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TRUFFLES AND TRIFLES MESSAGE TO MARLA ZELL: Thank you, thank you for the book - unfortunately, your address got thrown out or I would have written you a personal note. You are the dearest! What a thoughtful gift to send me........Marci
TIME TO HOST A PARTY! Someone once asked Perle Mesta (I know none of you know who she was but she was a very famous Washington hostess long, long ago before any of you were born) how she got so many famous people to come to her parties and she said, "It is very simple, all you have to do is hang a lamb chop in your window." "Now in Washington the phrase has become synonymous with having a party. Actually, I think people are afraid of entertaining or being a host at a party.......many things enter into this - lack of time, lack of energy, expense and just the hurry up nature of life, in general. It is sad! Nothing says love to your family and friends like saying "Come over for dinner, lunch, brunch or whatever." On Tuesday night, we had a grilling class - and the food was simply sensational! Everyone made the evening so much fun and the food was "stuff your face good!" We even had a very well known pastry chef attending the class; he just recently appeared on ABC's Chop. He was great fun.
I started thinking about how easy it is to have a fun night grilling! Seriously! And I loved the friends who gather together at classes - now there is a way to entertain without the mess, fuss and expense.
I am putting up some of the recipes we did for Grilling and I hope you will have a party. But if you are not inspired by these recipes - you must sign up and come on May 22nd to our Summer Buffet and Out Door Picnic Parties........the menu is amazing and the food is guaranteed to make you very, very happy; so to call up your best buddies and say, "Let's take some time off and go to a class." You will have a fun evening at Truffles and Trifles, and with great food to boot!
Classes coming up this week and next: PIES AND TARTS - this is going to be a very special class. I love to make tarts. They are fairly easy and taste great! And, who doesn't love a good pie. Fresh blueberry pie with fresh-made ice cream is just one example of what we will be doing. We will be doing a wonderful Braided Butterscotch pie with meringue; lemon tarts and pie; MY award winning key lime pie; large fruit dumplings; caramelized upside down mango tartlets; summer berry chiffon pie in praline crust; cranberry streusel pie; pear tartlets and so many more - Saturday morning, May 19th at 11am.
And also on May 19 is the FABULOUS DATE NIGHT at 6:30pm. A perfect fun way to spend an evening. Fabulous Tuscan food with some grilling thrown in. You will want to grab your honey and some friends and come join in a great night!
As mentioned above our amazing Summer Buffet and Out door Picnic Parties on May 22nd at 630pm.
AMAZING 30 MINUTES MEALS on Thursday, May 24th at 6:30pm, will make cooking a snap. Plus the food is really, really good.
And we end the week with our INCREDIBLE SUSHI class on Friday night at 6:30pm. Every kind of sushi. What a fun night!
Our Evening of PERFECTLY COOKED FISH has been changed from the 23rd of May to May 31st, at 6:30pm.
KITCHEN HINTS: This may sound strange but try it. In a zip lock, put minced olives, capers and if you like, sun-dried tomatoes. Use a straw and draw all the air out of the bag. Then use a meat pounder like the one we use in class and just smash everything. Add to salad dressings, dips or sauces like a pasta sauce. Adds great flavor.
Now that summer is approaching I love to make juice pops for the grandkids - I pour natural fruit juices by layers in 3-ounce wax paper cups - I let each layer of juice freeze for about 30 minutes and then add another layer. Before they get too firm, I add a popsicle stick in the middle and then allow them to hard freeze. Then the kids can go in the freezer - grab a pop, peel the paper off and they have a treat. Makes a quick and healthy snack.
For people who love to fry or saute' foods but hate the greasy mess that get all over your stovetop - here is a hint: Use a large mesh strainer over your skillet thereby eliminating the splattering and most of the mess.
WHY COOKING CAMP IS GREAT FOR CHILDREN - another good reason to send your child to Cooking Class this summer. If you sign up in May - there is a $50 savings. So the price will be $300 instead of $350.
Our summer camp for kids starts in June and July and this will be the 28th summer we have held Kid's Camp. We have been fortunate enough to win numerous awards for our camps. I have watch children so shy that they hardly speak turn into the lively, enthusiastic and interacting with all the other kids. Kids bloom in camp!
INFORMATION: Just so you know - all week-end classes have a minimum cancellation policy of one (1) week except for Date Night, which is 2 weeks. COOKING HINTS OR TIPS THAT MIGHT MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER Taking care of your cast iron: Cast Iron pans often build up crud that can be difficult to remove with a sponge or a soapy scrubber like an SOS pad. After using a paper towel to wipe out pan to wipe out excess grease from cooled pan, scrub pan with a crumpled wad of heavy duty aluminum foil, removing any stuck-on food. Rinse pan with water, dry with paper towels and then reseason the interior of the pan with a wad of paper towels dabbed with 1 tablespoon of oil. I then put in warm oil that is turned off and leave over-night. Now is the time to bake some bread - be sure to let it double in size before baking. Rather than put a linen towels on top, I use plastic wrap as long as it doesn't touch or the top of a clear plastic top I cut off the box of mix greens from the grocery store. Butter Shortcut: When unwrapping a new stick of butter, cut it into tablespoons (using wrapper markings as a guide) before placing in a butter dish. This offers several advantages. First, you can grab as many tablespoons as you you need without stopping to cut them when you are busy cooking. Second, if the recipe calls for softened butter, the smaller pieces will soften faster than an entire stick. It also helps the less experienced cook get the right measurements without having to cut it. Be sure and use the cut pieces quickly or be sure to keep in a covered dish. Garlic and herbs are often used flavorings in homemade soups, chowers, stews and sauces. When making soups, you can boost and deepen the garlic flavor by adding a whole head. Just rub the papery outer layer of skin off an intact head of garlic, cut about 1/2 inch off the top to expose the flesh of the cloves and throw the whole head into the soup pot. When the soup is done, remove the garlic head and either discard it or squeeze the softened garlic into the soup to further flavor and thicken it. In recipes that call for thyme or rosemary, instead of stripping leaves off the branches and mincing them, simply throw the whole branch into the pan. Remember to remove the spent branch, as you would used bay leaves, before sering. Rosemary is very strong, so you may want to keep it in the pot for only 15 minutes or so.
SUMMER CAMP SCHEDULE: Camp is for one week Monday through Friday 11am until 3pm $350 for week. JUNE: - June 11 - 15th June 18 - 22nd JULY: - July 16 - 20th July 23 - 27th JULY - AUGUST: - July 30 - August 3rd
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