I hope you all had a Happy Valentines Day.  It’s a beautiful time of year here in Phoenix and I hope you get a chance to enjoy it.

Did you ever wonder what’s the difference between the various types of olive oils?  See the details in our article at selecting olive oils. Why not take a drive to visit the Queen Creek Olive Mill and check out some of their great oils and vinegars.  While you’re at it, have lunch there, too. The contact information is found in the article link.

We have our classes thru July ready to be posted on our website.  For those of you who have been asking, our kids’ 8-12 and teen classes are scheduled so make your plans.  More information will follow, but we want to give you the dates:

·           Ages 8-12 – June 7 – 11; 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; $245 week; $225 with early signup discounts – menu tentatively planned is brunch, pasta, party foods, Food Network favorites and build your own class.

·           Ages 8-12 – June 21 – June 25; 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; $395; $350 with early signup discounts.  Menu set as chicken alfredo, Mexican, pizza, Asian and ravioli along with recipes and fun educational information for the full day.

·           Teens -- July 12 – 16; 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  $260; $240 with early signup discounts – menu tentatively planned is grilling, Mediterranean foods, Party foods, Desserts and a ‘build your own class’ day where the students will pick what they want to make in this class.

If there is enough interest, we may schedule 1 or 3-day sessions for kids too.  Let us know if that is something you would be interested in.

Upcoming Classes for February:  -- Previously I sent out our list of February classes.  As you look at the list, you may notice that I do not show any classes for the remainder of the month.  Unfortunately, I am having knee surgery so we had to remove a few weeks of classes.  I’ll be back in full force shortly.  I have already notified people who were signed up for classes, and will add these classes back to the calendar at the appropriate time. 

• Tuesday 2/16 & Saturday 2/20  Comfort Food - canceled
• Thursday 2/25 & Saturday 2/27 Casseroles - canceled

Upcoming Classes for March:  -- With a few exceptions, our March class calendar will remain unchanged.  Click March for class details. 

• Saturday 3/6 Healthy “Fried” Chicken– canceled until Fall 2010

·        Tuesday 3/9 & Saturday 3/13 St. Patty’s Day Meal– canceled until Fall 2010

·        Thursday 3/18 & Saturday 3/20 Brazilian Specialties - postponed

·        Tuesday 3/23 BBQ Ribs ($63)

·        Thursday 3/25 & Saturday 3/27 Polish Pierogi ($63)

·        Tuesday 3/30 & Saturday 4/3 Easter Dinner ($63)

Special Offers – Our specials for the month of February are below.  Also, watch for our Twitter discounts as they are tweeted.  Be sure to mention the discount when signing up.  One discount per class, please.

For this offer, you will save more the more you spend.  Sign up and pay for classes held in March or April and receive $8 off of each of the first 2 classes; $10 off of each for the 3^rd and 4^th class and $15 off each class thereafter.  If you plan to take several classes, this is a great way for you to save big.  (As an example, if you sign up for 5 classes you can save $51).  Payment must be received in full within 1 week of sign-up to receive this special.  Discounts not applicable to our upcoming beginner’s series as they are already discounted.

We still have our Ongoing Special which is -- Sign up a friend who has never taken a class here before, and you will receive $10 off your next class with their paid enrollment.

In the Media – We were on Sonoran Living on Monday, February 15.  That’s President’s Day.  We thought we would make a dish that is presidential and since our president is from Chicago, we made a Chicago deep dish pizza.  Sonoran Living is on Channel 15 at 9 a.m.  To watch the video and get the recipe, see Chicago deep dish pizza.

Did you catch us on Fox 10 the other day?  There were three separate segments, but here’s one for you to enjoy -- Fox 10 Valentines Day Segment. 

We also did a super bowl segment with Nicole McGregor on Channel 12.  You can find the interview and recipes at Super Bowl ideas.  While this is called ‘super bowl’, we gave recipes that are perfect for all year round.

We were also written up in the Arizona Republic.  Read the article at Cooking Classes with Simply Impressive.  Then sign up for a class or two to see what all the fun is about. 

In the upcoming weeks, we will be appearing on Valley Dish, Channel 12’s new lifestyle show with Tram Mai.  We are scheduled for March 2 at 4:30 p.m.  I will be preparing a vegetarian dish, quinoa stuffed peppers. 

Don’t forget -- If you haven’t checked out our Mesa Food Examiner articles, take a few minutes to stop by.  We have informational and local food articles, along with recipes, kitchen equipment and so much more.  Subscribe to the Mesa Food Examiner so you will automatically see what we are posting.  It’s free.  Just click where you see ‘subscribe’ to get them automatically. That way you can read what you want, and ignore the others. 

Comfort food recipes – In our February newsletter we gave you our recipe for Aunt Judy's Pork Chops.  The tasty gravy we make with the pork chops is perfect with our garlic smashed potatoes.  Check out our recipes.  While you’re at it, click the ‘subscribe’ button on the bottom of the recipe page.  That way you’ll get all the articles and recipes that we post automatically.  Best of all, it’s free