Southern Lady
November/December, 2007

Recipe for Success
By Andrea Fanning

“A home is special because of traditions.” So says Food Network star Sandra Lee in her latest book, Made from Scratch, a Memoir. Known for make-it-simple shortcuts, the pretty blond originated the Semi-Homemade lifestyle, which provides homemakers with easy ideas and solutions that have been perfected by years of practice and personal experience.

The queen of easy entertaining, Sandra Lee is constantly cooking up something fabulous. The just-released Semi-Homemade Cooking 3 features chapters about comfort and soul food in honor of her Southern grandmother, Dicie, and her memoir, Made from Scratch, is set to release November 6, 2008. “It was difficult to write,” says Sandra, who describes herself as typically relaxed and upbeat. “It’s about family and challenges, about sticking it out no matter what. My family and I had to overcome a lot of obstacles to get us to where we are now. I hope that people will be encouraged by it, that they will see by example that anything is possible.”

Whether she’s whipping up a batch of snowflake cookies made with a dry mix and cream cheese or decorating the tree with heirloom silver in lieu of traditional ornaments, Sandra Lee searches for ways to make the holiday season memorable – and manageable. In fact, her brand of creativity stretches far beyond Christmastime, covering celebrations and themes of all kinds. Her combination of savvy ideas and timesaving tips, done the Semi-Homemade way, is helping revive the art of entertaining for those who lead busy lives.

This “quick-and-easy-does-it” philosophy was basically born out of necessity. As a child, Sandra, along with her sister, Cindy, lived with her grandmother, and it was this special lady who demonstrated the arts of saving and giving. Money was scarce in their household, but generosity was not. Sandra says, “My Grandma Lorraine was a wonderful baker, and she baked cakes for showers and weddings and parties. It was one thing she could do for them that really was a special gift.”

Lorraine had a knack for frugal grocery shopping, and it didn’t take the young sisters long to glean from her wisdom, especially the eldest, Sandra, who writes in her memoir: “Grandma navigated her way up and down the aisles in search of the best bargains and biggest savings. She taught me which foods were pantry staples, which ones were there for pure comfort, and how to combine the two to make the ordinary extraordinary.”
Thrifty purchases and a healthy measure of ingenuity would serve the future television star well throughout her formative years, though these times would put her best efforts to the test time and again. At six years old, she was forced to leave the comfort of Lorraine’s home when her estranged mother reappeared, and the next decade saw the child haphazardly thrown into the role of caretaker for this new configuration of family that included four younger siblings. Meal planner and preparer fell under the long list of responsibilities for Sandra, who solicitously used allotted food stamps to purchase groceries that she would bring home by bicycle.

By age 13, the Semi-Homemaker’s resourcefulness was evident, and she relied on her aptitude for arts and crafts to obtain much-needed extra money. “I made hand-loomed pot holders out of nylon loops and sold those door-to-door,” writes Sandra. “During the Christmas season, I made fragrant holiday angel wall hangings from fabric remnants, cotton balls, and sticks, which I tied together with yarn.” The rest of the year, she earned dimes and dollars in any way she could: picking and selling berries and wildflowers, weeding gardens, cleaning houses, and even recovering lost golf balls.

Years later, Sandra would hone her skills to create a do-it-yourself window treatment company called Kurtain Kraft. She writes, “Grandma always taught me that a house had four walls but that a home reflected its owner. I had a passion for making a room look beautiful and a flair for doing it on a budget. I wasn’t sure if my ideas would work, but I’d never know unless I took a chance.”

That chance paid off. Soon, she traveled from coast to coast and then from continent to continent marketing Kurtain Kraft and developing other products and lines, including scrapbook items and home improvement videos, for major retailers. Home décor and gardening were her bread and butter, that is, until the food category came into the picture.

I’m not a chef; like Paula Deen, I’m a home cook,” notes Sandra. “I originally wanted to launch a home show.” She was working at the time with TV personality Dick Clark, who counseled on the benefits of a show with food elements, encouraging her to attend a cooking school. She spent time spent at Le Cordon Bleu where she sharpened up her skills with savories, but thanks to Grandma Lorraine and her other grandmother, Louisiana-born Dicie, she was already a most capable baker.

Sandra combined her interest across the genres and created a signature recipe for Semi-Homemade. It’s as simple as “70/30”: 70-percent ready-made convenience products are added to 30-percent fresh ingredients with personal style, allowing homemakers to take 100-percent of the credit for something that looks, feels, or tastes homemade.

Her Semi-Homemade cookbooks were first on the scene, quickly followed by guest television appearances on the Today show and then by her own show, Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee, on the Food Network in 2003. Audiences immediately responded to her timesaving tactics, and they continue to do so, making her show a fan favorite. Now the author of 10 books – two more will release this spring – she has come a long way from her humble beginnings, and for Sandra, this success is sweet. But more importantly, it gives her opportunity to share the traditions her grandmother instilled so many years ago. She says, “It’s about making things special, about finding ways to improve your quality of life and enjoying that life.”

For recipes, tips, entertaining ideas, and more, visit semihomemade.com.