The Cheney Cookbook

About the Book

This concludes my cook book, which I have written with much love. I attribute my love of cooking to my Grandmother Mielke to whom I dedicate this book.

As a little girl, I spent a lot of time with her on the farm. I would churn butter, stir the milk that would be sitting in a tank of cold water, to make it cool faster and help her make her delicious pumpkin pies. She would tell me how to make the filling as she made the crust. I was literally her shadow. She was a patient and loving grandmother and my goal is to be as good a grandmother to my grandchildren as she was to me.

About the Author

GORDIE CHENEY Legend has it that Gordie Cheney was named for a heroine in one of her grandmother’s favorite books. It is also said that if you want to taste good Cajun catfish or one of the best steaks you ever sank your teeth into, you’ll head for Cheney’s Country Club. Gordie and her husband Joe have operated Cheney’s Country Club, Motel and bowling alley just west of Laona at Highways 8 and 32, for seventeen years. “we’ve got it up for sale,’ says Gordie, “but we’re not going to leave Laona.. We bought a house and we’ll just retire. This town’s been good to us and we love it here” Gordie, who has done everything from setting pins in the bowling alley to tending bar, admits that the kitchen is her domain. She also manages the motel but she’d rather be baking bread, making homemade soup, or preparing food for their Sunday morning Bavarian brunch. “I love to cook and bake and I’m fussy about the food I serve. I still think homemade is best.” She does all the bookkeeping, sews her own napkins, crochets placemats, and makes her own menus. “I can’t find anyone to work as cheap as I do so I make it myself.” The business has been good for their family, including a daughter and three sons who are grown now. Gordie says “It provided our children with a real-life education. We all worked together as a family and I think the things they learned in the business make them better people.”