Behind the Apron: Becky

Who has been the biggest influence on your cooking?
This is a toss-up between my mother-in-law and the internet. My mother-in-law has taught me a lot about preparing meals, weathered many a harried phone from a frazzled daughter-in-law trying to figure out what cut of meat to buy at the grocery store, and has always had a kind word for my efforts even back when they were quite meager. The internet is where I have found all kinds of information and ideas. The recipes I have read online have motivated me to be more bold and try new things.

What is your favorite dish to cook…your signature dish?
Maybe it's my potato soup. My kids love it, and I love it. I've been making it for as long as I can remember, and it was copied from the potato soup my grandmother made for me when I was a child.

What was your biggest cooking disaster?
One time when Cody and I were newly married I cooked some pork chops in the oven that were completely burned on the outside and completely raw on the inside. I still don't know how I managed to do that. I've also loaded up the crockpot before bed a few times and then forgotten to turn it on.

If you could travel to another country just to taste their cuisine, where would you go?
It would have to be France. I recently read Julia Child's memoir My Life in France, and it made me crave the French experience. It would be a totally new world for me because I am not familiar with French cooking at all.

What is something you have never cooked, but would like to try?
I'd love to attempt a spectacular prime rib one day. I've got to work up my nerve first.

What do you consider the 5 most essential ingredients you keep in your kitchen?
Sugar, flour, garlic, cilantro, and butter

What is comfort food to you?
Any kind of stew or soup, anything extremely buttery or fried, and decadent chocolate desserts

What are the ideal toppings for pizza?
Pepperoni, mushroom, green bell pepper, onion, and lots of cheese

What kitchen utensil/gadget can you not live without?
The Wusthof chef's knife my sister-in-law gave me for Christmas last year. I don't know how I lived without it for so long.