My husband Dave and I have been married for over 30 years. The happiest years of my life, as I’ve probably mentioned before. It’s a 2nd marriage for us both. We each had a teenager living with us when we met, and it’s a long story, but we managed to weather blending a family and even had all 3 of the children living with us for some years. When we met, I was 38 and Dave was 40.

After we met, a 3+ hour blind date for lunch, I invited him to a brunch I was throwing the following Sunday for a group of my friends. After the brunch we went to the beach near us to walk, and ended up at his house because he offered to fix dinner. (My daughter was home with a girlfriend of mine who was staying with me at the time; Dave’s son had been away for the weekend and returned just in time for dinner.)

After we arrived at his house, I asked Dave if he liked to cook, and he said “sure.” Thrilled that I’d met someone who enjoyed cooking like I do, I sat back with a glass of wine in my hand as he cooked a fairly simple dinner of steak on the grill, baked potatoes and all the trimmings, plus a green salad with bottled dressing (Catalina dressing, if you remember that one). I didn’t offer to help (he remembers this). For such a simple meal I thought two cooks in the kitchen might be a bit much.

In the subsequent weekends when we got together, usually at his house, he prepared 3 more dinners (I remember this) – grilled country ribs with bottled barbecue sauce, salad and garlic bread. The third meal he made a big stovetop dish of chicken (in his new set of orange Le Creuset). It had onions, peppers and zucchini cooked with it. And he also could grill chicken with the same said bottled barbecue sauce. In that time I think I’d fallen in love with him. As he tells it, it’s a good thing because those four meals exhausted his repertoire of cooking. Period.

As I learned within a short time . . .when Dave’s son came to live with him (when he was 11, about 9 months or so before I met Dave) he really didn’t cook. He had a job that required a lot of after-work schmoozing with customers, and happy hour food was Dave’s dinner of choice. He was in electronics sales and had an expense account. Most weekdays he took customers or distributors out for a very hearty lunch. Dinner didn’t need to be big, so the happy hour food was fine for him. But with a hungry 11-year old boy at home, he had to figure out something. He learned to do hot dogs (maybe hamburgers), and those 3-4 dinners I mentioned above. They lived on that, in constant rotation, having left overs on the nights in between, and going out at least once a week. Out of desperation, his son learned to cook some himself. In fact, he really got into it, and one weekend I was visiting HE made eggs Benedict, which were really good. I was impressed.

So, the rest is history. I took over the cooking. Really, as I learned quickly enough, Dave doesn’t even know how to cook. He enjoys good food – the eating of it – but even after all these years, he still doesn’t know the how of cooking. He does help now and then, especially if we’re entertaining – if I show him how to do something, he’ll chop onions, or watch a pot or stir something. He’s a whiz at washing dishes. He puts everything away (not always where it’s supposed to be, but at least he finds a home for every item I use). I’m very grateful that he doesn’t mind – in fact he loves washing dishes.

Last week I was reading Charmian Christie’s blog about her and her husband’s 11th wedding anniversary, and she told a cute story about discussing with him what his favorite foods were when they’d met – steak, turkey, scalloped potatoes and apple pie. Then she asked him what his favorite foods are now, and he rattled off a list – all things she makes and things he’s crazy about.

Therefore, after reading about that, I turned to Dave and said: “Honey, what were your favorite things you liked to make and eat when we met?” He looked at me. And stared. And said “uhm, steak, I guess.” I said “that’s it? Steak?” I waited, and there were no additions. So, I went on. “Okay, so after 30 years of marriage, what are your favorite things I cook?” He looked at me again, blankly. [I was expecting him to rattle off half a dozen things that I make that I know he loves.] At that point, we actually had a short discussion about his perception of our meals – he thinks that because I write a food blog I never cook anything twice.

Surely, I needed to correct him about THAT. So I went to my Carolyn’s Favs list on my blog and asked him about most of the recipes. Some he doesn’t recognize by the title. But, yes, as soon as I listed some or explained something about this one or that one, he said “oh yes, I love that.” “Yes, that too.” “Sure, that’s a really good one!” He finally agreed that yes, there are lots of favorites, but when put to the test, he absolutely couldn’t name them. He loves to barbecue, and he thinks he’s pretty good at it (I agree). As I read the items, I made some scribbled notes. I thought it might be worthy of a blog post – to tell you which things I prepare are HIS favorites. Only the first one (steak) is in order of importance:

Ribeye Steaks with Amazing Glaze – indeed, steak is still his #1 favorite dinner. And it’s really the meat he’s after, not necessarily the sauce, but yes, he remembered the sauce.

Baked Onions with Thyme – very easy baked onions with red wine and dried thyme. They’re a family favorite over the holidays, particularly.

BLT Salad – Love this salad, especially in the summer when tomatoes are at their peak. Dave loves all the bacon in it. I think.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Apples – For several years I made this soup every Fall. It’s on the sweet side, and is not a quick one to make since the squash, onions, apples, etc. all must spend time in the oven to reach some caramelization.

Cabbage Patch Stew – one of my favorite soup-stew type things too – this one goes back to the 1960’s; has a scoop of mashed potatoes on top. Very simple to make. With ground beef and kidney beans.

Calabacitas con Crema – There is something unique about corn, zucchini and poblano chiles all mixed up with a jot of cream in it. Dave’s favorite “veg” is corn.

Corn, Green Chile and Cheese Dip – Dave could easily make this his entire meal. He professes to not like Mexican food very much, but he loves this stuff. It’s hot and you dip tortilla chips or Frito scoops in it.

Cranberry Relish – Dave didn’t think he’d like this when I first made it for him (our first Thanksgiving together), but oh yes he does! Since he’s diabetic, he can’t have much of it (I use part Splenda) but he enjoys every morsel with turkey or on turkey sandwiches.

Cream of Cucumber Soup – COLD – He surprised me with this one – I haven’t made it in a couple of years, but as soon as I mentioned it he said yes, he really liked it a lot.

Crisp Apple Pudding – I make this 2-3 times a year, for sure. My mother’s recipe. I use part Splenda for Dave’s sake. It’s not so sweet you couldn’t even have it for breakfast. It has a crispy dough top, no oatmeal or crumbly stuff. Lots of cinnamon.

Crumbled Asparagus – he actually DID remember this one as soon as we discussed veggies. Dipped in mayo and Parmigiano cheese, roasted at high temp. Very easy and absolutely addictive.

French Hamburgers – this is a Julia Child recipe. It’s not put in a bun, but pan fried and served with a red wine and butter sauce. This recipe is THE most re-pinned recipe from my Board on Pinterest.

Garlic Green Beans – this recipe came from a friend of Dave’s (Meredith, a beau from college days). It’s her recipe, and it’s an absolute winner. My friend Cherrie makes this all the time, too.

Greek Lamb with Pasta – this is a recent recipe in my repertoire. What makes it is the Feta cheese sprinkled on top. It’s a sensational dish and feeds a bunch of people (8, with just 1 lb. ground lamb). Dave loves lamb any time, any day.

Ham and Egg Cups – A great brunch dish – thin slices of deli ham, an egg, some fresh tomatoes and a dollop of pesto. Baked in the oven. Very easy.

Kurobuta Ham – you might think a ham is just a ham, but even Dave knows now that Kurobuta (Berkshire pork) ham is something else again. He loves the mustard sauce that goes with it too.

Lemon Velvet Ice Cream – I’ve tinkered with the original recipe a bit, but it does remain one of our very favorites – primarily because we have 2 lemon trees on our property and the Meyer lemon juice is just so good in this.

Monterey Scalloped Potatoes – I only make this once or twice a year because it’s so rich and decadent. Made with Monterey Jack cheese. Not difficult.

Joan’s Pasta Salad – Our friend Joan makes a wicked basil-scented pasta salad. Not difficult. Has Feta cheese in it. Relatively healthy as well.

Pork Loin Roast with Apricot Glaze – what makes this is the apricot sauce on the side. It’s intensely apricot-y. Dave loves pork roast, but this one especially because of the apricots.

Grilled Salmon on Watercress Salad – Dave just loves this dish and often asks me – if he spies salmon on the counter – if I’m going to make it with the watercress. He particularly likes roasted red, yellow and orange bell peppers alongside. Makes a great presentation.

Shepherd’s Pie with Chipotle Sweet Potatoes – truthfully, I haven’t made this in a couple of years – and every time I do fix it, Dave raves. Make 2, and stick one in the freezer. It’s standard shepherd’s pie, but uses sweet potatoes flavored with chipotle to give it a kick.

Savory Tomato Pie – or, another version I did more recently – Tomato Corn Pie – make one or the other when tomatoes are in the peak of flavor. Contains mayo (I think that’s what Dave likes about it, although you can’t tell the mayo is there, exactly).

Watermelon Salad with Feta & Mint – I just made this last night and we both dug into the bowl for more, even after we’d finished dinner. There’s something about the salty Feta and the sweet watermelon in combo. Last night I used basil, but it’s best with mint.

Zucchini Gratin – An Ina Garten recipe. Not difficult to make, but does require a whole lot of slicing. It’s the topping that makes it, and that’s what Dave loves about it, I think.

What I haven’t pictured or listed here are the standard salad dressings I make all the time. The ones with asterisks are my regulars that I make in erratic rotation. He loves all of them, including the ones that contain blue cheese, although if you ask him he’ll tell you he’s not a fan of blue cheese dressing, or blue cheese in general.

I enjoyed writing this list, and read the entire story to Dave (to make sure I hadn’t veered from the truth anywhere – I didn’t). I asked Dave about that chicken dish he used to make in his new Le Creuset pan. I decided to go hunting – would you believe I found the original plastic spice mix bottle that Dave used to use in that dish? It means it’s at least 30 years old. I was shocked when I opened it to find that it still has a nice scent. We’re going to make it tomorrow, so you’ll hear all about it. Maybe I’ll get Dave to make it – that would be especially fun for me! I’ll take pictures. I have a brand new pan that will be perfect for it. If it’s all that good, I’ll order more of the seasoning mix, which is still available.

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