7 Years and Counting

Happy Anniversary!

 Today marks the big seven for "Man, That Stuff is Good!" 

What began as an archive of recipes of all the good food I've cooked over the years is here to stay. I may not post every week but there's still plenty going on and more to come. I have so much left to share!

When a seventh anniversary rolls around (in terms of marriage) the traditional gift is one of copper.

Copper has crossed my mind several times this weekend. A gift bag I received yesterday had copper foil lettering on it. With 30 plus years in the printing business, I paid attention to it. Then there was the copper skillet in which Andy cooked up sausage and eggs this morning. Later that morning, "Pennies from Heaven." Not in the sense of an unexpected financial windfall, but a sentimental one. As I was going through some old stuff after breakfast, I found two hand-written notes that stood out. One from my Dad after a visit to MD Anderson where he was a patient and another from his Mother, my Grandma Eva.

Over twenty years ago, my parents made a trip to Connecticut to visit family, attend a reunion or some other gathering. Upon their return, my Dad had a box of a whole set of Guardian cookware that my Grandma had put aside for me. It was important enough for her to jot a reminder to see that this cookware made the 1100 mile trip to my home.

They're an unusual style of cookware, one that was popular in the 40s or so (think Tupperware parties). Not surprising, each piece looked as good as the day she purchased them. My Grandma always took good care of things. To this day, I primarily use two of the many pieces she sent--the roasting pan and the dutch oven. The pots weren't made of copper, but those two sentimental "pennies" I found were welcome gifts today.

Now, "A penny for your thoughts." Two days ago I learned of the passing of Joe Cahn, the "Commissioner of Tailgaiting." I totally forgot he was the force behind the creation of the New Orleans School of Cooking, which we attended a few months ago. He had a larger than life personality and was a lot of fun to be around.

I met Joe though my friend Jeff--the Bar-b-Gator man--close to twenty years ago. He had rolled into town to attend a Titans game or some other event known for smoking and eating barbecue. It was at that time he shared his Jambalaya recipe with me. Our family and friends have enjoyed it numerous times as it was a "must fix" dish for Super Bowl games. I searched the blog to share the recipe link with the announcement about Joe's passing and realized I had not ever posted it. How could that be?

And then yesterday, I was standing in the kitchen putting together a barbecue sauce and reached for the "Joe's Stuff" seasoning we picked up at the New Orleans School of Cooking. OMG. THAT JOE'S STUFF! THE JOE.

It's a small world. The love of cooking and enjoying good food with our circle of friends makes that circle even larger.  Thank you for being a part of my world.