A taste of fall

WARREN - Among the 1,300 people in attendance at Tuesday's Taste of Home Cooking School was four generations of one family and a Brookfield man who seemed to be the only one unaccompanied by a woman.

"I like to cook and I saw the article in the newspaper, so I decided to come," said Andy Knapp of Brookfield.

The 57-year-old said this was his first time at the event and he was hoping to get some new recipes to try out on his wife and son.

"My wife likes to cook too, but I am definitely the main cook in our house," Knapp said.

He said his favorite thing to cook is soup and his specialty is ham soup.

Tammy Day of Vienna said she was the first person in line for the event. The doors to Packard Music Hall opened at 4:30 p.m. and she was in line at 2:15.

Her friend, Lee Timko of Fowler was second in line, saying Day beat her by three minutes. She said they have a friendly competition every year to see who is in line first.

"I want to pick my seat, and I like to sit up front so I can smell the food," Timko said.

The women have been coming to the cooking school event for the past three years, and said they enjoy getting new recipes as well as the free goody bags given to all attendees.

Day was at the event with her mom, Diane Mason of Niles; her daughter, Bambi Betts of Kinsman; and her granddaughter, Summer Betts, 8, who was the youngest person in attendance. It was Summer's first time at the event, and she was called on stage to assist with drawing names for door prizes and to help culinary specialist Cheryl Cohen with some recipes.

"I like making cookies," Summer said, noting chocolate chip cookies are her favorite.

Mason said Summer has been helping her cook "since she could sit up."

The Taste of Home Cooking School featured Cohen, who made nine recipes from the fall edition of the Taste of Home magazine. All the recipes reflected this year's theme of "Fall Comfort Classics."

The recipes included caramel apple twist, smoked salmon and chives cheesecake, mini-Kentucky hot browns (a sandwich appetizer), cheesy vegetable chowder, fall harvest salad, manicotti with spicy sausage and fresh marinara sauce, flank steak Santa Fe, harlequin cake and Snickerdoodle Chex Mix.

Cohen drew names from a basket to determine which audience members got to take the finished dishes home.

In addition to recipes, the event also offered cooking tips, shortcuts and substitutes, as well as door prizes and a grand prize of a new oven and stovetop range.

The winner of the oven was Patricia Kirin of Warrenton, Mo., who donated it to her daughter, Janet Thompson of Warren. It was donated by Lee's Appliance of Braceville.

A new easy chair dubbed the "best seat in the house" because of its placement on stage was won by Tricia Len of Southington, who got to watch the show while sitting in it and take it home afterward. It was donated by Dotson Furniture of Niles.

Taste of Home Cooking School is sponsored locally by the Tribune Chronicle, Save a Lot, Modern Home Kitchen and Bath, Aaron's and Celtic Healthcare. Lee's Appliance, Dotson Furniture, Adgate's Garden Center and Roses of Wood also donated items for door prizes.

National sponsors are Chex, Gallo Family Vineyards, Rhodes Bake N Serve, Viva paper towels and Ziploc.

Members of the Warren Junior Women's League assisted Cohen on stage with setup and recipe preparation.

Cohen is originally from Cleveland and now resides in Dover, Ohio, with her husband. She conducts 40 cooking schools per year throughout Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia and Maryland as part of the Taste of Home team.

She earned a bachelor of science degree in home economics education and extension from Ohio University in Athens and previously worked as a cooking school manager and instructor for a local supermarket in Dover.

"This is the biggest crowd I have ever had for a cooking school event," Cohen said.

All 1,300 tickets sold out several weeks before the show. Every attendee received a gift bag filled with free products, coupons and magazines, and everyone received a free, one-year subscription to the Taste of Home magazine or sister publication Simple & Delicious.

mkosinski@tribtoday.com