About Me

Thank you for visiting! There are "zillions" of food blogs out there so I really appreciate you stopping here and hope you will revisit frequently.
 
A child of the 60s, our family cooked and ate together. We had real conversations without the distraction of TV, radios and electronic gadgets. I will always believe the family that eats together develops the strongest bonds.

My family moved to the South in 1975. This 1200 mile move opened up opportunities to be exposed to a new world of seasonings and foods I had never heard of. Over the years, I've collected, tweaked and created literally hundreds of recipes. At the end of the day, nothing compares to a real home-cooked meal. If you love to cook, it is apparent in each and every bite.

"Man, That Stuff Is Good!" food blog is a collection of my favorite tried and tested recipes. Some were originally shared by family, while others by friends and co-workers. The driving force behind this blog was to create an electronic version of all of my recipes. Over the years I would have countless requests for recipes. To make it easier on myself, I would type them up in an email or other electronic document. I noticed my "library" had grown significantly.

Where did the name come from? Andy and I love to cook for our friends and family. We noticed we kept hearing the same thing over and over: "MAN, that s**t was GOOD!". (There is a  Redneck Food and Fun link for a reason.) What a perfect title for my cookbook! Of course I wanted it to be a family friendly resource, so "stuff" was substituted. 

"Man, That Stuff is Good" is my first personal cookbook. I created it at Tastebook.com. It's a collection of 100 recipes I wanted my kids to have when they went to college. This undertaking forced me to measure my ingredients as the majority of my cooking revolved around doing everything "by eye". It was a job, but well worth the effort.

In 2006 and again in 2012, I helped publish two monthly planners full of recipes for the printing company I worked for. Most of the included recipes became new family favorites. When I was delivering copies of the 2012 version in December of 2011, I couldn't believe how many customers were so excited that the food theme was chosen for 2012. One asked me why I didn't have a food column in the newspaper that was a part of the printing business I worked for. GOOD QUESTION! I gave it some thought and was planning on asking if I could contribute a monthly column and before I got around to it, someone else began to cover the whole society section, including food. At that point, the idea for a blog was born.

Because I am a visual person, I felt it would be beneficial to show as many of the steps as possible so even the most inexperienced person could fix a delicious meal. I incorporated many of the recipes from the Tastebook to start the blog, but I didn't have pictures so I'm continually working on improving my first posts.

My best friend Claudia's sweet Mother-in-Law 
proudly shows off her recipe planner!

January 2011 marked the end of an era when I lost my Grandmother Gaudette. Had she lived until April of that year, she would have been 104. She was a very independent lady who lived on her own in relatively good health until the last few months of her life. She was a wonderful baker of desserts. I did not inherit that gene. My memories of eating at her house included what seemed to be a seven course meal for all meals and "coffee milk." The table was always properly set and she was always dressed for the occasion. 

 Grandma Eva (celebrating 100) was a very classy lady who had so much joy and spirit.

With gratitude, I inherited her recipe file. When my Aunt Pauline sent it to me, I couldn't wait to open it! There were some specific recipes I was hoping to find. Sadly, they weren't there. I guess when you live long enough to cook something that many times, you don't need a record of everything you've fixed. 

To help share this family treasure, I created a cookbook with all of her recipes as a Christmas gift to my family. Click here to download a pdf of this book for your own personal use. It is in booklet page format so you can print it out, put the pages back to back, staple and fold. (That's the printer in me speaking!)

When cooking is your "hobby," you can find yourself in trouble if you aren't careful. We started making some better food choices when my husband found himself too close to being pre-diabetic. You will now find a Healthier Options tab.

Everything you find here will be real food with a Southern flair (with a few of my "Northern" roots thrown in for good measure). I like simple, but it's got to taste good and not cost a fortune to fix. I hope you enjoy! 

Five years and 540+ posts later, I'm still enjoying it. I may not post as frequently, but I will continue to share as long as you're happy to visit. I love the comments and emails I receive and do my best to respond as quickly as possible. (I work a full-time job, this blog is a hobby) If you are considering starting your own blog, I recommend you do it because you're passionate about cooking and want to share that passion with others. 

Again, thank you for visiting!

Denise Gaudette Grisham