The Cooking Club

I went through a cookbook-collecting phase when we lived in Denver. It started with one of those mail-order things where you get so many cookbooks for $1 then have to buy so many at regular price. Then a lady at church cleaned out her cookbooks and gave me some very good books. It kind of snowballed from there. I have kept most of them.
About this same time I had an idea to start a cooking club. My friend, Liz, helped me get it going. We invited some of our friends and we met once a month or so. We always had a theme and a little lesson with several dishes to taste at the end. We took turns hosting, teaching and providing the food. Now that I think about it it kind of sounds a bit silly but we had so much fun! When you combine women, food and conversation you can't go wrong.
Some of the themes I remember are fondue, picnics, bread and eggs. I also remember having a little demo on napkin folding. I still have a lot of our handouts and refer to them from time to time. I really did learn a lot.

This recipe is one of my favorite desserts. I like Oreo desserts. This is not related to the cooking club but I thought I would include it because I was talking to my mom about it the other day.

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake
2 cups (24) crushed Oreo cookies
6 Tbs butter, melted
Combine crumbs and margarine, press onto bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of spring form pan
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
1 1/4 cups (10) chopped Oreo cookies
Soften gelatin in water; stir over low heat until dissolved. Combine cream cheese and sugar, mixing at medium speed until well blended. Gradually add gelatin, and milk, mixing until blended. Chill until slightly thickened but not set; fold in whipped cream. Reserve 1 1/2 cups cream cheese mixture; pour remaining cream cheese mixture over crust. Top with chopped cookies and reserved cream cheese mixture. Chill until firm.