I know, because my neighbor Deb Ellis and I have been doing it for several years. Sometimes we make huge kettles of tomato sauce, using extra end-of-season produce from the Farmers’ Market. Other times we make lemon verbena bread, with herbs we grow in our gardens. Around the holidays we’ve had fun making Christmas cookies together, heavy on the ginger snaps, and dividing the trays up when they cool. So when Deb invited me to take the Cooking With Friends class with her at the Adult School of Montclair two weeks ago, I was delighted to participate. (And Baristavillians may have already learned how to cook with friends if they attended this fun session in September.)
Cooking With Friends creators Alison J. Bermack and Shannon Henry understand the joy, the comfort and the delicious results of cooking together. Many of my best childhood memories include making cookies with my family on a cold night. We’d spend hours shaping our cookies as if the dough was a modeling compound–drooping giraffes, chunky little apple tarts, lopsided hearts with sticky cinnamon candies pressed into the middle–we’d create and show each other our inspired pieces.
At this particular Cooking With Friends session we made beef empanadas, chicken dumplings and cherry almond granola. Take a look at this slideshow for an inkling of the fun to be had and the delicious results.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
Holiday cooking is a great opportunities to show family and friends that they hold a place in your heart. Great recipes and menus will surprise and delight both young and old, and there is nothing like impressing the in-laws with your superlative efforts. This year may just be the year to hone your holiday cooking and party planning skills. Instead of relying on grocery store prepared foods or catering companies to supplement your holiday meal, consider the money that can be saved by selecting some of your favorite recipes with a well-defined timetable of tasks.