Last week I had the opportunity to attend my first Taste of Home Cooking School Demonstration in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. It was a fun-filled night and I was joined by a few friends and the winners of the raffle. Our Culinary Specialist, Guy Klinzing, kept the crowd engaged, shared 10 Taste of Home Magazine recipes, some cooking tips and serenaded us. Guy opened up with “Sweet Caroline” and during the intermission the crowd got up and stretched their legs to “YMCA”. I happen to love both of those songs.
We received goodie bags filled with two Taste of Home Magazines, coupons from some of the sponsors: Eggland’s Best Eggs, Johnsonville Sausage, Bisquick and Dorot frozen herbs . However, my favorite item was a container of Jif Hazelnut Chocolate spread. There were also many prizes given away during the show. Two of my friends were lucky winners and received cookbooks, a baking dish, recipe file and some other cooking gadgets. There were also some larger prizes given away such as a crock pot and pans. All of the yummy dishes Guy prepared were packaged and raffled off at the end of the evening as well.
I was able to get a sneak peek at some of the behind the scenes preparations before the show. There were a team of volunteers that helped Guy with all of the prep work.
Guy was available before the show to meet with the VIP ticket holders and to autograph cookbooks. One of the raffle winners, Katie of WhatKatie’s Baking had the opportunity to say hello to Guy for a second time. It turns out she had helped prep the food for one of his shows years ago in Parsons, Kansas.
Guy made a variety of dishes such as: Mini Cheeseburger Pies, Spinach Stuffed Chicken Pockets, Chilliville Chili, A Christmas Appetizer Wreath, Caramel Apple Strata, German Chocolate Cake, Egg’s Benedict and Onion Yorkshire Pudding. By the end of the evening we were all hungry.
I had the pleasure of assisting Guy with the Caramel Apple Strata. I don’t think there could have been a better match for me except for maybe the pumpkin pie cupcakes. I’ve included the recipe for the strata at the bottom of this post.
I want to thank Guy, Taste of Home, my friends (for their moral support), and the local and national sponsors. The Taste of Home Cooking School Show was a fun girl’s night out. We shopped at few local vendor booths before the show, had a few laughs, and learned some new recipes. To find a cooking school in your area click on Taste of Home. Below you’ll find the Caramel Apple Strata Recipe which makes a great autumn breakfast or brunch entree.
| Caramel Apple Strata | Print |
- 2 cups brown sugar
- ½ cup butter, cubed
- ¼ cup corn syrup
- 3 large apples, peeled and chopped
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp apple pie spice
- 1 loaf (1 lb) day-old cinnamon bread
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 10 eggs
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter and corn syrup.
- Bring to a boil over med heat, stirring constantly.
- Cook and stir for 2 in or until thickened and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the apples, lemon juice sugar and pie spice.
- Arrange half of the bread slices in a greased 13 x 9 in. baking dish.
- Spoon apples over bread; drizzle with half of the caramel sauce.
- Sprinkle with pecans; top with remaining bread.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt and vanilla.
- Pour over top.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight and refrigerate remaining caramel sauce.
- Remove strata from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.
- Bake uncovered at 350 for 50-55 min. or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Let stand for 10 min before cutting.
- In a small dish, microwave reserved sauce, uncovered for 1-2 min or until heated through.
- Drizzle over strata.
Cheeseburger pies?! I’ve never heard of such a thing and now I really want to try one. Looks like such a fun show!! And so cool that you got to go up and cook!
I actually made them for dinner this week. I liked them, but my family wasn’t a big fan. They can be hard to please sometimes:(
Wow…caramel apple strata! that looks really good! What a fun experience for you all!!! And you got to HELP! COOL!
It was a fun time. I didn’t get to sample the caramel apple strata, but I’m going to make it. I love things you can refrigerate overnight for breakfast because I’m not a morning person.
How fun!!!
My kids like cheeseburger pie. I’ll have to check out their mini ones
We’ll have to compare recipes and see if their similar.
Thank you for sharing your adventure! How exciting!!!
Thanks Shari! Wish you could have joined me!
What a neat experience.