This giveaway is now closed. Random.org chose Richard (rtrblade@……). Congrats to Richard! Thanks to everyone for entering.

Sometimes I just want to pinch myself when I think about the opportunities that have been given to me simply by starting this blog four years ago. At the end of October I had the opportunity to travel to Napa Valley, CA with the most wonderful group of bloggers, chefs and Bush’s Beans folks. We stayed at the beautiful Meadowood Lodge, enjoyed meals at the delicious Farmstead Restaurant and the amazing Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant. We were wined and dined and treated wonderfully, but would you believe that the most amazing part of the experience was when we were put to work?

I’ve never been that jealous of people when they said they had the chance to cook at The Culinary Institute of America. Now I know that was because I had no idea what it really meant to cook at the CIA. Imagine a full kitchen, stocked with every possible pan, bowl, utensil you want and only the most state of the art equipment. Now, imagine that the kitchen is stocked with the freshest of ingredients right at your fingertips. Finally, picture being in this kitchen with some of the most well trained, talented chefs in America. Sounds a little like foodie heaven, doesn’t it? I can attest, it is. Cooking at the CIA was an experience of a lifetime and one that I would have never have had the chance to experience if it wasn’t for my blog and the people at Bush’s Beans.

As a part of our Culinary Experience we were given the chance to cook with and get to know some pretty cool chefs, all who had different styles and techniques but were all just as amazing.

• Chef Andy Wild – Chef Andy allowed us to cook in his kitchen at the CIA, gave us amazing instruction and tips and was beyond generous with his space and knowledge. He is a busy, busy, busy man with a family and numerous chef related jobs outside of his job at the CIA.
• Connie Guttersen – Connie is one of those warm, welcoming people who you feel you could sit down and have coffee with and chat for hours. Make sure to check out her book The Sonoma Diet, where she shares her philosophy that food can be healthy and taste great!
• Chef Jeffrey Saad – Many of you may know Jeffrey from Season 5 of The Next Food Network Star. I think the best way to describe Jeffrey is passionate. He has a passion for food and cooking that is truly inspiring. Make sure to check out Jeffrey’s newest show, The United Tastes of America, which premiers on The Cooking Channel November 16th. (Oh – and his wife Nadia is one of the sweetest and supportive wives ever!)
• Chef Michael Schulson – Michael is the executive chef and owner of the restaurants Izakaya and Sampan. Aside from being an amazing chef, I would say one of Michael’s strengths is efficiency in the kitchen. He shared several tips on ways to make life more streamlined in our own home kitchens.
• Chef Daisy Martinez – A force to be reckoned with in the kitchen, Daisy is the mom of 4 kids, has a successful television show and has a new cookbook coming out, Daisy Morning, Noon and Night! With a specialty in Latin Cooking, Daisy taught us all the importance of spice and layers of flavor when cooking.

Although I would have loved to stay in Napa longer, I couldn’t wait to get home to cook in my own kitchen. I was inspired to use the tips, tricks and techniques we learned about at the CIA in my own kitchen. It was part of that inspiration that I used to adapt this recipe for Creamy Black Bean Soup from Southern Living. This was one of the most delicious black bean soup recipes I’ve ever tasted. I hope you’ll give it a try!

And, to cook up some Bush’s Beans inspiration in your own kitchen, my friends at Bush’s Beans are offering you a great prize pack which will include:
· Bush’s Beans items: apron, coupons, bean strainer and mints, recipe bookmark
· Spices/ingredients:: Tahini paste, cumin, smoked paprika
· Culinary Institute of America/Napa items: Spoon rest, dish towel, Olive Press citrus olive oil

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post with a link to your favorite Bean recipe! That’s it. Easy peasy. All entries must be turned in by midnight on Sunday, November 14th.

To read about the Bush’s Beans Culinary adventure with other food blogging friends, click on over to these blogs: Aggie’s Kitchen, In Mommy’s Kitchen, She Wears Many Hats, The Reluctant Entertainer, Good Life Eats, Tidy Mom, Real Mom Kitchen

Recipe: Creamy Black Bean and Bacon Soup adapted from Southern Living Magazine

Yield: 6 cups

• 5 slices cottage style bacon
• 1 cup medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 32oz box Swanson’s chicken broth
• 4 (15-oz.) cans BUSH’S Black Beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes with zesty mild green chiles, undrained
• 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 cups sweet corn
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream

• Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven until crisp. Remove bacon, cut into bite size pieces and set aside.
• Sauté onion and garlic in bacon grease oven over medium-high heat 4 to 6 minutes or until tender. Stir in broth and next 4 ingredients, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of Dutch oven; cover and bring to a boil. Uncover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro and lime juice. Let cool 5 minutes.
• Process 1/2 of the batch of soup in a large food processor until smooth. Return to the Dutch oven, and stir in corn and bacon pieces. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occassionaly. Add the 2 cups of heavy whipping cream and heat through, approximately 5 minutes (but do not boil). Remove from heat and serve.

 
Disclaimer: Bush’s Beans provided food, travel, and lodging expenses for my trip to Napa as well as an overall amazing experience. They are also providing the prize pack giveaway for the readers of Dine & Dish. The opinions expressed in this post are my own.

CIA cooking photos courtesy of professional photographer, Faith Ectermeyer.

Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post A Culinary Experience and Bush’s Beans Giveaway (Recipe: Creamy Black Bean & Bacon Soup) appeared first on Dine and Dish.

A talented and fun group of food bloggers joined me at this Sam’s Club bloggers event. From Left to Right: Lori from Recipe Girl, Peabody from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, Amanda from Amanda’s Cookin’, me, Ann Marie aka This Mama Cooks, Maria from Two Peas and Their Pod, and Estela from Weekly Bite.

I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days last week at the Sam’s Club headquarters in Bentonville, AR. I’m going to preface this post by saying I am not a Sam’s Club member currently. The Sam’s Club visit was an enjoyable and eye opening experience. There are several things I did not know that surprised me and impressed me. I know that many of my readers choose to shop at other warehouse stores over Sam’s Club. I thought I’d share with you the enlightening things I learned while I was on my trip that have quite possibly changed my mind about where my membership loyalty will go next time I have to renew. Here is my list of the Top 10 Things You Should Know About Sam’s Club:

1. Sam’s Club has worked hard to enhance their image, including the look and feel of their stores. Wider aisles, more organized departments, and an overall clean, bright feel makes Sam’s Club feel less like a warehouse and more like an enjoyable shopping experience.

2. Sam’s Club is thinking more like the home cook. Buying in bulk now has new meaning because Sam’s Club is changing the way they package many of their items. You’ll find large packages with individual packages inside instead of just one large package that will go bad or spoil by the time you get through it!

3.  Shopping is made easier with more organized shelves, signage and labels. Tone’s spices, for example, are now organized alphabetically with a large label indicating what the spice is. No more hunting and searching for the right spice. You can now walk right up and get what you need without a bunch of hunting around. Seems like a no-brainer doesn’t it? I know that many of you can relate to going to your local grocery store and searching and searching for the right spice! Having them alphabetized makes shopping a cinch.

4. Did you know that Sam’s Club puts every food product that is on their shelves through a blind taste test at their corporate headquarters? If it doesn’t get a 7.5 or higher out of 9, it doesn’t get sold at Sam’s Club. They take what goes onto their shelves very seriously and are extremely particular about quality and value alike. Read this article, The Taste of Science Behind Sam’s Club, to get a great view of how seriously Sam’s Club takes what is put on their shelves.

Maria, Lori, Amanda and Michelle show off just a few of the delicious cakes that will be available at Sam’s Club for the holidays.

5.  Gorgeous holiday cakes and cheesecakes for an unbelievable low price…delicious. Need I say more? (Plus, when you see me at BlogHer food and I’m 15 pounds heavier, I’m blaming it on Sam’s Club and all the delicious food we were forced to eat.)

6. The focus on cost savings for the customer goes all the way down to the Sam’s Club corporate employees. They are all in charge of cleaning their own cubicles and emptying out their own trash cans which means they spend less money on cleaning services to do the job.

7. My biggest “a-ha” moment came at the produce section of the Sam’s Club we visited. Gorgeous, fresh, bountiful, delicious produce. Sam’s Club is very picky about what growers they work with and really work hard with the farmer’s to ensure that only the best quality produce is on the shelves at a great price for their consumers. Seeing and tasting their produce was enough to get me thinking about making the switch over to Sam’s Club!

8. I know it is too early to think about the holidays, however, once you do get in the mood to decorate, head to Sam’s Club. They have an amazing assortment of beautiful home and table decorations at unbelievable prices!

9. Did you know that Sam’s Club now has a large assortment of artisan cheeses and artisan breads? They travel the world to find the best cheeses for their members, working directly with the producers. Oh, and don’t get me started on the Irish Butter that I tried. I’ve never tasted a butter like it… yummmm!

10. Finally, if you are like me and have some pre-conceived notions or past impressions of Sam’s Club, I would highly encourage you to give them another chance. They have, in my opinion, come leaps and bounds and are worthy of you taking another look!

A special thanks to Sam’s Club for their hospitality. Sam’s Club provided meals (and by meals, I mean seriously… I gained 15 pounds), transportation and lodging for the trip. I was not paid for my opinion. What is stated in this post are my own impressions.

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