A Bilingual Approach to American Home Cooking

“Cooking Maid Easy” is a bilingual book designed to help Spanish-speaking household workers get a typical American meal on the table.

“If you have some cooking skills, you can earn more than if you just take care of the children and the house,” observes Norma Soleno-DeVaney, who co-wrote the book with Sarah M. Bruck. Bruck, of Corona del Mar, is an attorney; Soleno-DeVaney, of Orange, is a partner in an accounting firm in Irvine. Both are fluent in Spanish. DeVaney, a Mexican-American, was raised in Mexicali; Bruck spent three years in Mexico City.

The price is high for those who would actually use the book, though the authors initially intended it for homeowners who can afford the $26.95 price tag.

“Cooking Maid Easy” is designed for practical use. Recipes are printed on large, glossy cards, English on one side and Spanish on the other. Each card holds just one recipe. Rather than being assigned page numbers, the recipes are color-coded according to food category, which makes it easy to locate the section needed.

Durable enough to withstand scouring with a pot scrubber, the cards are assembled in a sturdy ring binder so they can be removed for reference or taken to the market as a shopping aid. That idea came from Bruck, who found that she was often too busy to make out market lists and simply went shopping with an armload of cookbooks.

Bruck and Soleno-DeVaney collected the recipes from families and friends, eliminating anything that seemed froufrou or complex, and added favorite dishes of their own. They tested every dish. Soleno-DeVaney’s Mexican housekeeper also distributed the recipes to her friends for appraisal.

The result is a collection of easy-to-prepare foods that people really eat: meat loaf, oven-fried chicken, chop suey, lasagna, pasta salad, brownies and lemon bars. It is, says Bruck, “a nice cross-section of traditional American family fare.”

“Cooking Maid Easy” is available in major-chain bookstores and some gift and kitchenware shops. You can also order it through McKay Partners, 1 Newport Place, 10th Floor, Newport Beach 902660. The telephone number is (714) 644-2404.

Here, from the book, are Bruck’s oven-fried chicken and Soleno-Devaney’s rice pudding, which can be served plain or with raspberry sauce.

OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 chickens, cut in serving pieces

Salt, pepper

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon paprika

Melt butter in 13x9-inch baking dish. Roll chicken in butter and place skin-side-down in dish. Season to taste with salt and pepper and 1/2 teaspoon each garlic salt and paprika. Bake at 400 degrees 40 minutes. Turn skin-side-up and season to taste with salt, pepper, remaining garlic salt and paprika. Bake 20 minutes longer, or until crispy. Makes 8 servings.

RICE PUDDING

2 1/4 cups water

1 cup long-grain rice

3 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup raisins

1 1/4 cups raspberries, optional

1/2 cup sugar, optional

Bring water to boil in medium saucepan. Add rice, reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until all water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Add milk, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla and nutmeg. Cover and cook over low heat 30 to 35 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Add raisins.

Transfer to serving dish, cover and refrigerate. If desired, cook raspberries with 1/2 cup sugar and enough water to partially cover 4 to 5 minutes, until sugar is dissolved. Puree mixture in blender. Pour some of berry sauce over each serving of pudding. Makes 6 to 8 servings.