Cooks of note –
a talented Quartet

By Tanya Noffsinger

Alice Roedersheimer, Dori Halpin, Barbara Reaman and The Oakwood Register’s publisher, Do Winkler Wagner form an ensemble of cooks bound together in a gourmet group that traces its roots back to 1984. Their bi-monthly meetings have been theme based covering ethnic repasts inspired by the member’s trips, seasonal fare and holiday meals. Next perhaps they will recreate literary meals a la Babette’s Feast or a Shakespeare meal.

Alice Roedersheimer, interior designer, prefers the planning, menu and visual appearance of the table as her tasks. Many of the groups recipes are sourced from Cook’s Illustrated, various web gourmet sites, regional cookbooks and the familiar to us all, The Joy of Cooking. Alice comes from a long line of bakers (uncle, brother and niece) Her niece owns Cakes by the Sea in Myrtle Beach and you have to check out her web site where she is decorating a live bald head!

Pictured left to right: Alice Roedersheimer, John Halpin, Barbara Reaman, Chuck Roedersheimer, Do Wagner, Dave Reaman, Dori Dick, Jack Wagner, at hostess Dori's house.

Alice considers baking and soups her forte. Barbara does soup particularly well and is the wine connoisseur and Do handles the main courses, like the melodies in the quartets of Beethoven, passionately and eloquently, especially when lamb is the viande du jour.

Alice’s large garden supplies heirloom tomatoes, sugarsnap and snow pea, scallions, leeks, Swiss Chard, and broccoli for counterpoint to the offerings for the group’s consumption. She says she can’t survive without her immersion blender and exercise so that she can continue to eat her favorite delicacies. Inquiring about future events, I was told that a Derby Day party is upcoming and perhaps a foray into a vegetarian theme which the group has not yet prepared. So, if the quartet decides at some point to invite another and to have fish as the entree may I suggest for your soundscape Schubert’s Die Forellen (The Trout Quintet). For now Alice has sent along the following recipes which are high notes in the quartet’s repertoire.

Gotta run! Soup’s on.

For questions, comments or suggestions contact this columnist at musicalfeast@att.net

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