Who knows how to cook better than Grandma? Think Grandma's best dishes, times a few hundred. The First Grandmothers" Club cookbook, A Legacy of Love, Cooking from the Heart, contains favorite recipes from 350 club members, plus specialty recipes from local cooking celebrities.
The First Grandmothers" Club is all about promoting the best interests of all children. Lenda Richards, who at the time was director of volunteers at the Parenting Center, started the club back in 2002 when she was a new grandmother.
For Lenda, this phase of life was surprisingly full of love, joy and excitement. It also brought her a heightened sense of concern for all children. She wanted to share this love and concern with other grandmothers. She also sensed great potential in banding together with other grandmothers to help local children who were not as fortunate as their own grandchildren.
She called 12 of her close friends, grandmothers all, and asked them each to call 10 friends to see if there was interest in starting a club. And what a response! At the first meeting, 120 grandmothers showed up. Today there are more than 350 members.
The club has volunteered with, raised funds for and developed projects to support myriad agencies including the YWCA, Red Cross and the Parenting Center - all to enhance the lives of local children. The newest project, a special bench at the entrance of our Fort Worth Zoo, will be donated in memory of all our local children.
This is where the cookbook comes in. Proceeds from its sales will go toward the cost of the bench. It's a win all the way around - cookbook purchasers discover fabulous new recipes, our zoo receives a new bench and we all get a gentle reminder to value, cherish and protect our city's greatest resource - our children.
My friend Carol Stripling, a charter member of the club, edited the cookbook in a true labor from the heart. Recently, she and her granddaughter, Lucy, age 11, cooked up a few of the book's fabulous recipes for us.
Cooking with her grandma is one of Lucy's favorite hobbies
"My Gammy always makes everything very special," says Lucy. "I love cooking in her kitchen." Lucy especially enjoys the raves from her mom and dad when she and Carol serve up the masterpieces they make together.
Now we can all "cook like Grandmother." And with snazzy recipes like Medallions of Pork with Sour Cherry Sauce, Greens with Apples, Pears and Blue Cheese, and Boursin Potatoes, it's obvious - this isn't your granny's old cookbook!
Greens with Apples, Pears
and Blue Cheese
Salad
4 cups mixed greens (butter, romaine, arugula, radicchio)
1 red Bartlett pear, sliced thin
1 Gala apple, sliced thin
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
3/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped coarsely, toasted
Walnut Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
To assemble salad, divide greens among four salad plates. Top greens with pears, apples and onion slices. Sprinkle on blue cheese and walnuts. Ladle Walnut Vinaigrette on top.
Walnut Vinaigrette
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup walnut oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard, walnut oil, olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper.
Medallions of Pork with Sour Cherry Sauce
2 pounds pork loin, trimmed of fat
1 cup dried sour cherries
1 cup port wine, divided
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1. Cut pork into 1/4-inch slices. Place between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound thin. In a small saucepan, combine dried cherries with 1/3 cup port. Bring to a simmer; remove from heat and let soak.
2. In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil until hot; add pork slices in batches, allowing pieces to brown well around the edges, about one to two minutes per side. Transfer slices to a warm plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Do not allow pan drippings to burn. Remove pan from heat; add balsamic vinegar, scraping bottom of the pan. Return pan to heat and add remaining 2/3 cup port. Boil over high heat until thick, about one minute. Add cherries and spoon over pork.
Boursin Potatoes
3 pounds unpeeled red skin potatoes
2 cups heavy cream
1 (5-ounce) package Boursin cheese with garlic and herbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Thinly slice red skin potatoes. Layer in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish; season with salt and pepper.
2. In a saucepan, heat heavy cream and Boursin cheese until cheese melts and mixture is smooth. Pour over seasoned potatoes. Bake one hour or until golden brown.
To find out how to get your own copy of A Legacy of Love, Cooking from the Heart, go to firstgrandmothersclub.com.