Tasty sides can become highlights

By LISA LOSASSO BELL

“Food should be just as fun to make as it is to eat,” said Mary Katherine Hallewell, co-owner of the Grecian Gourmet along with Valerie Wilson. So, when it comes to cooking, according to Hallewell, creativity is the key.

Even side dishes can be fun and interesting. Hallewell said that although it’s easy to put a bowl of lettuce on the table and call it a salad, people will be more likely to eat it and enjoy it if it is appealing to the eye.

“You might want to do something to make it interesting,” she said. She suggested using toasted sesame seeds and Chinese noodles for added crunch and tomatoes, pepper rings and other vegetables to add color and contrast.

“Instead of serving a plain old salad, add some things to dress it up,” she said.

When making a large bowl of salad, Hallewell said, she will often take a bunch of green onions and stick them, white end down, in the middle of the salad so that the greens create a decorative spray.

One of her favorites is the Tarpon Springs Greek Salad, made on a bed of potato salad, one or two inches thick, with the green salad on top. “It’s very decorative,” she said, “with pepper rings, tomatoes, feta cheese, Greek olives, and a bunch of green onions propped up in the middle.” She said the green onions can even be arranged around the edges of the bowl so that they fan out over the sides.

“I like to cook and I like to make things look more appetizing,” she said.

“Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday,” said Hallewell, “because I love cooking Thanksgiving dinner.”

And when it comes to being creative at Thanksgiving, Hallewell goes all out. According to her daughter, Susan Hallewell, the kids love the rolls. “They’ll have turkey and rolls,” she said. “That’s what will be on their plates.”

Over the past couple of years, at her grandchildren’s urging, she has increased the amount of rolls that she makes because if not, they will fight over them. Even this is a creative venture, because the rolls are served in either a bread cornucopia or a bread bowl. According to Hallewell, she molds the bread dough around forms she makes from cardboard and aluminum foil. After they are baked and cooled, she fills them with homemade cloverleaf and dinner rolls.

Corn casserole is a family tradition. “It’s easy and really delicious, and the kids love it,” she said.

“The carrot casserole,” said Hallewell, is a little more involved, but it is something both the Hallewells and the Wilsons enjoy having every year for Thanksgiving.

Hallewell gets recipes from friends and family, cookbooks and newspapers. “I bring note cards with me when I go to the doctor’s office and copy recipes from the magazines in the waiting room,” she said. “You can never have too many recipes.”

She also shares recipes with Wilson’s mother. “Val is the Greek of the Grecian Gourmet,” she said. “I’m English/Irish,” she said, “And we’ve been known to serve corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day.

“No matter what I’m making, I try to keep it interesting all of the time,” said Hallewell. “People need to experiment more in the kitchen. Get in there and have fun!”

Hallewell explained that she often improvises on favorite dishes by adding things. You can even be creative with leftovers,” she said. “You can make beautiful presentation for common foods and leftovers.

She often garnishes meat with tomato wedges or parsley. “When you take a little more time to be creative, you feel better about preparing it and other people appreciate it.”

Hallewell’s recipes

Corn Casserole

1 can corn, drained

1 can cream style corn

1 stick margarine or butter

2 eggs

1 (8 ounce) carton sour cream

1 small box corn muffin mix

Combine all ingredients and pour into 1 and 1‚Ñ2 quart casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes or until well set.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

3 cups mashed potatoes (regular, leftover or instant)

1 cup sour cream

1‚Ñ4 cup milk

1‚Ñ4 teaspoon garlic powder

11‚Ñ2 cup French-fried onions

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Combine mashed potatoes, sour cream, milk and garlic powder. Spoon half the mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with two-thirds cup of onions and 1‚Ñ2 cup cheese. Top with remaining potatoes. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove foil and top with remaining onions and cheese. Bake 5 more minutes until onions brown and cheese melts.

Carrot Casserole

1 bag small carrots

1‚Ñ2 cup chopped onion

4 tablespoons butter or margarine (divided)

1 tablespoon parsley

2 tablespoons flour

20 Ritz crackers (approx.)

Cover carrots with water and boil until tender. Drain, saving the water. Saute onion and parsley in 2 tablespoons butter until tender. Add flour to onions and stir together. Using the water from cooking the carrots add water to onion mixture, heating and stirring in a little at a time until you have a creamy sauce. Mix together with the carrots and pour into a buttered casserole dish. Top with crushed Ritz crackers. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter and drizzle over crackers. Bake at 350-degrees for about 15 minutes or until brown and bubbly.

From local cookbooks

Green Bean Casserole

3 cans French style green beans, drained

1 can mushrooms, drained

1 can French fried onion rings

1 package stuffing mix

3‚Ñ4 stick margarine or butter, melted

Mix beans, mushrooms, 1‚Ñ2 can onion rings and stuffing mix with margarine. Place in 9x13 casserole dish and cover with 1‚Ñ2 can onion rings. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Recipe contributed by Treva Dobransky, to “Double Your Cooking Pleasure,” by the Youngstown Mothers of Twins , published in 1981.

Sweet Potato Souffl

1 large can sweet potatoes

1‚Ñ2 teaspoon salt

1‚Ñ3 stick margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1‚Ñ2 cup milk

Mix ingredients together in a bowl and pour into greased 9x13 inch baking dish.

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1‚Ñ2 cup flour

1 cup walnuts

1‚Ñ3 cup melted margarine

Mix brown sugar with flour. Mix walnuts with melted margarine. Mix together and sprinkle over potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Recipe contributed by Sara Glee Baxter, to “A Cookbook of Treasures: Bazetta Christian Church,” 150th Anniversary edition.

Cranberry Salad Mold

2 cups cranberries (raw)

1 orange

1 lemon

2 cups sugar

1 package lemon Jell-o

2 cups diced apples (with skins)

1‚Ñ2 cup chopped nuts

Grind cranberries, orange and lemon until finely ground. Add sugar and let mixture stand for two hours. Prepare Jell-o with 11‚Ñ2 cups of water and let set until syrupy. Add cranberry mixture, diced apples and nuts. Pour into Jell-o mold and chill until firm. Recipe contributed by Mary Maga, to “St. Christine Cookbook,” published in 1967.