1 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 cups red wine
1 can (28-oz.) chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup oil-packed, sundried toma-
toes, wiped dry and chopped
6 cups boiling beef stock
2 t. dried marjoram
2 t. dried oregano

neliczo

Debra Walter

has turned

Debbie has turned her
d attention to working as a
personal chef Though
many of
clients are
ifsports celebrities (she
won't say which ones),
she's willing to cook for
anyone who's willing to
pay "I work every day,"
she said.
She became interested
in her new career when
she heard about the
American Personal Chef
Association. "I sent in
$400 and became a
member of the associa-
tion. They taught me
how to run the business
from my home. They
gave me the push, but
now I don't do anything
they say. I'm successful in
spite of myself."
Although Debra's
Delectable Delights pre-
pares "everything," she
specializes in vegetarian
and macrobiotic cooking.
"Whatever they want, I
make," she said.
"Desserts are another
specialty — chocolate
especially. Chocolate dipped fruits,
cheesecakes, again, you name it."
She describes herself as a food nanny.
"I cook for people's families. I shop,
cook, clean, package and store or freeze
so some people have dinners for up to
three weeks. I come in at 9 in the
morning and I'm out by 5, the latest."
Some of her favorite recipes include:

I

cooking into

a job she

loves.

ANNABEL COHEN
Special to the Jewish News

F

or as long as she can
remember, Debra
Walter has always loved
to cook. "I think I get
it from my great-grandmother,
who was a caterer at one of those
summer resorts in the Catskills,"
she said.
"And my grandmother was a
Debra Walter works as a personal chef
great cook. I remember her hands
were always moist and everything
she said. "Then I came back home and
she made was just wonderful. My
went to work for a gourmet caterer and
mother, on the other hand, is not a big
bakery on and off for about four years,
cook. She wouldn't let me cook at home and was a chef at an upscale market in
so I went to my neighbor's and cooked
Detroit for two years, until it burned
there."
down.
After graduating from high school in
Another year at a popular Berkley
the late 1970s, Debra tried college for
eatery and Debra decided to quit the
two years. "I felt I was floundering," she food business altogether. "I worked in
said.
the family business for a few years, got
So she packed her bags and her par-
married and had four kids," she said.
ents drove her to New York's Culinary
Debra now lives in Huntington Woods
Institute of America. "I just delved into
with her husband, Paul, and Mallory,
it," she exclaimed. "Just being around
14, Max, 12, Ari, 9, and Zachary 6.
food and people with the same interests
Since starting her family, Debra
was incredible." .
catered off-and-on for friends, family
After graduation, Debbie did a three-
and acquaintances. Last fall, son
month internship at New Jersey's
Zachary started school full time. That
Meadowlands (where the New York
was her cue.to get back into the
Giants and New Jersey Nets play). "I
kitchen. For the last eight months,
worked at their gourmet restaurant,"

)1

.

OSSO BUCO WITH SUNDRIED
TOMATOES
A classic with the twist of sundried
tomatoes.
1 cup flour
8 veal or lamb shanks (about 4-6
pounds)
salt and pepper to taste
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400F. Place flour in a
shallow dish. Season the shanks with
salt and pepper, then dredge the veal
shanks in flour, patting them to remove
excess flour.
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or
large pot over high heat until very hot,
but not smoking. Place the floured
shanks in the hot oil and cook on each
side for 3-4 minutes or until nicely
browned. Remove the shanks from the
pot and set aside.
Add the shallots, onion and garlic to
the pot and saute for three minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat, slowly
add the wine, and return the pot to the
stove. Add the veal shanks and bring the
liquid to a boil. Add remaining ingredi-
ents, cover the pot with foil and top
with a lid. Place the pot in the preheat-
ed oven and bake for about 50 minutes
or until the veal shanks are tender when
pierced with a knife. Remove the veal
shanks from the pan and transfer to a
serving platter and keep warm.
Using a spoon, skim the fat off the
surface of the stock and discard. Return
the pot to the stove over high heat and
cook the mixture for 5-10 minutes or
more to reduce the amount of liquid
slightly. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, pour the sauce over the veal
shanks. Makes 8 servings.

VEGETABLE LENTIL SOUP
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 pound small red potatoes; peeled or
unpeeled, cut into small dice
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2. red bell peppers, cut into small dice
2 carrots, peeled, cut into small dice
2 cups small-diced onions
2 celery ribs cut into small dice
1 can (28-oz.) chopped tomatoes with
liquid
1 pound lentils, picked over and
rinsed
10 cups vegetable stock or water
1 bunch flat leaf parsley leaves,
chopped
2 t. kosher salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Heat olive oil in a soup pot over
medium-high heat until hot. Add the
potatoes, red bell peppers, carrots,
onion and celery. Sauté the vegetables
for five minutes. Add the garlic and

4/26
2002

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