Little Helper

One of the best bonding time me and my daughter have happens in the kitchen. I let her help me with things she can do with or without my supervision and she loves the idea. I love it too as it promotes her skills in following directions and she also learns how to live life as a grown up.

The most recent fun we had in the kitchen is when we cooked pancakes. I take care of pouring the batter into the pan until it is cooked and transfer it to the plate. Then the princess takes care of lathering some butter into the pancake. She loves helping me in the kitchen. I try not to leave her alone though because I know it could be dangerous. So we stopped what we were doing when hubby asked for the Haynes Repair Manuals to be brought to the garage where he was. Then we continued with our stuff.

When we were done, she called her dad and she was so proud to tell him that she helped me in the preparation of the pancake.

Cooking Weekend

Cooking is an art. To be a good cook you need to be passionate of what you are doing. You need to collect ingredients, identify which works well, and blends into amazing flavors to come up with a wonderful dish. A dish whose taste, aroma and color tickles the senses of the people that would feast on it.

Are you interested to learn the art of cooking? Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel is having a Cooking School Weekend on October 16th and 17th. The cooking school weekend package includes deluxe accommodations at the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel for two people Friday and Saturday evening all for just $398.00 plus tax for both nights! During this weekend you will experience Wine Tasting and Cooking Demonstration by Chef Nathan Read, Hilton's own chef!

Upon arrival to the hotel, guests will be welcomed with sumptuous Wine Tasting Reception. A Brimstone Cheese Fondue Served with Grilled Potatoes, Baby Carrots, Zucchini, Apples, Pears and Baguette will be the Appetizers of the reception. The following morning, Chef Read will discuss the factors involved in creating a truly fabulous and unique display for your holiday party. This will be followed by a demonstration of how to create the display, and how to prepare and present the fondue for your own dinner party. Chef Read will also discuss basic elements of smoking meats. This will also include a discussion on how to pair foods with smoked meats and planning seasonal menus.

Saturday evening participants will experience a lavish four-course dinner. It will start with a Smoked Potato and Ham Soup made of berkshire ham, sweet onions, smoked russet potatoes and crispy leeks. Then, guests will be served with Fall Harvest Salad which will be composed of local mixed greens, apples and pears, dried apricots, candied walnuts, heartland creamery methuselah cheese and dried cherry vinaigrette. For the main entree guests can choose between Midwest Bison Short Ribs (cherry wood smoked short ribs, creamy cheddar jack risotto and apple bbq sauce) or Berkshire Pork Porterhouse (marinated and grilled newman farms pork, heartland creamery goat cheese grits, apricot salsa). The dessert of the night is called Apple Normandy, a Butter Dough with Fresh Granny Smith Apples, Apple Compote and Apple Glaze - Served with Fresh Whipped Cream.

For Sunday class, Chef Read will teach the class how to prepare the menu from Saturday night.

What I am really looking forward to this cooking weekend is to learn how to prepare a fondue for my own party. A fondue will be very interesting for my Filipino guests.

Learn to Cook with Chef Nathan Read

It is already "ber" month, that only means that Holiday Season is around the corner. The most exciting part of the holiday season is the endless get together and parties.

Have you ever been a host to family parties during holiday season? Have you feared being selected to host a party because you do not have the cooking prowess to show off? This is your chance of a lifetime to learn cooking with no less than Chef Nathan Read, the chef of the famous Hilton Branson Convention Center. Be a guest at the hotel on the weekend of October 16th and 17th and enjoy the Hotel's Cooking School Weekend.


What to expect during the Cooking School Weekend? Upon arrival, guests will be welcomed with the sumptuous Wine Tasting Reception. The next morning Chef Nathan Read will teach the participants how to prepare the appetizers served at Wine Tasting Reception. Saturday evening, participants will be treated with a four-course dinner paired with appropriate wines and the following morning there will be a cooking demonstration on the featured meal.

The cooking school weekend package includes a De Luxe Accommodation for two people Friday and Saturday (October 16-17, 2009) for $398 plus tax for both nights. Enjoy the pampered luxury offered by Hilton and take advantage of the beauty of Branson while you are there for the Cooking School Weekend.

Back to Cooking

After one week of being away from my husband and away from our own place, I am back in my kitchen to make dinner for him. I always enjoy cooking for Dave. He always have a busy day at work, so I always want him to have a hot dinner waiting when he gets off work.

I know he didn't have a lot of time to cook for himself when we were away. Besides, he was not feeling good so he has an excuse for not cooking.

For tonight, I will just make an easy chicken dinner for him. Just something that I can cook from our fridge. Nothing special for tonight.