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Happy Mother’s Day to you, Anne! My mother was a wonderful cook. My favorite cooking memory of her is her sweet gift to my husband following the death of his mom in 1978. My husband grew up loving caramel meringue pie (the version involving caramel using sugar in a cast iron skillet). My mother had never made that pie before but she searched for recipes and would try a new version each time we visited. After four or five tries, she made one that my husband said was just like what he remembered. She loved us well and cooking for us was her love language.

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May 9, 2022Liked by Anne Byrn

Childhood comfort foods are so fascinating - love reading each comment. Mine was Mom's Shrimp and Rice casserole - the binding sauce was a mix of mayonnaise and V8 juice! Sounds weird, right? I've subbed in bloody mary mix for the added spice, but every time I make it, I feel like she's right there alongside, giving me tips on little aspects of the process. Like Bebe, a great Southern cook and a fan of the electric skillet.

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May 9, 2022Liked by Anne Byrn

I'm reading this at bedtime and now I want fried chicken and mashed potatoes & gravy....

I saw that it was cooked in peanut oil. There's some new info and seed oils out:

https://youtu.be/sKR1ZdHXXzo

The AncestryFoundation on YouTube (not the dna site) has some great lectures regarding these & the history of how they came to be so unhealthy.

I found this by accident when I was trying to find information on the temperature of which cooking oil was best. Really opened my eyes!

It's great to know when you cook for yourself but also when you are checking the labels of the food you buy. I had no idea so much was in there. Good reason to cook more of our own food for sure to know exactly what is in it!

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What a lovely post- sure brought back memories! My mom (born in 1940, for reference), was never a fancy cook ( I think she didn't love cooking!), but fried chicken was ALWAYS my birthday meal request! Although she had the electric fryer, the chicken was fried in a cast iron skillet. Also, my grandma on my dad's side owned a Tex Mex restaurant and of course, when I was little, we got fresh tortilla chips from the bin, ice cream, and the fried chicken at the restaurant! I've never even attempted frying chicken myself...thanks for the Mothers Day post!

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