The picture is blurry, but it is clear that my two year old son is having fun, elbow deep in ground beef, making meatballs. The photo was taken in my apartment kitchen in Milan, Italy where I started teaching Sam how to cook. At 24, he is still cooking and making meatballs, though he now creates them from ground lamb and flavors them boldly with cumin, garlic, smoked paprika and lemon zest. There were plenty of years when Sam was more interested in eating than in cooking. He has always been an adventuresome eater, loving anything Italian of course, but also richly spicy dishes from around the Mediterranean. As he has gotten older, in college and now that he lives on his own, he has become an excellent cook. He often spends the better part of Sunday shopping for ingredients and cooking for the week ahead. I love helping him work through his recipes, a rich beef stew, turkey chili or vegetable and grain salads. He and his roommate hosted a dinner party recently, serving Carbonara, rotisserie chicken and roasted vegetables. I am always impressed by the photos he sends me of his creations. They look delicious and make me proud. He has learned the essential pleasure (and thrift) of cooking for himself and others. I have taught him well.
