Like mother, like daughter

WHITSETT — There have been times Stanford Smith couldn’t tell his daughter’s cooking from his wife’s. And that’s a compliment, seeing as both women have been honored as Times-News’ Cooks of the Month.

Stanford’s wife, Hasseena Smith, was Cook of the Month in September 2012, and his daughter, Kaamilya Furman, is Cook of the Month for April.

Kaamilya graduated from Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte last May. It was through her studies there that she gained the confidence to experiment with ingredients and concentrate on presentation.

“That’s what I love — the presentation,” she said. “You do, after all, eat with your eyes.”

When Kaamilya was a senior at Eastern Guilford High School, Kathy Jo Mitchell came to speak to her class about Johnson & Wales University. Mitchell’s talk, Kaamilya said, inspired her to attend the school. The tips and tricks she learned at the university have encouraged her to pursue a career in food services and strengthened her ability as a chef.

“She doesn’t play around when she’s in the kitchen,” Hasseena said. “She does well with properly putting a menu together and making sure each dish complements the next. Kaamilya has learned and taught me how to make some salad dressings and sauces from scratch with items we have here in our kitchen cabinets.”

Kaamilya, along with her mother, are on the hospitality committee at Clapp’s Chapel AME Church in Whitsett and prepared a meal on Feb. 24 to celebrate Heritage Day. Those in attendance wore African attire and Kaamilya and Hasseena made Jamaican Jerk Chicken, potato croquettes, green beans and baked chicken.

“Everyone really seemed to enjoy the food and complimented us on it,” Hasseena said.

During a recent visit to their home, Kaamilya prepared two of her mother’s favorite dishes, Bourbon chicken with homemade bourbon sauce and potato croquettes.

“They are so delicious,” Hasseena said, observing the preparation of the potato croquettes, or as she referred to them — “potato cakes.”

Both Hasseena and Kaamilya also prepare healthier versions of drinks and dishes because some family members have suffered from high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease. Kaamilya went to the cabinet and pulled out organic sugar, which she uses in recipes.

Kaamilya currently works at the Food Lion on Ramada Road in Burlington in the deli as a cashier and cake decorator; cake decorating was one of the skills she learned at Johnson & Wales.

When she’s not preparing food for others, though, Kaamilya described her food tastes as “plain Jane.” “I like simple foods, not fancy.”

Since she has such a passion for food, Kaamilya would like to be a caterer someday.

“I love watching others sample my food,” she said with a smile.

Page 2 of 3 - We’re looking for Cooks of the Month

Do you know someone worthy of being recognized as Cook of the Month? If so, contact Charity Apple at capple@thetimesnews.com or (336) 506-3057. We are looking for cooks for May, June and July at the moment.

Cook of the Month is published on the next to the last Wednesday of each month in Accent’s Food section.

COOK OF THE MONTH RECIPES

Sweet Bourbon Chicken

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

¼ cup butter, melted

½ cup whiskey

1 medium onion

2 tablespoons parsley

½ cup lemon juice

¼ tablespoon brown sugar

¼ cup honey

Mix all ingredients well and marinate chicken for one to four hours. Melt butter in pan; add chicken until tender. Remove chicken when it begins to crisp up. Cook chicken in small batches.

For sauce, use the same marinade ingredients listed above, but with ½ cup heavy cream, and heat on stovetop until it begins to thicken. Top chicken with sauce and serve.

Orange-Filled Slices

3 oranges, sliced in half and remove pulp. Fill with strawberry Jell-O make for a beautiful presentation. You can also add Yogurt (plain) with diced strawberry chunks mixed and filled into oranges.

•n Cook’s note: You can make this either with Jell-O or yogurt.

Beer-battered Fried Shrimp

2 cups flour, seasoned with tablespoon of salt and pepper

3 cups beer (any, except dark)

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons salt

2½ pounds shrimp, shelled and deveined

In a bowl, whisk beer into flour until smooth and stir in salt. Make several shallow cuts across each shrimp.

Dredge shrimp in seasoned flour first, then in batter to coat completely, letting excess drip off. Fry in a 350-degree F. fryer, working in batches and turning until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Drain excess oil and season with salt.

Remove from heat and cool. Add paste or Sriracha and season; blend until smooth.

Potato Croquettes

2 pounds russet potatoes

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

¼ teaspoon chopped tarragon

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Page 3 of 3 - 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

¾ cup flour (or as needed)

¾ cup breadcrumbs (or as needed)

Peel potatoes. Cut into 2-inch pieces and boil until tender; drain until potatoes are dry. Mash the potatoes and cool them. Lightly beat 1 egg into the cooled potatoes along with herbs, butter, salt and pepper and mix well. Now you can begin to roll potatoes to your desired size. Lightly beat remaining eggs into bowl and set aside. Spread flour and bread crumbs onto pan. Working in batches roll croquettes in flour to coat and gently shake off excess and then dip in egg. Let excess drip off then roll into bread crumbs and return to tray. Chill potatoes for about 30 minutes and you can begin to fry them.