I got my mother to LIKE MUSHROOMS!!!!!

2008-04-15T17:49:31Z

Now, I know that you don't actually know my mother, so you can't possibly have the slightest clue as to how big of a deal this really is. My mom, bless her heart, is probably one of the least adventurous eaters (and cooks) of all time. Our mealtimes, while I was growing up, mostly consisted of some type of hamburger casserole, any variation on hot dogs (beans & weiners, hot dogs cut-up in a sauce), Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, or maybe for Sunday dinner, overcooked pot roast. I assume that is why, when I got married at age 18, I weighed about 95 pounds soaking wet and didn't have a clue as to how to prepare a meal. The only attempts I had made at cooking prior to getting married were a failed cake-making attempt (I forgot the leavening) and what I made in 8th grade home ec classes.

I have been unsuccessful for years in getting my mother to try two things specifically, mushrooms and any type of Chinese food. My husband and friends have been raving for years over my homemade cream of mushroom soup (which is a freeform recipe using almost any type of mushrooms which are first sweated in truffle oil). Since mom isn't a soup fanatic anyway, I knew that wasn't the place to start to try to make a mushroom believer out of mom. I decided the best place to try to make the convert was at her birthday party, hosted at my house. First, I planned the meal for 5:00 p.m., good strategy when dealing with seniors because they usually eat about 3:00 p.m. and are well on their way to bedtime by 5:00 normally. By the time they all arrived they were well on their way to wasting away from not eating all afternoon. I pulled out a old tried-an-true favorite, a stuffed mushroom appetizer featuring bacon and cream cheese (how can you go wrong with bacon & cream cheese?). At first, I had a hard time convincing her to try a teeny, tiny mushroom. She tried it and even took another before I announced that it was time to come to the table for dinner.

I knew it was a success though when my husband told me later that she had gone back into the living room and eaten the last two stuffed mushrooms after she finished dinner in the dining room! Success!!!

Now, time to take the wok on a road trip to the parent's house and work on that Asian-food aversion......

tealtbird

I got my mother to LIKE MUSHROOMS!!!!!