I've been preparing for this since I was five. As a child, after watching "Great Chefs", "The French Chef", "Yan Can Cook" & "The Frugal Gourmet" Saturday afternoons on PBS, I would reenact my own cooking show. I would stare into an imaginary camera and speak to my imaginary audience as I whipped up imaginary souffles or racks of lamb. My grandmother encouraged this love of cooking by having me by her side as she prepared fabulous food. She would also send me outside with cups of dry polenta, flour and salt, which I'd mix with grass, mud or water for hours, pretending I was a chef. I've always dreamed of having my own cooking show on Food Network. I've also concocted my own Emmy Awards acceptance speech...but I digress.
When I took my little ones to Whole Foods for a cooking class, imagine my joy when the the woman who worked for Whole Foods who was teaching the class told me I could teach my own! "Here's my chance", I thought. So, I scheduled my first class, and now it's actually going to happen...I cannot wait.
On the menu is an arranged antipasto platter, a version of my grandmother's simple romaine salad, cheesy garlic bread and lasagna. Did I mention I make some damn good lasagna? I'm not good at a lot of things, but cooking, I can do. And, for the record, my lasagna is really, really good. I hope to do my grandma proud :-)
