Last summer, after my column appeared about a few of our colleagues who could stand the heat of the kitchen, I received an e-mail declaring I'd missed a great cook.  I decided to follow up on the tip and discovered that Judge Shawn and Nancy Meyers, Esqs., were both accomplished preparers of the edible.  In the course of this detective work, I learned that Todd Sponseller, Esq., and Laura Sponseller, also were able to deal with heat.

          I was able to connect with Todd and Laura first.  I was surprised to learn that Todd had spent time as a cook/chef before he took the bar.  Todd was a 1987 graduate of CASHS and then majored in History, getting his B.A., from Shippensburg University in 1992.  He fled academia and moved to Morgantown after graduation.  While there, to make ends meet while he played bass guitar in various groups, he began working in bars and kitchens, starting by frying Buffalo wings at Crockett's Bar and working up to line chef (saucier) at the Stone Crab Inn.  Despairing of being discovered as the next great guitarist, after six years he entered law school at West Virginia University, receiving his degree in 1999.  Todd then moved to Charlestown, WV, where he focused on insurance defense for a number of years.  A prior marriage produced his son Cooper, who stays with his dad during school breaks.

          Todd confessed that he'd been the paperboy for Laura's parents when they were both children.  His cousin set up their meeting as adults over the Internet.  Laura has a career in marketing.  Todd claims that the cooking in their household is a team effort as is the parenting of their daughter Emmeline.

          Todd provided this collaborative recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala:

Marinade:

1 cup greek yogurt

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoon ground pepper

1 Tablespoon minced ginger

4 teaspoons salt

Mix and use to marinate 3 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into skewer size pieces 8 hours or overnight

Soak skewers in water for half an hour.  Threat marinated chicken pieces on the skewers.  Brush with oil  and grill.

Masala sauce:

1 Tablespoon butter

� onion, minced

1 clove garlic minced

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

Saut� until softened, about 5 minutes

Add:

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons paprika (smoked, optional)

3 teaspoons salt

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 cup heavy cream

Serve the grilled chicken removed from the skewers on basmati rice cooked in lemon juice, garlic and chicken stock.  Add cucumber raita on the side.

Cucumber Raita:

2 hot house cucumbers, seeded, diced

2 cups Greek yogurt

3 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 Tablespoons dried mint

� teaspoon sugar

� teaspoon salt.

          Todd wants a recipe for Saag Panneer, a greens dish that compliments the Chicken Tikka Masala.  Please send one.

          Nancy Meyers, Esq., and I enjoyed a lunch together at Molly's and discussed her culinary identity.  Later, I ran into her and she could not resist telling me that her husband, Judge Shawn Meyers, had made the best chicken cheese steak ever.  Curious, I met the two for a quick lunch.  They had just spent the prior weekend at a cooking school in the Washington, DC, area.

          Judge Meyers is a native of St. Thomas, not the island, but the town.  He started in the Tuscarora School District, but graduated from Mercersburg Academy in 1986.  He went to Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, earning a degree in political science in 1990.  From there he headed to Villanova, where he received his law degree in 1993. 

          During his years at Villanova, he spent the summers as an intern for David C. Cleaver, Esq.  Shortly after completing his bar exam, he began working for Dave.  In the fall of 1995, he went to Mercersburg to join Tom Steiger, Sr., Esq., and Tom Steiger, Jr., in a general practice.  Along the way, he taught legal research and introduction to business law at Mont Alto Penn State and then local government at Shippensburg University. 

          Nancy, it seems, was raised in Clark Summit, Pa, graduating from Scranton Preparatory in 1988.  She then attended Immaculata College, graduating in the spring of 1992.  Nancy entered Villanova in the fall of 1992. 

          Nancy had a date in the fall of 1992.  Her date invited her to join him at an election result party at the apartment of a senior.  As they entered the apartment, they had to vote on Clinton, Bush or Perot.  Unknown at the time, Nancy led by her date, crashed the party there in the Philadelphia suburbs...Shawn Meyers, host.  [Judge Meyers reports that the informal results of the doorway poll were 13 for Clinton, 10 for Bush and 9 for Perot.]  Nancy and Shawn began dating formally after the Christmas break in the 1992 -1993 school year.  Nancy still can't believe she crashed a party...

          Nancy began clerking for the late Judge Kaye shortly after their wedding in the fall of 1995.  Nancy remarked that she was able to take the bar exam and plan a wedding by concentrating on the bar in the morning and the wedding in the afternoon.  After the end of her clerkship, Nancy did some work for the Franklin County Public Defenders' Office, then the District Attorneys' Office, before working for Tucker Maxwell.  She now does estate planning at Salzmann and Hughes, having attended college with Brian Salzmann, Esq.'s wife.  Nancy also taught at Shippensburg University, for a few years, choosing Constitutional Law.

Judge Meyers' Chicken Cheese Steak (serves 4)

Onions and Peppers:

1 medium onion, sliced (set aside 2 slices for later)

2 bell peppers, seeded, sliced

� c olive oil

In a slow cooker, place onion and pepper slices.  Drizzle in the olive oil and cook on low for two to three hours  so that they are tender, not mushy

Mushrooms:

1 Tablespoon butter

16 oz. (2 boxes), mushrooms, sliced, Baby Bella preferred

Saut� mushrooms in the butter at medium low heat for five to eight minutes until the mushrooms are tender and there's a broth at the bottom of the pan.

Chicken:

1 � lb. Chicken, shaved or chipped  [get a butcher to do it, or freeze skinless, boneless chicken for twenty minutes and use a very sharp knife].

2 Tablespoons butter

Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper

In a large skillet, melt butter on medium heat and saut� reserved onion slices.  Increase heat and add chicken, separating it as it cooks and browns.  Add some mushroom broth and Worcestershire sauce (6 - 7 splashes).  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until evenly browned.  Remove the chicken and juices and place in a covered roasting pan to keep warm.  Reduce the heat on the pan to medium.

Italian Rolls:

Warm on a baking sheet at 400 while cooking the chicken.  Do not crisp, just warm.

Final Step:

Place rolls on plates.  Put about � of the meat back into the large skillet, arranged in a row the size of one of the rolls.  Repeat with the second serving.  Place a slice or two of Provolone or American cheese on each portion.  Cover and heat until melted.  Put into  warmed rolls.  Top with onion pepper mix and mushrooms.  Repeat. Option: melt Cheez Whiz in the microwave to top browned chicken.

Nancy's Tipsy Berries:

1 pint strawberries, halved

1 pint blueberries

1 cup sugar

� cup Chambord

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Place in an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.  Shake occasionally.  Serve over vanilla ice cream, pound cake or angel food cake.

ENJOY!