Welcome to My Kitchen

Welcome to My Kitchen
Born into a family of great cooks, I get my love for cooking and great food honestly. I am not the best cook...my kids will tell you that! Their grandmother is the best cook by far. Of course I can't argue with them, my dad thinks so as well. My mother was always in total control of her kitchen. The most I ever did in the kitchen while growing up was peel potatoes and dry dishes. Of course, I could never wash them. I had an older sister, Peggy and she was assigned that job. I hated peeling potatoes. It took me years to realize if I peeled the skins off "too thick" and took too much potato with the skins, mom would take over and have me leave the kitchen.
I can remember watching my mom cut doughnut holes from canned biscuits and dropping the ring and the little doughnut hole into the pan and after a few minutes lifting out the prettiest golden brown doughnuts. She put sugar in a brown paper bag and as I held the bag, she would drop the hot doughnuts into the bag. I would shake them up to coat them with the sugar, then take them out and place them on a platter. They were wonderful. Quick and easy and pefect some mornings for her five children. One morning, I was up early and I thought I would surprise everyone with doughnuts. I took the big pan out of the cabinet that mom always used, filled it full of water and cut my biscuits as I waited for it to a boil. I could not have been over 8 or 9 years old. How could I have known it was a pot full of melted shortening that mom always used. When the water started boiling, I dropped my doughnut shaped biscuits into the pan, one by one. What a mess. I had one big glob of dough in the bottom of the pan of boiling water, just as mom came into the kitchen. She was up and ready to fix us breakfast. "Patty Ann! What are you doing?". I tried to explain that I wanted to surprise everyone with doughnuts but I couldn't make them like her. She explained what I did wrong. She wasn't mad. Surprisingly she chuckled and cleaned up my mess. It's no wonder she didn't let me in the kitchten often. After many successes and failures over many years, I can claim I have earned my apron. I will share my most treasured, favorite, and tasty recipes with you.