Published: September 23, 2008 07:32 pm         

Homemade for the holidays

Shows to focus on festive recipes that don’t require hours in the kitchen

Cheryl Cohen will be this year’s presenter when the Taste of Home Cooking show takes the stage at the Tamarack Conference Center Nov. 10-11.

As territory manager and culinary specialist, Cohen will focus her food demonstrations, tips and ideas around the theme, “Homemade for the Holidays.”

“We have some really good recipes and information to help make the holidays festive and enjoyable without having to spend hours in the kitchen preparing meals,” Cohen said.

Cohen earned a bachelor of science degree in home economic education and extension from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

She previously worked as a cooking school manager and instructor for a supermarket in Dover, Ohio, where she and her husband now live.

Cohen is a certified food safety professional and food safety instructor under the ServSafe program.

“The key to successful entertaining is to simplify,” Cohen said. “Our shows are designed with today’s busy lifestyles in mind. We can help you take a lot of stress out of your planning so that you can enjoy your holiday more.”

The timing of the cooking shows at Tamarack fall just in time to plan for Thanksgiving and Christmas, said Chuck Jessup, advertising director of The Register-Herald, one of the show’s local sponsors.

“People tend to do more cooking and baking at holiday time, so we expect to see a packed house for both show times. We get really good feedback about Taste of Home, and many of those who come are subscribers to the magazine. We expect to see lots of people who’ve attended in previous years along with some newcomers,” Jessup said.

Other local sponsors are Tamarack Conference Center, Wal-Mart of MacArthur and Sears.

National sponsors are Crisco, Crosse & Blackwell, Dickinsons, Dofino and Taste of Home Entertaining.

One of the popular features of the cooking show is the presence of a number of area vendors who provide interesting displays and information of wide interest to those who attend the shows.

Many of the vendors offer free food samples, and doors open two hours before each show to allow guests to spend plenty of time browsing and sampling.

The Nov. 10 show begins at 6:30 p.m. with doors opening at 4:30 p.m. The Nov. 11 show begins at 3 p.m. Doors open at 1 p.m.

Tickets for the Tuesday afternoon show are available and are $12 each. However, all tickets for the Nov. 10 evening show have been sold. Call The Register-Herald’s business office at 304-255-4409.

Vendors who want to participate should call Anne Kelly at 304-255-4411.

— E-mail:

bdavis@register-herald.com