Joelen's Blogging Adventures

Throughout the month I will be teaching various cooking classes with a specific food or cuisine focus. For my August 24th class, we're making maki-sushi!

Japanese cuisine has hit the mainstream and maki rolls are quite popular. Come join me as we highlight maki rolls and Japanese cuisine. For this blogging adventure, share an Japanese inspired dish!

Every month I host a "Wine & Dine" event with friends where we come together to focus on a specific wine varietal, wine region or a theme related to wine. This month we are tasting our way through a variety of white wines and pairing them with picnic fare.

For this blogging adventure, share an picnic inspired dish or one that uses a white wine in the recipe.

I haven't forgotten this blogging event and I'm still going to continue highlighting the tools of the trade! For June, I've chosen to highlight the Juicer. Summer is a great time to juice various fruits for refreshing dishes and beverages. Will you be submitting a lemonade recipe? A sangria recipe? Or a dish that highlights citrus juices?

Summer definitely involves cooking on a grill so at this event, my group and I are firing up the grill with burgers!

Every month my group takes a wine varietal to taste and prepare a potluck of paired dishes. For June, we are drinking our way through Riesling wines and pairing them with Japanese inspired dishes. Share your favorite recipes using Riesling wines or your favorite Japanese dishes!

Each month, friends come over for dinner to celebrate the culinary contributions of a specific chef. In honor of the famous “Taste of Chicago” event taking place this month, we’re dedicating our Chef Spotlight dinner to all the fabulous chefs here in Chicago.

I'm taking fellow Chicagoan foodies on a trip to the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago where we’ll enjoy an authentic Mexican lunch at one of Chicago’s best & affordable Mexican restaurants. To end on a sweet note, we’ll also make a stop at BomBon, a favorite bakery of Chicago... and maybe to check out a tortilla factory located nearby.

It’s another month to enjoy another swap of treats. This month we are paying homage to fudge. What makes it so great is that it’s a candy that comes in an array of flavors and can be easily shared. For this adventure, bloggers can submit their favorite fudge recipe to share by Saturday, June 14th.

This event is dedicated to all the young aspiring chefs out there. In this culinary adventure, we're teaming up with the Ronald McDonald House each month to provide some kid-friendly events to their children & families… as well as a chance for your children to participate too!