We are heading into the holiday season so yesterday's class at The Cook's Warehouse was all desserts.  The class was for the older kids, over 10, so it was a pretty easy and fun day.

The students made:

• Chocolate Cream Cheese Fudge
• Apple Cake with Vanilla Butter Sauce
• Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Poundcake
• Caramel Pecan Sauce for Ice Cream

We had a lot of desserts since we had three teams of students and each team made all the desserts.  Since my lunch was a dessert plate, I felt that I needed vegetable soup or a salad for dinner! The kids were happy with their desserts, the parents happy and the staff at Cook's happy with desserts.

One Cook's Warehouse staff person took a small piece of dessert and said she needed to watch since we were coming into the holiday season and there would be lots of eating.  I encouraged her to train for the eating and take more dessert so she'd be able to keep up later. 

If you wanted to start training for the holiday season, you might want to start with the apple cake. The sauce is good, but the cake is good by itself if you don't want to make sauce.

Chunky Apple Slice Cake with Vanilla Butter Sauce from McCormick Spices

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon McCormick® Pumpkin Pie Spice or 1 tablespoon McCormick® Apple Pie Spice
• 1 teaspoon McCormick® Allspice, Ground
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
• 2 cups chopped peeled apples (about 2 medium)
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• Vanilla Butter Sauce (recipe follows)

I love cranberries and I saw that fresh cranberries are in the stores now.  Of course I will get several bags and stash them in the freezer for later but I bought some this week for a customer menu.  I had some left, with some orange juice and searched for a recipe for muffins to use up my leftovers. I found this one from Taste of Home Magazine, made it yesterday and it is fantastic!

Cranberry Muffins

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
• 1/2 cup shortening (I used butter)
• 3/4 cup orange juice (some from the orange, the rest from the carton)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, bakig soda, ginger, salt and orange peel. 
2. Cut in shortening until crumbly.  (I used my fingers and rubbed it in.)
3. Stir in orange juice, eggs and vanilla just until moistened.  Fold in cranberries and nuts. 
4. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups tow-thirds full.  (I used paper liners.)
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to wire rack. 
6. Makes 18 muffins. 

I did get 18 muffins from the recipe, sometimes I don't get the same yield when baking.  The papers come off the muffin easily and don't stick to the muffin leaving big chunks on the paper.  I ate some yesterday and will eat more today and then will individually wrap each remaining muffin in plastic wrap and toss them in a freezer bag to enjoy later.

Today I am going to my library (Spruill Oaks) to present a cooking class on Quick and Nutritious Meals.  I'll be starting there at 12:30 if you're in the neighborhood.   

I've mentioned that I teach for the Culinary Business Academy for people that want to be personal chefs.  It is fun and I get to meet lots of interesting people.  The last class we had, there was a man who loves to cook and also makes soap.  He showed us his brochures and it looked very interesting.  Once he got home, he very generously sent some soap to the class and teachers. 

His name is Tim and you can check out the soap at Soap Alchemy .  He sent me several different kinds and right now I'm using the Lemon Zest and love it.  It is all natual and many of the soaps are certified as vegan.  Since we're getting into the holiday season, think about gifts for friends and family. 

I need to make sure I have all my equipment and ingredients for my class.  Have a great weekend.

Hispanic Heritage Month continues until October 15th so you still have time to celebrate!  I celebrated by going to the De Kalb Public Library in Doraville and conducting a cooking demo using various foods.  I had an interpreter with me and I should have made sure I had her name spellling correct, but she was wonderful! 

While I cooked, she talked about the differences between Spanish food, Mexican food, Latin American food, Caribbean food, and much more.  I learned a lot.  I made Yellow Rice with Black Beans and Corn, Chicken with Peppers, Onions and Tomatoes, Citrus Cooler drink and Lime Pudding. 

I always encourage people to use the recipes as a starting point.  Add what you enjoy or try some new things.  I used sweet bell peppers in the chicken since I was cooking for people I didn't know.  I love hot, spicy peppers.

I had peppers, onions, garlic, hot sauce from Mexico, olive oil from Spain, rice from Puerto Rico, sweetened condensed milk, pepper, orange juice, all wonderful flavors.

I like a good punch and have a hard time finding one that is refreshing and not too sweet.  The Citrus Cooler is perfect!

Citrus Cooler

• 6 cups cold water
• 4 cups orange juice
• 1 cup lime juice
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup grenadine

1. Combine ingredients in a large pitcher stirring until sugar dissolves.  Serve over ice, serves 10. 

I have been fortunate to work with Myguail who organized the programs with the libraries and invited people.  We had a great turnout today according to him and we had happy people sharing the meal.

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage by cooking a new recipe, or try a new Cuban, Spanish, Mexican, etc restaurant.  Check out Buford Highway for restaurants and fun markets!

I am now going to go to make our dinner.  I am also very, very excited because I am leaving for vacation tomorrow!  I know I was just in New Orleans, but that was work even though it was lots of fun.  This is a real vacation. 

I'll be posting from the road hopefully.  I'll talk about my tours and of course meals. 

The weather is starting to get a little cooler in the evenings which is good since today I taught Fall Fun recipes to the 6 to 9 year olds.  This was a small group, maybe gas was an issue for parents, but we still had fun and made a great lunch.

The menu was:

• Baked Mustard Apple Chicken
• Butternut Squash Puree
• Cinnamon Foccacia

If you think you don't like squash, this is a great starter squash recipe.  It is easy and tasty and also pretty when it's done.

Butternut Squash Puree from Food Network

• 2 pound butternut squash
• 4 tablespoons butter softened and divided
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 orange zested
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon

1. Halve the squash lengthwise and remove the seeds and strings.  Rub the insides with 2 tablespoons softened butter;season with salt and pepper.  Place on a roasting pan, skin side down.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until fork tender.
2. Remove the squash from the oven, scoop out the flesh and place in a food processor. 
3. Add the orange zest, honey and remaining butter.  Puree until smooth.  Add a pinch of salt and cinnamon. 

If you've ever carved a pumpkin you know that squash is tough so we let Wayne cut it and watched.  It's safer for an adult to do squash cutting.

Everyone had a great time, did a great job cooking and the food was delicious.  I heard several parents mention that they were making this for dinner tomorrow and Monday.  With their child's help of course.

My husband is on a retreat this weekend so I think the cat and I are going to relax with a book now.  A nice serial killer story.   She's great with relaxing and it is possible we'll both nap.   

I've written a lot about the food I had while in New Orleans at conference, but I did learn some things too!  I teach a lot of cooking classes so it's a nice change to be a student and take a class.  No pressure, just learning. 

I had some excellent classes while attending the conference.  Sunday morning started out with a keynote panel titled Women Chefs and Restaurateurs - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.  The panel consisted of Leah Chase owner of Dooky Chase restaurant and Ti Adlelaide Martin managing partner and owner of Commander's Palace. 

Ms Chase led the discussion and spoke of her years cooking, the changes and the similarities for everyone.  Ms Chase started cooking when she was 18 years old, in the segregated South and has some stories, she's in her late 80's now!  I could have listened to her for much longer.  Ms Martin, the youngster, has known Ms Chase for a long time, her mother is Ellen Brennan of the Brennan restaurants who has been friends with Ms Chase for a long time.   A great opening.

After the opening (and a networking break with food in case we got hungry after breakfast) I attended The Foods of Southern Louisiana:What Makes it Creole or Cajun and Why?  Again a great panel - Leah Chase, Poppy Tooker, Marcelle Bienvenu, Michaela York. 

Ms York led off with a quick history of who settled in Louisiana and when.  There are seven significant nations that have contributed to the food history - Native American, Spanish, French, African, German, English and Italian.  No wonder there is so much good food!  Again I could have listened to the group for much longer.  They had a heated roux discussion and discussed the differences of Cajun and Creole.  There was no big overall agreement except they agree that everyone does things their own way. 

I moved on to A Modern Take on Southern Desserts (yes, after lunch, we try to go very little time without nourishment) where 3 New Orleans pastry chefs demonstrated how they take some classic recipes and give them twists.  They were all knowledgeable and again all different.  One likes to use local, seasonal produce in classic recipes - Zucchini and Peach Buckle, one updated the 19th century rice and yeast fritters into a Coffee and Doughnut dessert, one uses local creole ingredients - creole cream cheese and makes panna cotta.  The class description included the claim that there would be no food, we would taste at the dessert reception later, but of course that was not true.  We had some of everything.  And I have recipes.  The fritters are a must try.  They do take 2 days!

Monday I was up bright and early to lead a round table discussion on the Challenges for Personal Chefs.  I had several people at the table and we had a good discussion.

After that was breakfast which was delicious and I have to try some of those recipes.  I moved on to my class The Tie That Binds - Art of Flour and Water Across the World.  This was a participation class where we learned to make several different types of noodles - Herbed Spaetzle, Arepas, Garganelli, Strozzapreti, Cous Cous,  and Soba Noodles all from flour and water!

I can't wait to try cous cous making at home.  I believe it too takes at least one day and maybe more.  It was so interesting though!  It was time for lunch and a panel on Diversity.  After that I attended Taste! Taste! Taste! Opportunities for Women in Wine.  This was probably my least favorite class.  I was looking more for types of opportunities and didn't get enough info on that.  Still interesting and good things to know. 

We finished the conference with a finale dinner of New Orleans Street foods which are foods from all countries.  Excellent and I met a woman from Los Angeles who has some great programs for teaching at risk kids culinary arts.  She focuses on kids at women's shelters and gang members and is very successful.  Very interesting woman who has given me some ideas.

That's the end of conference and I probably won't take a class for a while.  Although I never know! 

I gave a class Saturday.  I had the 3 to 5 year olds and we made Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs and Cookies.  As always we had fun and the kids were amazing.

I know, I cut off the heads of the wonderful assistants, but the height difference is challenging.  Yes, the kids are standing on stools.  They're small!

Now I have to get ready to go out and about.  Hopefully I will find gas.  I have meetings with a new client and with a returning client that I cooked for starting in 2002. 

So I left the house Thursday morning about 11.  I needed to get in a Jazzercise class before leaving because I know I will be eating and drinking.  Lots. 

My plan was to drive to Mobile, stop, eat, sleep and then continue.  A perfect plan.  I had lunch at the Bates House of Turkey near Montgomery, Alabama.  It wasn't bad but I would not go out of my way for the meal.  I got to Mobile about 5, checked in and tried to get  the the computer working but no luck.  I went to dinner, again not exceptional, it was a suggestion of the desk clerk.  It wasn't bad, just not great.  I slept well last night and was on the road at 7am.

I had just started my morning trip when heavy rain started.  This was not a bad thing,  I really needed it.  I don't know what the deal is, but at Montgomery, there were tons of flies.  Tons, swarms, smashing on the windshield.  I had to pull off once to wash so I could see. So the rain, hard to drive in, washed the car nicely. 

I got to New Orleans about 9:30 and went directly to The New Orleans School of Cooking where I was signed up for a cooking class at 10.  It was fantastic!  The menu:

• Shrimp and Artichoke Soup
• Crawfish Etouffee
• Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce
• Pralines

This was a demonstration class so I took notes and then ate.  Everything tasted great and the teachers did an excellent job.  If you're ever in the area and need a fun activity, go there.  I even got some pictures.

Once done with class, I found the hotel, checked in, left my car to the valet where it will stay, the streets and drivers are crazy!  Tonight I have been invited to dinner with the board members of WCR.  I got invited since I'm a coordinator for the Atlanta group.  We are eating at a fairly new restaurant, I just saw it in the restaurant edition of Bon Appetit so I'm excited to try it.  It's called MiLa and I'll let you know how it is.

Now I am going to relax, not nap though, maybe knit, think about what to wear tonight, see if it's still raining and I'm not sure what else.   

Just a quick note for today since I am feeling it's a good day for a nap!

I had a cooking class today at The Cook's Warehouse with 10 to 17 year olds.  The class was titled End of Summer, not to taunt them that school was back, but to use up some summer ingredients.

This was the menu:

• Tomato Quiche
• Roasted Red Peppers with Mozzarella
• Grilled Chicken
• Peach Biscuits

If you have never had roasted red peppers you are missing out on a wonderful food item.  If you've had them but never roasted them yourself, what are you waiting for.  Look and learn!

I assured the student chefs that the peppers needed to be very, very black to be very, very tasty.  This is the recipe for the peppers.  The original recipe uses the grill, we were inside so had to adapt.

Cheese Stuffed Roasted Red Peppers from Pillsbury

• 3 large red bell peppers
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil

1. Heat the grill.
2. When grill is hot place the peppers on the grill until black.
3. Peel the peppers, stem and cut in half.  Sprinkle with salt.
4. Place 1 slice of cheese in each pepper half and drizzle with olive oil.
5. Return to grill, cook until cheese is melted.  Sprinkle with basil and serve.

The food was delicious and we were done in perfect time.  We had plenty of food for students, parents, staff and me! I was able to get group shots while the chicken was finishing.

Yesterday I had a little more time to spend making dinner so I decided to try a Vegetable Lasagna from Giada and Everyday Italian.  I decided to use the option of making it in a 13x9 baking dish as offered in the cookbook.  It was very good and not difficult,  I just needed a little time.

Individual Vegetable Lasagnas

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium Spanish onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 medium zucchini, finely chopped
1 medium summer squash, finely chopped
8 asparagus spears, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 pound fresh plain lasagna sheets
2 cups tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups canned white beans, rinsed and drained
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, halved
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a saute pan over medium heat, add extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the carrot and cook for 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and squash cook for 5 minutes. Add asparagus and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat when all vegetables are completely cooked but still have a good crunch. Allow to cool.

Using a 6-inch round cookie cutter, cut circles out of the lasagna sheets. You will need 18 circles. Coat the bottom of 6 (6-inch) gratin dishes with a teaspoon of tomato sauce in each. Place a circle of pasta on the bottom of each ramekin. Rinse the beans with water and season with salt and pepper. Divide the beans between each ramekin. Next, divide the spinach between the ramekins. Place a second layer of pasta on top and gently press down. Divide the sauteed vegetables among the ramekins and top with a tablespoon of tomato sauce in each. Place the third layer of pasta in each ramekin and coat with a tablespoon of tomato sauce. Sprinkle ramekins with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, and top each with 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place gratin dishes on top. Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until brown and bubbling.

I did not make tomato sauce, I used a Muir Glen Tomato Basil sauce but I did make fresh pasta and rolled it into sheets for lasagna noodles.  I love the pasta attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer.  I used more zucchini and yellow squash and eliminated the asparagus since my husband isn't fond of them. 

Today we went to Jazzercise, then home for a quick and easy breakfast.  I packed some equipment for a class I did this afternoon and made some delicious banana chocolate chip bar cookies.  My husband brought home bananas that he didn't eat this week at work and casually mentioned that they were ripe and great for baking.  What a helper!

After relaxing and reading with a cup of tea and a bar, I got ready to go cook. Today was a fun day, as usual!  I was cooking with Paige who just turned 10 and 7 of her girlfriends at Paige's house.  Paige invited them to cook with her, she chose the menu, they cooked and then had a special dining room dinner with candles.  Today we made:

• Chicken in Puff Pastry
• Shredded Zucchini
• Strawberry Fondue

I managed to take some pictures as they worked.  They loved the food they cooked and did a great job.

I finished cleaning the kitchen as they had dinner.  As I was leaving the plans for the rest of the party included the opening of gifts and then decorating and painting aprons that Paige's mom purchased for favors.  And there was going to be music, a Miley Cyrus CD. 

Once home I was so happy to see a clean kitchen courtesy of my husband.  We heated some lasagna and I think it was better today.  The rest went to the freezer for another day.  Perfect. 

Now I am going to finish my book and probably hold the cat.  A great day!

I had fun today with the 6 to 9 year olds in a cooking class.  We were full with 12 kids and the menu was Satisfying Snacks.  The kids were great as usual, lots of hand washing, chopping, mixing and rolling.  We started at 10:30, had a break in the middle for a rest and juice and were ready to eat the snacks at 1.  This was a quick group of student chefs!

The menu consisted of Sausage Rolls, Baked Honey Shrimp and Apples with Butterscotch Dip.  Everything was delicious. 

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As you can see we had fun both cooking and eating.  The apples and dip would be a perfect after school snack.  We started to mix with a wooden spoon, but then used a hand mixer to get the dip nice and smooth.  It was also fun to use the hand mixer and learn to turn it on only when in the bowl with the dip and to start out slowly. 

Butterscotch Dip with Apple Wedges

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butterscotch ice cream topping
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 6 apples

1. Combine all ingredients except apples until smooth.  Chill.
2. Cut apples into wedges and serve with dip. 

I had a cup of tea and a cookie when I got home and I'm now finishing up a book that I'm enjoying.  I have planned chicken soup for dinner since it's stormy looking and windy here.  Maybe I'll get a little knitting in too.

This has been a fairly quiet week.  I had a great time cooking with Amy on Monday as we practiced some kitchen basics - knife skills, saute, roasting.  I left the house with a buffet set on the kitchen island and a happy hungry family ready to try the fruits of labor.  She's ready now for her trip to Taiwan and her dorm mom duties once there.

School has started almost everywhere in Georgia but there are still a few schools yet to start.  Everyone is not back to a normal schedule yet, so I am not at a normal schedule either.  Tuesday was my errand day.  I planned my route and went to the bank, the eye glass place, the library and the grocery store.  No back tracking and no sole trips.  I have new glasses, a classic style and I like them.

Yesterday was basic cleaning and some baking.  I of course had not planned to bake so I needed to find a recipe with ingredients that I had.  I went to the Very Best Baking site and found these very tasty cookies:

Chocolate Cinnamon Nut Bars

• Cookie Layer
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (I used pecans)
• Chocolate Layer
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
• 1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 cup powdered sugar

1. For Cookie Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat flour, 3/4 cup butter, granulated sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in large mixer bowl until crumbly.  Stir in nuts.  Press into bottom of ungreased 13x9 baking pan.  Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until firm.
3. For Chocolate Layer: Melt chips and 1/4 cup butter in medium, heavy duty saucepan over lowest possible heat, stir until smooth.  Remove from heat, stir in brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.  Pour over hot crust.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until center is set.  Cool in pan on wire rack.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Yesterday afternoon I had a meeting with a Jazzercise friend and her daughter to plan a birthday cooking party.  The daughter was 10 years old yesterday and will be inviting 7 of her friends  to her house for a cooking party.  The girls will participate in making a festive dinner and then will enjoy it in the dining room with china and good glassware.  Yesterday we discussed the menu, the timing and are all ready for the party in a week or so.  This will be so much fun!

Today is kind of a boring day.  I didn't have any real plans, but I am trapped here waiting for the delivery and installation of the new dishwasher.  Like I said no real plans, but now I am forced to be home and wait.  No more baking today though!  On the bright side, if the installers are nice, I can offer them cookies which will be good for us - fewer cookies and good for them - tasty cookies.