Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Brian Panich, left, and Joanne Lauzon, both financial assistance staff with St. Vincent De Paul, sell the organization's cookbook Sunday at an arts and crafts fair at the All Saints Academy gym.
By TOM LAVENTURE
Ironwood - A new St. Vincent De Paul cookbook offers a glimpse of the culinary diversity of the western Upper Peninsula while raising money for a good cause.
People associated with the three St. Vincent De Paul conferences of Ontonagon, Bessemer and Ironwood submitted 300 recipes that were combined into this first cookbook project of the organization and now available at the three St. Vincent De Paul locations, the food pantries and Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Ironwood.
"The proceeds from the cookbook go for personal care items for persons in need that will be distributed throughout the pantries," said Brian Panich, who compiled the cookbook together with Joanne Lauzon, who are both financial assistance staff with St. Vincent De Paul.
"These are peoples' favorites that they've submitted," Lauzon said. "We have mini-dishes, beverages, side dishes, desserts and breads. It's a culmination of what everybody's decided to put in."
The collection of recipes are divided into sections of appetizers and beverages, soups and salads, vegetable and side dishes, main dishes, breads and rolls, desserts, cookies and candy.
There is also a "this and that" section that includes recipes for homemade laundry soap, glass cleaner and peanut butter dog biscuits. Beyond the index of the 134 page book there are cooking hints, table setting diagrams, and instructions for napkin folding and other tasks.
"We didn't know how popular it was going to be," Panich said of the recipe submissions.
Panich himself provided his Reuben casserole recipe along with his mother's homemade recipes for soap and dog biscuits.
The recipes range from pesto sauce to pannu kakku, and Polish sausage to Swedish pancakes.
Betty Perkis provided recipes including curried lentil vegetable stew and an antipasto salad.
Carol Osterman's potato dumpling recipe, Slovak Haluski, is also in the book, while Pat Niksich offered his Greek tortellini salad recipe.
Nancy Pikka has her Italian wedding soup in the book along with a chai tea mix from Char Brickner.
The book has succeeded in more ways than one, Panich said.
