Alterations to home-cooked meals are blasted by a sympathetic cook

Dear Abby: Regarding “Recipe for Disaster in Texas” (Feb. 17), I have to say I disagreed with your response. Although Michelin won’t be awarding me any stars, I consider myself a good cook, and I strive to make unique, flavorful meals for my family. My husband feels the need to doctor my recipes, and I think it’s disrespectful of the time and care I took in preparing the meal.

He insists on combining ingredients that don’t belong together. He puts cheddar cheese on spaghetti Bolognese and ranch dressing on chicken teriyaki. He knows this isn’t appropriate, and he would never ask for this modification in a restaurant.

“Recipe” should learn to appreciate that his wife is preparing meals for him.

If he can do better, he can take over the cooking.

— Flavor Queen of

North Carolina

Dear Queen: I enjoyed the responses to that letter about a husband reseasoning his wife’s meals to her distinct displeasure. Some of the online comments made me chuckle, so I’ll share them, too. Read on:

Dear Abby: That wife sounds like an oversensitive control freak. Personally, I can’t handle peppers, but I do like lots of cheese and sour cream on my enchiladas. My wife, who does the majority of the cooking, knows my preference, so she does me the honor of putting more of that on my enchiladas. I also like to dip my fries into mayo instead of ketchup, so she obliges. This is what we do for people we love. We don’t threaten, “My way or the highway, Bub!”

— G.S. in Abbyland

Dear Abby: My husband jokes that he has Mexican taste buds but a white guy stomach. Thank heavens we have separate bathrooms.

— C.K. on the Net