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September 22, 2009

Cheryle Finley: Nice kitchen doesn't mean better food

As I watch all the cooking challenges on television, I keep remembering one show in particular where one of the featured cooks lived in a run-down, rented farmhouse.

The kitchen was small by any standards with no modern conveniences. The gas cook stove was wobbly, requiring extra attention when heating dishes because of the uneven heat. That lady from these humble surroundings created a dish worthy of the top prize: $100,000.

After watching the cooking shows, I moved on to the house-buying shows and got a funny feeling listening to some of the people complain about how dated they found the kitchens in most of the prospective houses: “We’ve got to rip out all of it and start over. Take out the cabinets and backsplash and appliances and countertops.”

But if you do replace them with new cabinets and backsplash and appliances and countertops, what do you have? Prettier things. Will you cook any better or will you be any happier doing the dishes? Now, I’m not saying I wouldn’t love to have a remodeled kitchen with new cabinets and countertops, because I would. But that is no longer a high priority.

People sometimes ask me if I have a state-of-the-art kitchen. Not by a long shot. I’m in the process of removing two layers of wallpaper and with each strip of paper removed, I am finding the reason it was papered in the first place. There’s holes in them thar walls. I have cabinets that have been painted three or four times. And, while I have nice appliances, (gasp!) they don’t match!

My daughter, Sarah, invited a dozen or so friends to the house last week and we all gathered in the wreck of a kitchen. But we had a great time and didn’t give any of that a second thought other than the comments that they didn’t remember the first layer of paper with the flowers and birds being there when we moved in. If you are lucky enough to have a beautiful kitchen, enjoy! If not, don’t fret. You can eat pizza on paper plates seated at a card table, surrounded by friends and family. The fun and fellowship is what everyone will remember, not the lack of china, granite countertops or mosaic backsplash.

I’m excited about the cooler weather. Soup season is just around the corner. If you have a favorite soup recipe, please send it to me so I can share it with everyone. It can be super simple or quite involved. I’m willing to spend as long as it takes for a good bowl of soup.

My friend Jean McFadden shared a couple of good recipes. The six-layer casserole is a one-dish meal sure to please us meat-and-potatoes people. The quick chocolate pecan pie is really rich, so a sliver will satisfy your sweet tooth. My cousin, Jim Evans, shared his favorite baked eggplant recipe. This is the one that’s like the dish we all loved at Wyatt’s cafeteria. Plan ahead for this one.

I hope for you a great week and happy eating!



Six-layer casserole

2 cups ground beef

2 cups sliced potatoes

2 cups chopped celery

1/2 cup diced onions

2 teaspoons salt (or less)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup diced green pepper

2 cups canned diced tomatoes

Grease a casserole dish. Sprinkle each layer with salt and pepper before adding the next layer. Place potatoes in the bottom of the dish. Add the layer of celery, then the ground beef, then the onions, then the green pepper. Pour tomatoes on top. Bake 2 hours at 350 degrees. Yields 4 to 6 servings.



Quick chocolate pecan pie

1 pound milk chocolate

1 cup chopped pecans

1 (8-ounce) container whipped topping

9-inch bake pastry shell

Melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave. Fold in 3/4 of the whipped topping and immediately pour into the baked pastry shell. Sprinkle with pecans. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours before serving. Yields 6 to 8 servings.



Baked eggplant

1 (16-ounce) eggplant, peeled

1/2 pound dried bread crumbs

1 small can Pet milk

1/4 cup whole milk

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

1/2 stick butter

1 teaspoon chopped pimento

Dash of Accent

Salt to taste

2 eggs, slightly beaten

Dash of pepper

Dash of sage

2 ounces grated cheddar cheese

Peel and soak eggplant in salt water 6 to 12 hours or overnight in refrigerator. Soak bread crumbs in combined Pet milk and whole milk. Sauté onions, celery and green pepper in butter for 15 minutes. Place eggplant in large pan to boil, cover with water and cook until almost done. Mix bread crumbs, sautéed ingredients and eggplant together; add eggs, pimento and seasoning. Blend well. Place in baking dish and top with grated cheese. Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 30 to 45 minutes or until done.

Address correspondence to Cheryle Finley, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, Mo. 64802.

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