By Kathryn Duda,Special to the Sun Journal

LEWISTON – The women in Rose Butler’s family love to cook. In fact, she has been cooking since she was a young girl. “My mother worked, and I would spend time in the kitchen trying recipes,” she said. Butler also spent time pouring over cookbooks to learn techniques and general cooking tips. Her favorite cookbook to this day is one by Betty Crocker.

Butler also attributes a large part of her cooking inspiration to her grandmother. “She made all of her food from memory and never wrote it down. Her ability to recall recipes was amazing. One time, I asked her for her delicious recipe for molasses cake. She sat down and went through it in her mind to recreate it for me.”

“I mostly love to make pastries,” Butler said. “Sweets are my favorite.”

Butler enjoys having friends and family over for dinner and especially likes summer get-togethers. Her children, Dan and Susan, are big fans of her cooking. “Dan loves my sukiyaki, and Susan prefers my lasagna.” Another big family favorite: her whoopie pies.

While an experienced cook, Butler would like to learn more about Italian food and its preparation. In the meantime, she plans to continue making tried-and-true favorites.

Besides cooking, Butler loves to garden. She prefers to grow flowers over vegetables. She also loves to sew. “I have worked on some quilting but mostly work on sewing. I have dabbled some in jewelry making as well,” she said.

Sukiyaki

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons cooking oil

1½ pounds sirloin steak, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons sugar

½ cup soy sauce

1/3 cup water

1 (8-ounce) can, or ¾ pound, bamboo shoots, sliced (may substitute Chinese mixed vegetables), liquid reserved

1 cup onions, thinly sliced

1 cup celery, sliced

1 (4-ounce) can mushroom stems and pieces, liquid reserved

3/4 cup green onions and tops, cut to 1-inch length

Method:

Preheat electric frying pan to 360 degrees. Add oil when hot. Add meat and brown lightly, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes. In small bowl, combine sugar, soy sauce, and water. Add to meat and blend. When mixture reaches boiling, cover, turn dial to 220 degrees and simmer for 40 minutes, or until meat is tender. Add remaining ingredients, except green onions. Add reserved liquid from canned veggies. Turn dial to 300 degrees. When liquid boils, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add green onions. Cook and stir for 1 minute longer. Serve at once over hot steamed rice, while veggies are still crisp.

Note: Chicken may be substituted for beef.

Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 pound ground chuck

10 lasagna noodles, cooked

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 large can Italian tomatoes

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon sweet basil

3 tablespoons parsley

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1 pound sliced mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

Method:

Brown meat. Mix all ingredients except cheese and noodles and let simmer sauce for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Grease a 9- by 13-inch baking pan with butter. Layer as follows: first noodles, then sauce, then cheese slices. Repeat, saving enough sauce to spread over last layer of cheese. When baking dish is full, sprinkle the top layer with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes uncovered.

Note: You may add sweet Italian sausage to ground beef. Serve with a Caesar salad and Italian bread.

Eclair cake

Ingredients:

1 pound box graham crackers

2 packages (4-serving size) of instant vanilla pudding and pie filling

3½ cups milk

1 (8-ounce) container of Cool Whip

Eclair cake icing

Ingredients:

2 (1-ounce) packages unsweetened chocolate

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 tablespoons butter or margarine

1½ cups confectioner’s sugar

3 tablespoons milk

Method:

FOR CAKE: Butter bottom of a 13- by 9- inch pan and line with graham crackers. Prepare pudding with milk, beating at medium speed until blended, about 2 minutes. Carefully fold in whipped topping. Pour half mixture over graham crackers, cover with graham crackers. Repeat with remaining pudding mixture and cover with more crackers. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and frost with eclair cake icing.

FOR ICING: Melt butter with chocolate. Mix all other ingredients in small bowl. Beat with mixer until smooth. If needed, add more milk. Frost eclair cake and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Note: Dessert can be made days ahead for a summer family gathering.