My favorite recipes - Meet Gary Kendall and Linda Hartford

Jana Mathia | Mar 24, 20110

Gary Kendall has spent his whole life on the Palouse. Born on St. Patrick’s Day, he lived in Penewawa where his dad was a ranch manager until Gary was five years old. His family then moved to the state-line at Palouse where he grew up and graduated from high school.

“We used to beat Colfax all the time when I was going to school,” he recalled.

He attended the University of Idaho.

His uncles, the Dippel brothers, managed a livestock yard. Gary took a liking to the cattle and built his own Angus herd in addition to farming. His children showed their stock at the Palouse Empire Fair and the Grand National Angus Show in Denver where one son showed the champion heifer. Gary noted his is the only herd to have bred the national champion junior heifer and female national champion.

Over time Gary got involved in cattle sales and in the early 80s started Kendall Cattle Sales. He manages cattle sales of purebred, registered bulls and females, putting together catalogs and facilitating the sales. Gary sold the last of his herd five years ago after slowly cutting back the prior years, but still continues to do the cattle sales.

In 1990 he met Linda Hartford from Pullman. Linda has been in the area for 30 years where her two children were raised and attended Washington State University. Both divorced, Linda and Gary dated for a while and were engaged July 3, 1998. Linda recalled when Gary proposed, he did so with a limerick.

“Being the little leprechaun his is,” she said.

For the past 25 years, Linda has worked in real estate and now works for Caldwell Banker Tomlinson. She has two children and six grandchildren while Gary has three children and seven grandchildren.

“It’s like the Brady Bunch,” Linda commented about when the two sides get together.

While Gary is a Vandal, Linda is a dedicated WSU Cougar and they are both loyal to their teams. They “cross-dress” in their team colors when they go to games.

While Linda lives in Pullman, Gary is still in the same house he has lived in for the past 70 years just across the state-line in Idaho.

“I would not want to go anywhere else,” he said of the area that has always been his home.

They also have a cabin on Lake Coeur d’Alene where they enjoy spending time with family and boating.

Gary has cut down to three cattle sales a year, but at one time was on the road more than 180 days a year doing 25 sales a year. Linda recalled when they were dating he was gone a lot. One time he flew her out to South Dakota where he was managing a sale and she was so excited to spend some time with her boyfriend. Her romantic visions were shattered when she arrived and was put in a pair of overalls to help work the cattle.

“I didn’t know what the heck I was doing,” she said.

Gary is also a ringman for Butch Booker auctioneering. Last year he was named the National Marketer of the Year at the champion show in Denver.

Last year was also supposed to be Gary’s first summer off, but instead he found himself invaded by a Japanese film crew.

His house was used as a set for the shooting of a movie on Japanese-Americans during World War II. During the film crew’s stay, they transformed his house three times, making everything look authentic for the time period and then returning everything back to normal.

Gary used to officiate basketball games in Whitman County, Idaho and the Big Sky League. Now he and Linda like to attend the university games. They also like to golf and travel. Linda is a Rotarian and likes to knit, crochet, play bridge and garden. He keeps busy with the cattle sales and plans to keep doing it as long as he can do a good job.

“I enjoy it. I like the interactions too,” he said. He likes the ties he has made with the people he’s worked with. While he only manages the three sales, he also helps out with other sales when needed.

Recipes:

Gary’s Beef Crock Pot

1 lg. round steak cut in serving sizes—2 inch cubes

1 onion, cut up

1 cup fresh mushrooms, whole

3 carrots, cut up

4 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can stewed tomatoes

Vegetables of choice, i.e. peas, green beans, corn

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. Laury’s seasoning

Add all ingredients to crock pot with meat. Start on high for 30 minutes. Turn to medium/low for 6 hours.

Creole Fillets

2 lb. frozen halibut fillets

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped green pepper

1 clove garlic squeezed

2 Tbsp. oil

1 (12 oz.) can tomatoes

1/2 tsp. salt

Dash cayenne

2 bay leaves

Place frozen fillets in shallow baking dish. Season with salt and pepper.

Sauté onion, green pepper and garlic in oil. Add tomatoes, salt, cayenne and bay leaves.

Pour over fillets. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Company Brunch Eggs

3 dozen eggs

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1/4 cup sherry

1 lg. can mushrooms, drained

1/2 lb. cheddar, grated

1/4 cup butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Beat eggs and small amount of milk.

Heat soup until smooth. Stir in sherry and mushrooms.

Scramble eggs until just soft. Now place in casserole dish in layers: eggs, soup, cheese; repeat. Paprika on top.

Place in a cold oven then cook at 250 degrees for 1 hour.

Can make ahead and reheat.

Company Tamale Pie

11 oz. pkg. Fritos, crushed

2 cans tomato sauce

1 lb. can beef tamales

1 lb. can creamed corn

1/2 lb. ground beef, cooked

1 small can sliced mushrooms

1 cup black olives

1/2 lb. mild yellow cheese, grated

1/2 tsp. each cumin, onion powder and garlic powder

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 can chili con carne, no beans

Grease 9 x 13 pan. Spread 1/2 Fritos on bottom. Combine 1 can tomato sauce and remaining ingredients and pour over Fritos crumbs. Add rest of Fritos on top. Pour on melted butter then last can of tomato sauce and cheese.

Bake 1/2 hour at 300 degrees.