When homemaker Anna Marie Nichols learned the Taste of Home Cooking School was coming to Meridian, she immediately purchased tickets — not only for herself, but also her husband, Nick.

“He’s going to be right there beside me,” said Nichols, a cooking enthusiast who has attended several similar cooking schools.

“But I’ve never been in a location where the Taste of Home Cooking School was held,” she said. “So I’m really looking forward to it.”

Sponsored by The Star, the Taste of Home Cooking School will include live cooking demonstrations geared to home cooks who are looking for economical meals for week nights and for entertaining.

Nichols, who began cooking in high school, has a personal affinity for the popular cooking school. She has been a longtime subscriber of the Taste of Home Cooking magazine.

“When they first started publishing the magazine, I received a subscription as a gift. I’ve been a subscriber ever since,” she said.

“I love all their recipes and what I like most about the magazine is that they are not only good recipes, but they are also tried and true recipes,” she said. “It sort of reminds of a church cookbook.”

Not only is Nichols a longtime subscriber of Taste of Home Cooking, but she also has been featured in the magazine.

“We were living in Americas, Ga., at the time and the magazine requested cabbage-based recipes for Georgia residents,” she said. “I entered my Tropical Slaw recipe and they published it and my photo was featured in the magazine in October or November of 2001.”

A year later, Nichols’ famous recipe was featured in The Best of Taste of Home: The First Ten Years.

Nichols said she is especially looking forward to learning about new cooking techniques and receiving new recipes that will be distributed during the session.

“I really enjoy cooking and I especially like to cook to entertain,” she said.

Nichols said she especially enjoys preparing “good Southern cooking.”

“I make gumbo, potato salad and cornbread and my husband loves that,” she said.

The mother of five and grandmother of seven also enjoys creating her own dishes, like her award-winning recipe, Mom’s Homestyle Meatloaf.

“What makes this dish so unusual is the homemade sauce that I spread over the meatloaf before cooking,” she said. “I won a gold medal in a cooking contest several years ago, while I was living in Lafayette, La. for this recipe.”

Nichols also makes recipes her own by adding lots of various herbs from her home-grown herb garden. And, she adds ingredients to recipes for a unique flavor.

“I like to add bananas, pecans, berries or vanilla flavoring to pancakes and waffles before cooking,” she said. “It really gives them a different taste.”

At the Taste of Home Cooking School, participants will have a chance to win a $1,000 gift set from Taste of Home Entertaining by entering a prize-worthy dessert recipe. The winning recipe also will be featured in a future edition of “Taste of Home Prize Winning Recipes.”

To enter the contest, bring a copy of your best dessert recipe to the event and drop it into the recipe box receptacle that will be in front of the stage. For official rules or to enter online, log onto www.tasteofhome.com/contest.

The grand prize winner will receive the ultimate kitchen gift set including kitchen gadgets, serving pieces and other items totaling $1,000. Judging will be done by a panel of culinary specialists.



Want to go?

What: Taste of Home Cooking School sponsored by The Meridian Star. Visitors will be able to sample tastes of Meridian during a booth fair, browse through area vendors, see a fantastic demonstration, and win lots of door prizes.  

When: Tuesday, Sept. 26. Doors open at 4 p.m., start time is 7 p.m.

Where: MSU Riley Center, 2200 Fifth St.

Tickets: $15. Tickets may purchased at the box office, online at www.msurileycenter.com or by phone at (601) 696-2200