Fish and Spinach in Foil

4 C (6 oz) fresh spinach leaves
4 salmon, halibut or cod fillets
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 T orange juice
1 to 1½ T olive oil
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 scallions, chopped

Spread out 4 rectangles of foil, approximately 10”x12” each. Divide spinach among the pieces of foil, mounding it at the center. Season fillets with cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and place on top of spinach. Whisk the orange juice, oil and ginger together and drizzle over the fish. Sprinkle with the chopped scallions. Bring the 2 longest opposite ends of the foil together and fold over tightly. Then seal the other 2 ends. Place foil packets on a cookie sheet and bake at 450° for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until fish is cooked through.

Private cooking lesson

Camp friends since their teens, these 7 women still get together often, especially to celebrate each others birthdays. They surprised Amy, the ‘birthday girl’ by giving her a cooking party.
"We had a great time. All of the recipes were great. I am going to make them again. Have a Happy New Year!! Thanks again."
..................................................Laurie S., Andover, MA

"As you could tell, we all had a fabulous, fun time and enjoyed cooking with you! Our dinner turned out great! Love the photos on your blog."
..................................................Carolyn R., Acton, MA

Culinary Team Building

These teams from Alkermes Pharmaceuticals were busy preparing parts of the meal which they all got to enjoy a little later in the evening.

Kid's Cooking Birthday Party

As you can see, these 7 year olds are busy decorating the dessert at Constance’s birthday party.
“Thank you so much for Constance's birthday party. All the children enjoyed it.”
..............................................Karine D., Belmont, MA

Culinary Team Building

Massachusetts Dental Society
...Leadership Institute Team Building

Mini-Pepperoni Cheese Rolls

© 1991 "From Ellie's Kitchen to Yours"

1 pkg Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
4 oz pepperoni, sliced
4 oz Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp water

Open Crescent Roll package. Press 2 triangles (a quarter of the dough) together and roll out slightly with rolling pin into an oblong shape. Spread a quarter of pepperoni slices on dough. Cover with a quarter of the cheese. Roll up, jellyroll fashion, and pinch ends to seal. Place seam side down on a greased cookie sheet. Brush with egg mixture. Bake at 375° for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden. Allow to cool for about 2 to 3 minutes before slicing. Serve hot.

...................................................Yield: 32 pieces

Hint: Slice each roll into about 8 pieces to serve as hors d'oeuvres. If you want to serve these as sandwiches, do not cut them and you will have 4 sandwiches. These pepperoni rolls make a hit with "kids" of all ages.

Private cooking lesson

Carol wanted to show the strudel she made to her friends, who had given her a gift certificate for her birthday cooking lesson.
..............................Carol K., Sudbury, Massachusetts

Kid's Cooking Birthday Party

Since Ben loves to cook, his parents treated him to a private cooking lesson for his birthday. His 2 sisters joined him and they all seemed to enjoy themselves.

"Thanks so much for the lesson--we all had a terrific time. Ben was very happy and felt that he learned a lot. We also had 2 terrific dinners."
..................................Lisa S., Westboro, Massachusetts

Private cooking lesson

In Jessica and Matt 's kitchen...

"We definitely enjoyed the "fruits of our labor". We were quite full for several days following our class. The afternoon gave us much more than we anticipated! We had so much fun, and really the time just fly by! We have used the chicken with lemon and soy sauce since then, and intend to use the others, but need to wait till after Thanksgiving for room in our tummies! Because of the raving I did after the class and the leftovers I brought in for lunch, several co-workers have asked me for the recipies, so 3 of them got copies, and one has even made the chicken with lemon and soy sauce already! We highly recommend you to those we know, and will potentially in the future call you up for another lesson. I also wanted to say thank you for the cookbook! I have already done 2 other dishes out of it, and they were huge successes too. Thank you so much for the wonderful afternoon and everything that followed!"
....................................Jessica B., Ayer, Massachusetts

Private cooking lesson

Bobby wanted to learn more about Italian cooking, so Pam surprised him with a gift certificate for a cooking lesson right in his own kitchen!

"It was great to meet you last night as well! We really enjoyed the whole experience of cooking with you and learned a lot of helpful hints as well as some really delicious recipes! Everything tasted fantastic! Thank you for the picture - it came out great! We'll definitely be in contact if any questions arise. Thanks again for everything!"
...............................Pam C., Southboro, Massachusetts

Apple Rice Pilaf

© 1999 “So Easy, So Delicious”








1 to 2 T olive oil or butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
Rind of 1 orange, grated
1 C white or brown rice
¼ C parsley, minced, divided
2 C apple cider or apple juice
½ C dried cranberries or raisins
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oil, butter or margarine in a saucepan. Add onion, celery and orange rind and sauté until vegetables are limp. Add rice and continue cooking just until rice is golden. Add half the parsley, cider or apple juice and dried cranberries or raisins. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 25 minutes for white rice and almost an hour for brown rice. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle remaining parsley on top just before serving.

Hint: This pilaf has a fruity taste and goes especially well with poultry, pork or lamb.

Private cooking lesson

Kristine and David both got a kick out of the lesson. They also used their head and scored. Kristine was quite forward which would be expected of a forward. Also, even though she is a Breaker, nothing in the class was broken. Can you guess who Kristine is? Check out her website to find out.
"Ellie Deaner’s “Let’s Get Cooking” class was great! My husband and I got it for a wedding present and we finally got around to using it. Ellie did a great job giving us little tidbits and showing how easy it can be. We prepared 5 meals and loved them all.

We had a blast cooking and the kitchen is now a place where I feel more comfortable and my husband too. Thanks Ellie!!!!!!!!

Thanks again for a great afternoon."
..........................................Kristine L., Needham, MA

Garden Club program

Winchester Garden Club members enthusiastically responded to my presentation on “Harvest Recipes with Herbs”. Everyone enjoyed sampling what they saw prepared.
"HI Ellie: I just received a phone call from our President of the Winchester Home and Garden Club and said your program was one of the very best. Our members were so excited to learn a new way of preparing butternut squash, that many went home to have one for dinner in the evening. Also, the pumpkin soup was a big hit. Thanks so much for your wonderful cooking program."

Florence Gosselin, Program Chairlady, Winchester Home and Garden Club, MA

Garden Club program

Medfield Garden Club members seemed very enthusiastic as both listeners and tasters, during my presentation on “Harvest Recipes with Herbs”.

"I speak for all the members of the garden club in saying what a wonderful day we all had yesterday. Your food was delicious, your presentation delightful and you, yourself a charming "julia", meant as a compliment!
Thanks for the great tips on herbs."
...........Fran Fedor, Program Chair, Medfield Garden Club, MA

Private cooking lesson

Nancy surprised her husband with a cooking lesson on his birthday.

"I couldn't wait to tell you how delicious dinner was. We had such a great time and imagine our reward...a wonderful dinner. Dessert is cooking but I know that will be terrific as well.

It was great to finally meet you. Thanks again for helping to make Bob's birthday so special!"

...............................Nancy K., Stoughton, Massachusetts