Inspiration can strike different people at the same time — like Newton and Leibniz discovering calculus at the same time. Two of our longtime cooking instructors, Christie Maggi and Kirk Warner, started making potato-wrapped shrimp, and neither remembers who did it first! This shrimp is one of our favorite party appetizers. Get the recipe here […]

Hummus — a puree of chick peas from the Middle East — is now a staple food for young adults. Yes, you can easily buy packaged hummus in many different flavors, but homemade hummus from dried (not canned) chick peas is infinitely superior. It may sound funny to take a cooking class on how to […]

Need a make-ahead appetizer that people can’t stop eating? This creamy, flavorful Mediterranean torte is both pretty and delicious. Several tips for making this dip even more flavorful: Dried fruits, such as raisins or sun-dried tomatoes, taste much better if they are softened and rehydrated. Place the dried fruit in hot water for about 5 […]

Chinese dumplings are delicious when deep-fried, steamed, or poached, but the tastiest dumplings are a combination of fried and poached: pot stickers. There are several secrets to pot stickers: the filling must be made out of raw protein, a nonstick pan is crucial to keeping the dumpling from actually sticking to the pan, and poaching […]

This beautiful appetizer is bound to be a hit. The grilling season has opened (with an 80-degree day today), so fire up the grill with a delicious bite of beef tenderloin. Brush up on your grilling techniques on our outdoor grill in these upcoming cooking classes: “Grill Interrupted” on Sunday, April 29 “Grilling University: Fish […]

Sometimes a cooking class can change your eating habits. I was never a fan of yogurt; it seemed like boring diet food. Then, Maria Sakellariou taught a class on how to make homemade Greek-style yogurt. Wow. I started making yogurt regularly at home. I find excuses to use my yogurt in foods (homemade yogurt mixed […]

Everyone understands the pleasures of homemade bread, but crackers? It’s so easy to buy good crackers, why would anyone make crackers? Then, I went to a party that served homemade crackers and I could not rest until I mastered crackers. Thanks, Joan, for introducing me to the delicious crunch of homemade crackers! Crackers are so […]

Yes, we all love to eat tortilla chips with guacamole at next Sunday’s party, but how about thinking outside the bag? I like to serve a variety of vehicles for eating party dips. Try some of these new crunchies at the next TV party: Fried Chips (cooking in 350-degree vegetable oil and immediately sprinkled with […]

Our field of garlic (1,200 heads) is about two weeks away from harvest. The stalks look thick and healthy. We are so impatient for this year’s crop that we dug one plant just to see how it looks…what a voluptuous beauty! Our freshly dug homegrown garlic will be available at Kitchen Conservatory for purchase on July […]

Our garlic is growing! We also planted 500 seed potatoes last week, in the dirt on the right-hand side of the photo. We planted Yukon gold, red Pontiac, and cobbler potatoes. Potatoes are a 90-day crop, so we are planning to have fresh garlic-potato salad for the Fourth of July! The green plants on the left-hand […]