Passing of the cooking torch.

Not quite a year ago, my Mom was the head cook in her household. She wasn't just the head cook, she was pretty much the only cook. My Dad was a pretty good barbecuer, but if it came indoors, it was pretty much a "no go." Well, 11 months later my Mom is gone and my Dad has learned how to grocery shop, prepare meals that can be frozen for later consumption, and now it appears he is going to be teaching his grandson the finer things he has learned in a short period of time. I think it's great.

This was a guy who didn't know how to boil water to make noodles, and now he is the "Head Chef." Together, may I present to you the team of "Chef Si" and "Sous Chef Jason." I am sure between the two of them they will make a very mean chili or possibly a really good chicken. Of course, the chicken comes from Dierberg's and is already cooked, but that's beside the point.

I spoke with my son today about his cooking skills, and it appears he has tremendous confidence in his cookie making but it drops off quickly from there. The conversation moved over to his personal life and he said that his new found friend cooked dinner for him. They are going to alternate. I suggested before he has her over for that special dinner that he might want to learn how to cook "something." Something meaning not a " try to see how it comes out meal." He thought pasta, garlic bread and salad might be something he could handle. Hey, that's more than I thought he was going to make.

Cooking is not hard actually---I do not enjoy it---but as I explained, "If you follow the directions, chances are you will come out with a good meal." Deviate off course, and add what you think will taste good, is putting the meal into the "risk area." Since he is still really young, I suspect he will learn to cook and will probably save time and money instead of eating every meal out. This is what he has been doing.

If my Dad and son become really proficient cooks, I am hoping they will eventually open their own restaurant. I know this is not likely from where they are at this point in time, but if they come up with a meal that is just incredible, why couldn't they take it to the next level? That level being guests!

How crazy of a thought is this? Well I know of someone who less than a year ago was not writing on a daily basis and now he writes every day; get this, he has a group of people who actually read what he writes. Now that is crazy.

When I spoke with my Dad, and he told me of the plans, I could not help but laugh. To think that these two will be putting on aprons (probably not) and standing in the kitchen trying to figure out the difference between a dash of this, a teaspoon of that, and cup and a half of whatever, it's something the readers of "Snap.Shot." should know about. For the few of you who are reading this today, I hope you have enjoyed what I enjoyed---the bonding of a grandfather and his grandson.

The photo above is of my Mom and Dad on 4/4/09. Although not a day when anyone felt like joking around---we learned my Mom was very ill that day---it's nice to know that there were smiles on their faces. Perhaps my Mom knew at that point that she was going to be passing the "cooking torch" on to my Dad; but I guarantee she had no idea how quickly that torch would be handed over to her grandson. That's what family cooking traditions are all about.

Thanks for stopping by.