Farewell to favorite region caterer Beverly Badovich

FROM THE FARM

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Theresa Badovich, left, and her mother, Beverly Badovich, right, frame Theresa’s aunt Shirley Williamson, center, on Feb. 11, 2013, at Teibel’s Restaurant in Schererville at the fifth annual Charity Pre-Valentine’s Luncheon benefiting The Caring Place of Valparaiso, hosted by columnist Phil Potempa and his parents, Chester and Peggy. Philip Potempa/Post-Tribune

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By Philip Potempa

Beverly Badovich’s Bacon Stuffed Tiny Tomatoes

2 pounds bacon

1/2 cup finely chopped green onions

1/2 cup mayonnaise

24 cherry tomatoes

Directions:

1. Dice bacon and fry until crisp.

2. Drain bacon and cool on paper towels.

3. In a medium bowl, mix bacon, green onions and mayonnaise.

4 Remove stems from tomatoes, place tomatoes stem-side down on a cutting board and cut a thin slice off the tops.

5. Scoop out pulp and invert tomatoes on paper towels for 30 minutes to drain.

6.Fill tomatoes with bacon mixture and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Note: Mother Badovich says: “Tomatoes won’t roll on the platter if you scoop out the tops and stand them stem-side down.”

In December 2017, I was given an early Christmas gift as a surprise at a holiday party.

Inside a red folder was neatly presented cuisine content courtesy of typewriter pages, all carefully preserved as cherished recipes for holiday entertaining courtesy of my former food and features editor Theresa Badovich.

As mentioned so often in my columns and cookbooks, Theresa is the kitchen visionary who assisted my launch of this “From the Farm” food column in May 2002, and later, provided the same guidance for all of my published cookbooks. The dynamic duo of Theresa and her mother Beverly Badovich, both of Crown Point, were the gourmet guardians of the red folder bestowed to me.

All in all, the folder contained 10 pages of yellowed letterhead sheets filled with a treasured collection of captured recipes still cherished today.

I was amused by my Purdue student intern Luke Miiller, age 21, as he typed up today’s featured recipe for me from this folder and was baffled by having never seen a typewriter-created page of content, asking: “What in the world type of font is this?”

Today’s column is dedicated to Beverly Joanne Badovich, maiden name Essick, who died at age 86 on Tuesday, Sept. 17, the date which was also her 64th wedding anniversary date to late husband George, who died in 1990.

The couple welcomed their beloved daughter, Theresa Kathryn in 1965, an only child and if you asked, forever the answer to what was the couple’s greatest joy and accomplishment. Besides her kitchen talents, Beverly, whom I, like so many others, referred to fondly as “Mother Badovich,” was also a gifted pianist and used her talents in service as an organist for the congregation at Our Lady of Consolation Church in Merrillville for more than 25 years and children’s choir director.

Beverly’s love of cooking and legendary wedding cakes led her to launch her gourmet store and cooking school in the 1970s. Merrillville-based Cuisine Unlimited was one of the first of its kind in the region. Famous for its gourmet gadgets, exceptional cooking classes and the generosity of its owner, no one left the shop without surprises with their purchases.

The letterhead on the recipe sheets in my treasured red fold reads “Cuisine Unlimited, Inc. – The Store with the Personal Touch.” Located in D’Cameo Plaza at 7871 Taft St. in Merrillville, it was in 1979 when Beverly and Bonnie Christopher, her friend she’d known since kindergarten, decided to partner to open Cuisine Unlimited. In addition to catering and cake decorating as a side business, and with help from Theresa, their business continued into the 1990s.

In addition to selling kitchen specialty needs and gourmet ingredients, Cuisine Unlimited quickly rose as Northwest Indiana’s premier location for the cooking classes Beverly would teach, with some of her specialties being pasta, pierogi, holiday nut rolls and strudels, pizzas, and of course, cake decorating.

Beverly was also a local culinary kitchen superstar who entertained in the spotlight, cooking up fun for thousands in the audience on the stage of the Holiday Star Plaza Theatre, which opened in December 1979. She was the annual highlight of the Homemaker’s Showcase Cooking Show, a now faded tradition once sponsored and hosted by local newspapers to provide cooking demonstrations, entertaining and interior design tips and often included a fashion show.

Like daughter Theresa, who taught me plenty during her newspaper features department days, Beverly was a natural for teaching others and a former 4-H leader. She always maintained an over-the-fence “Andy Griffith Show” Mayberry approach to life and kindness and especially cherished her close-knit neighbors and friends like Barb and Bill Johnson, Arliss Hove, Pat Cherry, and Maryann and Jack Mancilla for their help and support, especially in later years.

Following the death of her husband, Beverly launched a new career chapter as the front office administrator for the dental practices of Dr. Annette Williamson, DDS and later for Dr. Philip Polus, DDS. Before her retirement, she was the smiling receptionist face of the dental practice of Dr. Rory Levitan.

In addition to daughter Theresa, Beverly is survived by her special daughter Gayle (Dale Hough); Curtiss and grandchildren Holly and Blake Sheffer; sisters, Shirley Williamson and Karen (Tom) Snodgrass; nieces, Annette Williamson, Susan (Tim) Gergely, Kathleen (Dave) Hinshaw, Kate (Hugh) Gong, Cindy (Jerry) Riley, Jacqueline (Dominic) Crews, Victoria Bradford and Laura (Paul Vinton); and, nephew Michael (Cheryl) Essick.

Along with husband George Badovich Jr.’s passing, Beverly is preceded in death by parents, Kathryn (nee Schramm) and Anthony Essick; brother, Sonny (Tony) Essick and Steven Essick; brothers-in-law, Harold Williamson and Jerome Bradford; sister-in-law Dorothy Smith; nephews, William Bradford, Jerome Michael Bradford, Steven Essick and Michael Smith; and nieces, Elaine Smith and Clarice McKenzie.

Friends may visit with the family from 3-7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, at Geisen Funeral, Cremation and Reception Centre, 606 E. 113th Ave. in Crown Point with prayer of the Rosary at 4 p.m. Additional visitation will continue Monday, Sept. 23, 2024 at Our Lady of Consolation Church, 8303 W Taft St. in Merrillville starting at 10 a.m. until the Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m., with interment to follow at Calumet Park Cemetery in Merrillville.

Because we are picking so many sweet and delicious sun-ripened plump cherry tomatoes at our farm this month, Mother Badovich’s age-old recipe for elegant and delectable bacon stuffed tiny tomatoes is a perfectly timed recipe treasure to share with all.

Columnist Philip Potempa has published three cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@comhs.org or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374.