Bacon tomato cheese dip & our 4th of July family tradition!

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Denise

I can hardly believe it’s almost the 4th of July again! Can you? How is it that time really does seem to go faster the older you get? I know we all say that, but it has to be a real phenomenon. It’s not just me, is it? It really does seem that it was just yesterday we were up in the NC mountains camping and hanging out with my extended family, my girls running wild and free with their cousins…getting dirty, having fun and playing with other people’s puppies. This was our drive last year…

And the incredible view from my grandparent’s deck which may seem familiar to some of you….

and my youngest who gravitated toward every puppy in sight….

I am so blessed to have a big wonderful family that gets along so well and loves getting together! My grandfather started this 4th of July family reunion tradition when I was growing up. My mom is one of 4 siblings, and they would all drive with their respective families to my grandparents place in the country in Virginia, and then when my grandparents moved, to the mountains of West Virginia. My grandparents had thought things out pretty well and purchased their home in a location right in the middle of all their kids, allowing each family to have only a day’s drive to get there. Pretty smart, grandpa! And we have many great memories because of it!

If you can believe it, I’m one of the rare 40-year olds to still have living grandparents…I know I’m blessed! Not only are they living, but they’re in their early 80’s, married 60+ years, healthy, thriving (they’re even on Facebook & Grandma plays scrabble with her kids…how’s that for cool?), traveling, keeping up with 2 homes (spending winters here in South Florida in my neighborhood, and summers in the NC mountains), gardening & canning…seriously living THE LIFE…an ideal we all look up to. I still tell my grandma all the time that I want to grow up to be just like her! I love my grandparents!! 🙂

Here’s a picture of me with my grandparents taken just a few years ago….don’t they look amazing? I called them to get permission to share this photo with you, and they were out in California. Those jet setters were just in Salt Lake City last week, and flying back to the east coast for our reunion tomorrow.

This year my aunt & uncle (who now have 3 beautiful acres) have taken up the mantle and are having the family reunion at their place. I’m excited to again pitch my tent among all my cousins, chill and let our kids roam for 3 glorious days. Tent, you say? Well tent doesn’t do my “vacation home” justice. Yes…I’m being serious! I LOVE my tent!! Last year we purchased an 8 person tent, and I’m still in disbelief at how quickly and easily it goes up (15 minutes), and how roomy and comfortable it is. Easy storage in the back of our van (with our airbeds) which means we are ready to camp at a moment’s notice. The great thing about camping at our 4th of July gatherings though is that we have access to a house if needed. But yes, have tent…will travel! We’re low-maintenance house guests that way 😉

Today I’m sharing with you one of the most incredible dips I’ve ever made. After adjusting a few times to get the ingredients just right, I now have what I consider to be the perfect dip. The last two times I made this dip (for my 3 yr old’s birthday party, and then for Mops), it was completely devoured and I was asked for the recipe. I took these pictures this past spring and have been waiting for the right opportunity to share it with you. This recipe makes quite a large amount of dip so I like to make it when gathering with family or friends, and since 4th of July is around the corner it seems fitting.


5.0 from 2 reviews
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Bacon tomato cheese dip
Author: 
Recipe type: Dip, Appetizer
Prep time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 10-15 people
 
Ingredients
  • 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • ½ cup sour cream, full-fat
  • ½ cup mayo, full-fat
  • 1 can mexican Rotel with part of the juice
  • 1½ Tbsp horseradish
  • ½ cup shredded mexican cheese
  • ¼ cup vidalia onion, diced
  • 6 slices bacon, crumbled*
  • 2 tsp bacon grease, optional
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • scallions, optional
Instructions
  1. In mixer, combine cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, rotel, horseradish, onion, bacon grease, salt & pepper.
  2. Mix in cheese and bacon by hand.
  3. Spread in dish to serve, and garnish with a few extra bacon pieces, cheese and scallions if desired.
  4. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers or our favorite Frito Scoop corn chips (processed I know...but it's our favorite way to eat this dip & we only make it a couple times a year!)
  5. Refrigerate, and will keep all week...but probably won't last that long.
Notes
*I buy hormone-free nitrate and nitrite-free bacon. Can mix all by hand instead of using a mixer.

 

What’s your favorite dip? Feel free to share a link to your blog if you have one to share. Do you have any special 4th of July plans? I hope you have a good one! Over the next 2 weeks we’ll be traveling, and I’ll be posting our adventures from the road. Hope you’ll come along!

This recipe linked up with Works for Me Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, What’s on the Menu Wednesday, What’s Cooking Wednesday, What’s on Your Plate, It’s a Keeper Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, Thrilling Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday, Fresh Food Friday, Friday Favorites, Food Trip Friday, Fight Back Friday, Finer Things Friday, Friday Potluck, Fun with Food Friday & Foodie Friday, Mouthwatering Monday, Monday Mania, Mangia Mondays, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Tuesdays at the Table, Delectable Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Hearth & Soul Hop and Slight Indulgent Tuesday.

“Facebook recommends” and “shares” are always appreciated. Thanks!!

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Exciting changes & introducing Mountain Rose Herbs

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Denise

If you’ve been around Creative Kitchen for any length of time you’ll know how much I love cooking, creating, sharing and chatting with you all. In fact, I can hardly believe that I’m coming up to my 2 year anniversary blogoversary this coming August. I’m amazed that that much time has passed, and surprised at how much I’ve learned about myself through this amazing blogging process.

I’ve also learned about website designing and publishing, photography, social media, not to mention expanding my horizons in the kitchen with new ingredients and techniques. When I started up Creative Kitchen in August 2009, I had no idea how vast or friendly the food blogging community was. Through visiting and commenting on each other’s blogs and also through Twitter, I’ve formed friendships across the world, and that is exciting!

As you can see blogging has enriched my life, and I can’t imagine not coming here and sharing my experiments, kitchen creations, tried and true recipes and various events in my life. It surprised me that over the course of the past almost 2 years I’ve opened up and shared more details of my life with you. I tend to be a very private person, and if you’ve been reading from the beginning you may notice that I began to let down my guard and share more of my heart.

It really was a huge step for me, but each blogger gets to that place where you decide that the risk of stepping beyond your comfort zone is worth the relationships being made. And let’s be honest….intimacy and “realness” or authenticity really aids in the ability to write well and builds that bridge between blogger and reader. I know that for myself the blogs I spend time on are the ones that are open and personal, and where I feel like I’m in someone else’s home. That was how I originally started when I began blogging in March 2008 about my third daughter’s birth defect and corrective surgery.

Behind the scenes I’ve had friends in real life who’ve been my cheerleaders and encouraged me to share more, to step out and to keep on writing and I’m very glad I’ve listened to them! Blogging is a rewarding job that I happily embrace. Some of you may laugh when I say job, and I’ve only alluded to it a couple times, but there is a lot of work that goes in to blogging….from the jotting down of ideas, the research, recipe development, photographing and selecting which pictures to publish, writing blog posts, and really I could go on all day. But I consider it a hobby that I don’t want to ever give up, and am very blessed that my husband supports and believes in this aspect of my life. The pull to write has even changed me from a night owl to a morning person, and of that I’m more surprised than anyone.

Eventually each blogger has to make a decision on whether to seek out advertising or other forms of compensation to help with the costs associated and time spent publishing a site. This is something I’ve struggled with a long time because I am very protective of Creative Kitchen, with the way it looks and in what I promote, and of you…my readers. And I’m definitely not a salesman…I don’t like pushing things on people or having them feel pressured to buy anything…it’s just not my style! So I’m sharing with you three ways a blog or site can earn a few dollars without pestering anyone. 😉

Product Reviews, Advertising and Affiliations

Product Reviews

I only write and share about products I use and am happy with. So far I haven’t done any paid product reviews, but be assured if or when I do I will only select products I can stand behind and will give you my honest opinion (good or bad) even if the product was given to me for free. It’s called disclosure, and bloggers openly share whether or not they were compensated, and compensation does not guarantee a positive review. I’m not sure I’ll do many of these unless it’s something I really, really want to share with you all because I’d rather devote my time to sharing recipes and other life experiences. And I really don’t mind sharing products I love even though no one pays me to do so. I’ve always been an enthusiastic consumer when I feel I’ve gotten great value for my money, and I’ll always want to pass that excitement to others!

Advertising

I am currently looking into a few different ad networks. They basically work like advertising in regular magazine publications. I like to think of them as billboard space. As a site gets more popular and climbs in the rankings of the internet, its space is more valuable to advertisers. A sites traffic is measured by “visits” and “pageviews” and these statistics, as they grow, are appealing to online advertisers. If or when I sign up with an ad network, it will not change anything on the site except that you’ll notice a couple ads over in the right sidebar. I won’t be in control of what they advertise so it won’t necessarily be things I endorse which is a reason I’ve waited so long on this particular option, but it is one of easiest ways for a blogger to earn a few dollars each month. It may or may not cover my monthly hosting costs, but hopefully I’ll select the right one and their ads won’t be overly intrusive.

*As a blog reader, I’m fairly focused on the content I read so hopefully they won’t be too distracting to you, and they won’t require you to do anything like click on them. The advertisers are just happy if there is higher traffic to a site, so just you coming here and reading (or sharing with friends posts and recipes you like) helps the site. In other words, if you like Creative Kitchen enough to come here and read every week, then it helps support the site when you share links on Facebook or in email. There are share options under each post to make it easy for you, and I appreciate when you do this!

Affiliations

Most of you are familiar with becoming an affiliate of a certain company. Just last month you may have noticed an Amazon badge over in the right sidebar. This was another tough one for me, but I love Amazon and have always had great experiences with them…from my beloved new camera to monthly diaper deliveries (with FREE shipping)  over the past few years. Many friends of mine encouraged me to put up an Amazon badge as well as to become affiliates of companies I use and/or stand behind because they wanted a way to help support this site in spending money they normally spend online anyway.
 
When you are an affiliate for a company you earn a small percentage of each sale if the customer clicks through from your site each time they place an order. As a customer you aren’t paying any more money than if you’d gone directly to their site to place the order, but by clicking through Creative Kitchen you help to support the running of this site, and I appreciate it!

 *Amazon – If you are Amazon customer and a regular reader here at Creative Kitchen I’m grateful for any purchases you make by clicking to Amazon through my site. In order to do that just make sure you click the Amazon badge over in the side bar entitled “My Kitchen Favorites” or any Amazon badge on my site. Anything you purchase from Amazon within 24 hours of clicking that badge will provide Creative Kitchen with a small referral fee without increasing your price. That means this site gets credit even if you purchase things not listed in the badge…it can be anything you were going to order at Amazon anyway.

If I recommend any product that I love within a blog post, you will usually see a link to the product at Amazon. Again, Creative Kitchen receives a small referral fee if you click through that link and buy anything at Amazon.

*Mountain Rose Herbs – I’m VERY excited about my new affiliation with Mountain Rose Herbs! I’ve been purchasing my quality Virgin Coconut Oil for a VERY good price from them for the past 5 years, and have never once been disappointed. Since 1987 Mountain Rose Herbs has had an uncompromising commitment to organic agriculture and sustainability.

                            Bulk organic herbs, spices and essential oils. Sin


They carry a full line of organic products that include:

  • Bulk Organic Herbs and Spices, culinary salts, and seasonings
  • Organic Teas and Tea Supplies
  • A Complete Line of Therapeutic Quality Essential Oils
  • Products for Natural Health like herbal capsules, elixirs, oils, sprays & tinctures
  • Bath and Body care
  • Home, Garden and Gifts
  • Bulk Ingredients like butters, oils, cosmetic salts, and flavoring extracts
  • Containers and packaging like glass bottles and jars, bags, tins, and other misc.

If you’re interested in learning more about Mountain Rose Herbs, their quality products and competitive prices, or to order a FREE catalog please click the banner above to visit their site. Just remember if you’d like to come back and purchase from them in the future, I appreciate you clicking through my site! You’ll see a new Mountain Rose Herbs badge over in the right sidebar. Thanks for your support!!

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Low carb update & my first time at Marble Slab Creamery!

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Denise

Most of you remember that at the end of last month, I decided to join my husband in his low carb endeavor. I figured, “Hey, I can do anything for 2 weeks.” I also had an underlying, nagging feeling that it would probably forever change the way I looked at food. As a food blogger with a passion to create in the kitchen, that scared me and excited me at the same time! I love learning more about food and how it affects my body (like why do certain foods cause me to immediately look like I’m 4 months pregnant?). And of course I love creating and making new recipes!!

So how’s it going? I started my experiment on Saturday May 28th, and tomorrow I’ll be at the 1 month mark. So far I’ve lost 9 pounds, and the inches seem to be melting off! I’ll admit I’m ecstatic!! It feels so natural to eat this way which makes it the easiest 9 lbs I’ve ever lost (not counting after giving birth!) I feel like I’ve found the last missing key to successful weight maintenance for life! I can mainly attribute this to the way I’m eating and NOT exercise as I’ve only managed to get out and walk 45-60 minutes a couple times a week. The last couple weeks I was so busy though that I only got out 1 night. So not much exercise though I hope to increase that. 

The last time I lost this kind of weight in a month’s time I was blasting away with my Firm Cardiosculpt dvd 3 times a week (intense cardio & weight training combined in one workout, and I lost 10 inches per month for a total of 20 inches in 2 months time). It’s been great to lose such a large amount of weight without working out so intensely, but I do highly recommend Firm Cardiosculpt as it forever changed my body composition and the shape of my muscles. I can still see certain lines in my upper arms and shoulders, though at times they’ve been covered up 🙂 Now they’ve reappeared! Yay!!

Honesty time ~ I’ve felt great and look slimmer throughout. I never go hungry, or have cravings. One thing I notice about cutting down on carbs is that food satisfies me after eating the correct portion whereas with carbs I would feel compelled to eat more. After the first couple days my sugar cravings were gone. They did however resurface when I knew I had a food event coming up because I did anticipate having something sweet (I think it was anticipation more than craving though). I planned for a treat & allowed myself to have it, and then got right back with very low carb the next day. It’s been working for me. Not necessarily how things work with the Atkins induction specifically, but I’ve always been one to put my own twist on weight loss endeavors and still be successful. 🙂

For instance last Monday night I was meeting with several of my good friends for dinner at Saito’s Japanese Steakhouse…it hit the spot for those of us either craving amazing steak or sushi. It’s so nice that we’re able to get a table in a side dining room so we have plenty of time to catch up and chat instead of sitting around the chef for his show. You know there’s a time and a place for those shows (like when you bring your kids), but a night with girlfriends is not one of those times! 😉

I knew I’d be getting their hibatchi steak with the incredible white dipping sauce that I’ve unsuccessfully still been trying to recreate at home. {Insert breaking news ~ I have a new lead on this sauce and will let you know as soon as I test it out. The closest I had gotten before was here, it was close but definitely sweeter than the Saito’s version.} Do you all know which dipping sauce I’m talking about? Have you had it before? Isn’t it the best?

I ordered the hibatchi steak. I ate a few bites of the salad and soup. I ate the steak, 2 shrimp and the veggies with white dipping sauce, and did not touch my rice which actually saved me $2.95 as I didn’t upgrade to the fried rice from the steamed like I usually do. Everything was delicious, and fairly low carb except for things that may have been sneaking in…but no bread, pasta, or rice. Nothing blatantly carb loaded. Yay…that was very easy and I didn’t feel deprived at all!

I also had a glass of Castle Rock Pinot Noir which was very smooth. I don’t drink wine often, but was happy to learn that 4 oz. of red (or white) wine is around 2 carbs. Seriously amazing….and a relief since I enjoy a good glass of red wine. Normally I only drink water and hot tea…so it’s nice that the occasional glass of wine is low carb friendly. My preference is red wine, and there are health benefits all over the place about the moderate use of red wine. I don’t claim to know all there is to know about wine, but I’d like to periodically share about the bottles I buy since I like a good smooth wine (not sweet) on a budget ($9 – $12, but occasionally up to $15).

Dessert time came and nothing they offered was calling to me. First of all, nothing had chocolate, and though there was ice cream, it wasn’t like I could handpick my ultimate ice cream flavor. Some choices like the fried cheesecake sounded interesting but not all, and I remembered there was a Marble Slab Creamery right there in the same plaza. I’d never been to one before, and it sounded like the perfect way to remedy the situation…those that wanted dessert could get it, and also there was a nice place to sit outside near the fountain. Win/win!

As we walked over I found myself getting excited! I had never been to a Marble Slab or Stone Cold Creamery before. As a family of 5, it had been beyond our budget, and for the price of serving one person we could serve the entire family a half gallon at home with leftovers for another night. Frugal or cheap…you make the call, but it was better for my family not to venture into the world of gourmet ice cream. 🙂

Over the years my taste buds have changed…has that happened to you? I find them maturing actually. 7 – 8 years ago I would have preferred candy over ice cream, and not even chocolate candy. Given the choice at the mall for a treat I’d walk into the bulk candy store instead of choosing ice cream. I was into fruity or sour candy….jelly belly jellybeans, sour balls, those german raspberries, the sour fruits and mini gummy bears and dark chocolate covered raisins.

But over the last 5 years or so I’ve developed a deep affection for ice cream….it’s creamy sweet goodness. It’s the “absolute irresitable” for Tammy, a very good friend of mine…I’d like to think she rubbed off on me! She was right all along. Thankfully, ice cream has redeeming nutritional qualities that candy does not. Though it has sugar, it also has calcium. Though some aren’t of the opinion of healthy fats that I have…to me it makes perfect sense that the sugar is accompanied by fat to slow it’s absorption into the bloodstream. That’s another big plus. Candy is full of pure sugar…and dyes galore…no nutritional value at all and will also send your blood sugar skyrocketing. Can you relate to a love of ice cream?

Am I saying go out and eat ice cream daily? No…but the occasional treat and the key word is “portion controlled” then I give a resounding YES! And I can’t wait to have my try at homemade ice cream at home this summer. I’ll admit I have issues with portion control at home. I can’t keep ice cream in the house or it calls to me. I can’t have one cone…I have to have two! Publix premium chocolate chip cookie dough is really good, but it’s not full of pure ingredients…..and that ingredient list is really long! So I remedy that by buying the Ben & Jerry’s cookie dough in those ½ cup size containers for my freezer. The perfect portion, and I can make it last like nobody’s business with a tiny, tiny spoon! That’s my secret!

Back to Marble Slab….oh, I could be in trouble! I ordered the small which looked really small until my mixture of choice was mixed in. I was able to sample several flavors before I chose “Sweet Cream” ice cream as my base with the mix-ins of what else…cookie dough and chocolate chips. Heaven in a cup!! Yes…this could be bad. I have to admit I’ve relived this event in my mind several times since then, and I’m already plotting planning my next splurge *insert evil laugh.*

I also thought it’d be fun for an individual date with each of my daughters…and we could “share” the small! They would love it!! In fact for purposes of research (we needed these pictures after all), I took both my girls after church yesterday and the 3 of us shared these! On the left cheesecake with M&M’s & heath toffee and on the right…my fave, the sweet cream with chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate chips. What do you think….creamy, right?

Before you smack me for torturing you with ice cream during my low carb update post, let me just remind that life is about living…moderation and balance. I’ve done extremes before, and if I’ve learned anything by age 40 it’s this, “life is meant to be lived, thoroughly experience each and every moment, fully embracing the moments God has gifted us with for we have no knowledge of tomorrow.”

Some moments are food-related…the creamy goodness of cold ice cream on the tongue or biting into an amazing square of dark chocolate, and some moments are snuggles and cuddles on the couch with each and every one of my children spaced throughout the day. My 3 year old’s small hand resting on my leg, and her bed tousled head up under my arm. My 8 year old’s arm wrapped around my waist while leaning into me, and my 12 year old’s full embrace while standing almost the same height as this once “7-week premature infant at 3 lbs 10 oz” is now almost fully “my size.”

And I’m not being morbid…tomorrow is promised to no one. So if it’s been too long since you’ve indulged…give yourself permission to take a loved one and share a serving! 😉

Stay tuned as I attempt to stay low/controlled carb on my upcoming vacation ~ 16 days, 2,000 miles, 3 kids and ONE mama in a minivan!! This should make for some interesting blog material 😉

Also,Don’t forget the new “subscribe by EMAIL” option in the sidebar. You’ll always get a FREE email reminder of any post or recipe right to your inbox! Or “LIKE” Creative Kitchen on Facebook to get them through your newsfeed. It’s an easy way to share recipes with your friends.

* As always “shares” and “Facebook recommends” are MUCH appreciated! Thanks!!

11 Comments

Mozzarella caprese omelette & my wild kingdom

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Denise

I simply must share the strange things that have been going on at my house…or more specifically with me at my house. We’ve always had the random visiting raccoons on our patio trying to get into our trash cans, or lizards scurrying about…I’m used to that. But over the past couple weeks I’ve been having run-ins with various wildlife, and I mean head to head run-ins.

The night that I was out for my cooking class, I got home fairly late. Just as I rounded the corner of the sidewalk to approach my patio gate, I remembered that I’d seen an armadillo here late one other night. Yes…an armadillo. It was calm and peaceful and just moseyed away and I did find it pretty cool, but it still startled me and kept me from getting into my house for about 10 minutes. So I made a little noise in hopes that if he were around…he’d hear me and hide. And then as I opened my gate, I breathed a sigh of relief because I was in the clear.

And it was at that moment I spotted something ahead of me and off to the side. It was hard to see in the dark, but I must have startled it. And after that everything happened so fast. I realized it was my armadillo friend, and I screamed and I think my feet left the air as it came running toward me. Logically, I knew he was just trying to get away, but to “get away” meant running past ME in the narrow gate area. I really don’t know how we made it past each other without touching, and I was so scared I was shaking. I ran into the house as quickly as I could….still shrieking, shaking and freaking out! My hubby was so startled that he thought I’d been attacked by someone. He was already in bed.

Now the armadillo incidents would be quite enough in and of itself, but the very next day when I was leaving my house with the 3 year old to pick the older girls up from VBS…a small frog leaped into my house and onto my foyer rug. Ewww…..for real!! What in the world was going on? I tried to guide it out of my house, but it hopped into my bedroom instead. Thankfully, hubby was able to capture it that night and set it free outside. Whew…my hero!! Then the next day when I slammed my gate shut, a frog (the same one?) leaped outward and onto the bush next to me. What’s going on?

In general, wildlife just seems to have taken a liking to me lately. Birds have been landing on our windowsill outside and peck at the window like they want me to let them in. Raccoons have been overturning our trash cans. It’s crazy! I’m not sure what else is around the corner.

Today I’m sharing a tasty omelette I had for breakfast last week. I’m sure it’s nothing new and others have had something like this, but it’s easy and soo good! What else would you expect from fresh basil, mozzarella cheese and fresh diced tomato! This one looks small because I made it in a medium skillet but then had to cut it in half. It was way too much for one sitting.  🙂


5.0 from 1 reviews
Print
Mozzarella caprese omelette
Author: 
Recipe type: Breakfast, Easy, Italian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 1
 
This nutritious omelette is packed full of flavor with fresh basil, mozzarella cheese and diced tomato. Fresh and light...perfect for summer!
Ingredients
  • 2 eggs, preferably free-range
  • Shredded mozzarella cheese
  • Fresh basil chiffonade
  • Diced tomatoes
  • Sea salt
  • Pepper
Instructions
  1. Crack eggs into small bowl and whisk well.
  2. Chiffonade basil, dice tomatoes and shred cheese.
  3. Melt butter in small skillet on medium heat. Swirl butter around.
  4. When pan is fairly hot, pour eggs into pan and swirl to coat bottom of pan. Immediately turn heat down lower and add cheese and basil. If omelette is cooking too fast, remove pan from heat while adding ingredients.
  5. Fold omelette over, and add some cheese on top.
  6. After omelette is cooked through and cheese is melted, remove from pan and add diced tomato.
Notes
* For a 2 person omelette up this to 3 eggs and use a medium sized skillet.

 

Of interest {all links lead to the same post} ~

* More notes on omelette techniques
* Why free-range eggs?
* Mexican Omelette

Curious what type of omelettes are your favorite? Please share in comment section below! Have you had any critters hanging out lately, or a funny critter run-in? I’d love to hear from you!

This recipe linked up with Works for Me Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, What’s on the Menu, What’s Cooking Wednesday, It’s a Keeper Thursday, Recipe Swap Thursday, Thrilling Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, Finer Things Friday, Friday Favorites, Fresh Food Friday, Fight Back Friday, Food Trip Friday, Friday Potluck, Monday Mania, Mouthwatering Monday, Mangia Mondays, Just Another Meatless Monday, Homemaker Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, My Meatless Mondays, Hearth & Soul Hop, Tuesdays at the Table, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday and Totally Tasty Tuesdays.

*As always “shares” or “Facebook recommends” are MUCH appreciated! Thanks!!

33 Comments

Fun Sauce Class at Publix Apron Cooking School!

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Denise

I had been wanting to take a cooking class for a long time, and a few months ago when reading Michelle’s blog The Domestic Mama & the Village CookI read about a crepe cooking class she’d taken. Since we both live within 17 miles of each other, I didn’t hesitate to ask her where she took the class. I was excited to learn about the Publix Apron Cooking School in Boca Raton, Florida. If you’re interested they also have cooking schools in Sarasota, Tampa, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Plantation and Alpharetta, Georgia. I immediately went on their website to check out any future classes, and then spent the next hour writing down all the ones I was interested in. Oh yeah…there were a bunch.

Of course my mind began spinning with all the possible scenarios. Michelle & I taking a class, a local food blogger meetup with Tina, Lora, Michelle, Binky & Joan, a fun mom’s night out with some of my friends (let me know which of you would like to do this with me!!)…really the possibilities are endless! At the time I still had Food Blog Forum Orlando to look forward to so I knew it might be awhile, but I knew eventually I’d be checking them out.

Finally Michelle & I agreed we both really wanted to take the sauce class, and when we finalized arrangements the week before we were both super excited! Foodie stuff is fun, right? I mean we all like to eat! Here’s a class description excerpt from the Publix Apron Cooking School website…

CLASS TYPE / FORMAT / COST – Special Topics / Hands-On / $45

INSTRUCTOR(S) – Apron’s Staff

DATE & TIME – Jun 9 / 6:00 p.m. 

DESCRIPTION–  One of the most memorable parts of a meal is the sauce that enhances the entrée.  Once you understand the structure and framework of classic sauces and how and why sauce ingredients are combined, you can play with variations of the five “mother” sauces. Also, you will learn how to “fix” or counter-balance a sauce that does not turn out exactly right, and how to freeze sauces for future use.

MENU– Veggies ‘Benedict’ with Hollandaise Sauce; Penne Rigate with Italian Sausage and Tomato Cream Sauce; Pan Bronzed Scallops with Sauce vin Blanc (veloute); Pork Tenderloin with Sherry Peppercorn Sauce (Espagnole); Lobster Mac and Cheese (Bechamel).

Doesn’t that sound like fun? And even if you’re a sauce expert, I was sure there were going to be many tips and techniques they’d impart along the way…and there were. And we got to eat everything we made…score!

After a harried drive right through West Palm Beach’s downtown rush hour traffic and a few prayers for safety, I picked Michelle up and we headed to our class…cameras in tow. It was our first foodie event together since Food Blog Forum and we couldn’t wait. Thankfully the drive after I picked up Michelle was much smoother, and before we knew it we arrived.

We tied on our aprons, put on our name tags, washed our hands and took our spot at the cooking island. There were 8 other people there and each of us had our own spot with a cutting board and chef’s knife. I felt like I was part of a Food Network cooking show or competition. I admit I was a bit nervous. There were 2 chefs instructing that night were Richard and Micheal.

They briefly ran down the kitchen rules…most regarding cleanliness, and then we set out on the first sauce….the classic tomato sauce since it has the longest cook time. You know the longer it cooks the better the flavor! Here are some pictures of our cooking experience….

Tomato sauce and the Bechamel sauce

Lobster Mac and Cheese with the Bechamel sauce being added

Me stirring the Espagnole sauce which was the base of the Sherry Peppercorn sauce

Chef Michael having a bit of fun when the camera came out…too bad my eyes were closed!

Michelle pouring in the wine for the Hollandaise sauce

Veggies Egg Benedict

Pork Tenderloin which we topped with the Sherry Peppercorn sauce

After the first 2 hours…and a lot of food later, we finally poured ourselves a glass of Pinot Grigio and sat down to enjoy the feast. There was A LOT of food! They only set up four tables for dining so that we had a chance to sit with our other cooking companions and get to know them.

 My plate ~ with this meal I was able to eat low carb! I only had a little pasta under that big bowl of sauce, but I didn’t eat it. I also didn’t touch my english muffin…just ate the veggie topping. I took one bite of the lobster mac and cheese to sample it.

Overall, we had a great time, and the food was fabulous! Michelle and I plan on taking more classes in the future, and I’m sure that I’ll end up there with other friends, the local bloggers and even my hubby! After seeing my pictures and hearing about my night, he seems very interested in taking a class with me…possibly one of these grilling classes.

The chefs were very friendly and helpful, and we all got a chance to participate many times throughout the class. At first glance I had been concerned with the price…but either I’m good at rationalizing things, or I’m right when I figure that for only $15 – $20 more than a dinner out with my friends, I am getting a hands on cooking class. So $45 for dinner out AND a cooking class is worth it for me.

*What about you? Would it be worth it to you? Have you ever taken a cooking class? If so, did you enjoy it? If you are local please sure other cooking opportunities in our area.

*Shares or Facebook “recommends” are MUCH appreciated! Thanks!!

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