My Mom Makes the Best ___________

This morning, my son and I made cornbread together. And as I was lifting it out of the pan and smelling its buttery sweetness, I thought to myself, “My mom made the BEST cornbread.”

I’d bet that all of you, my readers, if asked to fill in the blank in the sentence “My mom makes the best ________,” wouldn’t even hesitate. You’d have an answer right away. Maybe it would be something as mundane as meatloaf or chocolate cake, or maybe it might be something a bit fancier, like Baked Alaska or boeuf bourguignon, or maybe it might be something a bit offbeat, like Dirt Pudding or curried hotdogs. But I’m sure you would come up with at least one answer without even having to think. And even if your mom isn’t much of a cook, I bet you could think of something your dad, or your grandmother, or your Aunt Delores makes that’s the absolute best, in your opinion.

I wonder what my kids will think of, years down the road, when asked about my signature dish. Will their favorite be something sweet, like my chocolate fudge cake or my Lime Fascination, something ordinary like my shepherd’s pie or my chicken pot pie, or will it be something that I don’t even think about as being special, like my fish chowder or my pumpkin pie?

Whatever it turns out to be, I only hope that part of the reason they think it’s the best is that they associate it with wonderful times spent together in the kitchen, working and laughing together with each other and with me.

I know that’s what makes my mom’s recipes so special to me.