Nominated by Cathy Schreiber

"Charlotte is a gifted cook as well as a wonderfully generous neighbor. When we arrived in Dunwoody, we were immediately greeted by a homemade poundcake and welcome note from Charlotte. When our second child arrived, Charlotte spent a full day cooking for us, gracing us with an array of delicacies that included a rosemary-garlic pork tenderloin (melt-in-your-mouth delicious) and a heavenly made-from-scratch blueberry pie with our baby boy's initials baked into the crust. At Thanksgiving, Charlotte made a pumpkin pie that puts all store-bought varieties to shame."

Charlotte Ross Stobierski has always considered herself "a serious cook." She still does, but tending two small children -- one a newborn -- has changed the way she approaches cooking. She is still concerned about preparing tasty, creative and nutritious meals, but no longer can she take hours to get them on the table. Aiming her culinary talents at this challenge, she has developed some remarkably creative recipes that don't sacrifice elegance, taste and nutrition for the sake of convenience.

Family/background: "I'm from Michigan and came to Atlanta 10 years ago via Chicago, where I met my husband."

Career: "I worked in finance within the telecom industry for 10 years. Now I am a mom and a homemaker. I also do portrait photography and specialize in children. I make house calls, because I get much more natural pictures when the kids are relaxed and can be themselves. I also paint murals for children's rooms -- all of which I find to be much more rewarding than finance."

Hobbies, interests: "Gardening. I'm a really serious perennial flower gardener."

Who taught you to cook? "My mother. I really think that cooking is a dying art among women. I think we have finally hit a generation whose mothers are working moms and the family table is not as important as it used to be. I just so happen to have a mother who, even though she worked at my father's business for 30 years, still felt it necessary to do the cooking. She taught me and she also taught my brother. I think it's an important legacy, and I'm grateful."

How did your love of cooking develop? "When I met my husband, because the man loves to eat. He came from Chicago, the land of great food and great restaurants, and he is willing to try anything. When we were in San Francisco, he ate duck feet. He has an adventuresome palate and has broadened my horizons. That's my motivation."

Culinary roots: "Very Midwest. Meat and potatoes. But I have expanded on my roots considerably. I watch the Food Channel, food shows on Discovery, the 'Great Chefs' series. I'm always looking for new techniques and flavor combinations."

Early food memory: "The way my mother used to bake pies from scratch. How she would crimp the dough by hand. I was very impressed. Now I notice you can go to Whole Foods and pay $15 for an apple pie!"

Cooking style: "Serious food in less than 30 minutes. I have found that using marinades, chutneys and sauces is a simple way to turn something run-of-the-mill into something special.

For whom do you cook? "Friends and family. I'm always looking for an excuse to cook something special. I belong to a moms club in the Sandy Springs-Dunwoody area. Once a month the moms come with their children to someone's home and we have a potluck, share recipes and the children play. We all have to come up with quicker meals, and it's nice to share ideas."

Specialties: "My pies. People say, 'Charlotte can do pie.' I bake a lot of them. A homemade pie is something special. I do a nice butter crust and use fresh fruit. It's better than anything you can buy. People think it's very complicated, but I've been able to simplify the process. "

Culinary achievements: "A friend and I cooked a five-course Thai dinner. It took two days, including the shopping and the cooking. That was before the children. My husband says the dessert for that dinner was the best thing he ever had. It was an aromatic dessert made from sticky, glutinous rice with coconut milk and banana layered with azuki bean cake and steamed."

Culinary ambitions: "I would like to take a trip to Provence [France]. A friend of mine who is retired went and just cooked and shopped and ate. It was fantastic."

What is your favorite thing to cook? "That would be pies. But there was one thing I impressed myself with and that was osso buco. I had actually brought dried porcini mushrooms back from Italy, so I was looking for a recipe. I adapted one from 'The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian.' I added the mushrooms and some Marsala, which is a good example of how you can add just a few ingredients to really kick something up. It tasted so professional."

Memorable flop: "I cannot cook yeast breads to save my life. I always make hockey pucks, so I have just given up on that."

Most memorable meal you've prepared: "According to my husband, it was a traditional Polish New Year's Eve dinner that included a pork roast spiked with cloves of garlic, pirogi, sauerkraut, potato pancakes and kolache cookies."

-- Betty Parham

MAIN DISH

Charlotte's Mincemeat Pork Chops

Makes 4 servings

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 25-30 minutes

"This recipe came about quite unexpectedly when I ran out of the chutney I usually use. I've made this dish for new moms and they have always raved, and my husband loves it. It takes less than 15 minutes to prepare, then you just put it in the oven and forget it. Baked sweet potatoes go very well with this. You can add a little Madeira wine to the onions, which adds another dimension to the flavor."

4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) butter

1 to 2 Vidalia or other sweet onions, thinly sliced

4 boneless top loin pork chops (about 1 1/4 pounds)

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup mincemeat pie filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a frying pan over low to medium heat, melt butter. Cook onions until caramelized, stirring frequently, about 20-30 minutes. Spread onions in a baking dish. Place pork chops over onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread 2 tablespoons mincemeat over each chop. Cover dish with foil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until just cooked through.

Per serving: 414 calories (percent of calories from fat, 49), 30 grams protein, 22 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 23 grams fat, 108 milligrams cholesterol, 177 milligrams sodium.

Who are the best cooks? We're looking for Georgia home cooks who deserve recognition for their talents and who have interesting recipes to share. Fax at 404-526-5509, e-mail kitchen@ajc.com or write to Betty Parham, Food Department, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 72 Marietta St. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30303. Give us your name and phone number, as well as the name and number of the cook you'd like us to consider. And tell us a little about what makes this cook special.