Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Cooking Is An Art

Thank God it’s Monday, again. I personally look forward to all Mondays, as they’re my 52 Chances a year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with you! Therefore, happy Monday.

#TheRecipeDetective

#NationalCulinaryArtsMonth

July celebrates, among other things, National Culinary Arts Month. Mom believed that cooking (and baking) was an art as much as it was a science – often working like a chemist in the kitchen, trying to identify the various ingredients within a product through a variety of senses – scent investigations, visual exams, taste tests, and other experimentations.

Mom made copycat cookery a new art form when she pioneered the movement over 50 years ago. Then she re-developed it, using her own “short-cut cookery” process – some of her recipes used unlikely ingredient combinations that were unheard of at that time, such as mayonnaise instead of oil and eggs or cake mix instead of flour, sugar, and the like.

Before she began writing and publishing her own newsletters and cookbooks, Mom also wrote many satirical stories and editorials in her syndicated columns, about not being a good cook when she and Dad were first married. However, Mom was actually, to me, a combination of Copperfield and DaVinci, creating magic and art in the kitchen!

Mom learned about the “art” of cooking (and baking) from her own mom, who could make a simple casserole look like a 5-star restaurant dish; as well as from Dad’s mom, who could make a pound of hamburger seem like it’s two pounds.

I only knew Mom as a great cook, myself; so I don’t know how much of her stories were totally fabricated for humor’s sake and how much were “fish story” truths. But, like any craftsman, Mom was always learning new things and fine-tuning her kitchen skills, through her many experiences over the decades.

There’s a great article at EliteDaily.com, called Cooking Is An Art: What Makes A Chef An Artist, Craftsman And Visionary, by Colt Taylor (July 3, 2014) that I’ve enjoyed reading and re-reading, again. Check it out.

FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…

Excerpts by Gloria Pitzer, as seen in…

Gloria Pitzer’s Secret Recipes Newsletter (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair MI; Sep-Oct 1987)

MADE WITH LOVE

WHEN YOU COOK WITH skill, you need experience and knowledge – plus, courage to risk various combinations of ingredients of what you might only suspect will be compatible enough to produce a harmonious result. The divine principle of good cooking is not a secret!

It is taking pleasure in the activity, in the information previously retained and called upon through the facilities of memory. The spirit of good cooking is individualistic. It is not shrouded in mystery – but in love, for what you are doing and for whom you are doing it! (p. 1)

SOMETHING MORE

NO TWO COOKS ARE ever going to have identical results with the same recipe. If such a promise accompanied all recipes, cooking would be an exact science – which it is not. Cooking is an art BASED on science.

A recipe is a guideline, not a litigation. Just as you can’t tell which way the train went by looking at the tracks, neither can you tell how difficult a dish is by looking at the recipe! (p. 2)

FAMOUS DISHES AREN’T REALLY ALL THAT DIFFICULT TO DUPLICATE

THE FIRST THING YOU have to do is stop thinking of yourself as a COOK and start thinking as a CHEMIST! You want to take a substance and try to discover its individual components – whereas most cooks make the mistake of starting with one ingredient and building around it.

Your task is to take the final result and break it down… working backwards from the creations of the skilled cook, who usually stirs up a piece of culinary artistry with just a ‘pinch’ of this and a ‘dollop’ of that and a ‘dash’ of something else.

Start with questioning yourself about the food you wish to duplicate… What color is it? What’s the texture like? How is it flavored? And how is it prepared?

You must have something to which you can compare it – a basic recipe from which you can draw the ingredients that lay the groundwork for a duplicated masterpiece. The only way to duplicate a dish is really to taste and test, over and over, until you eventually achieve what you feel are satisfactory results. (p. 6)

“COOKING IS MORE than turning on the stove and opening the refrigerator. It’s pleasing people! It’s caring about what they might like to eat. It’s doing your best to prepare and present the dishes so that mealtime is not just a daily routine – but an occasion.” – Gloria Pitzer, Reliable Recipes For Reluctant Cooks (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1983, p.6)

Mom had a unique talent when it came to determining the sources of flavors and deciphering the ingredients in a food product or dish, using all of her senses and self-learned knowledge of food chemistry. Mom became a food/culinary “influencer” long before social media made it a thing.

She had a special talent for promoting herself and her unique creations. Right from the start, Mom had formed a seemingly natural friendship/partnership with radio “talk shows”. She did many TV “talk shows”, as well, but she felt much more “at home”, literally and figuratively, during her radio interviews.

#GetToKnowYourCustomersDay

#IndependentRetailerMonth

Mom always knew who her target audience/potential customers were, where to find them, and how to entice them to check out what else she was offering through her promotional, by-mail-only, “Free Sample Recipes” sheet. Grabbing their initial interest is half the battle when you’re building a business.

By the way, Thursday, being the third Thursday of the third quarter (for 2024), is Get to Know Your Customers Day, among other thigs. More on customer courtesy and independent retailers, from Mom’s memories, in my next blog post. For now, back to art (and science) of cooking…

MORE FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…

As seen in…

The Secret Restaurant Recipes Book (National Homemaker’s Newsletter, Pearl Beach, MI; Jan. 1977)

[COOK OR CHEMIST]

FAMOUS DISHES AREN’T really all that difficult to duplicate. The first thing you have to do is stop thinking of yourself as a COOK and start thinking as a CHEMIST! You want to take a substance and try to discover its individual components – whereas most cooks… [start] with one ingredient, building around it.

Your task is to take the final result and break it down… in other words, working backwards from the creation of the skilled cook, who usually stirs up a piece of culinary artistry with just a ‘pinch’ of this and a ‘dollop’ of that and a ‘dash’ of something else.

Start with questioning yourself about the food you wish to duplicate… What color is it? What is the texture like? How is it flavored? How is it prepared? You must have something to which you can compare it – a basic recipe from which you can draw the ingredients that lay the groundwork for a duplicated masterpiece.

The only way to duplicate a dish is really to taste and test – over and over until you eventually achieve what you feel are satisfactory results…

Restaurants do not always cook from scratch so don’t be disappointed when you find that a ‘duplicated’ recipe employs the use of prepared mixes, because that is the way most of today’s food service businesses do it.

Most of what you eat in the corner diner where the truck drivers stop for good, home cooked, hot [meals] is the same basic food you would also be served in a fine hotel, supplied by the same food manufacturing firms that also stock our supermarkets… The secret of the restaurant’s success is more in the management than the food.

“COOKING IS ONE of those personal accomplishments that afford us all the opportunity to express ‘talent’. We love being approved of. In fact, we eat it up! It’s the little pat on the back that gives us the incentive to continue trying. And where else, but in the kitchen, can you try to win approval with such satisfying results.” – Gloria Pitzer, Mixed Blessings – Recipes & Remedies (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; March 1984, p. 15)

Culinary arts refer to a broad field of creative and technical aspects of food preparation and cooking, which includes methods, presentation, safety, menu planning, and the like. When creative ideas combine with ambience, the look and taste blend together to create a coherent overall experience for the consumer.

Cooking is a skill you learn as you go – whether professionally, with a college degree, or independently self-learned/self-taught. You can advance that skill to the science of preparation, as well as to the art of serving. OrangeCoastCollege.edu says: “If the kitchen is your happy place and cooking or baking is your passion, you can make it your career…”

LAST THOUGHTS…

“Food/culinary influencers” are social media content creators who have built and engaged a large following around their love of food. They use their platforms to share recipes, cooking tips, restaurant reviews, and food photography with their followers.

Food content creators or bloggers are always coming up with new and fantastic recipes. Part of the job is knowing where to look for inspiration! There are many good sources out there, including cookbooks and magazines, as well as friends and family. Many are willing to share their secrets. Mom always said, “…Great recipes NEED to be shared!”

12 Tips on How to Become an Influencer, by Erica Santiago (May 22, 2023), says: “An influencer is a person with the ability to [sway] consumers to purchase a service or product by promoting, recommending, or using them on social media.”

Thanks for visiting! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my memories of my mom, her memories, and other related things. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at [email protected]. You can also find me on Facebook: @TheRecipeDetective.

IN CLOSING…

In honor of TODAY, being National Give Something Away Day and National Tapioca Pudding Day, here’s Mom’s copycat recipe for “Tapioca Custard”, like Hedge’s Wigwam (Royal Oak, MI) and Greenfield’s (Detroit, MI) once served in the 1970s.

This recipe was part of her original recipe cards collection, from the 1970s, and re-printed in her self-published cookbook, The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes_© Book (Secret Recipes^TM, Marysville, MI; June 1997, p. 34). As always, asking only for proper credit if you care to share it.

#GiveSomethingAwayDay

#NationalTapiocaPuddingDay