by Beverly Hicks Burch

Created on: January 05, 2008

When I married my husband four short years ago I discovered a pleasant surprise - the man can cook! I have one thing to say about that: Yeehaw!

At first his favorite fare to cook was southwestern since he is from New Mexico. Not only did I learn to cook southwestern, but did he ever cook me some great dishes. I learned there were some must haves and staples to keep on hand for his adventures in the kitchen: green chilies, enchilada sauce and tortillas. Yes, these are must haves for a southwestern cook.

I later added a quesadilla maker to his growing closet of gadgets and I wasn't sorry I did. He (and we) have turned out a variable number of quesadillas that are limited only by our imagination. The maker is similar to big waffle maker, but very easy to use and turns out a great product!

His culinary endeavors haven't stopped there. Oh, no! The man makes fresh pasta. Yes, I said fresh. With his pasta machine - no kidding.

Many times he has said he wishes had become a chef when he was younger. All I have to do to see the light in his eyes is bring home a new kitchen gadget or stuff one in his stocking. Garlic press, juicer, a new set of non-stick cookware, and a bread machine the possibilities are endless. He even keeps the charcoal filter changed in the gourmet coffee maker.

Deep in side, hubby had a secret passion burning for the grill. Burn baby, burn! Let me tell you something, you can not go wrong if you get your man a grill. It ranks up there with a car and maybe sports. Grills come in all sizes and price points.

Sunbeam use to make a little table top gas grill that ran off a bottle of propane gas and cost about $30. Of course, you can spend thousands if you have the cash. Hubby is the proud daddy of a Weber and he says he's never going back.

Since acquiring his grill I have accused him of having an affair with that grill - he has spent hours trolling the internet like some men troll for porn. He's looking at grilling gadgets, tools and recipes. I kid you not! I'm usually sitting right by him on my laptop doing something else. He even takes cooking classes online.

And the food he has served me, well, folks all I can say is that it has been gourmet quality. As a result, I will feed his habit with whatever he needs to keep it up. Our spice cupboard runneth over and we have things I never had heard of before. Sherry Vinegar, anyone? So far I have provided him with several grilling cookbooks, tongs, mitts, shish kabob skewers and a handy dandy little contraption called a Weber chicken roaster.

This little jewel enables you to cook a variety of different types of tasty recipes of "beer can chicken". Believe me, it's safer than ramming the south end of a whole bird on a can of beer and hoping it doesn't shoot off the beer can like a missile and a heck of a lot more tasty, too. Why? Well, you can vary the ingredients. The roaster also allows the fat to run off into a tray so that the bird doesn't sit in the fat. Presto! It's healthier. There is even a cookbook that offers about 100 different recipes for "beer can" chicken. Yes, I got that one for hubby, too.

For the last couple of years, he has cooked our holiday turkey on the grill. He soaks it overnight in a special brine and then roasts it on baby Weber. It is the best turkey I've ever laid my lips on. So, trust me, invest in a grill for your man and cultivate his inner chef.

What is he waiting for now with baited breath? A pot rack. I guess that is like a king's counting house - once he has all those pots up and hanging on the rack he can sit back and count and rejoice.

Learn more about this author, Beverly Hicks Burch.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.