TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Curl Up With A Good Cook

ADVERTISEMENT

By ELIZABETH LEE BROWN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 21, 2008

CARROLLWOOD - Library patrons were treated to a traveling cooking class this week.

Only there wasn't any cooking, but there was a lot of blending, pureeing, slicing, folding and taste-testing.

Chef Bil Mitchell, who teaches at the Publix Apron's Cooking School in Citrus Park, showed a room full of food fans how to prepare three summer dishes that required little to no cooking.

The cooking series is a monthly class that started traveling to each library branch in September. Tuesday's crowd at Jimmie B. Keel was the largest so far, with 46 attendees.

Many have taken courses or attended demonstrations from Mitchell before. All came to learn new recipes and more culinary shortcuts.

The theme this week was "Beat the Heat."

Mitchell prepared a cantaloupe sorbet, a four-fruit sunrise smoothie, and cucumber cups with key lime honey mustard crab salad.

He interspersed his hourlong demonstration with helpful hints, such as showing the proper technique for slicing a mango or a quick way to scoop out a kiwi with a spoon.

When managing a wobbly mango, it's best to cut off an end and place it flat on a cutting board. Choosing a ripe mango means ignoring its color and looking for signs of an intact stem and for syrup seeping out.

He sliced off the ends of a kiwi, placed a spoon between the fruit and skin, wound it around and spit out the skinned kiwi.

Every cut and slice came with some advice.

Mitchell substituted the cantaloupe for a galia, a cross between a cantaloupe and a honeydew melon. He warned students to be gentle when clearing the melon innards.

"Don't scrape; just pull the seeds out, because the core is where the flavor is," he said.

After blending the mango, bananas, strawberries and kiwis into a frothy smoothie, Mitchell added a pinch of salt to bring out the flavors.

A tiny bit of salt in just about everything is OK, he said.

"If you eat something, and you're wondering if it needs more salt, it does," he said. "But as soon as you taste salt, it doesn't."

Rosalyn Buchanan of San Antonio has taken classes at the cooking school with Mitchell before and come away with new recipes and great shortcuts.

"This was wonderful," she said. "How to cut the mango was awesome. I've been struggling with that for years."

Tina Fuller of Carrollwood, another of Mitchell's followers, said she picked up some pointers and an appetizer for her next party.

"You always learn something," she said. "He's very entertaining."

It was Jamie Timgen's first time watching one of Mitchell's demonstrations. The Lutz resident said she is a fan of collecting Publix recipes at the store because they are mostly quick, easy and healthy.

"This gave me some new ideas," Timgen said of the class. "Everything was very light and good for you. I think this is a great idea, because it starts people thinking and eating in different terms."

Debbie Godwin of Citrus Park said she loved how easy the recipes look to prepare - and Mitchell's good nature.

"You don't have to heat up the whole kitchen just to make something delicious," she said. "It was easy to do and didn't look complicated at all. In just a short time, you've got really good food."

She said Mitchell answered everyone's questions in an informative, light-hearted and humorous way.

Mitchell encouraged the crowd not to be afraid to substitute some ingredients and eliminate others.

"Recipes are guidelines," he said. "It's all about playing with the food and seeing what looks good. This is all about presentation."

The cooking series' next stop is noon Sept. 16 at the Seminole Heights branch library, 4711 N. Central Ave.

Reporter Elizabeth Lee Brown can be reached at (813) 865-1502 or ebrown@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT