Standard-Examiner Cooking Show at WSU May 9

Presto Zuppa Toscana from my cookbook, "Soup's On!"

This Thursday, May 9, I'm going to be the "warm-up act" for the Relish Cooking Show at Weber State University. The show, sponsored by the Standard-Examiner, actually begins at 7 p.m., but the doors open at 4 p.m. so that people have plenty of time to check out the vendors and find themselves a seat. 

So I'll be cooking Preso Zuppa Toscana and Quick Chicken Tortilla Soup with Avocado from my cookbook, "Soup's On!"  And if you get there in time, you can slurp a soup sample while you shop!

In preparation for the show, I interviewed Relish magazine’s chef and cooking show director Brian Morris. He said that there's been a surge of interest in home cooking, but people often don't learn the basics.

“What we’ve found recently is that there are a lot of folks who really would have so much more fun in the kitchen if they were confident about a few key things,” Morris said.

In the Relish show, he teaches some of those basics — “like perfect roasted chicken, perfect stir-frying, perfect poaching. These are little things that make such a huge difference in so many recipes you do.”

Morris, who was trained at The French Culinary Institute in New York City, travels with Relish magazine’s show almost 12 months out of the year. He can also be found on the Relish Facebook page every Tuesday as the “Chef in Your Pocket.”

There, he answers all sorts of cooking questions, sometimes posting short, impromptu videos.

Morris worked at Le Cirque 2000 and Jacques Torres Chocolates and as a private cooking instructor with a client list that includes Derek Jeter, Ally Sheedy, Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Clint Black and Lisa Hartman.

“I’ve had a chance to work with a lot of really fun people, and each had a different thing they wanted to figure out,” he said of his celebrity clients. “One of them had never made Thanksgiving dinner for the family, and wanted to be able to do this wonderful dinner for them.

“Another wanted to know how to cook with a limited amount of time throughout the week. Another person wanted to learn about Asian cuisines. But it all went back to learning the basics.”

Morris said the cooking show talks technique in a fun, entertaining way.

“People leave with a lot of tools for their culinary tool belt, but they are also going to have their sides sore from laug

hing, because we have a lot of fun,” he said. “It makes a great date night or a family night.”  

Tickets to the show are $12 if bought in advance at events.standard.net, or $14 at the door.