Local cook adds pork, beef to Italian mother's Friday recipes

Meatless Fridays were non-negotiable when Joann Reich was growing up Catholic in Chicago, one of four children in a devout Italian family.

Without fail at week's end, Joann's mother produced a hot, stick-to-your-ribs dinner that might feature leftover pasta fried in oil with eggs and cheese, or eggplant and potatoes with tomato sauce and beaten egg.

A meat lover even at a young age, Joann didn't relish those meals as much as her mother's sausage and potatoes or meatballs and spaghetti, so when the Catholic church rescinded meatless Fridays, Joann's taste buds sang the "Hallelujah Chorus."

"I got over it, I sure did," jokes Joann of her weekly meatless habit.

While most Italians swoon over pasta and fresh bread, Joann prefers meatballs, sausage, steak, pork chops and chicken.

"I can eat any kind of meat, whether it is tender or not," says Joann, a taste she developed at home.

The daughter of a bus driver, it was a family treat when Joann's mother flash-fried round steak for dinner, despite its chewy texture.

"As we got older, when I was in high school, we started seeing sirloin," she remembers. "When I started to work and I saw a filet, I thought, 'That's what steak is supposed to taste like!' "

Once she started cooking for her husband, Jim, and two sons, Jeff and Jim, now adults, Joann simply added meat to her mother's meatless meals and never looked back. She developed a homey, comfort style of cooking that persists today, particularly when the weather turns cold.

"I don't cook in summer," she says, "but when fall arrives, I cook a hot meal every day."

Thick soups, pasta dishes like lasagna and manicotti -- with homemade pasta -- and roasts are typical dinner fare, as well as pork with sauerkraut and dumplings, a recipe gleaned from a Bohemian woman in the Chicago neighborhood where she grew up.

Semi-retired after 25 years as an office administrator for a telecommunications company, Joann quickly tired of being at home and found a job in Macy's housewares department at Spring Hill Mall. Her employee discount is handy for buying the kitchen tools she loves.

"I did not want to be in clothing, I wanted to make sure I saw every gadget," she says.

No special equipment is required for today's recipes. From her late mother's Friday night repertoire, Joann shares a hefty potato-and-egg skillet casserole to which she adds hot dogs or Italian sausage. Serve it any time of day.

Pasta Fagioli, or "poor man's soup," as Joann calls it, is another favorite from her mother, though Joann adds a hefty pound of diced ham to the pot for that deep, meaty flavor she craves.

Pumpkin cake mimics carrot cake, with its oil-based batter, dense, moist texture and cream cheese frosting.

Joann prepares it all in her new kitchen in West Dundee, where she and husband Jim moved five years ago.

"I finally got an island in my kitchen," says Joann, who used to bend over the kitchen table to do a lot of her prep work. "My back was killing me. Now I'm as happy as a little bumble bee."

Pasta Fagioli

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, medium chop

1 large carrot, shredded

2 ribs celery, shredded

2 cloves garlic, diced

Pinch red pepper

48 ounces great Northern beans

1 can (16 ounces) diced tomatoes

5-6 cups chicken broth

1 bone-in ham slice (about 1 pound), finely chopped or shredded

Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

1½ cups ditalini pasta, raw

Grated Romano for garnish

In soup pot, heat the olive oil. Add onion and sauté until transparent. Add carrot, celery, garlic and red pepper to taste and cook 5 minutes.

Add half the beans with liquid to the pot. Mash or puree the remaining beans and liquid with potato masher or food processor; add to pot and cook 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and chicken broth, simmer about 10 minutes on medium heat.

Add ham and season to taste with salt and black pepper; reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Add pasta and simmer 30 minutes more. Serve garnished with grated Romano cheese.

Serves 10 to 12.

Nutrition values per serving: 260 calories, 10 g fat (2 g saturated), 26 g carbohydrates, 7 g fiber, 21 g protein, 50 mg cholesterol, 550 mg sodium.

Dinner or Breakfast Potatoes and Eggs

5 tablespoons olive oil, divided

6 hot dogs (about ¾ pound) sliced ½-inch thick or ¾ pound bulk Italian sausage

4 medium white potatoes, unpeeled, sliced -inch thick

1 green pepper, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

4 eggs

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Pepper

½ cup Romano cheese, grated

Heat a large skillet pan over medium heat; add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add hot dogs or Italian sausage to pan and brown 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan.

Add remaining oil and heat. Fry potatoes until partially tender, about 2 minutes per side. Add green pepper and onion and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Season with kosher salt.

In a small bowl, beat eggs with salt and pepper. Pour over potato mixture in pan and cook, turning until eggs are done. Sprinkle with cheese before serving.

Serves four to six.

Nutrition values per serving: 430 calories, 31 g fat (10 g saturated), 22 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 16 g protein, 180 mg cholesterol, 900 mg sodium.

Pumpkin Cake

2 cups sugar

1½ cups vegetable oil

4 eggs

3 cups flour, sifted

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups canned pumpkin

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe BELOW)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan.

In a stand mixer, beat sugar and oil together for about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture alternately with pumpkin, mixing until all ingredients are incorporated. Fold in nuts.

Turn batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Serves 10 to 12.

Nutrition values per serving (with frosting): 800 calories, 51 g fat (14 g saturated), 83 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 9 g protein, 110 mg cholesterol, 580 mg sodium.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla.

At low speed, gradually add powdered sugar, then beat on high until frosting is light and fluffy.