Taste of Home Cooking School set

Ask anyone what makes a memorable gathering or party, and you will most likely hear good food, good friends and good conversation.

Taste of Home Cooking School has fresh ideas for fall entertaining agenda. Culinary specialist Mary Janice Reisdorf will prepare 10 party-pleasing dishes at Keokuk High School's Wright Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9. The doors will open at 5 p.m.

Each recipe brings a new and quick idea for the busy homemaker hosting a party or bringing a dish to pass.

Planning a Sunday brunch? Add “Almost Cream Cheese Buffet” coffeecake to the menu. This make-ahead, cinnamon treat has bite-sized rolls coated with brown sugar and toasted almonds surrounding a rich cream cheese filling. It is easy to make starting with Rhodes dinner rolls.

For an entree that's not overboard on calories and fat, try “Fragrant Indian Butter Chicken.” It is a healthy rendition of a popular ethnic dish that goes easy on the butter and cream, yet it's tasty and colorful. Serve with fragrant basmati rice, which has been used in India for thousands of years and is now available in the U.S. It is rich in vitamins, especially vitamin B, and has a nutlike flavor that complements the chicken. Impress your guests with this healthy, trendy meal.

Don't have time to prepare a dessert? Try “Apple, Dried Cherry and Walnut Compote.” This recipe is tailor-made for a busy cook, mixed in a Ziploc bag and “baked” in the same bag in the microwave. Serve it warm with vanilla frozen yogurt or angel food cake.

Taste of Home Cooking School and the Daily Gate City are hosting the two-hour cooking demonstration. Every attendee receives a gift bag with the Taste of Home Cooking School Brand Name Cookbook. This 68-page special issue includes the demonstrated recipes and many more, plus coupons from participating national food companies.

Tickets are on sale at the Daily Gate City, Hy-Vee and County Market in Keokuk, Iowa, and the Hancock County Journal-Pilot in Carthage.