Event Review: Recipe Party

A recipe party? A simple idea turned into a wonderful party. Everyone made a dish and brought copies of the recipe. A pitch-in with a purpose.

We all lined up to dish out the twenty dishes onto our plates to taste each one. We sat and chatted as we savored each taste. The dishes ranged from soups, salads, casseroles, turkey (my recipe to be discussed in another entry), bbq pork, appetizers and of course, desserts. Chocolate was had by all.

The party is simple to organize.
1) Invite 10 friends to bring a dish, copies of their recipes and a friend.
2) Set up a place for the food and the people.
3) Provide plates, eating utensils, and drinks.
4) Eat and socialize with all the great cooks attending your party.
5) Gather the recipes.

I highly recommmend this type of party. It also can be fun to add a theme to the food. One woman tonight suggested a summer dessert party in her backyard when it gets warmer. Mel suggested a picnic/cookout theme at a park or in someone's yard. Think of the possibilities - vegetarian, international, chili or soup, or more. Since casseroles are making a come back, I think that would be a great recipe party idea.

Food is a great way to bring people together. I enjoyed making new friends over this dinner. The only thing I think could have made it better was shuffling some cards and chatting over a game after dinner.

For the cookbook authors, this would be a great way to promote a cookbook with some adjustments to the way the party is organized.

Cook, Eat and Be Happy,
Ellen

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