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Now leading a much simpler life than when she was mayor of Tampa, Sandy Freedman wanted to collect some favorite recipes and give them to her children. That idea led to a published cookbook.
By JEANNE MALMGREN
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 28, 2001
TAMPA -- "Come in!" calls a cheery voice, as the visitor pauses at the front door. "I'm in the kitchen."
It's 5:30 p.m. and Sandy Freedman is starting to cook dinner, as she does almost every evening in her seventh-floor condo on Bayshore Boulevard. Tonight's menu: marinated pork tenderloin, roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed green beans, cranberry chutney. Oh, and the appetizer: a family favorite called Mom's Marinated Shrimp.
Surprised? Didn't know the former mayor of Tampa is an accomplished chef? She is indeed. And now a cookbook author, as well.
Freedman's new book Specialties of the House: Recipes for People on the Go! was just released by Seaside Publishing, a small St. Petersburg press run by local food writer Joyce LaFray. Freedman, 58, is modest about the project but clearly happy, as most of us would be, that her bulging recipe file has been compiled into one easy-to-use book.
"I did this for my kids," she said. "They're always calling me and asking for recipes of things they remember from their childhood."
Freedman's three children are grown now. All live in the Tampa Bay area. Most nights, Freedman is no longer cooking for a crowd. It's just she and her husband, Tampa attorney Mike Freedman. After years of evening functions that required her presence as mayor, the Freedmans now relish quiet dinners at home, for two.
Tonight, though, Freedman's husband has already called with bad news: a late meeting with an important client. He won't be home until at least 8:30.
"That's all right," says Freedman. "We'll just eat late."
Freedman's kitchen, a small rectangle with granite-topped breakfast bar, faces a wall of windows and glass doors that give her a multitude of views, from the setting sun in the west to the silver-smooth water of Hillsborough Bay in the east. Orchids bloom spectacularly on a table in the corner.
As Tony Bennett croons in the background, Freedman starts dinner. She does not tie an apron over her jeans and red knit top.
Tonight's main course, the pork loin, has been marinating in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for 24 hours already.
"I made a marinade of mushed-up apples and apple cider," Freedman says with the casual air of a cook who knows what she's doing.
Also marinating in the fridge is a shrimp appetizer that is one of Freedman's signature dishes. Plump whole shrimp are cold-pickled, along with slices of onion, lemon and orange, in lemon juice, white wine vinegar, ketchup and sugar.
"It's really not good until the second day," Freedman says.
Now that she's retired from public life, Freedman has time to indulge her fondness for cooking -- and shopping. Today, she says, she has been to two stores, Whaley's Market and Publix.
"I love grocery shopping," she admits, grinning.
She says she never runs out of ideas for menus and that if she wants to try something new, she has two overflowing notebooks in a cabinet, full of recipes she hasn't tried yet.
Tonight's menu includes one dish she has never made before, the cranberry chutney. A recipe, printed from the Internet and clipped to a small square, rests on the counter.
"I think I got this off the Food Network," Freedman says. "I like to watch Sara Moulton on Cooking Live at 7 p.m. -- usually while I'm cooking myself."
Even when using a recipe, though, Freedman feels free to make substitutions.
"You've got to improvise," she says.
The chutney recipe calls for a bag of frozen whole cranberries and some chopped apples. Freedman sprinkles in crushed red pepper, brown sugar and a couple of handfuls of golden currants.
"The recipe calls for dark raisins, but I'm out. So I'm using these," she says.
The chutney goes in a saucepan to simmer. Then Freedman turns her attention to the green beans, rinsing them in a colander in the sink and snapping the tips off. She peels and dices a shallot and slices some button mushrooms.
"These will all be sauteed together, at the last minute," Freedman says.
She got the idea to do a cookbook, she says, from a novel.
"I was reading this fiction work where the mother died, and her kids all fought over her recipes. Not that I think my children would do that, but I decided I'd put all my recipes together -- the ones the kids always call and ask me for."
As if on cue, the phone rings. It's Freedman's oldest son, Rob. He's in the car, on his way to the grocery store. He's thinking he'll make the marinated shrimp appetizer tonight.
"You need about three pounds, yeah," Freedman tells him. "Buy the good-size ones."
For six months, Freedman worked on her cookbook without telling anyone, even her husband.
"I'm a little bit illiterate on the computer, so I was terrified I'd lose the book," she said.
Her original plan was a family-only publication. She was going to print four copies, one for each of her children and one for herself. She went to Target and bought four loose-leaf albums.
After Tampa Tribune food writer Mary Scourtes wrote a story about Freedman's project, several friends suggested she publish it. Scourtes suggested LaFray's publishing house.
By now, the chutney is filling the kitchen with a spicy fragrance. Freedman squeezes two lemons over the bubbling pot and stirs it with a wooden spoon.
Then it's time for the sweet potatoes, which Freedman plans to roast in the oven.
"I roast a lot of vegetables," she says. "The caramelization that takes place is just wonderful, I think."
She peels two sweet potatoes by hand, then cuts them into bite-size chunks and dumps them into a square casserole dish with fluted sides. She drizzles olive oil over the top and sprinkles on kosher salt. Three or four turns of a pepper shaker, a dash of Italian seasoning, and the dish is ready for the oven. Freedman will roast it at 400 degrees F for nearly an hour, tossing the sweet potatoes halfway through.
Freedman says she started cooking the day she got married. She used to go all out, baking bread and preparing fancy gourmet dishes such as ham en croute.
"Nobody eats that way anymore," she says.
During her 12 years on the Tampa City Council and her nine years as mayor, Freedman had to put her cooking on the back burner.
"In those days, my freezer was full of things we could reheat -- lasagna, manicotti, cooked brisket and pizza casserole," she says. (Yes, that last item is in her cookbook. It was a favorite of the Freedman kids.)
Now, life is simpler. Freedman's bulletproof vest, which she wore often during Tampa's tense days of rioting in the late 1980s, hangs in a back closet. She refuses to wear pantyhose anymore. On her balconies, she tends a thriving container garden of herbs and flowers. She spoils her five grandchildren. And of course, she cooks.
Freedman takes the marinated pork out of the refrigerator and slits open its plastic bag. A wave of rich apple aroma rolls through the kitchen. Freedman looks pleased. She takes a shallow foil pan out of the pantry and slides the tenderloin into it.
"I'll roast this for about 20 minutes at 450," she says. "At first, I thought I'd sear it. But Mike's late tonight, so I'll have time to roast it."
She sets the table with two cloth place mats and napkins in a blue-and-white flowered pattern that looks like Wedgwood. Two cobalt blue water glasses. Navy-handled flatware.
The table looks beautiful. The kitchen smells wonderful. And this is just an ordinary weeknight in Sandy Freedman's kitchen.
Sandy Freedman will sign copies of her cookbook, Specialties of the House: Recipes for People on the Go! from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the housewares department on the third floor of Burdines, WestShore Plaza, Tampa. Samples of her recipes will be available for tasting. For more information call toll-free 1-888-352-2665.
If there is one dish that I remember cooking for my children when they were young, it is this delicious pizza casserole. One bite and it's like eating pizza -- but we always thought this was better. Use fresh herbs if you prefer.
8 ounces sliced pepperoni
1/3 cup melted butter
8 ounces cooked and drained spaghetti
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
1 pound mozzarella, sliced thin
2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
1 4-ounce can mushroom stems and pieces
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil pepperoni for 5 minutes in water; drain well. Saute onion in 1/2 tablespoon butter until golden. Pour remaining butter into a large casserole dish and toss spaghetti in; combine well. Add one can of the tomato sauce to the buttered spaghetti, then half of the Swiss cheese, then half of the pepperoni, half of the mozzarella and the mushrooms, onions and herbs.
Top with the remaining Swiss, pepperoni, tomato sauce and finally the remaining mozzarella. Bake casserole for 20-25 minutes, or until bubbly. Serves 6.
This delicious appetizer has pleased everyone I make it for. My kids named it after me. If you have leftover shrimp, toss it on the grill for a next-day treat. It always brings raves.
3/4 pounds peeled, deveined and cooked shrimp
2 sliced onions, depending on your taste
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar or a combination of both
3/4 cup ketchup
1/3-1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 cup minced parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 thinly sliced lemons or oranges for garnish
Mix all ingredients together in a large, non-metallic bowl. Cover and refrigerate, stirring occasionally.
This is a wonderful dish as an appetizer or a main course. It's best after it marinates for a day or so, but be sure to keep refrigerated. Will keep several days.
Serves 12-16 as an appetizer; 4-6 as a main course.
Here's a make-ahead appetizer that tends to be addictive. These yummy spinach balls can be frozen before baking. Simply place on a baking sheet and freeze until firm, then remove to a freezer container or plastic bag. Seal well, store in the freezer for up to one month, then pop in the oven for an instant, delicious appetizer.
1 16-ounce package frozen chopped spinach
2 cups herb stuffing mix
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
3/4 cup melted unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook spinach according to package directions; drain spinach very well. Mix all other ingredients together, except the butter. Add butter and mix well.
Chill entire mixture until firm enough to form bite-size balls. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake for about 20 minutes or until browned on top. Serve very hot. Serves 6-8.
This bread pudding has fewer calories than you might think, not to mention the lovely aroma. I use skim milk, but you can use whole milk, and it will be even more delicious. Use freshly ground nutmeg for best results.
6 ounces Italian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 8 slices, or 31/2 cups)
Vegetable oil cooking spray
21/2 cups low-fat milk
1/3 cup maple syrup (use the real stuff)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon or more cinnamon, to your taste
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 egg whites
1 egg
1/3 cup brown raisins
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Arrange bread in a single layer on a baking sheet, then bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet and place in a souffle dish, or an 8- by 8- by 2-inch square baking dish, that has been coated with the vegetable spray.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the milk, syrup, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, egg whites, egg and raisins. Pour over the bread and toss well. Let stand for about 45 minutes, then bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes or until set. Serve warm. Serves 6-8.