New Experiences
I had another busy week but I also had fun. Well, mostly fun.
I was asked to be a demonstrator chef at the International Kitchen and Bath Show this past week. I went in on Friday and Saturday to demonstrate the Fagor induction stove top and use the pressure cooker to make some samples for hungry attendees. I've used the pressure cooked often and also have the portable induction burner, but thought that I should test them together before I used them with an international audience at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Wednesday I had no customers so started my grits and planned to have them for breakfast. My first attempt was awful. So awful that I thought I would have to call my contact at Fagor and tell her that I needed a new pressure cooker. The bottom was black. It started out as shiny, stainless steel.
I got a bowl of cereal, soaked the pan while I ate and breathed, cleaned it out and went for the second batch. Good news - the pot cleans up beautifully with just a scrubber, I didn't even need steel wool! The second batch was better, but still burned, cleaned up again and decided to go to my desk and work on my Thursday customer's paper work. The induction burner is MUCH faster and hotter than gas.
The third batch was perfect and I had Sweet Breakfast Grits for lunch. Very tasty and I felt better about cooking in front of a crowd.
Thursday I cooked for my client and took some pictures of my kitchen set-up to show students at the next Culinary Business Academy class. Since I was taking pictures I got some of Becky Sue and Charlie Brown. They would not both look at me at the same time, they thought I was actually giving them chicken, but I did snap one picture.
Friday I headed off to The World Congress Center to meet my Fagor contacts and cook for the crowd. All went well and people were surprised that grits tasted good. I also made warm peach sauce served over poundcake in the afternoon. This is Georgia alfter all so I used grits, pecans and peaches. I was so glad to not get lost on the way to the booth, that I didn't worry about finding my car until I was done.
The people who work at the center are very nice and I did thank the man from housekeeping that let me use the freight elevator and showed me the path to the garage. It is a very confusing place.
Saturday it was back to the booth and more cooking the same recipes. My main purpose at the show was to explain induction cooking and the pressure cooker and answer questions from attendees. I had a great time, met lots of nice people and truly enjoyed the induction stove top.
Oh, I also was video taped and recorded by two different internet shows. I didn't know about that or would have been totally terrified instead of mildly terrified. If I find out when I'm on, I'll let you know. Check out the products at Fagor. The appliances are gorgeous, work well and the people in the company are very nice. Here I am with some of them:
I was pretty tired when I got home Friday, but I did cook dinner. We had a soup that was surprisingly good. I will make it again. I made it this time to use the two organic green peppers I got in my produce bag. I can eat soup in any weather, I don't need to wait for winter.
Stuffed Green Pepper Soup from Cooking Light November 2004
- Heat a small Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add chopped green bell pepper and onion; cook 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in black pepper, less-sodium beef broth, diced tomatoes, and tomato soup; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes.
- Spoon 1/4 cup hot cooked white rice into each of 6 bowls; top with 1 cup soup.
Just a couple of changes. The ground beef we get is packaged in one pound packs so I used the whole pound. I used vegetable broth instead of beef broth and Amy's Organic tomato soup. I just added the rice to the soup when the soup was done simmering. I put two containers in the freezer for later so I hope that works okay.
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