The Kansas City Star, Wednesday, October 16, 2002

COME INTO MY KITCHEN - Judith Fertig:

Computer specialist moves between 'farm' and 'fancy'

Every weekday, Sally Richardson leaves the quiet life along a country road near Hillsdale, Kan., for an hour's commute to the fast-paced world of computer technology at a Kansas City investment firm. For Richardson, going from "farm" to "fancy" is normal, in her everyday life and her cooking style.

Farm

Richardson's great-grandfather on her mother's side, Henry Palmer Beets, sank his roots into Kansas's soil almost 150 years ago.

"My great-grandfather Beets homesteaded about 1,000 acres in the 1860s right near here," Richardson says. "Part of the property and the original homestead are still in my family."

Richardson and her husband, Bill, who is retired from General Motors, built a neo-Victorian home six years ago on 15 acres near the family homestead in Hillsdale, which is about 30 miles from Kansas City in Miami County. Sally has given every room a rich glow with deep reds and yellows, antiques and her own decorating panache. Bill has created a charming country garden with weathered fencing designed by Sally and a rustic garden shed. The couple also has raised two grown children, Bill and RaNae.

Sally grew up with farm-style cooking and still makes her mother's cinnamon rolls.

"I love to feed people," she says. "At work, they beg me to bring in those cinnamon rolls from time to time."

She and Bill entertain family and friends on the weekends, and farm-style food is often on the menu.

"Some of my co-workers love to ride motorcycles, so sometimes we'll have a biker's breakfast here on the weekend when they ride down from Kansas City," she says. "And they all want my biscuits and gravy."

Fancy

When Sally leaves home in the morning, she switches gears. At work, she is the lead team technician in the technical services area, keeping up with the latest developments in computer software. She also has started a home business based on the "finding" technology of global positioning units that can pinpoint a person or object within three feet. For example, a child wearing a special watch strap could be found with child locator GPS technology.

While she's in town, Richardson shops for culinary ingredients and takes cooking classes. Those "fancy" cooking class recipes have made their way into her entertaining repertoire.

"The Chicken Rouladen With Garlic Cream Sauce is great for entertaining because you can make it ahead and it's so pretty to slice," she says.

Sally likes to serve a small but rich dish as a first course.

"There will be silence around the table when you serve the Individual Seafood Cobblers," she says. "Then all you hear is mmmmmmmm."