15 minute read
Good Cooking
Story by Jacquelyn Hall Photos by David Moore
Brenda and Richard Rush enjoy living on Smith Lake and cooking together. Despite having different approaches to recipes and preferred methods that differ, they make a great culinary team.
Richard typically helps Brenda with the main courses, sometimes as her sous chef, the chopper of ingredients or however he can. Brenda prefers to follow the recipes to the letter, while Richard is more of a “measure with his heart” type of cook.
They also enjoy traveling to the Chicago area to visit his son and family and experience the “real snow.” And it was on one of these trips that they were introduced to the now family favorite dish of ragu bolognese.
Richard’s son and daughter-in-law made it for dinner one night, and it was a smash hit with all. A perk of the recipe is that, like most tomato-based dishes, it gets better with age and freezes well – just skip freezing the noodles.
They usually round out the pasta dinner with bread and salad with Brenda’s homemade Caesar dressing.
Their favorite dessert is an Italian cream cake.
“It was MawMaw’s recipe,” Brenda says. “It is our favorite cake, especially at Christmas. The recipe is everywhere now, but I always say it was her original recipe.”
Brenda enjoys the process of making the cake.
“It’s just that easy, and the product is always delicious. It is pretty fool-proof. Anyone can make that cake.”
Brenda, originally from Cullman County, met Richard, originally from Marine, Illinois, through a mutual friend in 1993. They dated for six months, but it just wasn’t the right time, and life took them their separate ways.
Brenda then met her husband, Carl, who passed away from poor health after 14 years of marriage. After his death, Brenda and Richard’s mutual friend, embracing their inner Cupid, connected them again. This time the timing was right.
“It’s kinda’ weird how things work out,” Brenda laughs.
The Rushes married in April 2010 and relocated to Atlanta for Richard’s job. At the wedding, the preacher, knowing that Brenda is an Alabama girl through and through, lightheartedly added “you will bring her back” to Alabama during their wedding vows.
And so he did.
Richard had first visited Smith Lake years ago and had fallen in love with it. After a year of marriage, he and Brenda bought their home there for weekends, summers and eventual retirement.
Brenda had formerly worked in the business-office side of the medical field for 15 years, divided between Cullman’s former Woodland Hospital and a surgeon. She later worked 17 years for a commercial painting company.
Richard spent some 25 years as consultant for Patterson and Dewar Engineers, traveling the U.S. and some in Canada and Mexico. After six years living in Atlanta, he retired and they moved to the lake.
Along with Willow, their 18-month old mini Aussie-doodle, Brenda and Richard thoroughly enjoy the laid-back lake life.
They often enjoy the cozy house and
Good food is always to be found at the Rushes’ table
Brenda’s Italian cream cake is beautiful, if not daunting to behold from a baking standpoint. She, however, says the recipe is fool-proof.
4-5 garlic cloves finely minced 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar 2½ tsp. coarse salt ½ tsp. freshly ground pepper 2 Tbsp. olive oil 2 pork tenderloins about 1 ¼ lb. each 2 Tbsp. canola oil if preparing in oven
Stir together garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and olive oil in a small bowl. Rub the paste all over pork. If you like or have the time, marinate overnight. If not, no worries. It will still be great!
Grill preparation:
Sear the tenderloins on all sides, then grill for about 20-30 minutes, rotating every 10 minutes until the internal temperature is 160. Let it rest before slicing.
Oven preparation:
Preheat oven to 400. Heat canola oil in a large, oven-proof, heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, add pork, and sear all over, about 4 minutes.
Transfer pan to oven. Roast pork, turning occasionally, until the internal temperature is 160, about 20 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board, and let it rest 10 minutes before slicing.
CREAMY CAESAR DRESSING
2 cloves fresh garlic 1 cup mayonnaise 2 Tbsp. coarse grain mustard ½ tsp. ground mustard 2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce ½ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated ¼ cup olive oil ½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
In a food processor, process the garlic until minced. Add the mayonnaise, mustard, ground mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire and Parmesan.
Begin processing, then slowly add the olive oil while the machine is on. Process until the dressing reaches your desired consistency. To thin, add a little more olive oil. Add the pepper and pulse until combined.
the tasty results of Brenda’s cooking and baking with her kids and grands, all of Cullman. That would be son Kevin Loyd and his wife, Francee, and Hunter and Hagen; and daughter Andrea Barnett, her husband Zane and Maggie Beth and Zeke.
“They’re here lots because they live close,” she laughs.
Memorial Day weekend is usually when Richard’s son Joshua and his wife Jessica, along with their daughters Shiloh and Saylor come for a week. His daughter Michelle and husband Jeffrey along with their children Kodie, Cheyenne, Hayley and Ayden visit on Labor Day.
Over the holiday weekends they usually enjoy Brenda’s grilled balsamicgarlic crusted pork tenderloin, BBQ pork and steaks along with other dishes. Popular desserts are homemade ice cream and her Cowboy Cookies, loaded with “a little bit of everything in them, making them decadent and a slight departure from the ol’ standby chocolate chip cookies, but every bit as yummy,” she says.
A joint visit to bring the entire gang together has only happened once, so far – and that was at their wedding. Optimistic that such a gathering can be pulled off in the not too distant future, the Rushes enjoy imagining the good times to be had and the memories to be made.
No matter the occasion, or who’s gathered around the table, delicious food will always be on their table.
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3 oz. cream cheese, softened ½ tsp. vanilla extract 2½ Tbsp. powdered sugar 1 8-oz. tube of crescent roll dough ²/³ cup fresh blueberries
Preheat the oven to 375. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar with a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Separate canned crescent rolls into 8 triangles along the perforated seams.
Place a triangle of dough on a clean, flat surface, with the short, wide end facing you and the long triangle pointing away. Spread a tablespoon of cream cheese mixture across the bottom third of the dough triangle. Top the cream
BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE ROLLS
2 Tbsp. olive oil 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter 1 medium onion, diced 4 stalks celery, diced 4 carrots, diced 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 3/4 lb. ground veal 3/4 lb. ground pork 3/4 lb. ground beef 6-oz. can tomato paste 1 cup whole milk 1 cup dry white wine Salt 1 lb. spinach tagliatelle, cooked and drained Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
Heat the oil and butter in a 6-8-quart, heavy bottomed pot, set over medium heat, until hot. Add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic. Cook until the vegetables are translucent but not browned, 5-10 minutes. Add the meats. Increase the heat to high, and brown the meat stirring frequently for 25 min. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook and stir for another 20 min. Stir in the tomato paste, and cook for another 30 min. Add the milk and cook for one hour. Add the wine, increase the heat to medium high, and bring to a boil. Cook until the wine has evaporated and the alcohol has cooked off, about 5 min. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 1½ to 2 hours, adding a splash of water if necessary to keep the sauce from drying out. Season the ragu with salt to taste. Remove it from the heat and let it cool.
To serve with pasta add 2 cups of the ragu to the tagliatelle and toss briefly over high heat. Sprinkle to taste with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Makes 4 servings. The rest of the sauce can be frozen up to 2 months.
cheese with two rows of blueberries. Roll the dough forward, starting with the end closest to you, all the way to the tip of the triangle.
Place the finished roll onto a baking sheet and repeat with remaining ingredients to create 8 rolls. Bake for 10-13 minutes until the rolls are golden brown. Serve warm.
1 Tbsp. olive oil 1 lb. breakfast sausage (or leftover cooked ham) 1 bell pepper, chopped 1 small onion, chopped 12 eggs ½ cup milk ½ tsp. each of salt and pepper 1 Tbsp. butter 8 oz. (or more to taste) shredded cheddar or cheddar-blend cheese Salsa to taste (optional) 10-12 medium or fajita size tortillas
In a large skillet, heat olive oil and cook sausage, pepper and onion, breaking sausage into tiny pieces. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Heat a large non-stick frying pan and melt a tablespoon of butter. Add eggs and scramble. Warm tortillas per the package instructions. Layer ½ cup scrambled eggs, ½ cup cooked sausage or ham, 1-2 tablespoon cheese and a little salsa on a warmed medium-sized tortilla. Fold up into a burrito, place on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Flash freeze at least 30 minutes, then store burritos in a freezer bag.
To warm: place frozen burrito on a plate and cover with a cloth napkin or paper towel. Microwave for 30 seconds. Cut burrito in half and cover back up. Heat for 30-60 seconds or until warm all the way through.
Tip for travel: Wrap a few pieces in foil to store in the freezer. Remove foil before heating through in the microwave. Re-wrap in the foil to keep the burrito warm for a short trip.
LASAGNA CHICKEN ROLL-UPS
4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (or 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded) ¼cup red bell pepper, diced 1 garlic clove, minced ¼ cup onion, diced 1 Roma tomato diced 4 cups chicken broth 12 lasagna noodles, cooked 5 Tbsp. flour 1 tsp. salt 4 Tbsp. butter ¼ cup heavy cream 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
In skillet add butter, onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomato. Sauté over medium-low heat until very soft. Turn up heat to medium-high. Add flour and cook for a few more minutes. Slowly whisk in 4 cups of broth. Bring to a simmer. When sauce is thickened to desired consistency, turn off heat and add ¼ cup of cream. You can add up to ½ cup if you prefer it creamier.
Spread about ½ cup sauce in bottom of 9x13 pan. Mix shredded chicken and about 2 cups mozzarella cheese (you can use more or less cheese as desired)
Lay out lasagna noodles then spread cheese and shredded chicken over. Roll up and place in 9x13 pan. Pour sauce over. Add more cheese if desired. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Tip: different brands of broth have more seasonings and salt. For this recipe taste test the sauce for saltiness. If you are using bullion and rotisserie chicken there will be plenty of salt. If using plain boiled chicken and a low-sodium broth you may need to add salt and/or seasoning salts for flavor.
½ cup butter, room temperature ½ cup good shortening 2 cups sugar 5 large eggs, separated 1 cup buttermilk 1 tsp. vanilla 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 1 cup shredded or flaked sweetened coconut 1 cup chopped pecans
Frosting
1 stick butter, softened 1 8oz. package cream cheese softened 1 tsp. vanilla 1 lb. powdered sugar About 1 cup chopped pecans for garnish
Preheat oven to 325. Cream butter, shortening and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add buttermilk and mix well; add vanilla. Sift flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl; mix in coconut and pecans; stir in wet ingredients. Mix well, folding by hand. In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold gently into cake batter, then divide batter into 3 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.
Bake 20-25 minutes at 325, or until lightly browned and cake tests done when a toothpick is inserted. Cool thoroughly on wire racks in pans.
While layers are cooling, prepare frosting. Cream butter and cream cheese together; add vanilla, and gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.
Carefully remove cakes from pans and brush off crumbs. Place bottom layer on serving plate, then alternate frosting and cake layers. Frost the cake, then sprinkle with chopped pecans as desired. Keep cake refrigerated.
1.5 lbs. ground beef ½ cup corn flakes cereal, crushed ½ cup onion, diced ½ cup bell pepper, diced 1 can green chiles 1 egg 2 tsp. minced garlic ½ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. pepper ½ tsp. cumin ½ tsp. chili powder
GREEN CHILE MEATLOAF
2 Tbsp. tomato paste 1 chipotle pepper, diced ½ tsp. adobo sauce from can 1 Tbsp. honey ½ Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a baking dish or casserole dish with nonstick spray. Combine all the ingredients for the meatloaf in a large bowl. Mix together well with hands to combine, then shape into a loaf and place in your baking dish.
In another bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sauce and stir together. Spread the sauce on top of the meatloaf. Bake in the oven at 350 for 45-55 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165. Enjoy with the vegetable of your choice!
Note: I used cornflakes because I usually have extra on hand. You can try oats, breadcrumbs or crushed saltine crackers instead. If you are sensitive to spice, I recommend skipping the chipotle sauce and using ketchup instead.
