It was just a coincidence that I had A Slice of Orange: Favorite VOLS Recipes in my proud possession the same week Pat Summit reached her fabled 1000th win. Too lazy to walk upstairs at the main library downtown, I'd settled for a cookbook from the Tennessean-o-rama (well, that's what I call them), downstairs shelves, and I was enjoying it thoroughly.
Compiled circa 1995 and sold to provide student scholarships in women's athletics and the College of Human Ecology (that's college level Home Ec to the rest of us), the cookbook's the best kind, with lots of lore and praise and renowned cooks and, since it was vetted by the Human Ec college, even nutrition information for each dish. 'Nuff said that the intro cites three SEC football championships between publication and 1984, with recipes from John Anderson, Kevin O'Neill, David Keith with a flowing mane of dark hair--it definitely was a different day.
And after the 1000th win reminded me, I went back to see if they'd talked Pat Summit out of a recipe, too. Yes, indeed. It was in the "Tailgating" section, below a picture of Pat seated in a suit and next to some timely reminders, none of them regarding cooking or housework. No, they just talked about a few Pat things I'd forgotten: being co-captain of the 1976 Olympic silver-medal team, being named coach in 1973 though her degree is listed in 1975, and, yep, her 500 wins as of 1994.
Who knows when Pat makes these, or if she makes these, but they're darn good, reminiscent of my favorites from the Nashville Cookbook (for a rapturous description of those, see "Pecan Do" by yours truly. But they just make 72, far short of any kind of record.
Here ya go:
Cheese Wafers
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
Combine flour, salt, pecans and cheese in bowl; mix well. Add butter; mix well. Divide dough into 2 portions. Shape each half into 10-inch roll between sheets of waxed paper.
Chill thoroughly. Cut into 1/4 inch slices. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Pat Head Summit, Knoxville, Tennessee
From A Slice of Orange: Favorite VOLS Recipes
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