four questions

Platinum chats with Tammy Betel.

When it comes to talking turkey,

TAMMY BETEL is truly a pro!

The adventurous cook loves

to throw holiday parties at her

Farmington Hills home and

is expecting a big crowd for

Thanksgiving; she has 12-28

guests around the table every

year. "We always invite people

who have no place else to go,

like people whose relatives live

out of town," Betel says. "When
I was growing up, it was something my mother always did. We feel

very strongly that no one should be alone on a holiday." Each year,

Betel, 48, experiments with different recipes to serve her husband,

Aaron; their four children, Nikki, Steven, Michelle and Melanie;

WHAT BOOK, CD OR OTHER MEDIA
, ARE YOU LONGING TO SHARE?

One of my favorite books is Mitch Albom's For One
More Day. It tells the story of a man with a challenged
childhood who grows up to make some bad choices
that ultimately bring him to the brink of suicide.
When he revisits his childhood home, he ends up
spending the day with his late mother's spirit. That
experience transforms him and changes the course of
his life. I don't know anyone who doesn't wish he or
she had just "one more day" with someone from the
past. I was fortunate enough to have a day like that
with my own grandmother just a month before she
passed four years ago. It's an amazing realization to
know it's possible to make major changes when neces-
sary, and that hope should never be lost.

and their guests. One staple is her mom's challah stuffing (See

Question 3), a family favorite. For the turkey, Betel likes to keep it

IF YOU COULD HAVE BRUNCH WITH

simple. "I use Reynolds oven bags," she says. "You put the turkey

Lri ONE BIBLICAL OR HISTORICAL

in there after covering it with some margarine and sprinkling it with

JEWISH FIGURE, WHO WOULD IT BE?

salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika. It always

Since I'm so involved with the Holocaust Memorial
Center, have studied about the Holocaust for the bet-
ter part of 13 years and my late former in-laws and
current in-laws are survivors, I've learned they all had
different experiences. More than 6 million Jews died
during the Holocaust; many survived and/or escaped.

comes out moist, and it always browns." When she's not cooking

or entertaining, Betel serves as a docent at the Holocaust Memorial

Center in Farmington Hills. She's also the recording secretary for the

docent steering committee. Here, we ask Tammy Betel our version
of the Four Questions. — Robin Schwartz

My wish would be to sit (maybe not for brunch; that
would require a very large banquet room) and hear
their individual stories. The more stories I know and
can teach, the longer these people will live on because
their stories are being told.

3

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE JEWISH
FOOD?

My mother's stuffing recipe. As children, we called it,
"Ms. Carol's Stuffing." The recipe calls for a loaf each
of challah and white bread; a sleeve of crushed Ritz
crackers; 4 eggs; and 6 carrots, 6 ribs of celery, 1 large
onion and a small package of mushrooms, all chopped.
Saute the veggies in 2 sticks of margarine; soak the
torn breads in water until moist; squeeze out the water;
place in a large bowl. Add the veggies, the Ritz crack-
ers and eggs. Mix all together, adding salt and pepper,
and place in a baking pan with paprika on top. Bake at
350 degrees for 90 minutes.

A

WHAT WOULD PEOPLE BE SUR-
'"? PRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU?

Although my husband and I like to travel a lot and
stay in nice places, I also really enjoy camping out in
tents.

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