This and That November 2008

Relish has taken to the road. Last month, we hosted our first-ever Relish cooking school in Hopkinsville, Ky. Relish Chef Jon Ashton cooked and entertained more than 800 folks. On the menu was Rosa di Parma (spinach- and cheese-stuffed beef tenderloin), the perfect holiday entrée; Gratin Dauphinois (scalloped potatoes), the perfect holiday side; popovers, and poached pears. For these recipes, photos and video of the event, go to relishmag.com/cookingschool. While in Hopkinsville, Jon also cooked with the kids at the local high school (photo below). With a pile of simple ingredients, he sautéed up a killer pasta sauce, before the kids went to their respective kitchens and made their own.

Speaking of cooking schools, if you’re looking for turkey with all the trimmings, see our how-to holiday story for recipes. Happy Holidays!

Jill Melton, Editor

Celebrate National Sandwich Day
National Sandwich Day is Nov. 3—the birthday of John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich. This 18th-century nobleman decided one day to eat meat in between bread, leaving one hand free to continue playing cards. Celebrate with an “All-American” sandwich from the Earl of Sandwich restaurant: hot oven-roasted turkey, buttermilk ranch dressing, cranberry sauce, sharp Cheddar cheese and spinach. Perfect for your holiday leftovers. — Chanize Thorpe

What’s Blind Baking?
It’s a term for baking a pastry shell before it’s filled. To do so, prick the shell with a fork, line with wax paper and fill with dried beans. Bake 10 minutes, removing the dried beans and paper a few minutes before it’s done.

Pretty Holiday Gifts
Everyone appreciates homemade gifts (with the possible exception of fruitcake). So, just in time for the holidays is Pretty Pantry Gifts, a kit with recipes perfect for giving such as caramel sauce and lemon curd. What’s priceless, though, is the accompanying packaging accessories such as jar toppers and tags. Order from chroniclebooks.com

The Back Burner
Readers frequently ask if our recipes are tested. Indeed they are. We know we’re only as good as our worst recipe. So we meticulously test each recipe, sometimes twice, and then again for photography. Just like you, we’ve had cakes turn green, soups curdle, sauces lump or soufflés that get too brown (see below). We’ve also had time-consuming and costly recipes with too many ingredients that taste lackluster. To see our food exploits in the Relish test kitchen, check out “The Back Burner” at relishmag.com. There you’ll find photos and descriptions of our latest antics in the kitchen. In the meantime, rest easy that whatever you make from this issue has been thoroughly tested (and happily consumed!).

Related Stories

If you enjoyed reading this story, This and That November 2008, then you might enjoy these other stories.

• Relish Cooking Expo Hopkinsville, Ky.
• This and That August 2008
• This and That November 2007
• A Wee Cook
• This and That March 2008

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