How I Turned My Husband Into a Foodie

There’s something you might not know about me and my husband. My parents set us up (that’s a whole ‘nother blog post). That little tidbit aside, my husband got to know my foodie family way before he got to know me. How? My father used to host pizza and mussel dinners for some of the guys in his bowling league. My husband was one of them.  I guess my father used the old adage, “the way to a man’s heart is his stomach,” and wanted to fill him full of good food so he’d stick around and meet his daughter!  

My husband used to be a pretty picky eater before he met my family. I don’t think it was even until we got together that he tried my father’s hot and spicy mussels. Now, we could finish off a pot of those mussels between us! When it came to food, he seemed to stick to the basics. At that time in my life, I wasn’t the best cook.  When it came to cooking, my father used to say that I could burn water. Something had to change if we were going to live happily ever after!

My love of food and the joy it brought to my family drove me to become a better cook.  Not to mention, I wanted to please my man’s taste buds!  Cooking eventually became another creative outlet for me. When my husband and I moved in together and I became the household chef, I loved hearing his praise over certain dishes I made. I appreciated his constructive criticism as well. Eventually, my foodie ways began to rub off on him.

Soon, my husband wasn’t just telling me “good job” on meals that he enjoyed.  He started telling me ways I could improve those meals, too.  We’ve taken inspiration from meals we’ve had at my parents’ house.  One of our favorites is homemade pizza.  We’ve become pizza connoisseurs, in our own right, and have made homemade pizza inside and on the grill.  Our major love of pizza even inspired my husband to build a charcoal grill.  Eventually, he started sounding like my father when he talked about ways he could improve on our pizza making.

Nowadays, my husband’s foodie ways make me laugh.  He’ll crack open one of my HGTV magazines and tell me about an ad he saw for a new ice cream instead of a way to update the house.  We have a Tuesday night ritual to watch Chopped Junior and he adds to the commentary.  He even voluntarily watches Food Network and the Cooking channel.  He’s come a long way, baby.  My husband’s once questionable palate has expanded into one that’s much like my own – curious and wanting to try many different things.  

These days, there’s nothing more that I love than spicing things up together in the kitchen or out by the grill!  My husband’s my very own Salt BAE.  He’s added flavor to my life, our marriage, and he’s even added a pinch to my blog, as well.

If you want to see some of the recipes my husband helped me create, check out the links below:

• Grilled Steak Fajita Pizza
• Spicy Grilled Chipotle Ribs and Potatoes