Angela Haire

“I really, truly, dearly love cooking–the whole process–from going to the grocery, to cooking, and the family time together,” said Angela Haire of Vardaman.
“I am amazed at what the good Lord has blessed us with–fruits and vegetables, and spices,” she said, adding that she wants to try her hand at lavender.
Growing up, her parents, James and the late Linda Clark, would do Oriental or Spanish night meals, and she has a lot of memories from those.
She credits them with her love now for having little themed get-togethers. There is a cake she has in mind, along with Swedish meatballs that are a favorite of husband Jesse, she wants to do for an International event, and she also wants to host an English tea party. As Harry Potter fans, one featured chocolate candy frogs.

“I will try just about anything–cooking or eating. I like to try the unusual. I have always loved gourmet cooking and I like to experiment,” she said. She recalls her mother’s love for Paula Deen dishes and her father making some beautiful cakes.
Angela is interested in getting better with pastries. She likes scones and finger sandwiches and feels that comes from her mother making hors d’oeuvres.
She loves to look through recipes and will usually try one first, then tweak it.
“Sometimes you have flops,” she said.

When she was younger she would look at cookbooks and see if her mother had the ingredients on hand to make something she wanted to try. She enjoyed cooking for her parents. “Those were good times, and they were gracious,” she said, referring to her experimentation.

Her family, which includes their daughters Autumn, 15, and Izzy, 5, love sweets, and she admits she has a sweet tooth. They also love the taste of sweet and salty combined. They enjoy cooking and taking food to others.  Autumn likes to help cut veggies up and has learned some basic things. “She is great help in the kitchen!”
About her submitted recipes, “The club sandwich might seem unusual to some people’s taste, but it is absolutely delicious and has become a family favorite,” she says about the Taste of Home recipe she got years ago. The tomato galette recipe is one she simplified from Pinterest. Another family favorite is the pasta bake, and “pear salad is a great complement to this tasty dish,” she said.

She likes to have pear salad with tomato dishes. And the versatility of the lemon lush recipe is what she loves about it.
Angela has worked at the Vardaman School Cafeteria nine years. “I work with some great cooks,” she said, and they share a lot of recipes.
“The kids’ favorites are honey barbecue wings, chicken strips and pizza,” and a new recipe this past school year, mandarin chicken, is something students and faculty both liked.

Sweet Club Sandwich
2 tubes (8 oz. each) refrigerated Crescent rolls
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
4 Tbsp. honey, divided
Thinly sliced deli smoked turkey
Thinly sliced deli smoked ham
Sliced Muenster or Monterey Jack cheese
1/3 cup raspberry preserves
1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
Unroll each tube of crescent roll dough into two rectangles. Place 2” apart on ungreased baking sheets. Press perforations to seal. In small bowl combine butter and 2 Tbsp. honey. Brush over dough. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on pans 15 minutes. Carefully transfer one crust to a greased 15”x10”x1” baking pan. Layer with turkey and a couple slices cheese, second crust, cheese and ham. Add third crust, spread with preserves. Top with remaining crust, spread with remaining honey. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 10-15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and loaf is heated through. Carefully cut into slices. Serves 8.

Heirloom Tomato Galette
1 refrigerated pre-rolled 9” crust
2-3 Heirloom tomatoes (purple, green, orange, yellow, red)
About 4 shallots, diced (about a cup’s worth)
Extra virgin olive oil
2-3 Tbsp. honey (I use raw)
8 oz. Feta cheese (chunk or crumbles) or goat’s milk cheese
Sea salt and cracked black peppercorn
Well beaten egg
Preheat oven to 375°. Place parchment paper on cookie sheet and top with unrolled pie crust. In circular motion, crumble feta or goat cheese, leaving about 2” border around crust. In small skillet with olive oil, saute and carmelize shallots over medium heat (about 10 minutes). If no shallots, no problem, use a sweet onion with a little garlic (1 Tbsp.) added to it. Once carmelized, add to cheese. Slice tomatoes and place in bowl, liberally apply salt and pepper. Place on top of shallots and drizzle with olive oil and thyme. Roll up dough on all sides and brush with egg wash. Bake 45 minutes-1 hour. Crust needs to be golden brown and tomatoes wilted and charred a bit.

Creamy Italian Pasta Bake
1 1/2 lbs. ground round or lean beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 pkg. (13.25 oz.) Penne pasta (12 oz. works)
1 can (10.5 oz.) condensed tomato soup
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cottage cheese
1 large bell pepper, finely diced, reserve 1/4 cup
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced (3-4 stalks)
1 1/2-2 cups shredded Parmesan or Italian blend cheese
Preheat oven to 350°. In large skillet, cook ground beef w/onion and bell pepper until no longer pink. Boil and drain pasta according to package instructions. Add soup and sliced tomatoes to ground beef mixture. Season with kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder and pinch of sugar (this brings out garlic flavor in tomatoes.) Bring to boil, reduce heat. Simmer uncovered five minutes. In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese until well blended. Stir in green onions and bell pepper. Pour in warm pasta and stir until well blended. I usually lightly salt and pepper pasta. Pour into greased 2 qt. casserole and top with beef mixture and spread. Top w/cheese and bake uncovered 30-35 minutes. Serve with garlic bread, fresh green  salad and pear salad (pear halves, mayo, topped w/shredded cheddar cheese.)

Lemon Lush
1 pkg. lemon (or Golden Oreos)
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
1-8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup powdered sugar
1-16 oz. container Cool Whip or make your own
2-3.9 oz. pkgs. lemon instant pudding
3 cups milk
Crush Oreos, using bag or food processor. Add to melted butter and mix until well combined. Press into bottom of 9×13 dish spreading out to cover entire bottom of pan. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter/margarine, powdered sugar and half of Cool Whip. Blend well and pour over crust. In another bowl, make pudding by adding milk and pudding. Whisk until mixture is thickened. Pour over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate at least five minutes. Top with remainder of Cool Whip. Refrigerate and chill before serving.