St. Vincent de Paul | Louisville

By Ron Mikulak, Courier-Journal, Dec. 22, 2010

Once, cookbooks such as the one The Courier-Journal food department recently received from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul were ubiquitous in home kitchens: spiral-bound compendiums of recipes from members of church societies, women's clubs, neighborhood associations or charitable groups.

These modest publications were usually fundraisers that immortalized (at least for a small group of family and friends) favorite recipes of hard-working volunteers who had made their best dishes for pot lucks and picnics.

The food department here at the newspaper had a huge assortment of such cookbooks, dating back several decades; but last year, in desperation for shelf space for more recent publications, I purged a lot of the older ones, knowing that I was discarding the hard work and best intentions of countless home cooks.

But at least I sent the majority of those cookbooks to the library, to supplement their annual book sales, so perhaps some of those community cookbooks have found new homes.

Now, however, I am going to assuage a bit of lingering guilt for having to discard those troves of tried-and-true recipes (there were just too many of them!) and celebrate the hard work of the volunteers of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in this season of goodwill and sharing.

The newly published “Gifts From the Heart Cookbook” offers “Recipes From Volunteers, Friends and Supporters of St. Vincent de Paul,” and all proceeds from the sale of the cookbook — which is available at all four of the society's thrift stores — will support the work of the organization with the poor and homeless of the Louisville area.

At this season of caring, it seems most appropriate to take notice of some people in the community who do so throughout the year. The recipes in the cookbook have been offered up by the scores of volunteers who serve on the food lines at the twice-a-day meals the society cooks for the homeless, offer companionship and comfort to the lonely and despairing, and do the myriad jobs needed to keep the block-square campus in Shelby Park running and in good order.

One of those volunteers is Marie Barrett, who, like most of the other women I talked with recently at the society's kitchen on Jackson Street, has been giving her time for more than 10 years. She worked on the cookbook for at least a year and a half, sorting out the recipes, typing them into the computer, proofreading and, finally, selling 60 or so at the seniors' Christmas luncheon at her church, St. Albert the Great.

“The cookbook is a double bargain,” Barrett said. “It is a great gift to the recipient, and the $15 cost goes all to the needy.”

Among the dishes Barrett contributed was an appetizer, broccoli bites, which she got from her vegetarian daughter.

Many of the recipes are family favorites, such as the ones Iola King contributed — dishes that her family has shown her are crowd-pleasers, and recipes she has gathered from her mother and her married daughters, such as her cowboy cookies. King, a retired teacher, has been volunteering for more than 10 years, and has now cut back a bit, coming in to work just the fifth Monday of any month.

Millie Fralick, too, is a decade-long volunteer who has lately cut back her weekly stints, letting a newer generation of volunteers step up. Her cooking experience started when she was 9 years old, when her mother became sick, and she had to take over in the kitchen.

Kathi Johnson, who is an administrative assistant at the society, had a foolproof method of choosing the recipes she submitted for the cookbook: She chose the ones her kids always asked her to make.

One of her submissions, her Aunt Dolores' chili, was a prize-winner at the Polo Fields clubhouse cook-off, and was on the menu there for a while. (For Johnson's chili recipe, go to www.courier-journal.com/food.)

Kraut, chops and apples

Bunny Kennedy provided this recipe to the cookbook and, in a phone interview, added these comments: “It's a family recipe, going way back to the German side of the family. Use chops with bone-in for more flavor. I usually leave the peel on Granny Smith apples for flavor. It's a good comfort food.”

1 to 2 tablespoons butter or oil

6 pork loin chops

12 small white onions

2 apples, washed but unpeeled, cut into wedges

½ cup raisins

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 cups sauerkraut, undrained

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

In a large skillet or sauté pan, heat the butter or oil, and when the butter is melted and sizzly, or the oil is shimmery, add the pork chops, in batches if necessary to avoid crowding, and brown nicely on both sides.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, mix together the onions, apples, raisins, sugar and sauerkraut. Season with half the salt and pepper. Place sauerkraut mixture in an even layer in a 2-quart casserole dish. Top the sauerkraut with the browned pork chops. Season chops with remaining salt and pepper. Cover with foil, and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, until pork chops are tender.

Serves 6.

Shoe-peg salad

Shared by Jo Corbett.

1 15-ounce can French-style green beans, drained

1 15-ounce can green peas, drained

1 15-ounce can white shoe-peg corn, drained

1 cup green pepper, seeds removed and diced small

1 cup celery, strings removed and diced

1 cup onion, peeled and diced

1 cup sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

2/3 cups white vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

In a bowl, toss together the beans, peas, corn, diced pepper, celery and onion. In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Add about half the dressing to the vegetable mixture, and toss. Taste, and add more dressing if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve cold.

Serves 6.

Pasta fagioli

Jane Venne says, “This is a heart-healthy soup that I found about five years ago in a little newsletter from Floyd Memorial Hospital. It's a can-opener soup — I can go home and quickly get it together. I make it at least once a month, and in winter, every couple of weeks. It is quick and convenient. You can play with it a little bit. Once, I added some leftover kale to it that I had steamed the day before. I can make substitutions — it doesn't matter what kind of pasta. It is filling, but not high in calories or fat. It's one of my husband's favorites.”

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 onion, peeled and chopped

2 garlic gloves, peeled and minced

1 10-ounce can chicken broth, plus 1 soup can of water

2 15-ounce cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained, or 3 cups cooked dried beans

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning

2 cups small pasta, such as small shells or ditalini, a small tubular pasta

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Salt, to taste

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

In a 3-quart pan or soup pot, heat oil over medium heat, and when shimmery, add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring, until translucent and softened, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the chicken broth, water, beans, tomatoes, pasta, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 10 minutes or so, until pasta is cooked through. If too thick, add more water to bring to desired consistency. Serve with a hearty sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Serves 6.

Goat cheese tartlets

Judy Golliher offered this attractive canapé, which gave me a chance to pipe in the filling with my pastry bag, a task I always enjoy. The following recipe for prosciutto and parmigiana puffs is also hers.

2 cups crumbled Capriole fresh goat cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon half-and-half

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup chopped, dried tomatoes

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

24 miniature frozen phyllo tart shells

In a bowl, combine the goat cheese, egg, half-and-half and salt, and mix gently. Fold in the dried tomatoes and chives.

Do not over-mix and turn the filling pink — it should remain white with the tomatoes and chives visibly discrete.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Place the tart shells on a baking sheet, an inch or so apart. Spoon or pipe the goat cheese mixture into each shell, filling completely. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until heated through and the shells are lightly browned.

For Christmas entertaining, garnish with minced red and green bell peppers or sliced pimento-filled olives.

Makes 2 dozen canapés.

8 ounce sheet of puff pastry, thawed

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Freshly ground black pepper

¾ pound prosciutto, sliced thin

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

¼ cup grated Grana Padano or other hard cheese

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a thin rectangle. Sprinkle the surface of the dough with the grated Parmigiano and the pepper. Arrange the prosciutto slices to cover the whole surface over the cheese. Cut into 3-inch triangles with a pastry wheel. Roll the triangles up, starting with the wide end, enclosing the prosciutto and cheese. Arrange on a baking sheet, and shape into crescents. Brush with the egg wash, and sprinkle with the Grana Padano cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.

Makes about 15 canapés.

Reporter Ron Mikulak can be reached at (502) 582-4618.