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Cooks of the Year 2003.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Laura Bianchi Daily Herald Correspondent

From 17-year-old cookie baker Dana DiCaro of Mount Prospect to 79-year-old pastie maker Arnie Huhtlin of Grayslake, this year's Cooks of the Week were as varied and interesting as the herbs and spices in Gulzar Bhimji's Spicy Tilapia.

That made it quite a challenge to choose just five of these 51 amateur chefs to be the Daily Herald's Cooks of the Year. But rereading the stories and recipes from a year's worth of enthusiastic, creative and generous people made the selection process a lot of fun, too.

I relished rereading about Bob Kerrigan of Libertyville and his 101 ways to serve hotdogs. I was inspired again by Lyn Arf of Mundelein who bakes for therapy while she copes with physical disabilities, and by Phyllis Salinas of St. Charles who at 70- something still cooks for crowds up to 85.

I rediscovered the professional female volleyball player, the Bundt cake pan collector, two opera singers and a woman who practices the Zen of cooking. I learned about cuisines from Columbia and India and about Finnish pasties.

If they have anything in common it is their willingness to labor for nothing more than a few words of praise, the satisfaction of creating something with their own hands and the chance to eat something really good.

With a stomach rumbling from reviewing so many tempting recipes, I chose the following five cooks as our Cooks of the Year for their unusual enthusiasm for cooking and creativity.

Congratulations to David Honore of Arlington Heights, Nancy Nordtvedt of Streamwood, Terry Morris of Sleepy Hollow, Jillian Roberts of Naperville and Nancy Bracher of Round Lake Beach.

In honor of this honor each cook offers us one more recipe to start the new year.

David Honore

Whether he's singing for the Chicago Lyric Opera Chorus or preparing Gnocchi with Cream and Mushrooms, David Honore of Arlington Heights hits all the right notes.

David, a Lyric singer for 10 years, considers cooking "another form of personal artistic expression, and it is just plain fun and a catharsis."

Today David shares his composition for Braised Beef Chuck Pot Roast, a harmonizing blend of beef, carrots, potatoes, leeks, onions, whiskey and wine.

"I remember many times being...

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