It's official...the food and eating season have begun. No matter what your ethnic or religious heritage, it is next to impossible to get away from the all the celebrations this time of year. With them come lots of food! I personally have a really big sweet tooth. It is soooo hard for me to resist all the treats and desserts. Like many professional cooks, I get a bit burned out on the richness of holiday food. However, I never seem to tire of the sweets. Lots of times I skip the regular food and just eat dessert!

LAFW is fortunate to be busy the next couple of months but it's not too late to book your holiday event with us! We still have some great dates available, so if you're on the fence about what to do this year, have your holiday party with LA Food Works. Come out and create a delicious meal or lots of appetizers and small plates. You and your guests will have so much fun with us cooking in the kitchen. We even have an option to enhance your experience while serving the greater community with our Cooking for a Cause program. So do something interactive and interesting this year and celebrate with an LA Food Works event!

In this month's newsletter I'm profiling LA Food Works' Cooking for a Cause program to benefit Alexandria House. I've got the recipe for my famous Cranberry Chutney and a great tip for making the best turkey you'll ever eat!

Looking forward to cooking with you soon and don't forget to follow LAFW on Facebook!

LA Food Works is honored to sponsor a unique program we call Cooking for a Cause to benefit Alexandria House, a transitional residence for women and children who are working to overcome homelessness. This wonderful feature, can be added to any event and involves guests working together to create two amazing meals; one to be enjoyed by you and your guests the night of your event, and one to be donated to Alexandria House the following day. Here’s how the program works: when you choose to add this option to your party, you will make double the amount of food. You and your guests will prep all the components and ingredients for the recipes, but only cook the amount of food needed for your party. The overage will be packed up for donation the following day to Alexandria House. The families will get all the fresh ingredients and recipes to create their own wonderful meal.

cooking class 1.10

Cooking for a Cause is a wonderful addition to the celebration of any special occasion and takes team building to a whole new level! Not only will you have a wonderful time working with the terrific LAFW chefs – you and your guests will be making a meaningful and much needed donation to some very special women and children who are working so hard to improve their lives.

Visit Alexandria House's website to learn more about it and its programs. You can also visit their photo gallery, read their teen blog, and meet their staff. It's a wonderful way to get to know the people you will be helping! All donations are tax deductible.

http://www.alexandriahouse.org/

Cooking for a Cause
It gives "food works" a whole new meaning!

Cranberry Pear Chutney

This is a great recipe! It gets it origins from a Martha Stewart recipe but over the years I've tweaked it a bit here and there to make it make it my own. It is like no other cranberry sauce I've ever had. I sometimes just eat it on it own. It's fabulous with turkey, but add a little cloves and cardamon, and it's amazing with lamb chops too. One of my friends buys extra bags of cranberries and keeps them in her freezer so she can make this all year round. Try it...you'll love!

Combine cranberries and sugar in saucepan; cook over medium-low heat until berries release juices, about 8 minutes.

Place pears a medium bowl, and toss with ginger, lemon zest and juice.

Add orange juice, raisins, and dates to cranberries. Raise heat to medium-high. Stir occasionally, adding pears when mixture begins to bubble.

Cook, stirring, until mixture thickens and pears turn red and are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Let cool or refrigerate.

Per Serving: 138 Calories; trace Fat (1.8% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 35g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 1mg Sodium.

I've been making Thanksgiving turkey for more years than I can remember and my most flavorful are achieved when I brine them. Brining can be a tricky process, but I've come up with an easy method with minimal hassle. Here's what you need. A clean 5 gallon bucket, an extra large turkey roasting bag (Reynolds always works for me) and a salt based brining recipe. Here's the method. Make your brine. I'll be posting my favorite recipe on my Facebook Page the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Line your clean bucket with the roasting bag. Lower your turkey in the lined bucket, wing side down. Your turkey will probably be in a some-what vertical position. Pour all your brine into the cavity then around the turkey. Grab the ends of your roasting bag and pull them tightly around the turkey so that the liquid is surrounding the bird. Secure the top of the bag tightly and then let the bird sit, in the refrigerator, for 24 hours. Remove the turkey and discard the brine. Pat the bird dry inside and out. Let it stand one hour at room temp then prepare as you like. When it's time to eat, your turkey will be evenly infused with so much flavor you'll never skip this process again!

WANT TO USE THESE TIPS AND RECIPES IN YOUR E-ZINE, BLOG OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you do not alter the information in any way and include a credit that reads "by Rose LeBoeuf, www.lafoodworks.com, Interactive Cooking Classes, Parties, and Corporate Team Building Events for Groups Looking for a Fun and Unique Dinning Experience."

310-288-0100
www.lafoodworks.com

For information or to book your event, contact Rose LeBoeuf at 310-288-0100 for an event planning kit, pricing and date availability.

http://www.alexandriahouse.org/

310-288-0100www.lafoodworks.com

310-288-0100
www.lafoodworks.com