A Thanksgiving Recipe?

Sometimes I wonder how my mom got to be such a great cook.  My grandmother was a great cook, so I'm sure that has something to do with it.

She also has a bunch of cookbooks.  More than I would even know what to do with. But each one has its purpose.  Pages are flagged, jackets worn, favorite recipes splattered from years of use.  If you ask her for a specific recipe she goes directly to the right book, and on instinct flips immediately to the right page.

I've started my own recipe collection - digitally.  It's easy to search, add and follow preparation instructions.  I can even add ingredients to my shopping list and sync it with my phone.  Whoa.

But there's something about those books.  The made-of-ink-and-paper, loved and used year-after-year books that make them digitally irreplaceable.  After all, you can't fold down a page on your computer.

A few years ago my step-mother gave me one of my dad's mother's cookbooks for Christmas.  She included a note inside the front cover with her memories of Nana's cooking and some of her favorite recipes.  It's one of the best gifts I've ever gotten.

I'm hoping my mom will one day pass her "great cook" title down to me, along with her collection of cookbooks.  Maybe one day I'll share them with my children.  They'll probably be a little worse for the wear then. I know they'll have a few more splatters (I'm pretty messy). Until then, I'll borrow what recipes I can and try not to burn anything.

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Happy thanksgiving!