Nominated by Jackie Gootee:

"When we married 17 years ago, my husband, John, was determined to be a modern partner and handle half of the domestic burden. When I asked if there were any restrictions, he said, 'I just don't want anything to do with water.' That eliminated the dishes, bathrooms, floors and laundry. (To this day I grudgingly admire him for cutting such a wide swath with a single sentence!) By default, that made him our primary cook.

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"Now I am the envy of most wives I know. One of my single girlfriends comes to our house every Wednesday for a home-cooked meal. We sit down and eat dinner together as a family at least four nights a week. By my calculation, that means John has cooked us more than 3,000 meals. I think it's time for a more public thank you."

A deal struck early in their marriage has led John Gootee on a creative culinary adventure. Along with mastering dishes both exotic and home-grown, he has managed to make his table a warm center of family life.

• Family/background: "I'm married, with two daughters. I am the oldest of four brothers. I was born at the dawn of the age of freeze-dried convenience foods. My childhood home was being filled with cans and boxes of processed foods."

• Career: "Software developer, real estate investor."

• Hobbies, interests: "Cooking, volleyball, scuba."

• Who taught you to cook? "I'm mostly self-taught. Any culinary technique that I have comes from watching lots of the Food Network."

• How did your love of cooking develop? "Doing it five or six nights a week for 17 years. You can either love it or hate it."

• Culinary roots: "I don't have any roots. I've kind of started my own tree. I've picked up things everywhere I've lived. I learned to love basic American heartland food in Indiana, Mexican and Asian food in San Francisco and pulled pork barbecue and vegetable plates in Atlanta."

• Cooking style: "Adventurous and persistent, but not consistent. I try to replicate whatever I've enjoyed in restaurants. I don't measure much and am constantly tweaking recipes to add some variety. I frustrate my wife when I make something that she likes and then change it the next time I make it."

• For whom do you cook? "My family: Jackie, and daughters Alison and Georgia. Also many friends, especially Melanie, who eats with us every Wednesday."

• Culinary ambition: "To have my daughters cook all my meals."

• Early food memory: "My first sentence was 'I like beans.' "

• What is the most enjoyable aspect of cooking? "I enjoy putting on some music, pouring a glass of wine and unwinding after work while I'm cooking. I also enjoy how cooking brings my friends together."

• Specialties: "Rosemary-encrusted roasted pork tenderloin, bourbon-marinated grilled salmon fillets, BLTAJA (bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, jalapeño and apple) sandwiches, pork and shrimp pot stickers."

• Culinary achievements: "I once won the grand prize in a recipe contest. I also once made broccoli in such a way that my wife enjoyed it [covered with butter and pepper in foil on the grill]."

• Culinary ambitions: "I would like to learn much more about the subtle spicing of Asian and Indian cuisine."

• What is your favorite thing to cook? "Spaghetti and meatballs. It's a social cooking process. You can take your time and have other people participate. Also tomato sauce is tasty for bread dipping at almost every step of its cooking."

• What is your favorite thing to eat? "Fresh corn on the cob."

• Culinary pet peeve: "When the DeKalb Farmers Market is out of stock of something."

• What's the magic ingredient that makes some cooks turn out great food? "Dijon mustard."

• Do you have a tip for today's cooks? "Don't overcook meat. Buy a meat thermometer and use it."

• Favorite cookbook: "The High Museum cookbook."

• Favorite chef: "Even though I've never eaten his food, I like Mario Batali on the Food Network. He explains the historical and cultural roots of Italian cuisine. Also Alton Brown. He gives the nuts and bolts of cooking technique rather than talking extensively about the centerpiece on the table."

• When I eat out, I like to order: "Pasta, pork barbecue, California rolls."

• If you could prepare a fantasy meal for anybody, who would it be and what would you cook? "My wife, Jackie, is my cooking inspiration. When she's out of town, I buy frozen dinners and fast food. I would make her all her favorites: lobster, crab cakes, filet mignon, garlic bread and a choc-choc-chocolaty dessert."

— Betty Parham

MAIN DISH

Dilly-Dilly Chicken Sandwiches

Makes 4 servings Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 20-30 minutes

These sandwiches combine breaded chicken cutlets with roasted red peppers and caramelized red onions. Cook onions and chicken at the same time to cut cooking time. Choose a large, meaty breast, since you will need to slice it into medallions. When cooking the chicken, don't crowd the pan. Do in two batches if necessary.

1 large red bell pepper, sliced in half vertically and cored

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large red onion, cut into rings

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced into 4 thin fillets

1 egg

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

2 cups bread crumbs

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

8 slices sourdough bread, toasted

Preheat broiler and place the oven rack on the top setting. Flatten both halves of bell pepper and place, skin side up, on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Broil until skin is blackened and blistered, 2 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and place peppers into a paper or plastic bag and close. Set aside for 5 minutes to steam. Remove the skin and slice the pepper into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium-low heat, add oil. Sauté onion slices until caramelized, about 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, place chicken pieces between plastic wrap and pound until 1/4 inch thick. In a bowl, beat egg and teriyaki sauce. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then coat with bread crumbs. Once all the chicken is coated, lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In a large pan over medium heat, melt butter. Sauté chicken until brown on each side. Set aside. In a bowl, mix mayonnaise, mustard and dill. Spread dill sauce on four slices of bread. Place chicken on remaining slices and top with onions and peppers. Press slices together into sandwiches.

Per serving: 521 calories (percent of calories from fat, 44), 29 grams protein, 45 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 25 grams fat, 93 milligrams cholesterol, 945 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.