Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Event Review: Taste of Home Cooking School

On November 21, I attended with my family the Taste of Home Cooking School at the state fairgrounds. I wanted to post about this event sooner, so I could remember all the wonderful things I learned. I will definitely attend another one. The entrance fee is worth all the freebies alone, the wonderful cooking demo is icing on the cake for these events. The attendees came away with much more than they expected.

There were about 15-20 vendors passing out recipes, having drawings for prizes, and giving away samples. Some booths had lines, but others didn't. They ranged from food manufacturers to local food businesses as well as home improvement companies, beauty supplies, and dishes.

I was shocked to learn that bleached flour is bleached with the same bleach used on clothing. After learning this, Mel and I have researched switching to unbleached flours. Since we make our own bread, we use a lot of flour.

Our presenter, Dana Elliott whipped together 8 recipes from Taste of Home Holiday Recipe Card Collection 2009 with humor and ease. I highly recommend her. I was impressed at how easy she made the recipes. After watching her, I decided that I need to explore recipes beyond my usual 3-5 ingredient adventures. I decided that the amount of ingredients doesn't match the ease of preparation. I'm going to try more recipes with more ingredients as long as the prep steps are within 2-3.

I didn't win any of the give aways, but my mother-in-law won a bag of groceries from Whole Foods. I guessed 289 for how many balls filled a freezer. but someone else won with 299. It held 295. I was so close. Mel and I were disappointed since we've wanted to get one.

Things I took away from this event:
1) Buy unbleached flour. I wouldn't drink straight from the bleach bottle, so I shouldn't buy from companies who use it on flour I'm going to consume.

2) Explore recipes with differing ingredient list. Longer ingredient lists can be easier to make than shorter lists. The prep steps exposes more about the ease of a recipe.

3) Celebrate the fun of trying a new recipe, even if it doesn't work out. It's a chance to learn something for next time.

Happy cooking,
Ellen

Friday, November 6, 2009

Smoking Chocolate

Smoke billowed from the microwave as I tried to melt semi-sweet chocolate chips. The recipe said to melt them for a minute and then stir. Well, it burned. They suffered so much they sent up smoke signals to warn the chips still in the bag to escape. My spouse rushed in to save them. It was too late. They burnt a hole in the bottom of the bowl trying to escape. We had to throw away the whole mess. The chips and the bowl sank into the trash can like a sinking pirate ship.

Mel decided to have mercy on me and show me the proper way to melt chocolate chips in the microwave. Zap them for 15-20 seconds at a time. Stir. Zap them again. Stir. Continue this for about a minute. Hmm, the recipe I was following didn't tell me that. Good thing I live with a published cook book author.

Once I learned how to have melted chocolate, I added the corn flakes and raisins. I stirred them together being careful not to crush the flakes. I tried to drop teaspoons of the goo onto the aluminum foil, but it ended up being one big clump of hardening chocolate mess. It didn't taste that great either.

In our house we ask if a recipe is a keeper or not when we try a new one. This one obviously is NOT a keeper. I wonder if this popular magazine test drove this recipe before they published it.

My chocolate craving went up in smoke. Not a cooking goddess yet.

Ellen