Birthdays - Southern Belle Style

I'm not a cook.  And I don't play one on tv.

I can bake, but cooking...that requires a bit of finesse and creativity that I haven't mastered yet.

It comes to a head on birthdays and major holiday celebrations.  You'd think being raised in the South would mean I had mastered all things "kitchen".  Yeah...that is so not true.

Being from the South, I'd also like to think that one day my birthday celebrations would look like the parties in Southern Living.  I haven't reached that milestone yet, but I'm working on it!  But first and foremost is the cooking.  Oh, the cooking.

Mom, me, my sister- flanked by the better cooks...

My mom is a great cook.  Her mom was a great cook.  My dad's mom was a great cook.  My sister is a great cook.  That good cook gene skipped a relative.

I'm a so-so cook.

I have a battery of dishes that I can cook pretty well---but man can not live on chicken nuggets parmesan alone.

Today is my husband's birthday.  (Happy birthday, honey!)

He's requested Beef Stroganoff and cheesecake.  My so-so skills in the kitchen come shining through on days like this.

I won't even go into the story about the ribs I creamated on the grill.  Seriously--black smoke, ashes, pizza for dinner--cremated ribs.  It was a first in the bbq world, I'm sure.  Feel free to laugh.  We still laugh about that one.

The beef stroganoff recipe is from his mom. ( No pressure there, right?)  My guy's parents are coming to dinner tonight. My parents are coming to dinner tonight.  I'm hoping I can do it justice.  And I'm hoping I can actually get it cooked since I haven't even purchased any ingredients yet.

Good thing for me my guy wants a store-bought cheesecake.

Thank you, Lord, for Fresh Market.