1. MEATLOAF: Love it as a platter meal or as a sandwich. My mother used to put hard cooked eggs in the middle, each slice of meatloaf had a circle of egg in the center. As kids, my sister and I would eat all around the egg, which we savored for last. She hates meatloaf.

2. BEEF STEW: Just give me a huge bowl of this stuff, loaded with beef, potatoes, onions, celery, corn and anything else on hand. It’s even better the next day and the next. She won’t touch the stuff and makes grilled cheese sandwiches instead. My daughter-in-law makes extra for me. Thank goodness, because she hates beef stew.

3. CHILI: The hotter the better! Lots of dark red beans, diced jalapeno, onions, loads of ground beef, even some corn, El Paso seasoning (more then recommended), and crushed red pepper and extra chili powder. Either I have to make it or I get some when my youngest son makes it. She hates chili.

4. SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS: What a perfect combination and even better with hot sausage added. Lots of thick sauce, thin spaghetti, and loads of mixed parm and Romano. I use almost 6 ounces of grated cheese in one sitting. I don’t cut the spaghetti, I love to twirl it around the fork (using no spoon) and devour it. She hates spaghetti & meatballs.

5. POT ROAST: What can be better then a slow cooked, tender pot roast with mashed potatoes and a dark, thick gravy? Add brussel sprouts for your greens, lots of fresh grated peppercorns and I can sink into lala land. She hates pot roast. A close substitute is that a restaurant named Fressers on Route 28 in Randolph features a fresh brisket sandwich on dark rye every Monday and Friday.

6. CORNED BEEF & CABBAGE: I don’t care if it’s point or flat cut, dark or gray, as long as it’s cooked slowly and is accompanied by tons of moist cabbage, large chunks of carrot, and, one of my favorite veggies, turnip. Then you have to slather on either Gray Poupon or spicy deli-type mustard and dig in. I yearn for St. Patrick’s Day and haunt every joint in a five-town area that offers it. She hates corned beef & cabbage.

7. SHEPHERD’S PIE: Maybe it’s a throwback from my school days when it was a staple on the menu, but I love the stuff. This is one item she has never made in our 38 years of marriage. She draws the line on the stuff and I’m not sure why. Once in a while a restaurant will offer it as a special. Ruby’s Dinette (formerly Daddy O’s) offers it anytime, it is a menu staple. She hates shepherd’s pie.

8. KIELBASA & SAUERKRAUT: This one I don’t understand because she’s Polish. You’d think she’d be all over this ethnic staple. My mother was Polish too and we had it all the time. Nancy’s Grandmother was an absolute queen when it came to the stuff. That woman made the world’s best sauerkraut. I think she actually added apples to cut back on the acidity. Now that both have passed I rarely eat it unless I make it myself using canned sauerkraut. She hates Kielbasa & Sauerkraut.

9. LIVER & ONIONS: I adore liver, did so even as a kid. Evenly battered and fried perfectly on both sides, I love it buried with piles of sautéed onions. Every now and again you can get it at local restaurants and I jump on it. She hasn’t even though about making it for me in years. Probably because she hates liver & onions.

10. ROAST LEG OF LAMB: Lamb is a real treat for me. Every now and then I’ll venture out and find a Greek restaurant and drool over the stuff. She refuses to make it, says it smells while it’s cooking. I watch the ShowTime Rotisserie commercials (we even own one) and wish she would "set it and forget it" for me. No such luck, she hates roast leg of lamb.

There you have it, my top 10 list of foods that I love and she hates. They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Apparently she is one of those liberated women who says balderdash to all that. Instead she announces "I’m not your mother, besides your stomach doesn’t seem to have suffered any without all those foods." I suppose there could have been somebody out there who would have pandered to all my gastronomical whims, but I never would have had such a wonderful time for these 38 years. I guess I’m just a hopeless romantic.

While he was at Shaw’s he also bought a great big pork roast and stew beef. I guess he thinks 10 pounds of meat in the freezer might serve as a hint. Okay, I can work with this. I’ll slather a mustard and brown sugar mixture over the roast and encrust it with chopped pecans. His stew meat will morph into a beautiful beef burgundy with no problem. Two can play at this.

I like the way older people eat. They have a cup of soup, a few crackers, a mug of tea and a cookie, and they’re stuffed. That’s exactly what people our age should be doing except on holidays. Oh no, it’s Thanksgiving and Christmas every day for him because he’s become spoiled. His whole life is an endless celebration of food which comes as no surprise since I’ve tasted his mother’s cooking. Once he found out that there were alternatives to Spam and Miracle Whip, his appetite took flight.

I have made pot roast and meat loaf and shepherd’s pie during our years together, but he didn’t recognize them because they weren’t swimming in orange grease. On the nights when I’m not cooking something he’s bound to hate, he buys the greasiest pizzas in town. I get the fireplace going with one match using those boxes as kindling.