Tupelo woman enjoys cooking now more than ever

May 10—TUPELO — The older Linda Jones gets, the more she enjoys cooking.

"I was not in the kitchen growing up," Jones said. "I wasn't interested in cooking. I love to cook now. I guess after we first married, I was busy with small children. I mostly learned through doing, out of necessity. But I don't remember enjoying it like I do now."

Jones, 79, was raised in Lee County, the fourth of six children born to Milford and Louise McKinney. She and her husband, Berdell, a retired CPA and former Tupelo councilman, have three children, seven grandchildren and nine great-grands.

"Before I married, I learned to make tuna fish for sandwiches, except I forgot to put the tuna in. My family never let me forget that," she said. "After I married, the only thing I knew how to do was open a can. Fortunately, every Sunday, we went to my husband's mother's for lunch, so we got a good meal that way. She always made enough to feed Coxey's Army."

Jones said she learned to cook by reading recipes.

"I can still read a recipe and know if my family is going to like it," she said. "I try a new recipe once a month. I'm always looking for something different. I can spend a while in a cookbook."

She enjoys cooking at least four nights a week. A typical meal might be meatloaf, green beans and creamed potatoes, or fried chicken strips, hash browns and slaw. If she's fixing Berdell's favorite meal, it will be purple-hull peas, stewed potatoes, slaw and cornbread, while her favorite meal is a good steak, a baked potato and a salad.

"But that's not me fixing it," she said.

If her kids come over on Sunday to eat after church, she has to start cooking on Friday. She usually makes a beef roast, potato salad, purple-hull peas, mac and cheese, green beans, slaw and a dessert.

"I can't think of a thing I won't eat or make," Jones said. "I'm not hard to please, and Berdell isn't either, though he's not real fond of fish. I've got a few fish recipes I like to fix for me, and then I fix him something else."

Jones likes to watch to watch the Food Network, and some of her favorite cooks are Tricia Yearwood, Valerie Bertinelli, Ina Garten and Guy Fieri.

"I also like the competition shows like 'Chopped,' and I've watched some of the kids' cooking competition shows," she said. "But I don't like to see those kids disappointed. One of my favorites shows is 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.' I'd love to have his job, going to all those different places to eat."

DO YOU KNOW A GOOD COOK? Send your nominations to Ginna Parsons, Cook of the Week, P.O. Box 909, Tupelo, MS 38802. Or you can call 662-678-1581 or email them to ginna.parsons@journalinc.com.

RED VELVET CAKE

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 (2-ounce) bottle red food coloring

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1/2 cup plain strong coffee, cooled to lukewarm

CREAM CHEESE ICING

1 stick butter, softened

1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, softened

1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

For the cake: Lightly grease two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans. Put parchment paper in the bottom of pans.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and vegetable oil. Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and red food coloring until combined. Stir in the vinegar and coffee.

Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients a little at a time, mixing after each addition, just until combined. (Batter will be thin.) Pour the batter evenly into each pan.

Bake in the middle rack of the oven at 325 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Do not overbake as the cake will continue to cook as it cools. Let pans cool on a rack.

Slide a knife or offset spatula around the inside of the pans to loosen the cake from the pan. Gently remove the cakes from the pan and let them finish cooling. (The warm cake will be very delicate.)

For the icing: In a large bowl cream together butter and cream cheese. Gradually mix in confectioners' sugar, then vanilla. When the cake layers have completely cooled, spread the frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake.

ENCHILADAS

1 pound ground chuck

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup cream-style cottage cheese

1 can Ro-tel tomatoes, undrained

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles

10 (6-inch) flour tortillas

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Cook beef and onion in a large skillet over high heat, stirring until beef crumbles and is no longer pink; drain. Return to skillet; stir in cottage cheese. Set aside.

Process diced tomatoes and tomato sauce in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Stir in chopped chiles.

Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of beef mixture down the center of each tortilla; top each with 2 tablespoons tomato mixture and 1 1/2 tablespoons shredded cheese.

Roll up tortillas and place seam-side down in a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Pour remaining tomato mixture over the top and sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Garnish with parsley, if desired. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

CRISPY FRIED SWEET ONION RINGS

2 large sweet onions, cut in 3/8-inch-thick slices

3 cups buttermilk

Vegetable oil

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup plain yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

Separate onion slices into rings, and place in a 9-inch square baking dish. Pour buttermilk over onion rings. Cover and chill 2 to 24 hours.

Pour oil to a depth of 2 inches into a Dutch oven; heat to 360 degrees.

Stir together flour, cornmeal, salt and red pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge onion rings in flour mixture, and place on a baking sheet. Discard buttermilk.

Fry onion rings, in batches, 2 minutes or until golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Serve onion rings immediately, or keep warm in a 200-degree oven until ready to serve.

CHICKEN-AND-WILD-RICE CASSEROLE

1 (6-ounce) box fast-cooking long-grain and wild rice mix

1 stick butter or margarine

1 small onion, chopped

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

1 (6-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained

1 (4-ounce) jar sliced mushrooms, drained

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 (2-ounce) package sliced almonds

Cook rice mix according to package directions; set aside.

Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until tender. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add broth and cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture is thickened and bubbly.

Stir in rice, chicken, cream, water chestnuts, mushrooms, parsley, salt and pepper. Spoon into a greased 7x11-inch baking dish. Top with almonds.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serves 6.

JUNK YARD SALAD

1 can cherry pie filling

1 large can crushed pineapple, drained

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups miniature marshmallows

1 cup chopped pecans

1 (8-ounce) tub whipped topping

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

PECAN PRALINES

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons corn syrup

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 cups pecans, chopped

In a heavy-bottomed pot, combine white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, whipping cream, butter and baking soda. Using a candy thermometer, cook the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the caramel reaches 235 to 238 degrees.

Remove from heat and quickly add the vanilla, salt and pecans. Stir for about 5 minutes, or until the caramel starts to thicken.

Scoop the mixture out onto parchment paper to form pralines and let set for about 30 minutes. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container. Makes 20.

OVEN BEEF ROAST

1 (3- to 4-pound) chuck roast

1 packet beefy onion soup mix

Sprinkle both sides of roast with dry soup mix. Place roast in a 10-inch nonstick skillet. Cover tightly with heavy-duty foil. Bake at 350 degrees for about 3 hours (there is no water in this recipe). Check roast after 2 hours to see how much liquid is remaining. Re-cover and continue cooking until liquid is almost gone.

GREEN BEANS FOR A CROWD

5 to 6 cans green beans, drained

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 can Coke

Salt and pepper

Bacon slices

Drain beans, then pour them into a Crock-Pot. Add oil, Coke, salt and pepper. Place several slices of bacon on top. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours or on high for 3 hours. Stir after 2 hours or halfway through the cooking process.

PECAN SQUARES

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

2/3 cup butter

3 tablespoons whipping cream

3 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Sift together flour and confectioners' sugar. Cut in softened butter using a pastry blender or fork just until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pat mixture on bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool.

Bring brown sugar, honey, 2/3 cup butter, and whipping cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in pecans, and pour hot filling into prepared crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Cool completely before cutting into 2-inch squares.

ginna.parsons@djournal.com