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Open House

Marvin House Event Coordinator and House Chef Mindy Sandberg prepares for the Open House.

Mindy Sandberg has traveled down many roads on her culinary journey, which started when she was nine years old. By watching her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother cook and bake, she was able to gain enough knowledge to have a meal on the table for her eight siblings and her parents when the adults came from work.

“I had a stepstool in every kitchen,” Sandberg says. “At 11 I made an entire Thanksgiving dinner. I called my Grandma Ruth Oleshak with questions and she talked me through it. When she arrived she helped me carve the turkey.”

The young girl’s holiday menu consisted of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, Waldorf salad, sweet potato casserole and “whatever vegetables we had in the freezer.” She topped off the feast with dinner rolls and pumpkin and chocolate pies made from scratch.

Besides the women that came before her, Sandberg gives credit for her cooking skills to the women in the kitchen at Panama Central School.

“Merle Elkin, Guidance Counselor, got me a job cooking and helping in the cafeteria. I still make biscuits like those ladies taught me,” she says.

Mackenzie Anderson and Rachel Leroy pose with cinnamon rolls they’ve made under the supervision of Mackenzie’s grandmother, Mindy Sandberg. Photos by Beverly Kehe-Rowland

At the age of 16 Sandberg started a job as line cook at Beechwood Country House in Lakewood. From there she moved to Florida, where she cooked in a teaching restaurant.

“They would pay me to take classes and give a raise after completion,” she says. “I took classes in soups and sauces, cake decorating, meat processing and curing and sanitation.”

Sandberg has been hired to do several catering jobs in the Jamestown area, Warren, Pennsylvania and Florida. With her daughter, the late Eva Anderson, she opened Mindy’s Place, a breakfast and lunch cafe and bakery located in Lakewood.

“Together we took on the restaurant. She was in the dining room and I was at the back of the house,” Sandberg says.

Changes took place in May of this year when Sandberg accepted a position as an Events Coordinator and House Chef at the Elizabeth Warner Marvin Community House at 2 W. Fifth St. in Jamestown.

“We are happy to have Mindy at the Marvin House,” says Board President Rosemary Lombardo. Lombardo tells about the recent renovations that have been done to the beautiful house that was left by Elizabeth Warner Marvin to provide a meeting place for women’s groups to prevent it from being torn down or used as a drinking club or gas station. The Marvins purchased the original house in 1897. The couple hired a designer from New York City to design and build additions to the front and south side of the eight-room farmhouse. Character and charm abound in the house with its many nooks and crannies.

According to Lombardo, Marvin House will hold a “huge open house” on Oct. 11 from 4-7 p.m. Those interested in scheduling special occasions and holiday celebrations can call Marvin House at 488-6206.

“Members, old friends and new friends are all welcome,” Lombardo says. “Please come and see the progress with our renovations. The Elizabeth Warner Marvin House will be a showplace of Jamestown, New York. Mindy will be here to help you with your needs.”

Sandberg says she is not one for going to a cookbook to decide what to prepare for a meal. Instead she looks through her cupboards and refrigerator and then makes her decision.

When it comes to baking, Sandberg’s 11-year-old granddaughter, Mackenzie Anderson, is a very good helper.

“I love to bake and I love making dough. The more flour you’ve got all over, the better they are,” Sandberg says with a grin. “Whenever I have my grandkids in the house, we always bake. It’s usually cinnamon rolls, because that’s what they pick. Any kid that’s ever spent the night at my house in Cottage Park has made cinnamon rolls in the morning.”

Her husband, Earle, is an avid hunter; therefore she also uses wild game in some of her dishes.

“Growing up with a big family there were some rough times and we ate a lot of venison. I didn’t think I could eat it again. You’ve got to be creative with what you’ve got,” she says.

Earle works in fire protection, continuing in the family tradition. His grandfather started Sandberg Sprinklers many years ago. Because he travels for his work, he doesn’t enjoy traveling for leisure as much as his spouse.

“I love to travel. Alaska was my favorite trip,” says Sandberg. “I want to go back in the winter to see the Northern Lights. I’ve scratched Australia off my bucket list, because I want to go back to Alaska. Maine is beautiful. I’ve been to Florida several times. I like to go wherever there is big, bold outdoors.”

“I love to make memories with my granddaughter, who is my best travel buddy,” she continued. “(Memories) don’t get dusty and aren’t hard to store. I collect memories.”

The travel duo went to Florida’s Walt Disney World seven years in a row, but now are expanding and going in different directions.

“This was the first year in 25 years that I had the month of July off. I drove more miles this summer than I have for the last twenty-five years put together.”

She goes on to tell about her adventures, including Williamsburg, Virginia, Nag’s Head and the mountains near Boone, North Carolina and Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Closer to home, they traveled to Niagara Falls and the Adirondack Mountains.

She inspired her niece to seek an education in the culinary field after spending weekends and summers at her aunt’s restaurant while living in her home for five years. The niece now serves as a Pastry Arts Chef at Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino.

A few of the recipes Mrs. Sandberg contributes have stories. She came upon the Favorite Lemon Cookies recipe on a cake mix box when looking for something sweet to serve guests.

“I sold these in the restaurant. One day after I had made 20 dozen for a lawn social at school, I sold nine dozen before I could get them out of the restaurant.”

Although our cook “tweaks” the recipe for Cup Omelet before serving it at the Marvin House, the recipe printed here is exactly how Mrs. Marvin submitted it to The Needlework Guild Cook Book in 1907.

CUP OMELETS

Butter half a dozen custard cups and fill lightly with equal quantities of stale bread crumbs and cold meat chopped fine and well-seasoned. Beat three eggs and add one cupful of milk and divide among the cups, adding more if required. Set the cups in a pan of hot water and bake in a moderate oven until firm in the center. Turn out on a hot platter and serve with tomato sauce.

FAVORITE LEMON 

COOKIES

1 lemon cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 c butter, melted

Combine cake mix, eggs and butter. Drop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool.

Icing

Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice until of a drizzle consistency. Drizzle over cookies.

Italian Wedding Soup

1 tsp oil

1 c celery, diced

1 c carrots, diced

2 was chicken broth

1 1/2 c Acini Di Pepe pasta

1 1/2 c fresh spinach, chopped

1 1/2 c small meatballs

Salt and pepper to taste

Saute celery and carrots in oil. Add broth and then bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients cooking until pasta is cooked.

SWISS CHICKEN

(EDITH BUSH – MARVIN HOUSE COOKBOOK)

4 whole chicken breasts, split, skinned and boned

8-4×4″ slices Swiss cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 c orange juice

2 c Pepperidge Farms Stuffing Crumbs

1 stick margarine or butter, melted

Arrange chicken in a lightly greased 13x9x2″ baking dish. Top with cheese slices. Combine soup and orange juice. Spoon evenly over chicken. Sprinkle with stuffing mix. Drizzle melted margarine over stuffing mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. Serves 8.

CRANBERRY CHICKEN

(MARVIN HOUSE

COOKBOOK)

Desired number chicken breasts

French Dressing

French onion soup mix

1 can cranberry sauce

Wash and trim chicken breasts. Grease baking dish. Cover bottom with French dressing. Place chicken in pan, tucking in the sides. Drizzle more dressing over chicken. Sprinkle lightly with French onion soup mix. Scatter cranberry sauce around pan. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 90 minutes. Do not overbake.

OLD-FASHIONED ROLLS

1/2 c sugar

11/2 tsp salt

2 pkgs active dry yeast

4 1/2 – 5 1/2 c flour

1 c milk

1/4 c butter

2 eggs

Melted butter

In a large bowl, combine sugar, salt, yeast and 11/2 c flour. Set aside. In a 1-quart saucepan, heat milk and butter until very warm (120-130 degrees). With an electric mixer at low speed, gradually beat liquid into dry ingredients. At medium speed, beat two minutes, occasionally scraping bowl. Beat eggs and about 1/2 c flour to make a thick batter; continue beating two minutes. Stir in 2-2 1/2 c flour to make a soft dough. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Shape dough into ball. Turn into large greased bowl. Cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about one hour. Punch dough down. Transfer to lightly floured surface. Cut dough in half. Cover and let rest 15 minutes. Cut each half into 12 pieces. Shape into balls. Place 2″ apart on greased cookie sheet. Cover. Let rise until about doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush with melted butter. Bake ten minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly on wire racks. Serve warm. Makes 24 rolls.

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