DONNA KEATING / L’Observateur / November 15, 1999

LAPLACE – When she was 13 or 14 years old, Joyce Russell of LaPlace began experimenting with cooking. She and her two cousins, Maisie Abadieand Mary Hebert, enjoyed cooking for themselves in her mother’s kitchen.

The first thing she tried cooking was smothered tomatoes. Her father, thelate Elvans Keating, had a garden in which he grew tomatoes and other vegetables.

Russell said her mother, the late Louisiana Madere Keating, would guide Russell and her two cousins, but mostly they did the cooking on their own.

Russell was raised and lived in LaPlace all her life. She was the wife ofthe late A.C. Russell and is the mother of two children, Melinda Gregoireand Kenneth Millet. She is also the grandmother of Mandy and HeidiGregoire and Wendy Stalcup and Danielle Millet.

She said her most requested dessert is blueberry banana pie.

She added, “Everyone who eats it asks for the recipe.”The broccoli cheese casserole she prepares is also a favorite, she said.

She got that recipe from her niece, Teresa Keating.

“I usually just cook for myself,” Russel said. “The thing I like to cookmost for myself is red beans. I often invent new recipes by experimentingin the kitchen.” Russell is always ready for hungry guests, and when she cooks she keeps plenty of left-overs in the freezer which can easily be heated up.

“When my granddaughter Mandy Gregoire comes to visit, she usually request red beans or vegetable soup,” said Russell.

“On Sunday,” she added, “I have dinner at my brother Ronald Keating Sr.’shome. I make homemade bread and prepare a dessert to take over.”

BLUEBERRY BANANA PIE 1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese1 cup sugar 1 12 oz. Cool Whip4 bananas, sliced 2 baked pie shells, cooked and cooled 1 can prepared blueberry pie filling

Soften cream cheese and cream with sugar. Add Cool Whip to cream cheesemixture. Arrange banana sliced to the bottom of pie shells. Pour pie fillingmixture on top of bananas. Top with blueberry pie filling.Makes 2 pies.

COCONUT PIE 1 cup sugar 1/3 cup self-rising flour (or if using all-purpose flour add 1/2 tsp. baking power and 1/4tsp. salt to flour)3 eggs, beaten 1 1/3 cup milk 1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla1 3/4 cups flaked coconut 1 9-inch pie shell, unbaked

Combine sugar and flour in a medium size bowl. In another bowl, combineeggs, milk, margarine and vanilla. Stir the sugar mixture into the secondmixture and then add coconut. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350degrees for 40-45 minutes or until center is set when shaken.

Makes one pie.

BROCCOLI AND CHICKEN CASSEROLE 2 16 oz. pkgs. frozen chopped broccoli4 chicken breast fillets, cooked and cut into small pieces 2 cans cream of chicken soup 1/2 cup mayonnaise juice from 1/2 a lemon 8 oz. grated cheddar cheese1 stick of margarine or butter, melted 1 pkg. Pepperidge Farms seasoned stuffing mix

Cook broccoli for five minutes and place into a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish.

Place chicken pieces on top of broccoli. Combine soup, mayonnaise andlemon juice and pour mixture over chicken. Sprinkle cheese over mixture.In a bowl, mix stuffing with margarine and add to the top of cheese. Bakeat 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Back to Top

Back to Leisure Headlines

Copyright © 1998, Wick Communications, Inc.

Internet services provided by NeoSoft.

Best viewed with 3.0 or higher