Welcome to our family cookbook, including recipes we have developed, plus tried and true recipes we have used for years. We both enjoy cooking, and have shared a fun kitchen rivalry during our 50+ years together. We also have had the pleasure of preparing large group meals for our church family on fellowship nights.
Lea is a classic Midwestern cook with cooking experience starting with meals for her family of five brothers and a sister, while her mother worked outside the home. Her father was a former farm laborer before entering his career as an section worker on the railroad, and favored hearty meals of meat and potatoes. A part of the skills Lea learned as a young girl was how to get the maximum number of portions from what was available, and how to flavor it for everyone’s palate. She learned recipes and techniques at her mother’s side, and developed a free form cooking ability that requires no recipes, just a good memory for what ingredients go well together.
Larry, on the other hand, is a recipe cook, although he enjoys experimenting, and often stretches the boundaries of the culinary imagination and challenges the palate. No one will ever forget his green St. Patrick’s Day gravy, or blue mustard cream sauce for Independence Day! His cooking experience spans many years of special grill and roasting techniques, unusual (while tasty) flavor combinations, special basting and flavoring steps, and precise temperature control. His favorite perspective on cooking is pretty presentations . . . good food served with lots of eye appeal. Many of his sauces and rubs have been developed to deliver a complimentary flavor to a dish while adding just the right splash of color.