Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

"Memorable" is not necessarily synonymous with "tasty." I love my mom. She is very good with the microwave. And the things she takes out of boxes to heat in it. And she can really sauté vegetables, like really cook the heck out of them...until they take on new forms and textures that render them almost unrecognizable. She's creative that way.

Tasty or not, after an entire day of working, she had dinner on the table for seven (almost always ungrateful) people nearly every night of the week. I don't know how she persevered.

Probably the most memorable - to this day, her 5 children bring it up - was the time when we were very small. She mixed several cans of spaghettios with cans of ravioli and served them out of a single, large pot. It was mystifying in the best way. We had no idea you could do that - spaghettios and ravioli? In the same dish? We thought it was great.

Thank you for participating, and congratulations to our winners:

megumphrey
daisy
no_pam
thursdaynightsmackdown
kati6

Winners have been notified by email.

Mom rarely puts her heart into cooking. About twenty years ago, though, she prepared meat fondue -- that was great fun! And most memorable. Loved cooking my beef and chicken in the hot oil at the table. She also allowed all of us to make our own assortment of dipping sauces. My brother mixed grape jelly with godknowswhat. We all laughed. It's a shame we never had it again.

My mother makes homemade ravioli and Italian spaghetti suace and meatballs to die for. She's Sicilian

Her beef and noodles are the best.

i always loved my moms beef stew