Aislinn Macnamara‘s post a few weeks ago had me thinking about the times Husband compared my cooking to his mother’s.  When he was The Boyfriend, I knew I was headed for trouble when he exalted his mom’s skills in the kitchen.  And rightly so.  Dinner is always a culinary adventure at her house.  And she makes the BEST salads.   But if the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, I was going to need a four-course gourmet meal to compete.

One time I decided to make him a meatloaf.  (For those who know me, this is BEFORE I developed my meatloaf phobia.  And I’m completely positive these two things are unrelated.)  It smelled fantastic and looked divine.  Then-Boyfriend took one bite and exclaimed, “Where’s the cheese?”

What the who now?  The cheese???

Apparently, my mother-in-law puts a layer of cheese in the middle of the loaf.  (I think she also adds tomato sauce.)  It’s what Then-Boyfriend knows.  It’s what Then-Boyfriend wants.  It’s what Then-Boyfriend didn’t get.

I think he’s used to my cheeseless meatloaf now.  Fortunately for him, though, I’ve pretty much stopped making any meatloaf at all.  (See above for aforementioned phobia.)

It’s not all bad, though.  A few times he’s told me whatever I cooked was BETTER than his mother’s.  (Sorry, Dottie, if you’re reading this.  Your cooking is AWESOME regardless.)  Of course, I don’t remember what those dishes were.  And my Tuna Noodleriffic recipe came from her.

And there’s also the story of the corn side dish.  Who the heck ever thought to combine corn with sour cream?  Bacon?  Sauted ONIONS?  But it was Then-Boyfriend’s favorite side dish, so one day I called his mom and got the recipe.  Then-Boyfriend came over for dinner and I served him his plate.

Him:  What’s in the corn?”
Me:  Bacon.
Him:  Oh, my mother makes it this wa… HEY!
Me:  *fist pump*

At least that time, cooking like his mom  was a success.