SALTILLO – When Wanda Robinson married some 57 years ago, the only thing she knew how to make was spaghetti.
“If I wanted to keep my husband, I knew I had to learn how to cook vegetables,” Robinson said. “That’s what he was used to.”
Robinson didn’t grow up cooking. She was an only child raised in Jones County, and only ventured into the kitchen to make a root beer float or a pineapple upside down cake.
“One of my best memories are the ice cream suppers we had,” she said. “Everybody would bring big freezers of ice cream. That’s all you ate. No salty foods, no sandwiches, just ice cream. It was wonderful.”
Robinson and her husband, Perry, met while both were in seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He was studying music; she was there for kindergarten education. They married their last year there and moved to Memphis.
“That’s when I really started cooking,” said Robinson, 81. “I remember I had a women’s group to my house. Anything I knew how to make, I made it and served it. Those women just looked at all that food – I don’t know if they ate it or not. Afterward, a lady took me aside and said, ‘You know, when I host in my home, I try to keep it simple and just serve a couple of things.'”
After Memphis, the couple lived in several places in Mississippi, including Columbus, Collins, Laurel, Ellisville and Hattiesburg. They also lived in the Cayman Islands for four years and in Highlands, North Carolina. Perry is a retired minister of music, while Robinson was involved in the music programs at the churches they served. They are both passionate about mission work, and especially enjoy traveling to Cuba.
“I started entertaining when we married,” Robinson said. “We have had tons of company over the years. When you live in the Caymans or the Highlands, people want to come see you. We hosted birthday parties, scavenger hunts. When I entertain, I get excited, anxious. I have to have time to prepare, and then I do fine.”
The couple moved to Saltillo in 2012 to be closer to family. They have three children and six grandchildren.
Robinson used to cook a big Sunday dinner after church, like pot roast with carrots and potatoes or barbecued chicken or fried fish. She doesn’t cook do those big meals anymore. If she does host, she makes something lighter, like chicken spaghetti, or chicken and wild rice, or chicken pot pie.
“We still make gumbo all the time,” Robinson said. “Perry’s folks lived on the coast, so we always had shrimp in the freezer.”
And when she does cook, she always makes an extra serving.
“When we lived in Columbus, a woman told me, ‘When you fix dinner, make enough so you have an extra plate to take to somebody,'” Robinson said. “My mother did that, so that’s what I do. I feed people.”
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 [email protected].
OAT-CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
2 sticks butter or margarine, softened
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs, milk and vanilla, beating well. Add flour, baking soda and salt; mix well. Stir in oats chocolate chips and nuts, if using; mix well.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 9 to 10 minutes for a chewy cookie or 12 to 13 minutes for a crisp cookie. Cool 1 minute on baking sheet; remove to wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen.
CEREAL COOKIES
1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispies, Cornflakes or Cocoa Puffs cereal
Combine sugar and syrup in a saucepan and bring to a bubble. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and cereal. Drop cookies by tablespoons onto waxed paper and let cool.
PARTY COOKIES
2 sticks butter or margarine
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
Cream butter, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla. Combine flour and salt and stir into creamed mixture. Chill dough.
Roll cookies into 1-teaspoon balls. Dip each ball into lightly beaten egg whites and roll in nuts. Place on a cookie sheet; press finger into center of each. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes (you may need to press the centers again when they come out of the oven while they’re hot). Let cool. Fill centers with colored icing.
VIP CAKE
Combine all ingredients. Pour batter into a greased Bundt or tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes. Serve cake plain with ice cream or strawberries on the side.
CHOCOLATE CHESS PIES
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 large can evaporated milk
Whipped cream, chopped pecans, cherries
Melt together the margarine and cocoa. Beat together eggs and sugar. Combine the mixtures. Add evaporated milk and vanilla and mix well.
Divide mixture between pie crusts. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes. When cool, decorate the tops with whipped cream, chopped nuts and cherries.
CRAB AND CORN BISQUE
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 stick butter or margarine, melted
2 cans cream of potato soup
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 (14-ounce) can cream-style corn
Shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, scallions, sour cream, for serving
Sauté celery, green onions and bell pepper in butter in a Dutch oven Add soup, bay leaves, thyme, garlic powder and pepper. Add corn, half-and-half and milk. Cook until thoroughly heated. Gently stir in crabmeat and heat through. Discard bay leaves. Spoon into bowls and garnish with shredded cheese, bacon, scallions and/or sour cream.
CORNBREAD MUFFINS
1 1/4 cups self-rising cornmeal
1/3 cup self-rising flour
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Beat together cornmeal, flour, oil, egg and buttermilk. Pour batter into a greased 12-cup muffin tin.Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until done.
APPLE COCONUT CAKE
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups peeled, chopped cooking apples
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 stick butter or margarine
For the cake, combine flour, soda, salt and cinnamon; mix well and set aside.
Combine oil, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Beat at medium speed of an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed just until blended. Fold in pecans, apples and coconut (batter will be stiff).
Spoon batter into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and drizzle with glaze.
For the glaze, combine brown sugar, milk and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a full boil and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm. Drizzle over hot cake.
QUICHE
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese, divided
1/2 pound breakfast sausage, cooked till crumbly, and drained
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 unbaked deep-dish pie crust
In a bowl, combine 1 cup cheese, cooked sausage, bell peppers, onion, eggs and half-and-half. Mix well.
Pour into unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.
ENGLISH PEA SALAD
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded, divided
2 tablespoon sweet pickle relish, divided
4 tablespoons chopped green bell pepper, divided
1 can English peas, drained, divided
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and finely chopped, divided
1 cup shredded cheese, divided
In a clear glass serving bowl, layer in this order; half of the shredded lettuce, 1 tablespoon pickle relish, 2 tablespoons bell pepper, 1/2 can drained English peas, a light layer of mayonnaise, 1 chopped egg and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Repeat layers. Refrigerate.
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