Q What will be happening at the cooking show this year?
A The Taste of Home Cooking School is coming to Emporia and we will be presenting Holiday Celebrations — that is our theme. We are going to be exploring a wide range of recipes from desserts, to appetizers, to entrees and side dishes. We have a little bit of everything and something for everyone. The recipes are easy to put together so they are perfect for entertaining this holiday season. The show will last about two hours and that includes door prizes, eight recipe demonstrations and, of course , we will be giving all those away also.
Q What are some of your favorite dishes this year?
A I like appetizers, so one of my favorites is the green olive and walnut spread. It’s really easy to make since it’s made in the food processor and it’s really tasty. It has the salty kick from the olives and nice crunch from the walnuts. It has been a hit with my family. My favorite entrée is the pinwheel flank steak. It is really the show stopper. It’s a neat way to prepare beef that can sometimes be tough but we demonstrate how to tenderize that and make it very impressive looking. Presentation is important around the holidays.
Q How many Holiday Shows are you doing in Kansas?
A Emporia is very lucky to be getting a show. The Holiday Shows are only in the Midwest and in Kansas we only have two shows. One is in Emporia and the other is all the way on the other side of the state in Colby. Right now we are finishing up the shows in Illinois and we are looking forward to coming to Kansas. The shows are really getting exciting especially as we get closer to the holidays.
Q What is your background?
A My background is in nutrition and my degree is in family and consumer science. I actually got interested in Taste of Home as a high school student. I just always loved to cook and enjoyed looking through the Taste of Home magazine and writing down recipes. I always thought how much fun it would be to work on those magazines as a job. So that is what I had in mind when I went to college. I interned with a couple of food magazines and then worked in the Taste of Home’s test kitchen for a couple of years and now here I am, working for the cooking school.
Q What has impressed you about Taste of Home and what is one of your favorite products that they have produced?
A I really like that Taste of Home is built around family and sharing food with others. All of our recipes use ingredients that you can find in your local store. That is very important. I live in a rural area in Arkansas and I don’t want to have to drive an hour to find gourmet products. I just want to go to my local grocery store and use Taste of Home recipes to bring a great dish to the table. One of my favorite products was just released. We have a brand new cookbook called the Taste of Home Cookbook and it is the Cadillac of all cookbooks. I have already bought a couple for Christmas gifts. We will be giving some away at the show.