By Janet Peterson

In many homes, wives and mothers are generally the cooks. That women usually wear the chef’s hat doesn’t mean that husbands and fathers cannot cook all or part of the time. One business executive who retired in his forties volunteered to cook, telling his wife that she had had twenty-five years in the kitchen and now it was his turn. He has found immense enjoyment and creative satisfaction in doing so, and she has relished the bonus of time this arrangement has given her. His family lauds grilled salmon as perfect. Many men have their “specialties,” whether it’s Dutch oven chicken, German pancakes, Texas-style chili, or barbecued steak.

One man cooks for his family because he simply likes to cook. He said, “I don’t consider cooking a task. It’s a talent and something creative to do. My love for cooking started after my mother passed away, and I wanted to recreate her potato salad. I kept experimenting until I got it just right. One of my favorite recipes is “Swiss Chicken” [from Remedies for the “I Don’t Cook Syndrome.] I make it several times a month.”

Another man whose wife was in graduate nursing school, was asked by a friend who had stopped by around dinner time, “Do you cook every night?” His reply, “Only on the nights I want to eat.”

Mary Engelbreit’s husband does the cooking in their home so that Mary can devote her time to her art. But they both recognize the benefits of eating home-cooked dinners. She said, “There is nothing more nurturing to family and friends than a meal that is lovingly prepared and presented.” (Mary Engelbreit, Mary Engelbreit’s Queen of the Kitchen Cookbook, Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel, 1998, 7.)

Whether men are cooking dinner by design or default, home cooked food provides both nourishment and nurturing. A father who cooks recognized the importance of family meals and wrote: "We've done our share of things wrong as a family, but one of the things we did right was to insist that the evening meal be a family event. I cook these meals myself and I go to a great deal of trouble over them. We eat good food and we eat it together. My children, who can sometimes seem thankless, have often said how much they appreciate these efforts, and my daughter, who is now away at college, tells me all the time how much she misses dinners.” (Mary Pipher, The Shelter of Each Other, New York: Ballantine Books, 1996, 246.)

Claiming inexperience or ineptness in the kitchen should not be a point of male pride. Learning to cook is an essential life skill. In various stages of life and situations, knowing how to cook can mean survival. Missionaries and college students who can prepare basic meals fare better, are healthier, and spend less on food than those who can’t. Husbands who are able to help out in the kitchen when their wives are new mothers, ill, or pressed for time provide a great gift of love and service. One night my counselor in our stake Young Women presidency and I stopped by her house to pick up some items for the three-day youth conference we were helping to conduct. Her husband was just taking a bubbling peach cobbler out of the oven. Its aroma was indeed inviting. His comment: “I picked these peaches off the tree and couldn’t let them just sit there.” He had time that night, and his wife did not. I know that later when she served on the general board of the Relief Society that he frequently offered his culinary skills in support.

There can, nevertheless, be dangers to men cooking. One year I had surgery a couple of weeks before my birthday. I had been well fed by my good neighbors, visiting teachers, and family when I came home from the hospital. The day of my birthday, however, I wasn’t feeling well enough to go out to dinner and my husband, who cooks some really good things, said, “You certainly aren’t going to cook your own birthday dinner. I’ve been thinking about what to fix. I think I’ll cook liver and onions.” I’m still not sure if he was joking but hearing that nearly sent me into relapse as I have never in all our years of marriage cooked, ordered, or eaten liver! Five minutes later, a neighbor called and said she was bringing dinner. I know she was inspired!

If boys gain kitchen experience when they are young, they’ll be able and willing cooks when they are adults. One mother observed: “I never put stock in the old notion that a kitchen is the sole province of girls and women.

“. . . The culinary arts have all the right ingredients for little boys. For starters, there’s a wide array of fascinating gadgets to play with, not to mention the delicious alchemy of making a mess.

“To earn his Cub Scouts’ Family Member Badge last fall, Nate had to complete the following requirements as described in his official Webelo handbook: Help plan the meals for your family for at least one week. Help buy the food. Prepare at least three meals for the family. . . .

“ ‘I don’t know why you complain about cooking dinner, Mom—it’s really fun,’ Nate said as he seized a spatula and swirled the contents of another saucepan. . . .

“Served by candlelight, Nate’s pan-broiled steak was a remarkable success.

“. . . I whispered an early prayer of Thanksgiving for the Boy Scouts of America, who were providing terrific service for busy families of tomorrow. Though my Cub didn’t quite realize it yet, he’d learned how to prepare the most nurturing gift anyone could offer—the gift of a homemade meal.” (Cynthia LaFerle, “Teaching My Son to Cook,” Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion, October and November, 2000, 116.)

We often hear a phrase offered in blessings on the food, “Bless the hands that have prepared this food.” Yes, bless them---especially if they are the hands of fathers or sons.

These yummy recipes are from Remedies for the “I Don’t Cook” Syndrome by Janet Peterson. Please visit my website idontcook.net (no apostrophe) for other recipes, more information on the strengthening the family at the dinner table, and to order cookbooks.

SWISS CHICKEN
Cyndie Anderson

This could also be cooked outdoors in a Dutch oven.
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
6 ounces Swiss or Monterey jack cheese, grated
2 (10 ¾-ounce) cans cream of mushroom soup
1 pint sour cream
½ cup milk
1/3 cup butter
3 cups Pepperidge Farm seasoned stuffing

Heat oven to 325º F.

Sprinkle chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange chicken in a 9x13-inch baking dish or 3-quart casserole. Sprinkle cheese over chicken. Combine soup, sour cream, and milk and pour over chicken. Melt butter and mix with stuffing. Spread over the top of the cream mixture. Bake, covered, for 1½ hours.

Serves 8.

DILL SALMON
Nancy Hughes

Salmon simply could not be better nor easier.

2-3 pounds salmon (leave uncut)
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh or dried dill weed
1 lemon, sliced
½ onion, sliced

Spray a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil with cooking spray. Place salmon on foil. Sprinkle salmon with salt, pepper, and dill. Arrange slices of lemon and onion over salmon. Seal foil. Grill over medium heat for 20 minutes.

Serves 6-8.

RICE AND MUSHROOMS
Patti Wittwer

Rice makes a terrific side dish.

2 beef bouillon cubes or 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
2 cups water
1 cup rice
½ cup fresh mushrooms or 1 (4-ounce) can mushrooms
2 to 3 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup butter or margarine

In a large saucepan, dissolve bouillon in water. Add rice, bring to a boil, and reduce heat. Cook 15 to 20 minutes. Saute mushrooms and onions in butter in a small skillet. Add to cooked rice and mix well.

Serves 4.


ANGEL’S DELIGHT
Betty Draper

1 (5½-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk
1 (16-ounce) carton sour cream
1 large angel food cake, broken into pieces
1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling

Mix pudding and milk as directed on package. Blend with sour cream. Alternate layers of cake first, pudding second, and cherry filling third in 9x13-inch pan or trifle bowl. Chill to set.

Serves 8-12.