Happy birthday, part 2: Nosh on!

For my father, there was a very fine line between 'poignant' and 'snivelly.' A few weeks after Lauren, Maddie, and I got back from Europe, I was looking for some culinary inspiration and ran across this gem:

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After he retired, Dad discovered he quite liked taking charge of the cooking and was adept at improvising in the kitchen. One Christmas, he decided he needed to pass on the culinary knowledge he'd accumulated over the years. His 'Guide to Good Nosh' was born.

Thumbing through it, I could practically hear him. Sprinkled throughout the recipes were Dad's unique pearls of parental wisdom.

A few examples:

• His cooking instructions for Salmon Dijon Eh!: "Stick in oven. Pour glass of wine and sip while waiting 25 mins."
• Marinade for kebabs: "Mix and mash, simmer for as long as you like. This also removes odors from most bathrooms."
• Louisiana Crab Cakes: "Serve with remoulade sauce or store-bought tartar sauce if you are planning to prepare the spare bedroom."
• Oven-Roasted Lamb Shanks (notes about the red wine in the recipe): "Any red plonque will do, but I prefer port wine ... The raisins plump up into little port pills!"
• On the red wine called for in his Coq Au Vin recipe: "If you are cooking a lot you can use half wine and half chicken stock -- you miserable cheapskate."
• Serving suggestion for his Rubbishy Lemon Chicken recipe (which shares a page with his Classic Lemon Chicken recipe): "Serve with any old rubbish your laziness deserves!"
• Bashed In Chicken (the first step to making stuffed chicken breasts): "Take a meat mallet, baseball bat, chopper blade or rolling pin and pound the hell out of the chicken. I find it easier if you pick a chicken named Hillary."
• In the tapas section: "Give one to each guest and keep the rest for yourself."

I can almost hear him saying Buenos noshes!