Philanthropy, Entertainment Food and Chicken Chilaquiles

Patricia Heaton has created likable TV characters over the years (“Everybody Loves Raymond,” “In the Middle,” “Carol’s Second Act”). She is also known for her philanthropic work and her love of food.

The latter is expressed, among other things, through a series of unity meals at which Christians and Jews are supposed to come together to talk.

“I’m the founder of an organization called 07C, which stands for October 7th Coalition,” Heaton told the Journal. “It was founded after October 7th, and I didn’t quite see the response from Christian and Catholic churches that I had hoped for… so my co-founder and I decided to talk to churches and try to bring Christians and Jews together.”

Recently, Heaton and O7C partnered with the nonprofit Maman for a Unity Table with the Dream Center Foundation, bringing together Jews, Christians and Muslims.

“There is no other agenda than to say: Let us stick together in this time of crisis,” she said.

“Sharing a meal together is a sign of peace and unity… and therefore the perfect way to help our communities get to know each other.”

For Heaton, growing up in an Irish Catholic family was a world away from the food she learned about through her work in the entertainment industry.

“My mother could cook pretty well, but she had about five standard dishes and nothing was gourmet,” she said. “There was a lot of ground meat – burgers or meatloaf or spaghetti sauce, meat sauce – and then, being a Catholic, on Fridays there was fish, which usually meant fish fingers or fish fillets.”

There was occasional braised meat and many cooked dishes.

“It’s such an Irish thing, isn’t it: cooking everything,” said Heaton, who was one of five children. “When I started my family and had four sons … I really appreciated that my mother made so much effort to put something different on the table every night.”

When Heaton moved to New York after graduating from Ohio State University, a whole new world of food opened up for her. A studio musician friend introduced her to sushi. As a hostess at an Argentinian-Italian restaurant, she learned all about sweetbreads (though she never got used to them). Plus, a good friend of Heaton’s was a restaurant consultant, so as a starving actress, she could go to all these restaurants and eat for free.

However, Heaton’s best training in nutrition came when she began working with Phil Rosenthal.

“Phil Rosenthal, the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond, had a mother who was not a good cook,” she said. “Even as a starving actor/writer in New York, he would save money all year and then go to a very upscale restaurant for his birthday.”

He brought the same sensitivity to “Everybody Loves Raymond.”

“So much of the workplace revolved around food; this was before you could get everything anywhere through GoldBelly or something,” she said.

Back then, Krispy Kreme doughnuts were still available in the South, and he had them delivered via FedEx. He had the Pink’s hot dog truck from LA drive up to the soundstage.

“He also showed me the finer things in life when it came to food,” she said. “It didn’t start out that way, but eventually my adventures in the entertainment industry led me to all these great restaurants.”

Heaton, whose books include “Your Second Act” and the autobiographical “Motherhood and Hollywood – How to Get A Job Like Mine,” has also written a cookbook, “Patricia Heaton’s Food for Family and Friends.” Below is Heaton’s recipe for Chicken Chilaquiles.

“For someone who works in an industry where everything is kind of fleeting – you’re in front of the camera, you do things, but the editor takes them away,” Heaton said. “You have no idea how it’s going to turn out, you don’t know if anyone is even watching it.”

“It’s great to be able to go into the kitchen, gather some ingredients, cook, chop, sauté, whatever you bake, whatever you do,” she said. “At the end of the day, you have a meal that really nourishes you and others; it’s something very tangible.”

Learn more about O7C at october7coalition.com and follow @PatriciaHeaton on Instagram.

This is just a small taste of Deb’s conversation with Patricia Heaton. More information on Heaton’s philanthropy and Jewish advocacy will follow soon.

You can listen to the entire conversation in the podcast:

Chilaquiles is a traditional Mexican dish often served for breakfast or brunch. It usually consists of corn tortillas covered in salsa, mixed with meat, and topped with cheese or sour cream—kind of like nachos made into a complete meal. We make chilaquiles in our household because it’s quick, easy, and delicious. It’s also a great solution for leftover chicken.

Makes 4 servings

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes

¼ cup pickled jalapeños, chopped

sea-salt

3 cups shredded chicken

A generous handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped

4 ounces Queso Fresco or feta, crumbled

4 ounces corn tortilla chips

1 lime, quartered

1. Heat oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until lightly golden, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until soft but not browned, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and jalapeños and season with salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Stir in the chicken and most of the cilantro (reserve some for garnish) and cook for another 10 minutes, until the chicken is heated through and the sauce has thickened.

3. Divide the fries between four deep bowls. Spoon the chicken over the fries. Top with cheese, the remaining coriander and a squeeze of lime. Serve immediately.

From Patricia Heaton’s Meals for Family and Friends by Patricia Heaton. Copyright © 2018 Patricia Heaton. Reprinted with permission of William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Debra Eckerling is a writer for the Jewish Journal and host of “Taste buds with Deb.” Subscribe to At Youtube or your preferred podcast platform. Email Debra: [email protected].