Caution's Cooking Conquest

I cannot believe how many recipes people carry around in their heads!  It seems that any time I

• sit at a ball game
• sit through a scouting event
• sit through a church-related event
• stand in line at the grocery store

people begin to talk food, and that talk turns to recipes.  And that is when people say, "I have the greatest way to make ..."

I love to hear those recipes, but I never remember them. 

Okay, there is one exception.  Years ago while we waited for our young daughters to sell Girl Scout cookies at Kroger, a woman said,

"Put a couple of pounds of beef stew, a couple of cans of tomatoes, and a couple of cans of Bush's Chili Magic into a crock pot.  Voila! Dinner will be served eight hours later."

I love that recipe and love doctoring it with different things. As a matter of fact, it's what's for dinner tonight.

A couple of weeks ago my family went to a party ~ a grand party with the most gracious hosts who know how to cook.  Among the DOZENS of dishes they put out, one held ribs and that prompted me to admit that I cannot cook ribs to save my life.

You should have heard the chorus around that room:

• use vinegar!
• use beer!
• Make Checkered cook!

The woman next to me quietly said that she had the best method ever! Then she told me to do three things, but I knew that was two things too many to remember, so she scrounged up paper and a pen and wrote those things down.  I stuffed that paper into my pocket and found it a few day later.

 She was right:  KILLER ribs !! 

I was going to call and thank her, but my son now says I've been mispronouncing the woman's name for a year (he couldn't have told me months ago????)  I think an email thank-you will suffice; don't you?