I say I don't know

The funny thing about this journey I'm taking through a cookbook, is that sometimes it makes me feel better about my own recipes. I mean, certainly there are some things I make that make me think "Holy Hannah I am outstanding!" but a majority of my own creations are things like: Cut fruit in slices. Place goat cheese on slices. Drizzle with honey. Nothing fabulous or phenomenal there.

And then I open a cookbook that has international acclaim, published and republished for over 30 years, and I find a recipe like this. I can almost imagine Fannie standing in her kitchen, having just received a call from her husband informing her that he's bringing his boss and the boss's new wife over for dinner and could she please whip up a pot roast since they've heard so much about her culinary skills. Desperate and slightly deranged, Fannie glances around her fridge and can find only a loaf of bread, a wilty looking onion, and of course, the ever present jug o' mayonnaise. While the pot roast simmers in the oven, Fannie throws these items together and changes into her best dress and heels, arriving from the kitchen with a tray of snacks, just as Mr. Farmer, Mr. Boss, and New Wife enter the home. "Oh this ole thing?" Fannie says with the relaxed air of a woman who knows she's won - "I just threw it together!"

Easy Onion Bites (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 4 slices white bread
• 1 medium onion, very thinly sliced

1. Preheat the broiler. Mix the mayo and the cheese.
2. Decrust the bread and spread with the cheese mixture.
3. Cut each slice of bread into quarters and top with an onion slice. Broil 4 minutes.