As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was invited by the Marketing Manager of Wilkinson Supply Co, a local kitchen and bathroom supply company, to come to their on-site showroom and whip up a recipe that I found on Pinterest.
On Friday, I dropped by Trader Joe’s to pick up a few treats for the showroom crew, then headed to the building off Capital Blvd at 2pm. I took off two hours later after making this cheesy chicken & wild rice casserole and this heart of palm salad, touring the showroom, giving samples of my food to employees, and chatting about everything from Tutti Frutti to Ivy and Leo to Michael Franti to an infomerical for an interesting feminine product…
The highlights of my day:
Treats for Wilkinson Supply Co employees [apple cider, sparkling blood orange juice, yogurt covered almonds, and mini milk chocolate peanut butter cups]
My state-of-the-art kitchen for the day! I had some serious kitchen envy and (half) joked that it would be hard for me to return to my normal kitchen, which doesn’t have an amazing induction stove top that boils water in about two minutes (though I don’t think I can afford one any time soon!).
All the ingredients for the cheesy chicken casserole [I made a failed modified cheese sauce since the original one called for flour and I wanted something gluten-free]
Ingredients for the heart of palm, tomato, and avocado salad [not pictured- cilantro and scallions]
Chopping onions for the chicken casserole
We saved time by using Ready Rice [microwave for 90 seconds] and roasted chicken from Trader Joe’s
Pretty cool microwave!
Sauteing onions, carrots, and celery on the amazing gas stove [I wish I had let them saute for a bit longer]
Layering the casserole [chicken, rice, and vegetables]
The convection oven was so cool- it has tons of settings for different dishes. We chose generic casserole for mine
Total cook time? About 10 minutes for an entire casserole. Crazy!
I loved this easy heart of palm salad and it was fun to introduce some of the employees to a new food 
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At the end of the day, employees came by the open kitchen to sample the casserole and salad. I heard a lot of oohs and aahs, so hopefully they really liked everything! My verdict: I loved the salad and would make it again in a heartbeat. I felt more neutral about the casserole [partly because of the lack of cheese sauce!], but I would make it again with several changes, including more spices. It would make a great easy dinner if you buy the chicken pre-roasted and microwavable rice, like we did.
Overall, I spent the day pretending I lived in a house with an amazing, state-of-the-art kitchen [who cares about the rest of the house?!]; meeting a fun group of employees; and trying out two new recipes. Definitely winning [I refuse to let that phrase die!].
Thank you so much to Janelle and the rest of the Wilkinson Supply Co for this cool, unique opportunity. I had a blast!
Connect with Wilkinson Supply Co:
