Cooking Influences

While growing up, I had several great cooks in my life. Some of my earliest memories surround being in my Nanny and Pop-Pop's kitchen as they cooked various dishes for our family. In the summer, my Pop-Pop would make us ice cream and waffles. At holiday time, there was a strong Polish influence, with babka, pierogies, potato pancakes, and kapusta, among other family favorites.

My mom never enjoyed cooking all that much, but at the holidays she made a very good pineapple stuffing and mushroom soup. My kids ask me to make peanut blossoms cookies every Christmas, since they remember when Grandmom used to make them.

My father and my stepmom made the absolute best grilled pork ribs in the summer! Dad liked to smoke various birds such as turkey and goose around the holidays; he also had a fascination with scrapple that I never really understood. However, I did enjoy the fried bologna sandwiches he made me when I was a kid!

My step-grandmother, Stella, used to make us great stromboli treats with various meats and cheeses, and kielbasa soup.

I moved out of my mom's house at eighteen and got married at twenty-one, not having a lot of personal cooking experience. But I started collecting recipes and toiling in the kitchen. My husband's family also introduced me to the realm of Czech cookery.

Today

After many years of both recipe successes and failures, I have become a half decent cook. I strive to broaden my cooking skills as much as I can!