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Great Cooks
By Nancy Jo Batman

Even though I’ve always heard that men make the best cooks, my mind still flashes back to a conversation I had with a fellow employee at the A.E. Staley Mfg. Co. several years ago.

He was giving me a recipe for a New Year’s Eve snack and was doing it very earnestly: “Take a package of those little cheddar wienie things and put them in a crock pot. Add a bottle of Bullpit Barbecue Sauce and just heat them up.”

Decatur Magazine did a recent EPOLL asking for "favorite cooks that are famous for something." Over 57% of the email responses were from friends, co-workers and family members who raved about the culinary specialties of their favorite male cook. The following six men received the most votes in this hallowed hall of fame: Gary McElfresh, David Golden, Chuck Novak, Mark Tupper, Dave Brandon and Steve Garman.

All of the recipes are very detailed except the one for hamburgers offered by Gary McElfresh, who only uses three ingredients: hamburger, salt and pepper. The secret is in the technique.

Gary McElfresh, McDonald's Restaurant Owner
Gary is no stranger to burgers. He has been flipping them at McDonald’s since he was in college at the University of Illinois where he met his wife, Lynn, who was also an employee there. (He now owns three McDonald’s in Decatur.)

Gary McElfresh-Hamburgers
Ingredients
-hamburger (70-75 percent lean)
-salt
-pepper.

Sound easy? Read on. “The technique is everything,” he says.

Preparation
First, Gary pulls out a special spatula from the cabinet-actually he has two of them and uses both in the preparation of his burgers. He cuts the pound of meat in half and smashes it down with one of the spatulas, then forms a nicely round circle with the other so the burgers have no ragged edges.

The burgers are about one inch thick and sometimes five inches in diameter. He then takes out his favorite griddle and sets the stove on medium high. Setting the timer for five or six minutes Gary begins frying and watching-never turning his back on them.

When the burgers are gray around the edges, he turns them-“but I don’t mash them down. That makes the flavor and juices run out.”

Then he adds the other two ingredients: salt and pepper-the freshly ground kind of pepper--and cooks the patties for another five minutes.

While the burgers are sizzling on their second side, he toasts the buns in a toaster oven for about 50 seconds. He then places the heel under the hamburger and puts his ingredients-cheese, onions, lettuce, ketchup, mustard, pickles, tomatoes, whatever, on top. “I don’t melt the cheese right on top of the hamburger when it’s cooking. People make a mistake when they do that.” He then covers the hamburgers with the lid for exactly 20 seconds.

Added Attraction: The hamburgers are very juicy, so napkins must be provided. Gary's burgers are pink in the middle, but you can adjust cooking time for individual tastes.

Mark Tupper, Executive Sports Editor for the Herald & Review
Mark doesn’t call fishing a sport, although he takes three fishing vacations a year. “It’s just my favorite thing to do,” he says.

He loves the whole process: the planning of the trip, the driving, the fishing, the cleaning, the cooking and the eating.

David Golden, Theatre Professor at Millikin University
Sarah Golden liked to take her lunch to school when she was younger. She never knew what she would find. It might be your usual cold pizza complete with homegrown, home-dried tomatoes or muffeletta, a New Orleans type of sandwich featuring cold luncheon meat, cheeses and other good things in a round loaf of bread.

Preparation
In a heavy-bottomed soup kettle, heat the oil, add the leeks and cook until tender. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook for 5 minutes, again stirring often. Add the orange zest, the saffron, the thyme, the provencal spices, white pepper, crushed red pepper and fennel seeds and cook another 5 minutes (yes, stirring often).

Add 4 8-ounce bottles of clam juice and 32 ounces of water. Cool for 30 minutes.

Croutons
Cut a loaf of French bread into rounds. Put on a cookie sheet. Brush top with extra virgin oil. Toast at 250 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn. Brush on some more oil and rub with smashed cloves of garlic. Continue toasting until crusty. Pass with the soup.

Chuck Novak, President, Richland Community College
When Chuck Novak came back from his vacation this summer, he was met by a sight sadder than a dead parakeet. The stuff in a Mason jar in the refrigerator looked like something from the “X-Files.” It had turned into a liquid and didn’t smell “right,” Chuck says.

That was his sourdough starter, and the way he talked about its death made me realize I am never ever going to do anything with yeast. It’s just too sad.

“I killed it somehow. I had been feeding it and taking care of it and it was absorbing the atmosphere of the north side of Decatur just right. It was just sad losing it-it had such great character,” Chuck says.

Chuck started making bread “a long time ago” by hand, but now uses a bread machine for the kneading part. One of his bread recipes is called “Chuck’s Caribbean Red Bread,” which he takes to the office now and then. “They murder it in no time,” he says. “It tastes like regular bread with a bit of a nip to it,” he says. The nip comes from his Burpee-produced back-yard peppers that are supposed to be the hottest peppers you can get.

Chuck Novak’s Caribbean Red Bread
Ingredients
Chuck uses a sourdough starter, but if you don’t have one, here’s a regular recipe:
-4 cups of flour (King Arthur Bread Machine Flour)
-1 ¼-1 ½ cups of water (no chlorine; it kills yeast)
-2 ½ tsp. salt
-1 Tbs. yeast/or store package
-2 Tbs. honey
¼ tsp. Crushed pepper
(Chuck uses his own dried crushed Caribbean Red Peppers, but you can substitute crushed red pepper from the spice section or some fresh habanero peppers from Schnucks. Dry them, then crush between parchment paper-don’t touch or breathe the peppers-and then seal them in a small Mason jar for later use.)

Preparation
Using a bread machine, add the ingredients according to the manufacturer’s directions. When the dough has risen-at the end of the dough cycle-put it on a floured board and divide it into at least two loaves. They can be French style baguettes or round loaves. Round loaves are easier and last longer. If you do baguettes, roll the dough out into an oval about 12 inches long. Spray the oval with water and roll it tightly into a baguette. Spray the pan or cookie sheet with Pam. Place the baguette in the pan or on a cookie sheet with the seam side down. Baguettes are good if you’re having people over and you know the bread will disappear. Round loaves last longer and make bigger sandwiches.

Let the dough rise for at least two hours for a lighter loaf. Set the oven to 400 degrees and preheat. Spray the tops of the loaves with water to soften the outer skin (takes several minutes to soften), then slash the tops of the loaves gently with a very sharp knife or a razor blade. The slashes would be about two to three inches apart. Sprinkle the loaves with flour, poppy seeds or whatever you prefer. Throw five to eight ice cubes into the preheated oven, and slide in the bread. Check the bread at 10 minutes to make sure it is not browning too fast. Let cook for about 20 minutes depending on your oven. In other words, keep an eye on it.

If you want a crustier crust, when the bread is done, leave it in the turned off oven for another five minutes. Bring out the bread and put the loaves on a wire rack to cool for almost an hour.

Added Attraction: Let the bread cool. “Too many people like to eat hot bread. The bread is not done until it has cooled. Eating hot bread is akin to eating raw chicken,” according to Chuck.

Dave Brandon, Millikin University, Director of Development, former WCIA News Reporter
Dave Brandon began cooking in high school when he had to have a job to pay for his car, and Long John Silver’s in St. Charles, Illinois, seemed to be the gas-filling ticket. While working his way through Wheaton Academy, he spent several summers in the kitchen at Lost Valley Ranch near Deckers, Colorado, where he learned to crack two eggs into a pan from each hand at the same time with no shells. He won an award from the Colorado Guest Ranch Association for his Sunday brunch melon platters.

An avid hunter, he has honed his skills at cooking game over the years, and his non-hunting friends have been known to ask for seconds and thirds when there are Italian goose sandwiches or bacon-wrapped marinated dove breasts on the table.

But his favorite recipe is one devised some years ago by his mother, which he has tinkered with a bit here and there, called “Ma Brandon’s Hearty Corn Chowder.”

Ma Brandon’s Hearty Corn Chowder Dave Brandon's Version
Ingredients
-¾ lb. Thick sliced bacon
-6 large Yukon Gold potatoes, ½” diced
-1 medium-sized yellow onion, ¼” diced
-2 cans sweet yellow corn, liquid included
-2 quart-can Sweet Sue chicken broth
-2 Tbs. flour
-2 tsp. McCormick Poultry Seasoning
-Several turns of fresh ground white pepper
-1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream

Preparation
While it’s in a block, slice the bacon into ¼” thick bits. In a heavy one-gallon Dutch oven, slowly cook the bacon over medium heat to render the fat. Cook until bacon bits are crisp. Remove the bacon bits and add the onion to the bacon fat. Maintaining medium heat, brown the onion until caramelized. Add the bacon bits, the flour and stir well.

Boost the heat a bit; add the diced potatoes, poultry seasoning and several turns of white pepper. Cook the potatoes until the edges begin to show signs of brown color (about 10-15 minutes, stirring to keep them moving).

Add two cans of corn and the large can of chicken broth. Maintain medium-high heat and check the potatoes often. When they are soft, they are done. The chowder will thicken as it cooks. When it begins to bubble, remove from heat and stir in the sour cream.

Added Attraction: You may garnish with bacon bits and a bit of chopped green onion, and serve with a hot, crusty bread. The chowder keeps for a week in the refrigerator if your guests don't eat it all.

Steve Garman, Decatur City Manager
It's probably because Steve Garman formerly lived in Pensacola, Florida, where gumbo is “very big” that he likes to make this thick, spicy Cajun seafood stew. Steve was influenced by his “200 easy mile neighbor”-New Orleans-where he learned to appreciate the spicy, Cajun dishes of that region. Steve does most of the cooking in his home because it has always been one of his favorite hobbies.

Although he has lived in Decatur only a year, Steve has found some favorite places to obtain fish for his gumbo. He prefers amberjack, snapper or flounder, but when they are difficult to get, he relies on tilapi fish, which is harvested by ADM at its Decatur plant. He also selects fresh flash frozen fish from Kroger for his Gulf Coast Gumbo.

Steve Garman’s Gulf Coast Gumbo
Ingredients
-1 green pepper, sliced thin
-1 ½ cups chopped celery
-2 bunches of chopped green onions
-1 Tbs. garlic
-2 bay leaves
-3 Tbs. mixed spices (Pen Zeys Italian is excellent)
-2 cans chicken broth
-1 can stewed diced tomatoes
-1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
-1 lb. Italian sausage, cooked and sliced (grilled in advance is good)
-1 lb. Shrimp, peeled
-1 lb. Fish
-1 box frozen okra
-1 Tbs. Zatarain’s gumbo file¢
-salt and pepper

Roux
-1 ¼ stick butter
-6 Tbs. flour

Preparation
To prepare the roux: Melt butter over medium heat, slowly and stirring almost constantly. Add the flour slowly. In about 15 to 20 minutes the roux will become caramel colored. Be patient. Wait and stir until a dark golden color appears.

Add the celery, onions, green pepper, garlic, salt and pepper to the roux and cook for 10 minutes on low heat to soften the vegetables. Add 2 Tbs. mixed spices, bay leaves, chicken broth, diced tomatoes and sauce. Simmer on low for 1 hour. Add the shrimp, fish, sausage and okra; cook 15 minutes.

Add final Tbs. mixed spices and file gumbo; stir and cook 5 minutes.

Added Attraction: Serve over cooked rice with French bread and hot sauce.

Publisher's Note:
These recipes may be printed for personal use only.

This article originally appeared in the October/Novemeber 2000 issue of Decatur Magazine.
It may not be reproduced or redistributed in whole or in part without the publisher's consent.
© Copyright 2000 Decatur Magazine - First String Productions. All rights reserved.