The other day as I watched a baking show on “Food Network,” I remembered all the cooking shows I watched growing up. PBS is where we watched all sorts of chefs, not just Julia Child, great as she was. Jeff Smith on “The Frugal Gourmet, Martin Yan on Yan Can Cook,” Justin Wilson on “Louisiana Cookin’” and Graham Kerr on “The Galloping Gourmet” were shows I watched with great interest. They were all slightly different and even exotic to me. Smith brought fine dining to regular households, Yan brought a sense of fun and was cooking exotic food (at least to me), Wilson asserted the strong personality of a celebrity chef and yet was completely himself “I garontee”, and Kerr was famous for leaping over chairs onstage with glasses of wine to start his show. Since this was all before cable TV networks these cooking shows were often produced locally and then syndicated to public television stations around the U.S.
When I moved to Salem in 1983, I was thrilled to learn that one of my favorite cooking shows was produced in Roanoke at Blue Ridge Public Television. “Cookin’ Cheap” starred Laban Johnson and Larry Bly who made dishes from ingredients found in local supermarkets and did not hesitate to show the prep work involved. Doris Ford and Doug Patterson were also on the show. Many of the recipes were sent in by viewers. Laban and Larry often did not know what the recipe tasted like until they cooked it. We all found out together if it was any good. Now, there is a “Cookin’ Cheap” fan page on Facebook and Larry Bly comments often. Mostly to dispel rumors that he is dead. Full of comedy and tasty food with the occasional location shoot, “Cookin’ Cheap” was (and is) a fun show to watch. Luckily, some of the show episodes have been digitized and can be seen on PBS online and on You Tube. There is a “Cookin’ Cheap” cookbook out there, but I have not found one yet. Online they are going for up to $80. I’ll keep checking thrift stores around town.
This week’s recipe is from an episode of “Cookin’ Cheap.” Doris cooked this dish and both Larry and Laban liked it (episode 1811 Slosh and Squash). My mom noted this on her recipe card, and I found the show on YouTube. As with most of the shows, the title doesn’t suggest what they are cooking.
Broccoli casserole
2 10oz boxes frozen chopped broccoli or 1 20oz bag chopped broccoli
1 stick margarine or butter, divided
¼ lb Velveeta cheese
1 stack ritz crackers
Cook broccoli according to package directions. Drain off any liquid.
Melt together ½ stick margarine and Velveeta cheese. Stir until melted.
Crush Ritz crackers until fine and mix with ½ stick melted margarine.
Place broccoli in 9×13 pan. Spread cheese mixture over top. Top with Ritz crackers. Brown in 350° oven for about 30 minutes. Mom added more cheese and more crackers to hers. She would often take this to church potlucks, and an empty dish came home.
Courtesy photos
