Nominated by Jenny Shepherd:

"My mother makes dinnertime special, not only in the food she prepares but in the lessons she teaches. While raising six children, she managed to cook exotic meals from scratch almost every night. One memory that repeats itself in my mind is the whole family sitting around the dinner table trying to figure out the meal in front of us, and my Dad saying, 'El, are there any mushrooms in here? What exactly is in here?' She would always smile and say, 'Just try it!'

"Often, dinner had to be a learning experience. One night we were asked to remove our shoes and sit on the floor for an authentic dinner that might be served in India. We did not really like the smell and taste of curry, but what fun to have Mom read to us about the culture in India and why they eat the foods that lay before us.

"We rarely had a 'normal' holiday dinner. Mom sometimes researched how other countries celebrated Christmas and served those foods. Even though we are Catholic, on Jewish holidays Mom prepared traditional Jewish food and told us what it represented.

"We made a lot of fun of Mom for her 'theme nights' and her inability to prepare 'normal' meals. However, all our friends wanted to eat at our house.

"Mom makes a ministry out of preparing meals and her family will always be grateful for the memories. But even more we look forward to the times we can share meals together now."

When Eleanor Moyer cooks for her family, she is doing more than putting food on the table. Her meals are an occasion to open communication, to teach, to learn and to make memories.

Family/background: "I am a short, middle-aged teacher who has made a circuitous journey from Throgs Neck (in the Bronx, N.Y.) along the Great Lakes, out to Los Angeles, back to the East Coast and finally to this charming capital of the South. My husband of over 30 years and I have recently moved here from Griffin. We've gone from a five-bedroom house filled with six children and pets of every variety, to a very small onebedroom apartment. So far, we're loving every minute of it."

Career: "I came to my latest profession of teaching after a roundabout journey that led to graduation from Georgia State for my 50th birthday. Cliche that it is, education really is wasted on the young. I never had so much fun. College life also revealed new areas of cooking to me. Up to then, I had never even noticed ramen noodles on the store shelf. In addition, I discovered all the neat areas Atlanta has to offer for the cook like the DeKalb Farmers Market, Buford Highway, Virginia-Highland. More importantly, I encountered such diverse people whose stories about celebrating with food both inspired me and reinforced my ancestral culinary roots."

Hobbies, interests: "We're building a house in the mountains and that is our full-time hobby."

Who taught you to cook? "I would love to cite my mother as my cooking teacher, but poverty (and five rambunctious children) prevented her from actually teaching me how to cook. What she did was provide the inspiration for excellence and delight that permeates my memory to this very day."

Cooking style: "My mom liked what she liked and that was what we ate. Maybe that is why I have always looked to do something a little different when I prepare meals. One evening I decided to really please my husband and prepare one of his favorites -- liver. I found a version that called for the meat to be marinated (which I thought would disguise the flavor somewhat). He was pleased, only the children and I could not get a morsel down. What I accomplished was a happy husband and six children who never forgot that even I could not clean my plate. I decided to adopt my mom's philosophy."

Culinary inspiration: "Company is my most important inspiration. I know you should always test a recipe before serving it to guests, but where is the adventure in that? Parties just presuppose the unusual. I would never have tried a pheasant potpie, spun sugar halos for confections or grilled goat cheese and mango salad had it not been for friends.

"There is something so intriguing about opening up a cookbook and seeing those black letters against the white page that somehow form a pool you must jump into, like skinny-dipping in hollandaise."

What is the most enjoyable aspect of cooking? "The adventure of exotic spices, inspired combinations and creative presentations give me a chance to be a bit of an artist, a student of culture and a muse for delight and joy to friends and family."

Memorable flop: "My first pie was so tough, my husband's friends had a contest to see who could break through the crust."

Favorite cookbook: "My aunt gave me a copy of 'Joy of Cooking' when I first married. It was my cooking bible. I read all the explanations about cuts of meat, how to skin a squirrel and what techniques to create a tender pie crust. It's that experience that allows you to approach cooking as an art. I can remember the day I finally just put things together instead of being tied to a teaspoon or measuring cup. That's when you know you're a cook."

When I eat out: "When you love to cook, it's a joy to eat out. It gives you the temerity to try all the new cross-cultural offerings that seem so popular in restaurants today. What fun chefs are having! I always try to order the special; my hope is that the chef is being inspired and I want to be at 'Babette's Feast.' "

-- Betty Parham

MAIN DISH

Pork Stew

Make 8 servings

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 3 hours

"This is a soup/stew I've tried to re-create from my childhood memory," Eleanor Moyer says. "My grandparents were German and Irish. This seems a bit more German. Use any economical cut of pork, but do not use a lean cut or it will be too tough."

1 (3-pound) pork shoulder with bone

8 to 10 cups low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock

Bouquet garni (celery stalk tied with bay leaf and sprig of Italian parsley, fresh sage and fresh oregano)

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into medium dice

2 pounds green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

Place pork in a pot that is just bigger than the meat. Add stock to cover. Bring just to a boil; skim the surface of any scum. Add bouquet garni and simmer for 2 1/2 hours.

Remove bouquet garni and discard. Remove meat and set aside. Skim broth of any fat. When meat is cool enough to handle, cut into 1/2-inch dice and set aside. Meanwhile, add potatoes to broth and cook at a medium simmer for 20 minutes. Add the green beans and cook for 5 minutes. Return meat to pot and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add caraway seeds and heat thoroughly.

Per serving: 475 calories (percent of calories from fat, 44), 37 grams protein, 30 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 23 grams fat, 91 milligrams cholesterol, 614 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.