ANNA MONICA / L’Observateur / May 19, 2000

Life could easily be a bed of roses for Keith Gilles. He grows quite a variety inthe lovely garden outside of his LaPlace home, a project very pleasing to his family. His family is pleased, too, and their appetites well satisfied, whenKeith gets in the kitchen and cooks those special dishes they enjoy.

Like many others Keith started out helping his mom in the kitchen. Theoldest of two brothers and a sister, he would cook for the family before his mom got home from work and proved that having watched her and his grandmother cook really paid off. These days, wife Cindy is his official tasterand one of the biggest fans of his culinary expertise.

Cindy’s tasting is a big help when Keith attempts to recreate a dish he has eaten somewhere and really liked. His duplicating efforts most often pay offand he doesn’t believe in waste. For instance, if he is trying to imitate a goodcream sauce, and he is really into cream sauces, he will make it in a small portion to see if the taste is what they remember. As for the four-cheesecream sauce they once had at a well-known restaurant, he tried to make it that same weekend and after a couple of tries, succeeded. According toKeith, a basic cream sauce can be made with whipping cream, butter and a little cornstarch. From there you can make all kinds of cream sauces byadding cheese and/or spices. Keith created a basil cream sauce withcrayfish and after three tries, got it right, or, as he says, where they liked it.

These days Keith has a very good reason to use a taster to make sure he has used the right ingredients. For a big party they gave he had decided tomake a less fattening cream sauce so he used low fat cream, and, unintentionally, condensed milk instead of evaporated milk. It was so sweet! The neighbors were also recipients of some of this cream sauce, and although they wouldn’t complain, Keith believes “they probably said they didn’t want anything more from this guy.”If you like to make cream sauces as Keith does, he advises that you can use skim milk instead of whipping cream. There is a big difference in calories, andyou can add a little flour to thicken it but be careful with the flour. Youalmost make a very light roux and add the skim milk to it.

There are a number of people in the Gilles household to delight in Keith’s cooking. Cindy likes that he cooks most of her favorites, especially thestuffed artichokes. Also, the baked macaroni gets praise from theyoungsters in the family who include Lindsay and Misty Trant, Amy, Blake and Keagan Gilles. There is much talk about the blackened shrimp, sauted inrum, grey poupon and lemon juice. The butterfly shrimp makes a goodappetizer. When not busy with ball games and other events, Keith likespreparing food for the family, and, as Cindy says, “whoever else shows up around the neighborhood.”Besides the sauted shrimp, when Lindsay had her senior prom night group over to her home, Keith prepared a salad, onion soup with home-made croutons, grilled fillets and fettuccine Alfredo. For Easter they had prime rib,baked macaroni and fresh string beans. Whether he is tending to the rosegarden outside or the cooking inside, this self-employed investment advisor doesn’t have to look far for someone to appreciate his talents.

Following are several of his cooking recipes:

STUFFED ARTICHOKES 4 artichokes (big leaves) 3 lemons 24 oz. Italian bread crumbs8 oz. grated Parmesan cheese1/2 cup granulated garlic 32 oz. olive oil

Carefully trim the points off the artichoke leaves. Leave the stem on. In alarge pot, bring water to a boil. Add two lemons, squeezing the juice into thewater. Place artichokes in boiling water, cook for thirteen minutes.In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly mix all dry ingredients together. Make surethe mix is free of any lumps. Add the olive oil. Again mix thoroughly.After the artichokes cook for 13 minutes, remove, strain and allow to cool.

After cooling, trim the stem to a point where the artichoke will stand by itself. Using a soup spoon, add the mix to each leaf. Sprinkle the tops withParmesan cheese and decorate with a slice of lemon.

Place the stuffed artichokes in a covered roasting pot. Fill the bottom of thepot with a small amount of lemon water. Cook covered at 300 degrees forone hour or until the tops are brown and the leaves come off easily.

BAKED MACARONI

12 oz. #7 macaroni1 stick salted butter 1-1/2 lbs. grated cheddar cheese1/2 lb. grated Mozzarella cheese32 oz. milk2 eggs

Place the macaroni in salted, boiling water. Cook until tender. Thoroughly mixthe egg and milk and place on the side.

Strain the macaroni and rinse. In the same pot, melt the stick of butter. While the fire is till on low, add the cooked macaroni to the pot. Add the milkand egg mixture and stir. Then, add the Mozzarella cheese and one pound ofthe cheddar cheese. Stir thoroughly on low heat.Add the macaroni to a large casserole dish. Sprinkle the top with theremaining cheddar cheese, covering the entire top of the casserole. Cookuncovered for one hour at 325 degrees or until the cheese covering browns.

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