THIS WIKI IS ABOUT GREAT MEALS AND THE STORIES THEY INSPIRE.

And vice versa.

Much of the content is lifted from a book I self-published through Lulu called "You Said a Mouthful: Great Recipes and the Stories They Evoke." I started serializing the stories on a Web site called Recipestories hoping others would send me stories of their own that I'd then post.

Didn't work. So now I'm going to do it with a wiki. Maybe by making it easy, more people will share their recipes and their stories.

I don't have all the recipes up yet. I'll get to them over time. But if you have a recipe AND a story to tell, figure out where it fits in to the table of contents over in the sidebar, then add it. If you have a different recipe and a story for say PanCakes, then add yours to mine, either before or after. If you'd like to add a new chapter or recipe type, do that as well. And, if you want to comment on one of my recipes, please do. Just write a short story to go along with it. It doesn't have to be long; a paragraph will do.

The story may center on an ingredient, where it comes from and what it does to enhance a dish. It may be about the preparation and how the time in the kitchen created a special memory with family or friends. It could be about the people who join you at your table, their relationships, likes and dislikes. Or, the story may root in a past event or snippet of time that was evoked by the food or its ingredients.

To me, the stories are as important as the recipes. When dinner becomes chicken fingers eaten in the backseat or a solitary afterthought to a busy day, life is diminished. It becomes something we get through rather than a source of great memories. I hope that you take the time to leisurely enjoy these recipes in the company of good friends and family and that they help you create memories of your own.

I encourage you to adopt the Slow Food way of thinking. It's all about sharing a passion for good food and wine with other people who feel the same way; supporting local growers and food producers; and simply taking the time to slow down and to enjoy life with family and friends.

Now on to the recipes.

I’ve tried to include in each recipe the hints, tricks and tips that lift it out of the ordinary—the things I’ve discovered that make the final dish not just good, but exceptional.

If you’re like me, you’re interested in recipes more as rough blueprints than rigid formulas. You even try to mess with recipes for baked goods, but have learned not to mess with them too much. Your cookbooks have overflowed the shelves allotted and most likely include a copy of the Joy of Cooking and perhaps The Art of French Cooking and The Escoffier Cookbook.

And finally, you can barely stand to read a whole recipe through. You skim it to get the high points. Then compare it with two or three others for the same dish to see the similarities. Then you want to plunge right in experimenting as you go. You want to get started now.

If I’m right so far, you might enjoy this wiki. In fact, you will probably enjoy changing the recipes around a little or a lot. None of the recipes in this book are in their original form—except for a few dessert recipes and bread recipes that originated with my mother. Even I do not have the courage to mess with them.

In most other instances, I invented them by combining ingredients and techniques from other recipes, developed them from scratch or borrowed liberally from friends. I’ve made every dish numerous times and think they are all fantastic.

The most difficult thing to do was to capture the exact measurements of ingredients for recipes that I’m accustomed to preparing based on the whim of the moment. So don’t feel bound by what I’ve written or anyone else for that matter. Copy, alter, experiment and change the recipes again. If you think your version tastes better than mine, post it. I’ll try yours and tell you what I think.

About me.

My name is Brian Cummings. I've been writing and cooking for most of my 61 years. My career as a writer began as a reporter for the now-defunct Pittsburgh Press and has continued as a public relations professional in both the corporate and agency worlds. My avocation as a chef began with breakfast and has continued with dinners, appetizers and a variety of other edibles.