Experience a Taste of Home

April 12, 2011

One of my favorite magazines and series of cookbooks are the publications by Taste of Home. Last Saturday, I attended the Taste of Home Cooking School and Home Expo in Atchison, Kansas. It was a lot of fun! Tickets are usually $15, and it was well worth the small amount of money. You can find dates for a few more upcoming Missouri shows here.

The Home Expo was held from 10 a.m - 4 p.m., and we arrived around 2:15 p.m. We checked in, and got a reusable "green" bag filled with the Taste of Home Cooking School magazine we would be using during the show, a copy of a Simple and Delicious magazine, and many, many coupons. We walked around and looked at all the vendors who were selling soaps, candles, cooking ware, spices and mixes, and many other things. Each booth gave attendees the opportunity to put their name in a drawing for prizes.

The Cooking School show began at 4 p.m., so we went in a little early, sat down and waited for it to start. Everyone had been given a form to fill out in order to put your name in the prize drawings during the show, so we filled those out. Unfortunately, none of the people in my group won a single thing!

The show was great! The chef was very entertaining and interesting. He showed us how to make ten recipes, including a Hot and Cheesy Mushroom Dip, Shrimp Cakes with Wasabi Tartar Sauce, Reuben Casserole, Parmesan, Walnut and Arugula Baskets, Mango-Basil Chicken and Rice Salad, Berry Puff Pancake, Easy Chicken Enchiladas, Chocolate Eclairs, Lemon Angel Cake Roll, and a Potato Leek Soup. During each demonstration, the chef gave tips for cooking, cutting, etc.

During the show, they drew out names for prizes. Some of the prizes included bags of groceries, gift cards to sponsors of the show, platters of the food they made during the show, and the grand prize was a new range/stove!

I didn’t win a single thing, but I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I think I’ll attend another show next year. In the meantime, I’ll stay busy cooking with some Taste of Home cookbooks from MCPL.

Jordan P.
Edgerton Branch