Betty Crocker introduces a novice to cooking

I’ve got a bit of a reputation and it all started with Betty, as in Betty of “Betty Crocker’s Cookbook.”

The back story: I entered adulthood with no cooking experience and less interest. The “interest” part changed after I began dating my husband, Joe. I decided to cook for him one Tuesday, my day off. I didn’t own a cookbook. I had never prepared anything more complicated than a fried egg. Not savvy enough to be nervous, I bought my ingredients and then proceeded to Joe’s place. Not long after he got home from work, his friend stopped by and we invited him to join us. I plated the meal: cod (frozen), dipped in egg, rolled in Italian breadcrumbs then fried. The side dish was spaghetti topped by Ragu tomato sauce that I had doctored with ground beef. Though the fish was brown on the outside, it was frozen in the middle. The spaghetti was mushy and the sauce watery. Worst of all, the guys were pretending to like it as my lower lip trembled.

For Christmas a few weeks later, under the tree was “Betty Crocker’s Cookbook,” the 10th edition in 1983.

I worked my way through that cookbook in subsequent months. One of the first recipes I tried was simply titled “Meatballs.” It asked for: 1 pound hamburger, ½ cup dry breadcrumbs, ¼ cup milk, 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce and 1 egg. Mix ingredients; shape into 20 half-inch balls. Cook over medium heat, turning occasionally, until brown, about 20 minutes. Or cook in an ungreased oblong pan, 13-by-9-by-2 inches, in 400-degree oven until light brown, 20 to 25 minutes. 4 servings.

I made the saucy meatballs with condensed cream of chicken soup and sour cream; I made the sweet-andsour meatballs with vinegar and brown sugar and canned pineapple chunks; and, of course, I made the kind that was topped with tomato sauce.

Over the years, I’ve tweaked Betty’s meatball recipe, and some say my version are among my specialties. (Just ask my friend Scott, who often greats me with the question: “When are you making meatballs?”) I use high-fat beef and mix in a bit of pork, about 3 to 1 ratio; I use broth or water instead of milk. I dice my onion and add a squirt of ketchup. I poach my meatballs in a broth or sauce.

I still use my “Betty Crocker’s Cookbook,” evidenced by the fact that the orange cover is broken off and many of the pages are dog-eared and stained. In fact, I bought a copy for each of my daughters.