Happy October!  Have you noticed the pumpkins and scarecrows?  Yes, Fall is definitely here.  We had so much fun in September.  Our canning classes were a great success and we already know that we want to schedule them again next Spring.  We’re thinking of scheduling a pickling class, too, after all the fun I had making all kinds of pickles.

We just started our beginner series with a group of great students.  Some of their questions let me know that lots of you want to learn about pans, knives and gadgets that I love.  As they say, ‘watch this space.

We are building our schedule for 2011 now.  If you want a class placed on the calendar, please let me know soon.  We’ve already had requests for a citrus, grilling, cheesecake, Hawaiian and an additional casserole class.  What do you want to see scheduled?  Let us know and we’ll see if we can accommodate you. 

We’d love to see you in a class.  Give us a call to register.  Don’t forget to take advantage of our monthly specials.

Apples -- Now that it’s Fall, all types of apples are showing up at our grocery stores and farmers markets.  If you are not sure which type will work best for your recipe, check out our article on selecting the correct apple.  I smell an apple pie in my future.

Slow Cooking -- With cooler weather arriving soon, I’ve been getting questions about using crock pots.  As I mentioned last month, I’m not a huge fan because I don’t like the texture of some foods made in crock pots.  I know that crock pot cooking has changed over the last few years and at the urging of a friend, I decided to try it again.  The results were….fantastic, much to my surprise.  So now I am going to play around with using the slow cooker.  If I can come up with enough recipes that I absolutely love using it, I’ll pass that information along to you.

If you missed it last month, you may want to read the article is slow cooker food safe to eat to make sure you follow safe practices. 

Farmers markets -- With the weather getting better for growing produce, our local farmers markets will soon be brimming with wonderful produce.  We love to go to the Town and Country market in Phoenix.  See our review of Town and Country farmers market along with some of the vendors we saw in early September.  We will be visiting the Mesa farmers market and POOL shortly and will let you know what we find.

To see what’s in season this quarter, check out Fall produce in Phoenix.

Classes for October 2010 – We are offering classes on Thursday, 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.  and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  To see details, go to October Class Calendar.

On Thursday 10/7 we will be offering our all new Vegetarian Meals class.  This class will feature vegetarian dishes that even meat eaters will enjoy.  $63 per person.

On Thursday 10/26 and Saturday 10/28 we will be offering our Casseroles class.  Prepare yourself for cold-weather by making delicious casseroles.  $63 per person.

Classes for November 2010 –We are offering classes on Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Thursday from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  To see details, go to November class schedule.

On Saturday, 11/6 we are offering our Panini and Soup class.  We will be making several different paninis including a dessert Panini.  See the full menu on November classes.  Just ‘mouse over’ the class name for details.

On Tuesday 11/9 and Saturday 11/13 we will have our all new Gifts from the Kitchen. We will prepare several items that are perfect for your gift-giving season.  $63 per person.

On Tuesday 11/16 and Thursday 11/18 we will offer our Holiday Appetizers class where we will be making several appetizers that are perfect for the holiday entertaining season.  $63 per person. 

If you are not sure what to do with all that leftover turkey, attend our Creative Holiday Leftovers class on Saturday, 11/20.  You will get some great ideas to turn ‘oh no, not turkey again’ into ‘thanks for the great meal’. $63 per person.

Mesa Food Examiner -- Don’t forget to subscribe to the Mesa Food Examiner to automatically see articles and recipes we write.  We post much more information and recipes than you see in this newsletter.  It’s free and definitely SPAM free, too.  Just go to Mesa Food Examiner and click where you see ‘subscribe’ to get articles automatically. That way you can read what you want, and not have to keep checking for new things.  We publish lots of other articles and recipes than what you get within this newsletter.

In the media:  We are scheduled to be on TV a few times in October.  The first is the Valley Dish on Wednesday, October 13 at 3:30 p.m. on Channel 12.  We will make one of our favorite dishes, ‘unfried fried chicken’ with loaded potatoes and Italian broccoli.  It’s quick, easy and delicious.

Then on Friday, 10/15 we will be on Sonoran Living which is on Channel 15 at 11:00 a.m.  We will make a few vegetarian dishes.  I’m still playing around with the menu so you’ll have to watch the show to see what we end up making.  If you miss the show, we will also post it on Facebook so you can watch the segments.

Do you twitter?  If so, you may have seen discounts we tweeted about.  If you did not, be sure to follow us.  Our Twitter name is SimplyImprssve.  We offer special deals thru Twitter, so get ‘plugged in’ today at http://twitter.com/SimplyImprssve.  Be sure to mention the twitter discount when signing up.  No other discounts apply.

Facebook – if you are on Facebook, become a fan of Simply Impressive by clicking ‘like’ our Simply Impressive Fan Page.  Our recipes and videos will be made available there.

Special Offers – To receive our special for the month of October, sign up and pay for three classes to be held between now and the end of the year and receive $25 off your third class. 

Also, watch for our Twitter discounts if they are tweeted.  Be sure to mention the discount when signing up.  One discount per class, please.  No additional discounts are available for the beginner’s series.

Recipe of the Month –Caramel Apples for Halloween

Apples are so plentiful now and I love to make caramel apples.  You can embellish caramel apples with chocolate to make them festive.  See our recipe at caramel apple for Halloween