What’s Cookin’ ? : Parties for one are no fun for this local cook
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
I am always looking for cooks to feature in this column. I never know where I might find them, who might recommend them or how I will get a new name.
I am naturally an outgoing person - someone who tends to strike up a conversation with many a stranger. So when I found myself at a local kitchenware store, hunting for silicon cupcake holders, I naturally had to comment to the woman who got to them first. And a lucky conversation it was, because Janet Tackett, great Bella Vista cook, is that woman.
Janet's skills go far beyond baking or cupcakes. She is probably one of the most ambitious, involved cooks to ever be featured in this column. A recent widow, Janet has found the time in retirement to really research recipes and put on elaborately staged dinners.
Janet approaches the entertaining experience differently - she cooks with other people. Her favorite cooking companion is her cousin, Jeanne Tackett, from Fayetteville. These two cousins by marriage - Jeanne's husband, Gerald, is Janet's cousin - can be found on many a day comparing recipes, searching for ingredients and planning the next theme party.
Two of the recurring theme meals happen in Janet's casual downstairs family room. Jimmy Buffet parties have a tropical theme, complete with "Cheeseburgers in Paradise "from the grill. A recent Texas road house party featured peanuts in buckets (shells thrown on the floor ), long-neck bottles of drinks, hot wings, red beans, salsa and chips, thin T-bone steaks, steak fries, and peach and blueberry cobbler for dessert. All of this accompanied by country western dancing on a huge piece of linoleum spread for just this occasion.
Janet believes that you eat with your eyes, so she spends time not only on the food but on the presentation. You might find edible flowers on a salad, slivers of endive holding a seasoned filling and intricately arranged meat under a fruit sauce. Her tables are always filled with lovely china, flatware and centerpieces. She also might have a printed menu at each place.
Janet's father was an executive, and she grew up helping her mother prepare many dinner parties. Her mother was a wonderful cook, Janet said, and she learned the particulars of entertaining from her.
She also learned cooking skills from her grandmother, although her grandmother's method of measuring left a lot to the imagination. Grandmother's cups might be a teacup, and her other ingredients might be what fit in her hand.
A Fayetteville native, Janet spent most of her life in other parts of the country. She and her late husband traveled to many parts of the world and settled in Bella Vista eight years ago. She has a daughter in Colorado, one in Connecticut and a son who splits his time between San Francisco and Europe. So she has many wonderful places to visit her children and grandchildren. However, she loves returning to Bella Vista and the family members she has nearby.
Janet and Jeanne are carefully practicing for their next food adventure. They recently purchased two cookbooks detailing the last dinner on the Titanic. One book came from a display in Branson, Mo., and the other was obtained by Jeanne in Southampton, England, from where the ship originally departed.
The actual final dinner served on board the ship may have had as many as 11 courses. The local cooking duo has shortened the presentation to a manageable seven courses and have prepared two attempts at the final meal. The last practice dinner featured cream of barley soup, poached salmon, minted green pea timbales, creamed carrots, punch romaine, roasted hens on wilted watercress, chateau potatoes and peaches in chartreuse jelly.
The duo is planning on perfecting this meal and would like to serve it to about 20 guests. They might even decide to auction off the meal as a fundraiser for a local charity. Those plans are still in the works.
All of the courses were photographed, and details of the dinner are recorded in one of the many notebooks Janet keeps chronicling the meals she has prepared. An active scrapbooker, she has beautifully captured the essence of many of the wonderful meals she has prepared.
Janet says she does not like to cook alone or just for herself. Wouldn't it be a wonderful happening if more Bella Vista singles would join with other area singles to cook meals together ? Maybe this could become a trend and happening in our city - sharing food and good times.
If you read this article and would like to explore this cocooking concept with me - I am single, too - please send me an e-mail at maggierob @ cox. net telling me you might be interested. I will coordinate an initial gathering of those of us who might want to occasionally cook together.
Janet and Jeanne are perpetuating a long line of women in the kitchen. Food, cooking, meal preparation and party planning have been activities we have all been a party of for centuries. It is so nice to know that this is still a fun, creative and expressive activity. Thank you, Janet, for talking with me over those cupcake pans. It was a delightful chance meeting.
• • • Jane Robshaw is a resident of Bella Vista. An avid cook and editor of Bella Vista's community cookbook," A Village with Taste," she is always looking for new candidates to highlight in this column. Forward any interesting people to maggierob @ cox. net. Everyone in the city has a story to tell and a recipe to share.
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