Hi everyone. I recently had a chat with a woman who holds a special place in my heart; The Pampered Chef Lady, Betsy Gold. About 7 years ago when I was still living in the City (that’s Manhattan, for those of you who think it may be San Francisco), my friend, Georgia, invited me to what she thought would be a retro, kitchey (how does one spell “kitche”?) thing to do, but something that I might truly enjoy-A Pampered Chef Party in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I was thrilled to go, had a great time, and was hosting my own in no time.
The initial reaction I got from many of the women in my life who I cajoled into attending my party will stay with me for a long time. For many , I was made the butt of suburban housewife jokes (although I was one of the few native New Yorkers they knew), while some thought it would be fun to hang out with other women, eat some snacks, have a few drinks and go home. I ended up with a huge party with ladies strewn all over the floor.
Little did these women know that they would get caught up in the thrill of the gadget demonstrations, the idea planted in their minds that they, too, would be using that Pampered Chef garlic press to make fabulous and easy meals for their partners. We all enjoyed a girly laugh at the risque demonstration of a certain simulated “act” on a stainless steel sink faucet to get the garlic smell off our hands (yes, rubbing your hands on stainless steel gets the garlic smell off).
All in all, everyone had a great time and bought up hundreds of dollars worth of Pampered Chef products, racking up my free points and allowing me to collect many Pampered Chef items that I still use to this day.
Why fight it? Love your Urban or Suburban cooking self. Betsy’s website is www.pamperedchef.biz/betsygold and you can go to the website to view their products, place an order, schedule a show, plan a fundraiser, or learn more about becoming a Pampered Chef representative.
Here’s an easy Onion Dip recipe that you can make for your guests at YOUR Pampered Chef party. Dip is one of my favorite foods but I don’t like using the soup mix ones because of the hydrogenated oils.
ONION SOUP MIX
3 TBS Dry, minced onion
1 TBS Chicken Broth powder (I use Knorr brand with no Hydrogenated oils)
1/2 TSP garlic powder
Mix with 2 cups sour cream, light, if need be, and enjoy!
2 Responses
Hi – I was at that glorious Pampered Chef party at your house, and I just used my Pampered Chef scooper for cookie dough while making cookies with my nephew this weekend (delicious cookies I might add). I also use the scoop for my matzoh balls. Someone just asked me for my onion dip recipe and I wanted to share: I make my onion dip by caramelizing a heap of onions (2 or 3 pounds) in olive oil with some dried herbs like rosemary, sage and thyme, and then adding to sour cream. I make a lot of caramelized onions at a time because they’re soooo good in omelets or on garlic bread or pasta, and they take a while to make so it’s good to have extras. And they keep for many days in the fridge.
Now that you mentioned Park Slope Brooklyn, I must bring up an issue that’s been nagging me lately. Restaurants are closing down like crazy in this hood (can you say “recession”?), but there is a newcomer called “get fresh” that has piqued my interest. It’s not a restaurant though… It’s a store that sells “fresh” prepared meals that you can throw together in minutes at home. I bought the peanutbutter noodles mix for $9-something. Although I felt rather guilty bypassing the food co-op and heading to “get fresh” to overpay for my meal, the results were tasty and PAINLESS. So, what do you say to this concept? Is it sooooooooooo wrong to take major shortcuts in the kitchen and pay a bit more? or even a lot more? (I wish I could even have my act together enough to make “get fresh” pit stops once a week instead of relying on frozen meals or take-out…)
lazy in brooklyn