By DEBORAH GERTZ HUSAR
Herald-Whig Staff Writer

FOWLER, Ill. -- Toni Kamphaus believes a good cook always has somebody they want to cook for -- and she's got a long list.

Friends and family appreciate her signature dishes always made with plenty to share.

"My mom and my grandma always made more than enough for anybody who walked in the door," Kamphaus said. "I can't cut down."

Cooking for a crowd comes naturally to Kamphaus.

"I've got a large family. There were eight kids on my side and seven on (my husband) Dan's side," she said. "For a graduation, a birthday, you're likely to have 30, 40, 50 people there."

And nearly each one has a favorite made by Kamphaus.

Some of the family prefers Potato Salad for a Crowd.

"It's really easy, and it makes a lot," she said, but "it takes a while. It's better if it's really cold. Let it sit in the fridge a day or so. It holds well."

Her mom and a sister-in-law really like her Lasagna. Daughter Heather likes Easy Cherry Cheesecake, and son Ryan likes what Kamphaus calls Aunt Toni's Macaroni and Cheese, a recipe that came from his days in Boy Scouts.

"When that's what they want, that's what you do," Kamphaus said. "I'm always fixing something, the simpler the better."

A favorite appetizer, Aunt Sarah's Cheeseball, tastes so good because of the memories involved in eating it at holiday meals.

"My very favorite thing to make could be my cheesy potatoes. They're so easy and take no time," she said. "It's a good pick-me-up, comfort food."

Often on the go to visit friends and family, especially a brand-new grandson in Iowa, Kamphaus will takes some of her favorite foods to share.

Kamphaus learned to cook from her mom and her grandmother, whom she lived with while attending Quincy Notre Dame.

"Everybody loved her German potato salad, her devil's food cake from scratch and her pies. She was just a wonderful cook," Kamphaus said.

The pair inspired her love of cooking, but not her methods.

"I'm a modern cook. If it comes out of the box, if it's easy, I do it," she said. "I like to make dessert."

That love of cooking got her involved with "Hometown Favorites," a recently-published cookbook fundraiser for the Fowler Development Association. The book features more than 400 recipes submitted by past and present Fowler residents and their descendants. Orders are being taken for a second printing of the book and should arrive before Christmas.

"It was a lot of fun doing the cookbook," Kamphaus said.

The association, formed in conjunction with Fowler's 150th anniversary celebrated last year, has spearheaded fundraisers, cleanup days and community events.

"The whole goal is to work to make Fowler more known to communities around us. It's really kind of taken off," said Kamphaus, the association's secretary and a 26-year resident of the community. "We just love Fowler. The neighbors are wonderful."

-- dhusar@whig.com/221-3379