Kswck wrote:
> Parent, other family member, friend? Or did you have to learn on your own?
>
> Mom boiled every veggie to death. Figure ALL pork must be cooked in a fry
> pan covered with mustard and sauerkraut, till it's dead, beef so rare it
> would moo and chicken ONLY in a pressure cooker, or Shake-N-Bake.
> (Don't get me started on her soups-she believed food was to keep you
> alive...taste? 'You want that too? Why?').
>
> Learned on my own.
>

Both grandmothers, but mostly my grandmother on my Mom's side. She
taught me how to make homemade noodles (the skill skipped a
generation--my Mom couldn't do them if her life depended upon it) and
gravy. My dad was also a cook (short order, mostly, in diners and
various restaurants), but he didn't cook much at home. He would
sometimes bake for special occasions. Learned to love cinnamon rolls
from eating his. Picked up a few things from him. My grandfather on my
Mom's side was a butcher. Learned a lot about meat and knives from him.
Picked up a lot of the rest of my love of food and kitchen skills by
watching and reading some of the greats like Julia Child.

Other more recent influences have been Alton Brown, Mario Batali, Ming
Tsai, and Lynne Rossetto Kasper.