"Kswck" > wrote in message
...
> 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.

The very basics, my Mom. There were 5 of us kids, and all 3 of my sisters
were picky eaters, and my Dad wasn't very adventurous in eating, so Mom kind
of lost interest in cooking. I loved it, and everyone ate what I made
because Mom wasn't cooking much any more, and I didn't make a separate meal
for each person.

After learning basics from Mom, Justin Wilson, Jeff Smith, Julia Child, and
probably a couple of others taught me more. The "Cookin' Cajun" taught me
that most things don't need to be measured precisely and you don't really
need a recipe. Julia taught me that when you're baking, you *do* need to
measure carefully and mostly follow recipes.

Justin probably got me more interested in grilling, which led to my
obsession with cooking BBQ.

BOB