Our Gift to You: Mom's Cookbook

Before Mom passed in 1994, she made a cookbook of her favorite recipes from her travels and friends around the world. It still has some “vintage” recipes, but the layout and instructions have been updated. It’s a gift from our family to you. You’re welcome to share it with friends. It’s located on my Google Drive, but you can view or download from this link.

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

What’s in the book?
The book is designed to be viewed on computers, as a PDF on a tablet computer in the kitchen or printed out. It can be bound and added to your kitchen collection. It has a horizontal layout to ensure easy viewing.

The recipe index is on Page 3. The recipes are listed alphabetically by food types. The broad categories are Beverages, Soups, Salads, Vegetables, Dips & Sauces, Casseroles, Cookies, Candies & Desserts, Breads & Pastries, Pies and Cakes. The dishes range in complexity from Caramel Sauce, which is literally peeling the label off a can and cooking the sealed can in a pot of water, to the PTA Layer Cake - a challenge for anyone.

About Mom
Mom had many interests and facets. Marjorie was born during the Great Depression. She loved the colors red and mauve. She joked that it was “mauv-elous.” She had sophisticated tastes and could tell unbelievable - yet true - funny stories from around the globe.

She grew up in the inner city of Chicago. Her mother died when Mom was very young. She was raised by her father. Although she had a lifelong love of food, she never learned to cook during her youth.

She got a degree in Special Education from Loyola University Chicago. She was also an artist like her mother. She could crochet, draw, paint, arrange flowers, sew, make elaborate paper dolls, and much more. She married my father, William “Tex” Hancock, who was a boot camp trainer at Great Lakes for the U.S. Navy. Together, they traveled the world and had four children who knew how to eat!

Dad initially taught Mom how to cook basic foods. Much of this book features the basic food that fed our large family and any friends who happened to be around the house. Much of it can be made quickly and in high volumes with over-the-counter items like canned chili or frozen pie crusts to fill gaps and save time.

Cultural influences from their friends and worldwide travels are scattered throughout the book. Dad eventually retired from the Navy and they settled down in Richardson, Texas. Many festive parties with happy friends occurred in our house and around the pool.

Later, the artistic side of cuisine appealed to Mom. She loved parties and enjoyed making special moments with snacks, finger foods and lots of wine. Between her travels and curiosity, she experimented with making more difficult dishes. However, she often said, “Every meal is five minutes away from dog food.”

Her last few years were spent living with my devoted sister, her husband and their daughter. She originally wrote this cookbook for family, friends and clients. The whole family contributed in one way or another to produce the first version of this book in 1992. This book is an edited and updated version.

Mom died in 1994. The book is a toast to Mom.

I've Got Your Six!

Mark M. Hancock, GRI, MRP, AHWD
REALTOR, New Build certified
214-862-7212
DFWmark.com