LISBON – Joan Gemme found herself cooking a lot when she had four young children. Now, she said, “My kids think I am crazy because I like to do this.” But she still loves to cook today, and her family has grown to include five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Gemme, who works for Cooper Industries in Brunswick assembling electrical switches, said she often wins cooking contests employees have there. She most recently won the Halloween cooking contest with her apple caramel cake.
Gemme’s favorite dishes to prepare are desserts. She has an eager supporter right at home since her husband, Mark, likes to eat dessert.
She also enjoys cooking for her church and for the Knights of Columbus, where her husband is a member. Because of the great variety of cooking that Gemme does, she said, “My husband never eats the same thing.”
Gemme likes learning new recipes, “I have a lot of cookbooks,” she said. She gets lots of recipes from Taste of Home and Quick Cooking magazines, which she noted have lots of easy recipes.
“I like to watch the shows on TV – that gives me a lot of ideas, too. I like Sandra Lee’s ‘Semi-Homemade,’ very simple recipes,” said Gemme. She is always changing recipes and often adds ingredients without measuring. “I just throw it in,” she said.
Gemme enjoys cooking in her kitchen of her new home of two years because she has a large island that gives her lots of counter space. She put her kitchen to good use at Thanksgiving time, making pies, trifles and sweet potatoes to take to her daughter’s home.
Gemme also enjoys gardening, canning and traveling. She likes to fish and camp in the summer and cook fish, too. With some spare time, she’d like to learn more about cake decorating.
Parmesan potato rounds
Ingredients:
4 medium red or white potatoes, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Method:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place half of potatoes in a greased 2-quart or 11- by 7-inch baking pan. Top with one small onion, thinly sliced, and rest of potatoes. Drizzle with butter. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Bake uncovered at 450 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until tender.
Baked haddock
Ingredients:
1 pound haddock fish
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
20 Ritz crackers, crushed
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put fish in an ungreased 2-quart baking dish and drizzle lemon juice on fish. Mix Ritz crackers with melted butter and brown sugar. Put on top of fish and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until fish flakes.
Creamy peanut butter pie
Ingredients:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup whipped topping (Cool Whip)
10 peanut butter cups
1 9-inch chocolate crumb crust
Method:
In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and peanut butter until smooth. Fold in the whipped topping. Coarsely chop half of peanut butter cups. Stir into cream cheese mixture. Spoon into crust. Quarter the remaining peanut butter cups and arrange over the top. Refrigerate for at least four hours before cutting.
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