My mother, Naomi Speakman Cherry, was a wonderful cook -- a gourmet cook before it was the rage. Born and raised in Louisiana, her recipes bore the influence of the French. And I'll be cooking several of her holiday recipes at Thanksgiving and Christmas. That's primarily because my family and our guests expect me to. But it does bring me great pleasure because it's like having a bit of my mom with us for the holidays.
Add to that that my daddy was a respected and celebrated dinner guests throughout the fine restaurants of America, which was because of his acute knowledge of food and wine.
So you can see that I have no choice but to love to cook.
As I got older, I tried to acquire an appreciation of the cooking styles of TV chefs Julia Child and Craig Claiborne, but it just didn't take. They cooked so differently than my mother did, and I thought their recipes were unnecessarily convoluted. If I chose to cook one of their dishes, I always tinkered with it and modified it.
Interestingly, once I found and became a disciple of Ina Garten ("Barefoot Contessa") and Emeril Lagasse, I was able to hone and bring my cooking to a level I could be proud of. And that's because they both cook like my mom taught us.
<<==Ina Garten
I suggest that if you plan to give anyone a cookbook this season, that you pick one of Ina Garten's or Emeril Lagasse's. Their recipes are so interesting, both to make and to share at the dinner table. (See the bottom of this post for my two recommendations.)
And even if you have only a smidgen of talent in this area, you'll be successful.
There was a wonderful choral group in the '50s called "Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians." Perhaps you remember them. But even if you don't you'll surely be familiar with Mr. Waring's invention, the Waring blender. It was the original blender.
This Christmas season, the Waring company is introducing the Waring Popcorn Maker. While it's a cut 
down version of the kettle popper used at movie theaters, it uses the same principal.
They are available from Sur la Table (On the Table) for $99.95. The regular price is $190. It's a great addition to a media room, and a fine present for kids, and dad and mom, too.
The best of the cookbooks are Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa at Home and Emeril Lagasse's Emeril's Delmonico Cookbook.
Emeril's is in honor of one of the finest restaurants in the New Orleans Garden District on St. Charles Avenue. We used to eat there after church on Sunday when I was a student at Tulane. Emeril added the restaurant to his stable a few years back.
Both cookbooks are easily available at bookstores and on the Internet.
BILL CHERRY, REALTORS
DALLAS
Our 44th Year Selling America!
214 503-8563
800 314-7110
Hey, great post. Thanks for sharing. I'm glad you like to cook. Good food is an important part of life.
Bill,
I always imagined you to be an outstanding cook.....full of passion, imagination and, the most important ingredient, love.
I'm a big fan of Emeril's too.....now there's someone who injects passion and love into cooking.
Jo
I too love to cook. My apron says, "Never trust a skinny cook".
Bill,
Great story, and thanks for sharing. I also learned many cooking tricks from my mother. I often think of the wonderful meals she would prepare.
I hope you will share some of your favorite recipes with us.
Boy are you a Foodie! My Brother is hosting Thanksgiving this year....I'm making two pies (ones I've never made before-Cranberry/pear and pumpkin/vanilla/ginger-) I always like to experiment !
Miss Joanie, Richard, Evelyn, Jo and Charlotte --
Jo probably hit it on the head. Good cooks begin by being passionate about the task. Thanks to each of you for sharing your thoughts. And to Miss Joanie, you're much more brave than I....your experiment...but I'll be darned if that pie with the ginger doesn't sound like it'll be a REAL winner.
Bill