For more than a year, a group of parents have gathered to try their hand with food.
It’s a Friday night in September, and Kate Benson’s home is humming with the happy voices of the members of her cooking club.
For the past year, a group of parents from the St. Peter and Sacred Heart School in Auburn has been getting together to cook and enjoy a meal together.
In addition to Benson, the members are Cheryl Robert, Missy Moreau, Brenda Moreau, Amy Doherty, Heather Emery, Barbara Girardin, Chris Dubois, Veronica Morrill, Jason Dumont, Valerie Austin and Gabrielle Wallace.
“Once a month we choose a theme, and we bring all the ingredients to one of the member’s houses and have an evening out,” said Emery. They have tried lots of different types of ethnic foods, including Hungarian, Portuguese, French, Italian and Polish. “My taste buds have expanded since this club. A year ago I had never had pesto,” said Robert.
They laugh and enjoy helping each other as they work on recipes that many, if not all, of the members, are attempting for the first time.
“It’s so fun to learn – we just take our time – it’s fun to nibble as you go along,” said Girardin. These parents met in the parking lot at school but realized that that was the only time they were getting a chance to socialize. “We volunteer at the school and cook for the school all the time. It’s fun to get together and cook for ourselves,” said Doherty.
When asked which recipes have been her favorites, Benson said, “They’ve all been good. The themes have all been so different – it’s nice to break up a rut with other people’s recipes.” Last year, when the second-graders had to cook for International Night, the group was there to help Missy Moreau, mother of four. These friends “became my source when we needed recipes.”
“This has been the best thing for me, being a single parent,” said Robert. “We get to go out and we can relate to each other . . . like a fraternity.”
Group members aren’t always cooking just for themselves. Last year at Thanksgiving, they got together at Emery’s home and made lots of different types of bread for the church.
“We’re going to put a cookbook together for school,” said Dubois. And Girardin adds, “We’ve taken pictures (at each of their meetings) too!”
“None of us knew each other until our kids started going to school together,” says Doherty.
It’s clear that in just a year’s time of cooking together, the parents in this group have become good friends.
“It’s fun. It doesn’t feel like work. Everyone just jumps in and helps out. … I strongly believe that food brings people together,” said Emery.
Paprikas csirke (chicken paprikas)
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, minced
About 4 pieces of uncooked bacon
3 pounds of chicken
Half a can of diced tomatoes, or about 1 cup of salsa
1 to 2 teaspoons of pepper paste (found in the supermarkets’ international aisles)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon flour
Method:
Cook onions and bacon until there is a layer of bacon fat and the onions are soft. Add chicken pieces and brown. Add diced tomatoes or salsa and pepper paste, and cook uncovered for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Stir in paprika, salt and enough water to cover ingredients. Cover and let cook for about 30 minutes on medium-low heat. Remove chicken and return heat to high. Sift in flour and add sour cream to boiling mixture and reduce to a sauce consistency by letting a little of the liquid boil away. Return chicken to pot. Serve with galuskas and a spoonful of sour cream. Serves 4 to 6.
This recipe is from Benson’s father, Henry Schaeflern, who emigrated from Hungary in 1956.
Benson’s notes:
For the chicken, I use boneless thighs and breasts. The leftover chicken and sauce can be used for another Hungarian dish known as hortobagy palacsinta by shredding the meat and serving it in a crepe (bought or homemade) topped with reserved sauce and sour cream.
Galuska (dumplings)
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
About 1½ cups water (enough to make a paste that starts to drip off a spoon)
Method:
Stir above ingredients together. Use a dumpling maker or cut thumbnail-sized pieces off a cutting board into boiling, salted water; let dumplings boil in the water for about 3 minutes – until the water starts to rise in the pot. Take the dumplings off the heat and strain. Serve with chicken paprikas or any other dish that would require a pasta or rice side dish. This recipe is also from Benson’s father.
Mediterranean Greek salad
Ingredients:
3 cucumbers, seeded and sliced
1½ cups feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup black olives, sliced
3 cups Roma tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, liquid reserved
Half of a red onion, sliced
Method:
In a large bowl, toss together ingredients and two tablespoons of the reserved oil. Chill and serve. Serves 6 to 8. The recipe is from the Web site allrecipes.com.
Benson’s note:
Here’s one of the salads that started the whole cooking club and is now used beyond our family’s Fourth of July party.
Comments are no longer available on this story