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Women's Guild Sizzles

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 5, 2007

BRANDON - The sizzling beef tenderloin stuffed with arugula and gorgonzola cheese would have been enough to get mouths watering.

But there was more to come.

Once the meat was seared, then roasted, the melted cheese mixed with pan drippings to create a savory, aromatic sauce to go over top.

Members of the Women's Guild at Nativity Catholic Church reluctantly kept their composure and their seats as Chef Lyndsey Waters wowed them with her preparation of the holiday feast.

The women had gathered at the church social hall last week for their first Christmas Sizzle, a spirited evening of cooking and crafts. In addition to the roast, Waters created squash hummus with baked pita, a Caprese salad with shallot vinaigrette, sauteed spinach and, for dessert, banana and candied macadamia spring rolls with butterscotch dipping sauce.

The ladies lucked out, said organizational chairwoman Janet Moucha. It just so happened that Waters, a Brandon native, longtime member of Nativity and the daughter of guild member Nancy Waters, was home from Miami for the holiday.

Waters is a junior at Johnson & Wales University's culinary college in Miami and recently was chosen to serve as a chef for Azul, a five-star restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Coral Gables. She extended her stay before returning to school to cook for the Women's Guild.

She wasn't alone in the kitchen. As her presentation wound down, the Rev. Rob Cadrecha's picked up.

Cadrecha, a priest at Nativity, teamed up with his mother, Cynthia Cadrecha, to bring a little bit of home to the church social hall with their holiday recipe for capanata.

Having cooked the eggplant and green peppers ahead of time, Rob Cadrecha explained that the exotic Italian antipasto is a favorite in his family and has been passed down from one generation to the next.

Making the dish is a family affair. As it should be, he said.

"A house should be built around the kitchen," he said. "And when you're cooking a recipe that has been passed on to you, you know that your loved one is there with you in that kitchen."

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 657-4532 or at yhammett@tampatrib.com.

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