Roll with it

Rita Dini jokingly calls herself "the meatball lady of Friendship Village," a retirement community in Schaumburg.

The 80-year-old cook recently took first place in a meatball-making contest judged by the mayor of Schaumburg, the fire chief, a village trustees, a local chef and Daily Herald Food Editor Deborah Pankey.

When they presented her with the trophy, "I almost fainted," says Rita. "I never won anything like that."

Rita isn't sure why her authentic Italian recipe diced the field of five other competitors, but she thinks it might have been the smidgen of fresh nutmeg, her technique of deep frying the meatballs and the homemade marinara sauce she served with them.

Deep frying makes everything taste better, she contends.

"My father used to say could fry shoe leather and it would taste good."

Rita learned to use fresh nutmeg from her mother who cooked with it often.

"That's the thing that makes people say mmmmm!"

Rita grates some fresh into her marinara, too. Made with red wine, a generous amount of fresh parsley and half a dozen cloves of garlic, she uses the sauce for lasagna as well.

In honor of her victory, the chef at Friendship Village prepared 35 pounds of her meatballs and served them to residents who eat in the dining rooms.

"I congratulated him," says Rita. "They tasted like mine. A lot of people ate them; I was getting congratulations for a week over here."

Former Chicagoans, Rita and her husband, Tony, moved to Schaumburg 24 years ago, and into Friendship Village four years ago.

Her daily meals tend to be simple, longtime favorites like pot roast, country ribs and lots of casseroles, Tony's favorite.

Tony and their five grandkids all love Rita's ground beef and rice casserole, with its base of cream of mushroom soup and nutty brown rice.

Maraschino cherries and walnuts add texture to Party Coffee Cake, a sturdy take-along treat for summer events.

"I've been married 59 years and I'm still cooking," says Rita, who finds it more difficult as the years go by to stand for long periods.

Still, she says, "I plan to continue as long as I can."

Meatballs

8-10 ounces dried Italian bread (at least one week old)

2 pounds lean ground beef

4 eggs

cup parsley, finely chopped

3 leaves basil, finely chopped

cup Romano cheese, grated

cup parmesan cheese, grated

3 large cloves garlic, minced

⅛ teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

24 ounces canola oil

Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

6 large cloves garlic, minced

2 medium carrots, finely chopped

1 cup parsley, finely chopped

2 cans (28 ounces each) crushed tomatoes

2 cans (28 ounces each) tomato purÃÆ'ˆ©e

1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce

1 cup red wine

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

¼ teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg

2 slices lemon peel

Salt and pepper to taste

For the meatballs: Tear or cut bread into pieces and soak in bowl of water. When bread is soft remove and squeeze out as much water as you can and transfer to a large bowl. To the bowl add meat, eggs, parsley, basil, cheeses, garlic, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Mix ingredients thoroughly by hand until bread is barely visible.

Heat oil in deep pot over high heat. Form meatballs the size of golf balls and deep fry about 15-20 minutes or until browned. Drain on paper towels.

For the sauce: Heat olive oil in saucepan and sautÃÆ'ˆ© onions, garlic and carrots until slightly browned. Add parsley, crushed tomatoes, tomato purÃÆ'ˆ©e, tomato sauce, red wine, Italian seasoning, nutmeg, lemon peel and salt and pepper. Simmer on low heat 45-60 minutes; remove lemon peel. Store meatballs and sauce in separate containers until ready to serve. Serve over pasta.

Serves eight to 10.

Ground beef and rice casserole

2 cups water

1 cup brown rice

1 pound ground beef or turkey

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 cans (10¾ ounces each) cream of mushroom soup

16 ounces frozen peas

1 can (8 ounces) mushrooms

Salt and pepper to taste

Grated parmesan

Bring water to a boil and add brown rice, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit 10 minutes more or until tender. In the meantime, brown ground meat with onion. Add mushroom soup, peas, mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in cooked rice, adjust seasoning and sprinkle parmesan on top.

Serves four.

Party coffee cake

2 sticks (half pound) butter

1 cups sugar

2 eggs, separated

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk

8 ounces maraschino cherries, chopped

1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a bundt pan.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar; add egg yolks and vanilla and beat well. Add flour and baking powder alternately with evaporated milk.

In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff; fold into batter with nuts and cherries. Spread into prepared pan and bake 1 hour and 10 minutes or until it is light brown and springs back when touched with a finger.

Serves 12 to 16.