My favorite recipes

Mary Bertrand returned to LaCrosse, feeling that her heart was calling her there, in 1997. She still owned the family home at LaCrosse and after many years in big and busy cities, she decided to come home.

Mary’s family moved to LaCrosse in 1945, where her father worked as a foreman for Union Pacific Railroad. In those days, Union Pacific was a major factor in Whitman County, moving vast amounts of freight, employing many people and paying generous taxes into county coffers. Her father already had a large family, so he was not drafted for military service during World War II.

After eighth grade, Mary’s mother, a convert in an Irish Catholic family, made sure that the children went to St. Joseph’s Academy in Sprague for high school. After the parochial school closed, the younger siblings graduated from LaCrosse High School.

Mary enjoyed high school at St. Joseph’s and the weekends at home in LaCrosse were a treat. After high school Mary entered the Sisters of Providence and served as a nun. Sisters of Providence are often medical professionals or teachers, and Mary trained to be a teacher.

College was at the University of Great Falls in Montana, and then she did graduate studies at DePaul University in Chicago, which combined the fine arts of music, visual arts and literature. It was while she was living and working in Chicago that she met and fell in love with Jim Bertrand, a psychologist. After 18 years, she left her order. They married three years after meeting.

When their children were small, they were convinced by friends to move to Phoenix, Ariz. Without firm job offers, they jumped in and the move was a big success. Mary taught in nearby Peoria, Ariz., and she loved the school district. The leadership was so positive and brought out the best in the staff. During her last 10 years in the Peoria School District, she taught in the gifted program.

Jim died in 1995, and Mary returned home in 1997, accepting a position in the St. John-Endicott cooperative. She teaches performing arts at Endicott elementary and Endicott-St. John Middle School in the morning, and art at St. John-Endicott High School in the afternoon.

Mary also helps prepare children in the LaCrosse and Endicott areas for First Communion, and she is active at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in LaCrosse.

Mary enjoys challenging students in the arts. She assigns one painting per quarter that is a reproduction of a great work of art, and other paintings are chosen by her students. One recent graduate told her that she learned so much studying “The Scream” by Edvard Munch in high school, so that when she was assigned to do it using Post-It notes in a college art class, she already understood the painting and had fun working with the piece again.

“You can teach an awful lot about life, no matter what the subject,” Mary noted. With teaching and rearing children, she believes that you need to have a sense of humor and to pick your battles.

Hoping to rehab the old family home in LaCrosse, she contacted an area contractor, who confirmed her worst fears. The foundation of river rock was crumbling, and the decision was made to tear it down and rebuild on the property, which Mary loves. It is located between the United Methodist Church and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in LaCrosse. Her new home is Victorian style and was chosen because it fits the lot size.

Mary’s two daughters remain in Arizona. Joanna and her husband live in Goodyear, and she works as a head-hunter, finding executive talent for corporations. Joy, an attorney, is in Phoenix, has her own firm and has passed the bar in several nearby states.

As a result of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane “Know, Love, and Serve” program, Mary and other parishioners organized a book share at St. Joseph’s in LaCrosse. Parishioners brought books that had spiritual meaning for them, put them on a table to be checked out and shared, and enjoyed coffee and doughnuts after Mass and talked about their books.

Mary’s mother couldn’t stand having kids in the kitchen, so Mary did not learn to cook at home. It was just too much mess and confusion with a large family. Her cooking mentor was Frances Knott, and Mary worked there during the summer, including harvest. Her first dish made with Frances’ supervision was fresh strawberry pie. Frances loved cooking and spent time looking at her cookbooks and recipe collection to choose dishes to make. She also taught Mary to make popovers and Yorkshire puddings, which are served with beef roast.

Frances reminded Mary not to laugh at the rough manners of the field hands when they ate together. It was difficult, she noted.

Cooking is fun for Mary, and she enjoys taking the time to page through her mother’s cookbooks and then enjoy the process of cooking the food. She loves cooking shows, especially Iron Chef and the Barefoot Contessa.

Mary loves what she is doing and it shows.

Recipes:

Herbed Chicken with Artichokes

3 whole chicken breasts (about 1 pound each), skinned, boned, and split

1 jar (6 ounces) marinated artichoke hearts, drained

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/4 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced or pressed

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1/2 teaspoon each dry basil, dry oregano, and ground turmeric

paprika

sour cream (optional)

Arrange chicken in a 9x13-inch baking dish; tuck artichokes between chicken pieces. In a wide frying pan, melt butter over medium high heat; drizzle half the butter over chicken, reserving remainder in pan. Bake chicken, uncovered, in a 375 degree F oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add mushrooms to pan and cook, stirring often until soft. Add garlic and cook, stirring often, for about 1 minute. Stir in tomato sauce, basil, oregano and turmeric. Bring to a boil; set aside.

Pour mushroom mixture over chicken; sprinkle with paprika. Return to oven and continue baking until meat in thickest part is no longer pink when slashed (10 to 15 more minutes until internal temperature reaches 170). Offer sour cream, if desired, to add to individual portions. Makes 6 servings.

Cheddar Cheese Potato Salad

1/2 cup chopped bacon

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pound thin-skinned potatoes, boiled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 cup cheddar cheese cubes (about 1/4-inch squares)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons prepared mustard

salt and pepper

In frying pan, cook bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Remove with slotted spoon and transfer to a large bowl; reserve drippings in pan.

Add onion to pan and cook, stirring often, until soft. Remove with slotted spoon and add to bacon, along with potatoes, eggs, cheese, mayonnaise, and mustard; mix lightly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If made ahead, cover and refrigerate up to a day. Makes 6 servings.

Old-Fashioned Poundcake

1 pound butter (2 cups)

1 pound cake flour (4 cups)

10 eggs, separated

1 pound sugar (2 cups)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream butter; work in flour until mixture is mealy. Beat egg yolks, sugar and vanilla until thick and fluffy. Add butter/flour mixture gradually, beating thoroughly. Beat egg whites until stiff; fold into batter. Beat vigorously for 5 minutes. Bake in 2 loaf pans lined with parchment paper in a moderately slow oven (325 degrees F) 1 hour 15 minutes. Makes 2 loaves 8 x 4 inches.

Supreme Brownies

2 squares chocolate

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt chocolate and butter. Beat 2 eggs and add 1 cup sugar. Combine eggs mixture with chocolate mixture. Blend 1/2 cup flour with 1/4 teaspoon salt; add to chocolate mixture and stir until blended. Add 1/2 cup nuts.

Spread batter in shallow pan about 8x11-inches, or 9x9-inches. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool.

Icing

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 squares bittersweet chocolate

Combine powdered sugar, butter, and cream in saucepan, bring to a boil, and cook to soft ball stage. Remove, cool, and add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until creamy. Spread over brownies. Let icing set. Melt 2 squares of bittersweet chocolate and spread over icing. Yummy!