My Favorite Recipes: Meet Cherie Patnode

Cherie and her husband, Pat, moved from Selah to the Palouse in 2009 with a tape measure in hand. They were on a quest to find the right house for their family as well as a home that could accommodate their custom made log bed that measures 8 x 8. It was an intense search that required carrying a measuring tape into each home they considered.

The Patnodes were relieved to find a charming craftsman style home that boasted of a freshly renovated bedroom suite that could fit their cherished piece of furniture, as well as their growing family. The Patnodes are also grateful that they found just the right fit for their family in Colfax. Cherie recalls being cautioned about buying in Colfax because rumor had it the town was not known to be very welcoming to people from outside the area. She is thankful to report that their family was warmly welcomed and has not experienced anything but a friendly and inviting community.

Cherie enjoys her job as a medical assistant and working with Dr. Singh and his staff. Pat is a surgical tech that is employed in Pullman.

They are the parents of three daughters; Jessa, 13; Jade, 10, and June, 7. Cherie also claims her fur baby, a labrador named River, as a family member. The family stays busy being involved in many activities including the county fair and showing pigs. They are also active in several local sports as well, enjoying as much time as possible fishing, hunting mushrooms and squeezing in a trip each year to the Oregon coast. This year they were excited to try their hand at salmon fishing in Astoria, Ore. They immensely enjoyed it, even though they found themselves competing with the seals.

Cherie loves to cook and fondly remembers falling in love with some high quality, pampered chef kitchen products, but knew that it wasn't in her budget at that time. She decided to host a party and caught the Pampered Chef bug right then and there. Hosting parties regularly became her passion in order to earn more products that she could cook with. It carried on for the next five years. This was the beginning of what has now become her side career, as she shares these favored kitchen products with others as a Pampered Chef consultant. If you are interested in finding out more information about these products, you can go to http://www.pamperedchef.biz/cpatnode.

Recipes

Smoked Pork Ribs

Flavored smoking pellets (hickory and apple are really good)

2 racks of baby back pork ribs

2-1/2 cups dark brown sugar

pork rub of your choice

seasoning salt

1 Angry Orchard hard cider

Place plastic wrap over your work space, make sure to have enough that you can completely wrap the ribs in them. Using the seasoning salt, salt both sides of the ribs, rub the dry rub all over them, and then rub the brown sugar over both sides. Wrap the ribs up and let them marinate for at least an hour. Set your smoker to the "smoke" setting. Place ribs meat side up in smoker and smoke for three hours. After three hours, remove ribs and place in heavy duty aluminum foil; each rack will have its own foil pack. Pour hard cider over the top of the ribs and seal the aluminum foil, crimping tightly so it won't leak. Smoke for two more hours. Turn smoker (or oven) to 225 degrees F and bake for one hour, until meat is cooked and tender.

Cherie's Famous Potato Salad

I constantly have people asking me to make this for events and I always tell people it is literally the easiest potato salad to make! They still think I have some type of secret recipe.

3 lb. bag of yukon gold potatoes

1 dozen large eggs

1-1/2 10 oz. jars of Vlasic Dill Relish, undrained

Best Foods mayonnaise to taste

1-2 Tbsp. mustard

Smoked paprika

1 small sweet onion, diced

Salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until just barely fork tender, let cool. Hard boil eggs and peel. Peel and chop potatoes and eggs into bite sized pieces, and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the dill relish, mayonnaise (I prefer a wetter potato salad, so I add about a cup,) mustard and onion. Mix well. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour potato salad into a serving bowl and sprinkle smoked paprika on top. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving.

Blackberry Cheesecake

Crust

1 package of Pecan Sandies cookies

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla

Filling

3 8 oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature

1-1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1/2 cup thick sour cream

Topping

2 cups blackberries

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place cookies into a food processor. Pulse until mixture becomes crumbs. Add melted butter and vanilla and pulse again until combined. Pour into a 10-inch springform pan, and press crumbs into the bottom of the pan.

For the filling, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add sour cream and mix again. Pour mixture into crust, smooth the top, and bake for one hour, 10 minutes. Turn off the oven and open door and allow to sit for 15 minutes in the oven. Remove and allow to cool.

For the topping, add blackberries, sugar and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly. Pour blackberries over cheesecake and place pan into fridge for at least three hours, overnight is better. When ready to serve, remove rim around pan and slice with a serrated knife.