Mother-son cookbook authors stir up fun

Iris Raie grew up cooking and entertaining.

Her parents often had parties - using family recipes that combined the Southern fares with tastes of Greek and Italian cuisine.

"I grew up learning to do my mother's recipes," said Raie, who was known as Iris Pope when she graduated from Plant High School in 1968. "As I got older, I did some of mine."

About four years ago, after Raie's mother died, Raie's friends convinced her to put those recipes in writing.

That work has been captured in a new cookbook, "No Place Like Home: Southern Cooking With a Latin Flair!" which Raie co-authored with her son Michael, 26. Published by Tate Publishing, the book is available at local bookstores or through www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore.

"I never thought about doing a cookbook," said Raie, who lives in Van Dyke Estates with her disabled husband and Michael. "I was not thinking about publishing anything; I was just writing them down."

Friends convinced her to self-publish them in 2007 in "Down Home Cooking," which is now out of stock. It took them 14 months to prepare the book for publication.

"Every recipe in it, we cooked," she said, adding that Michael assisted with the cooking and the computer work to create the manuscript. "We had to be sure the ingredients were right."

They later sent that self-published book to Tate Publishing, which accepted it and re-issued it with some changes and additions as the new book. It includes recipes for appetizers, salads, breads, soups, main dishes, casseroles and deserts. They vary from Southern cornbread dressing to turkey chili to ropa vieja.

"This book has got recipes with stuff you can find at Publix, Sweetbay, any grocery store. It's normal stuff," Raie said, adding she also stresses easy-to-prepare recipes.

"I use a lot of tomato products, onion, garlic and green pepper," she said. "If they took those out of the stores, I wouldn't know how to live."

Iris and Michael have always enjoyed cooking together.

"When I was 4 years old, my mom caught me standing on a chair, frying bacon," said Michael, who was home-schooled since sixth grade. He has worked in sales, customer service, data entry and as a medical assistant.

Raie also said they found it therapeutic to help overcome the grief and depression the family faced after losing another son, Scott.

He died at age 25 on July 4, 1997, after an epileptic seizure. Three years later her husband suffered a severe stroke and is now on dialysis.

The family moved to Lutz from South Tampa in 2000 "to make some new memories." She remains an Avon representative with a number of South Tampa clients.

They continue to entertain with theme parties, such as a luau, their favorite type of social event.

"You should see this place at Halloween," she said, motioning around her home. "We have decorations everywhere."

In keeping with the love of celebrations, their next cookbook will feature recipes for 16 holidays throughout the year. They recently completed the first of two photography sessions for the book, due out in late 2011.

"I had to have friends come over and eat up food afterwards. We had food for five holidays," she said.

The duo also will teach a Southern cuisine class at Brandon's Rolling Pin on Oct. 1 and will participate in a cooking program at EPCOT from Oct. 15-17.

CHICKEN BREASTS AND PENNE PASTA WITH WHITE WINE SAUCE

4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cuts fresh pecorino Romano cheese (grated)

1 stick butter

10 cloves garlic (separated)

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup white wine

3 cups penne pasta

Salt and pepper to taste

Parsley flakes

Olive oil (enough to cover bottom of fry pan)

Season chicken breasts with four cloves of fresh garlic mashed and rubbed on both sides of the meat. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover a skillet bottom with olive oil and cook chicken on both sides until done. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and set aside.

In a clean skillet, make a paste by melting butter and adding the other six cloves of garlic chopped fine to it. Add flour to the mixture. Pour in milk and whisk until mixture begins to thicken. Stir in cheese and cook until melted and creamy. Salt and pepper to taste. Add wine and cook an additional 3 to 5 minutes, turning heat down so it doesn't burn or stick to the bottom of the skillet. Put pasta in a large serving casserole dish and pour cheese mixture over it. Fold in cheese to cover pasta. Slice chicken breasts diagonally and add to pasta and cover with cheese sauce. Sprinkle with parsley flakes.

Note: Do not use sprinkle cheese, only freshly grated.

Source: "No Place Like Home: Southern Cooking With a Latin Flair!"