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Whiffs of a warm seasoned meal hang in the air. The lingering aroma of melted cheeses and moist, tender chicken leads hungry guests to the kitchen. At the stove, side dishes simmer, and the sound of silverware clinking on empty plates becomes an eager habit of impatient stomachs. Finally, a timer dings.
Helping to produce budding chefs or satisfy starving appetites, the Texas A&M Women's Club has produced a cookbook. The cookbook, Aggieland's Best Recipes, is a fundraising effort to provide scholarship endowments for Bryan and College Station high school students to attend A&M.
"I think Aggies have the biggest hearts," said Erika Lynett, the TAMU Women's Club publicist. "We just hope the community will come together and help put two more students through school."
The scholarships last four years and are awarded based on need and academics. Two endowments have been dispersed, but the cookbooks are being sold in the hope of raising additional funds.
The Women's Club has been around for almost a century. Jill Bennett, the club's president, said the club's roots have always been in giving back.
"We started out mom-and-pop-like, with members donating what they felt like donating and giving out small scholarships," she said. "And then we started thinking bigger."
With 300 members comprised of A&M women faculty or wives of A&M professors, the Women's Club, according to its website, has dedicated itself to "conducting service and philanthropic activities in support of the University, its students and the community."
Available to order at the club's website and earning shelf space at the MSC Bookstore, the George Bush Presidential Library Museum store and at HEB, the cookbook's development was assisted by grants from the TAMU Dean of Faculties and HEB's Community Investment Program.
The book features a foreword by Becky Gates, wife of former A&M President Robert M. Gates, who Bennett said is a huge supporter of the club.
"The last few years we've grown leaps and bounds with getting funds for scholarships," Bennett said. "That's why we've moved toward the endowment type of scholarship instead of just raising it and giving it out. We know [an endowment] will move on."
Bennett said she has faith in the community and has seen the people of the twin cities come together.
"Bryan-College Station is an extremely giving community," she said. "Whether it's Habitat for Humanity or our local symphony, the people here are very supportive. We hope that they will want to support our endeavor because the proceeds are going to local kids who have a need and a wish to go to A&M."
In the past, the club has sponsored a Mardi Gras celebration and silent auctions. The cookbook fundraising effort marks the club's greatest stride yet involving the surrounding area.
"This is our first open to the community kind of project that we've done," Bennett said. "Between deciding what kind of cookbook to what kind of artwork to have, it's been an ongoing preparation for the last year. We're pretty tickled with the way it came out."
Comprised of 300 pages of appetizers, entrees and desserts, the cookbook offers cultural cuisines as well as traditional dinnertime meals. Whether satisfying a craving for "fresh berry pie" or balancing toasted tortilla chips with "warm spinach artichoke dip," the cookbook has a broad appeal.
According to the back cover of the cookbook, the inside contains everything "from brunch to dessert, from kid's meals to gourmet dinners," and is "sure to make you say 'Whoop!'?"
The Women's Club seems to have found the recipe for success. Step by step, ingredient by ingredient, the club has embraced differences in demographics.
"We have a wide variety of ages, and we have lots of people that are international. It's a pretty diverse group," said Bennett. "Our club is a reflection of Texas A&M. We try to keep in mind in everything we do that we have a diverse population, and we try to make sure that we welcome everybody into our group."
That variety is mirrored in the cookbook, showing the club's dedication to presenting a wide range of qualities in order to create the perfect blend.
"Diversity is the spice of life," Lynett said. "We can learn so much from our members. We come from all different parts of the world, and now we're all Aggies. They just bring so many things to the table."
Bennett said the cookbook has the potential to produce culinary cuisines in the college student's kitchen or else can find its place under the Christmas tree for someone special.
"The nice thing about this cookbook is that it's a great starter cookbook for students because there are recipes that have very few ingredients and recipes that are international and also some from our gourmet group," she said. "And it would be a good Christmas present for their mom."
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