rice soup. I loved plain boiled potatoes. I guess the thing I looked forward to the most were grandma's raviolis and her homemade noodles. I've always loved hamburger patties with the boiled potatoes. My mom made the best red Jell-o with bananas sliced in it and served it with whipped cream.
She served her family Beef Wellington, Lobster Thermador, Chicken a` la king, and yet hamburger patties and plain boiled potatoes were her favorite?
HAMBURGER PATTIES AND PLAIN BOILED POTATOES??!!
And red Jell-O with sliced bananas.
Interesting.
Here is the only photo I can find of my mother-in-law in the kitchen, it was my kitchen, and it also had my sister-in-law, my father-in-law, my mom, and my dad in it. All with big knives in their hands (except for my FIL Phil--he had food. He always had food in his hand)
This was for a big event--maybe one of my kids was getting married and everyone was helping out for the big BBQ after rehearsal.
Shortley after this was taken, my husband and other son had a disagreement. (We owned a small business and he worked for us, but he was also a teenager and well, he might have walked out cuz he was mad at his dad. Okay there was no 'might have'. He did!)
I was mad (tired, anxious, exhausted) at the Handyman because he was going to RUIN this wedding!! I don't know---maybe he wasn't a good boss? (truth is---teenagers should never work for their parents. He is an excellent boss ) I know he was a good dad.
Anyway, I came thru the door to all these wonderful family members helping out and looked at my mother-in-law and said, "The wedding is ruined--and it's all YOUR son's fault" and then I burst into tears.
It got very quiet, and everyone went back to chopping.
Then she said, "I know it is".
And I loved her so much--SO MUCH for not being "that kind of" mother-in-law.
She knew that everything would be fine, and I just needed to vent.
Soon after the Handyman and our son came home, and everything was fine between them.
Wedding was fine, dinner was fine, life was fine.
She was the best!
The best!
I'm throwing in a picture of my in-laws with grandkids (my 3 are in there) taken about 35 years ago.
Happy Cooking everybody---and really, try the chicken and asparagus roll ups. They're good!
Or just have some plain old hamburger patties and boiled potatoes and Jell-o. It's all good.
And this my friends is
recipe #312
Only 55 left to go!
I can do it!
WOO HOO! I am below 100 recipes now. Yay! Yahoo! Whoopie!
