13 minute read
Good Cooking
Traci Rhines cooks for family and community with color, love and gospel music
Story by Jacquelyn Hall Photos by David Moore
Fun, family, community and, above all, love are what keeps Traci Rhines’ Guntersville kitchen full of delicious and usually colorful creations. And it started at home with her dad, James Rhines, who passed away in 2020, and her mom, Sandra.
Growing up, she watched them in their element of expertise.
“My dad could grill like nobody’s business,” she says. “Mom does downhome cooking, and between the two of them, I just picked it up.”
Traci’s son, CJ, is well on his way in continuing the family’s cooking legacy, following in his grandfather’s footsteps by making his own spice mixes and recipes.
Though she never really participated when her parents cooked, Traci picked up a lot just by observing them in action.
“Cooking was one of those things that, when I was older, I just wanted to know how to do. I didn’t want to be someone who couldn’t boil an egg or needed instructions to boil water,” she laughs. “Dad would marinade using his own spices and sauces. He was well known for his barbecue and his sauce.
“I started experimenting with my own stuff. I’d see a recipe and think, ‘If I change this and that…’ Measurements are tricky, not so much with cooking, but baking has to be precise.”
Baking may not be Traci’s favorite side of cooking, but don’t tell the folks who always ask her to bring her Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies to any event she is invited
Traci Rhines loves color in the dishes she prepares. Her recipes have appeared in The Advertiser-Gleam and the Lakeview Community Civic Organization’s newsletter. She works at Family Services of North Alabama; Lakeview Credentialing and Administrative Services; and works evenings as office manager for her cousin’s Twindom Counseling in Boaz. In January Traci started the Cultural Connection Committee, which strives to raise awareness of differences in the community and help to break down barriers and stereotypes.
to, big or small. It was just a cookie recipe she had at first, then she found a cookie recipe with brown butter and cinnamon.
1 lb. cooked boneless chicken breast, shredded 8 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled 1 large red bell pepper, diced 1 medium yellow onion, diced 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped 4 cloves minced garlic ¼ cup butter ⅓ cup all-purpose flour 6 cups chicken stock (you can use broth) 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced (about ½-inch thick) 2 bay leaves 2 cups corn 1½ cups of half and half 2 green onions, chopped Cheddar cheese, shredded Salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat; add peppers and onions. Sauté until tender. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Whisk in flour and cook about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. As you stir, slowly add chicken stock and whisk until blended. Add potatoes and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook uncovered about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally. Add cooked chicken, corn and half and half. Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve topped with chopped bacon, cheese and green onions.
“And I thought, ‘What would it be like if I combine the brown butter with a chocolate chip cookie?’”
Making brown butter is a bit tedious, she warns.
“It takes a while for it to turn the perfect dark honey color. Just a hair over, and it burns,” Traci says. “There are bits left over in the bottom that some people throw that out, but it’s flavor, and I keep it in.”
Cookies may be the exception to the baking rule, but cakes make the rule.
“Cakes are always hard – everything has to be measured,” she grins. “You can’t stomp around or they fall, and homemade icings are hard, too.”
One rule of Traci’s that spans both baking and cooking that she will not break or bend involves almond flour:
“Anything keto with almond flour, I will not make it. Almond flour just does not cook up the same.” Well known in the community, Traci has worked in the kitchen for various church events. Prior to covid, she cooked for vacation Bible school at St. Minor Primitive Baptist Church in Guntersville, and she has cooked for different work events.
Her chili has become locally famous, having won two cook-offs. Traci’s sister submitted her chili and it won a third. Her chili is not for the faint of heart or tender of palate – she makes it hot and spicy.
Traci loves getting colorful and creative with recipes, like her “Ultimate Cobb Salad.” Bright and scrumptious, it’s filled with steak, shrimp, chicken and a garden’s worth of vegetables.
She also enjoys figuring out how to reconstruct her favorite restaurant dishes at home. After having hibachi steak and vegetables, she decided it looked easy enough to make, and so she learned how to make it herself. It’s her favorite dinner to make.
Her favorite dessert is vanilla cake – even if it is a cake. She dusts the pan with sugar before baking to give the cake a light caramelized outer crust. Then she serves it with homemade whipped cream and chopped strawberries.
Traci not only has fun cooking, but also finds peace along the way.
“Usually when I’m in the kitchen, I’m playing gospel music,” she says. “Even when I’m cleaning the kitchen, I’m playing gospel music. It’s just a peaceful connection with God.” ’Tis said that love is the best ingredient in home-cooked food. If so, perhaps food made while loving the Creator is a smidgen better. But those who are lucky enough to sample Traci’s dishes probably already know that.
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ULTIMATE COBB SALAD
1 chicken breast 1 steak (cut of your choice, seasoned and cooked to your liking) 8 large or extra-large shrimp, shell off and de-veined 2 slices bacon 2 eggs, boiled and sliced Salad greens of your choice (I prefer spring mix) 1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded ½ red onion, sliced 1 medium tomato, diced ½ cucumber, sliced and halved ¼ cup carrots, shredded 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced 3-4 Tbsp. cooking oil 1 pat butter ½ Tbsp. onion powder ½ Tbsp. garlic powder ¼ Tbsp. chopped parsley Steak marinade Salt and pepper to taste
Blend onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper and parsley together and season chicken with about half of this seasoning mixture, or more until well-seasoned, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Marinate steak using the marinade of your choice. I use a secret family recipe handed down to me from my dad.
While meat is marinating, boil eggs, slice vegetables and shred cheese.
Cook bacon until slightly crispy. Remove from pan but do not drain grease. Allow bacon to cool then crumble and set aside.
Return bacon grease to medium high heat (may opt to use cooking oil). Add additional 1 Tbsp. cooking oil, if needed. Remove chicken from the fridge and add to the skillet with bacon grease, reduce heat to medium and cook until browned on both sides. Make sure the temperature inside of your chicken is 165 before removing from heat. Place chicken on a cutting board, breast side up and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes.
In a clean skillet, heat 1½- 2 Tbsp. of cooking oil and half the bacon grease (optional) on medium high heat. Add steak cooked as desired. I prefer mine medium and seared on each side. Set aside and allow meat to rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting.
In large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. of cooking oil on medium high heat. Add butter, shrimp and sprinkle with seasoning mixture. Be careful not to over season the shrimp. It doesn’t take much to add flavor to shrimp. Cook about 2 minutes per side or until shrimp is opaque. Do not overcook shrimp or it will become rubbery.
Carefully cut chicken breast into ½-inch cubes and slice steak to desired thickness. To prevent steak from being tough, always cut against the grain of the steak.
Cover a plate with the greens of your choice. Carefully arrange sliced vegetables, cheese, eggs and meat in colorful rows on top of the bed of greens. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, then top with your choice of salad dressing.
BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
1¼ cup salted butter ¾ cup granulated sugar 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 2¾ cup all-purpose flour ½ tsp. salt 2 tsp. baking soda 2½ cups semisweet chocolate chips (use 2 cups if you prefer less chocolate)
Preheat oven to 375. Grease baking sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
In a medium-large saucepan, brown butter over medium high heat. You will need to stir the butter constantly to prevent burning. When the butter reaches a deep honey-like color, remove it from the heat and pour into a large mixing bowl.
Place butter in the refrigerator until set. It should have the consistency of butter at room temperature, solid but not hard. Do not use the butter while it is still liquid.
Once butter is set, cream the butter and both sugars together. This should take about 1 minute.
Add eggs and vanilla; mix until well blended and fluffy.
Add flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until dry ingredients are combined but do not over mix. Stir in chocolate chips.
Using ¼ cup of dough (loosely measured) for each, roll dough balls and place on baking sheet. Make sure to leave enough space between the balls of dough to give cookies room to spread. If placed too close, cookies will bake together and lose shape.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the top and edges are golden brown. Allow cookies to cool for 2-3 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
½ cup peanut butter 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 large eggs ⅓ cup melted butter ²/³ cup white sugar ½ cup brown sugar 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 tsp. baking powder Pinch of salt
PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIES
In a large bowl, mix peanut butter, melted butter, white sugar and brown sugar together until blended.
Slowly add eggs, vanilla extract and salt.
In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder.
Slowly add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, folding it in until combined. It is important that you do not overmix the ingredients to avoid a cake-like consistency.
Spread the batter evenly in the 9x9 baking pan and smooth it out. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Do not over-bake or they will be dry. You want them to be moist with a chewy texture.
Remove from oven. Brownies should have a soft, gooey texture. They will firm up as they cool. Brownies will have a slightly wet look in the middle but should not be raw.
For added yumminess, serve with ice cream!
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and de-veined with tails removed 14 oz. smoked sausage of your choice (I used Conecuh to make it even more spicy) 2 medium zucchini, sliced (I suggest slicing them fairly thick so they don’t cook too quickly) 2 yellow squash, sliced (again, I suggest making the slices fairly thick) ½ bunch asparagus, sliced into thirds 2 red bell peppers, sliced into chunks (I do ½-inch squares) 2 Tbsp. olive oil 2 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning Salt & pepper to taste
Add the shrimp, sausage, zucchini, squash, asparagus and bell pepper. Add in oil, salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning; toss until well coated.
Add to a large skillet and cook on medium high heat for about 5-7 minutes, until shrimp is pink and vegetables are tender with a slight crunch. DO NOT OVERCOOK VEGGIES. Vegetables should still have a slight crunch to them without tasting raw. That will allow them to keep their flavor and nutrients.
Serve immediately.
NOTE – I precook sausage for 2-3 minutes in 1 Tbsp. oil because I like my sausage browned. Then toss the rest of the ingredients in only 1½ Tbsp. of melted butter before adding them to the skillet with the sausage. The butter adds much flavor!
CORN, BEAN AND TOMATO SALSA
5-6 Roma tomatoes, diced 1 orange or yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced ½ red onion, finely diced 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced 15.5 oz. can corn, drained 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed ½ cup cilantro, chopped (I love cilantro so I use slightly more) 1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely diced 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced or ½ tsp. garlic powder 4 Tbsp. lime juice ½ cup Italian dressing ½ tsp. chili powder ½ tsp. cumin Salt and pepper to taste (I recommend at least 1 tsp. each)
Combine vegetables in a large bowl. Stir in lime juice, dressing and seasonings. Mix until blended.
Serve as a side dish or with tortilla chips or Scoops corn chips for dipping.
1 lb. of ground sausage, chicken or ground beef 7 cups of coleslaw mix (with purple cabbage) 2 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce 1 Tbsp. ground ginger 1 tsp. garlic powder ½ cup onions Salt and pepper to taste
EGG ROLL IN A BOWL (Keto friendly recipe)
skillet. Drain and set aside. Reserve 1-2 Tbsp. of grease in skillet. Mix coleslaw, garlic, ginger and soy sauce, in the same skillet stirring until completely cooked. Stir until well blended and allow cabbage in coleslaw to absorb flavors and soften slightly. Do not cook until mushy. You want the coleslaw to still have a crunchy texture. Blend meat back into veggies.
Turn off heat and add green onions. Remaining heat will allow onions to become fragrant without overcooking them. Serve in a bowl.
NOTE – Want traditional egg rolls? Prepare recipe as instructed then spoon mixture into egg roll wrappers and fry until golden brown on all sides. Be sure to seal edges of egg roll wrappers using water to prevent filling from leaking out. Both options are delicious!
