'Cause that's what we always done...

There's an old story...it goes something like this:

A daughter is taught by her mother how to cook a roast. How to season, how to pick the right leg, how to rub in the marinade etc etc. She's also told to cut off each end of the rolled roast.

One day she asks her mum, "why do we do that mum?". "Well, that's how my mum taught me, dear".

So curious as to the culinary benefits of this technique (does it cook faster? does the seasoning blend in further?) she asks her grandmother. "Nan, why do you cut off the ends of your roast?"

"Well, grandaughter, that's what my mum taught me. It's an age old technique...never fails"

So the ever curious girl goes to her great-grandmother, in her nursing home and asks..."Why Grandma do you cut off the ends of your roasts?

"Well" says Grandma "I could only afford a hand-me-down pan, dear, and the one I had was too small!"

I love that story.

And here's my addendum...I've been cooking my famous (in my head, anyway, Shaddap...my universe is just fine thanks) Stroganoff in a frying pan. And I now read the original recipe that I've always (I thought) used says to do it in a medium saucepan!!! 20 years of cooking something one way (because I never had a cook top, the microwave always sat on the stove - don't ask) only to find out, that when you cook it according to the strictly correct method - it's even better!And here it is...sadly looking pathetic...but tasting oh so yummy. That's the pink laminex of my bench tops (they have got to go if I buy this house...some time in 2023 I think I'll afford that).