DEBORAH CORRAO / L’Observateur / September 13, 1999

LAPLACE – Catherine “Deanie” Trepagnier of LaPlace enjoys cooking things in big pots…things like beans and rice, jambalaya and gumbos.”I had to cook,” she says. She raised seven children, including five boyswith big appetites.

Trepagnier, 65, has been widowed now for several years and her children have all moved out of the house so she doesn’t cook as much she used to.

But, she says, her pork ribs and dirty rice are still in demand for family gatherings at her house. She marinates her ribs in Italian dressingovernight, baking them for an hour covered with foil, then uncovering them to finish off the baking with barbecue sauce.

This past year she bought a countertop rotisserie and now enjoys cooking poultry and shiskabobs on the spit.

Trepagnier retired in 1995 after 20 years as a school bus driver for St.

John the Baptist Parish.

Now she spends her days gardening, one of her favorite pastimes. Sheenjoys growing flowers and still mows her own lawn.

In the winter, she says, she likes to crochet.

Trepagnier also likes to bake.

“I like to bake because I like sweets,” she says.

Here are a few of Trepagnier’s favorite recipes:

Cornflake Drops

8 cups cornflakes

18 oz. peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup light Karo syrup

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix sugar and Karo syrup together in pot. Bring to a boil for about one minute. Add vanilla and peanut butter. Stir well and add cornflakes. Mix well and spoon out on waxed paper.

Old Fashioned Rice Pudding

2 cups cooked rice

2 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 whole eggs 2 tsp. vanilla

Place milk and sugar in pot and bring to a boil. Stir in rice, lower fire andsimmer. Beat eggs well and add vanilla. Slowly add to milk and rice. Thepudding will thicken and become creamy. Serve warm or cold.

Chicken Vegetable Soup

1 can Rotel tomatoes (mild)

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 cups chopped seasoning

6 cloves garlic

2 large packages vegetable soup mix

1 or 2 large cans chicken broth

6 chicken breasts, chopped in pieces

In large pot, add oil and seasoning and saute. Add chicken breast and cook20 minutes. Then add other ingredients. Bring to a boil and let simmer foran hour.

Salmon Patties

1 15-16 oz. can pink salmon

1 egg 1/3 cup minced onion

1/2 cup flour

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1-1/2 cup Crisco

Drain salmon and set aside two tbsp. of juice. Mix salmon, eggs, and onionsuntil sticky. Stir in flour. Add baking powder to salmon juice and stir intosalmon. Form small patties and fry until golden brown.

Yam Praline Crunch

1 can (28 oz.) yams, drained and mashed

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup butter or margarine

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

Mix well in casserole bowl.

Topping 3 tbsp. butter3 tbsp. flour3/4 cup dark brown sugar 3/4 cup pecans, chopped

In small bowl, mix topping ingredients until butter is mixed in well.

Sprinkle on yams. Microwave for 8 minutes.

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