MANY HELP PREPARE FOR TODAY'S COOKING SHOW

Lyn Stoecker tries to avoid recipes with a lot of ingredients in her everyday cooking at home. Yet Wednesday morning she was tackling the preparation of a cake with nine ingredients, multiple steps and a topping.

Stoecker and Helen Taylor got the assignment to do prep work for the Triple Chocolate Pound Cake with Creamy Citrus Sauce that will be prepared at each of today's two performances of the Southern Living Cooking School at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the Show Me Center.

Stoecker and 18 other volunteers from the Cape Girardeau Area Medical Alliance, which is co-sponsoring the show with the Southeast Missourian and Schnucks, spent several hours Wednesday doing the chopping, dicing, measuring, toasting, marinating, mixing, stirring, baking and simmering needed to keep today's shows running smoothly.

"We prepare 12 recipes in the two-hour show," said Rebecca Kracke, a Southern Living home economist who will be doing most of the cooking on stage today. "To keep things running smoothly during the show, we jump-start things the day before."

That means preparing enough ingredients for the recipe to be prepared five times and actually creating the dish three times.

"We need one finished recipe for each show, then we generally use one for samples. Then we need the prepared ingredients for making the recipe for each show," Kracke said.

Kracke said tasters are selected from the audience to try the recipes during the show.

Some of the volunteers preparing ingredients Wednesday were used to cooking gourmet fare.

"I like to cook fancy," said Becky Ogborn as she chopped shallots for Smoked Shellfish with Garlic White Wine Broth. "I go to Cracker Barrel for plain food."

Ogborn is used to Southern Living recipes because she uses Southern Living recipes often.

Barbie Gibbs was less sure of herself at making Bayou Barbecue Shrimp.

"I have five kids, so I don't cook fancy. This has too many steps for me," Gibbs said.

But she and partner Laura Meece, the two coordinators of the alliance volunteers, were aided by the straight-forward language of the recipe and the availability of ingredients and equipment.

The ingredients table was filled with boxes of sugar, bags of flour, nuts and chocolate chips, trays of chicken breasts, containers of milk and juice, and piles of fresh fruit.

Another table was filled with knives, spoons, spatulas, whisks, bowls, strainers, measuring cups and chopping boards.

To get measurements just right, one set of measuring spoons can measure a pinch, a dash and a smidgen.

Trish Stahley felt lucky. The recipe she was preparing ingredients for, Teriyaki Orange Chicken, had only three ingredients, orange marmalade, vinegar and chicken. After measuring out the ingredients and placing all three in a plastic bag, she was taking it easy while the chicken marinated.

"I'm going to make this for dinner tonight since I've got it down now," she announced. "Maybe I can score some extra points with my husband."

Meanwhile, on the other side of a huge curtain dividing the Show Me Center arena, businesses and organizations were setting up booths that will give those going to the cooking school something to look at on the way in.

The booths, which will open two hours before each of the shows, will feature all kinds of things that should be of interest to those attending the cooking school, said Pat Zellmer, director of advertising at the Southeast Missourian.

There will be cooking demonstrations by businesses selling cooking equipment, and booths will be touting gift items, jewelry, make up, massage, health care, fitness, day care, automobiles, restaurants, even acupuncture for weight loss, she said.

AT A GLANCE

What: A two-hour demonstration of cooking and entertaining tips.

When: 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. today. Booths will open two hours before each show. Seating area opens 30 minutes before show times.

Where: Show Me Center.

Cost: Tickets are $4 available at the Show Me Center box office.