Early in the morning a towncar whisked me away to Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Once the entire group arrived at the facility, we were led into the test kitchen where we met Norma Jean Longfield, the manager of Unilever's test kitchen. This is where culinary professionals work tirelessly to develop recipes that are simple and easy to follow for the consumer, using I Can't Believe It's Not Butter as one of the ingredients. When we first arrived, we were treated to a delicious I Can't Believe It's Not Butter continental breakfast. All of the baked goods were made using their products. My favorite was the scone!
Along with all of the other attending bloggers, I watched Norma Jean prepare three amazing recipes, the Caramelized Onion and Fig Mini Pizzas,
the Honey-Glazed Pear Upside Down Cake,
and the Roasted Vegetable Salsa recipe, of which the brief demonstration is displayed below.
1/4 cup finely chopped Kalamata olives2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar1-1/2 Tbsp. tomato paste2 medium zucchini, diced1 large red bell pepper, diced1 medium onion, finely chopped2 cloves garlic, finely chopped40 sprays I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® Spray OriginalInstructions
1. Preheat oven to 400°. Combine olives, vinegar and tomato paste in small bowl; set aside.2. Spray vegetables with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® Spray Original in shallow roasting pan. Roast 30 minutes, stirring once. Stir in olive mixture. Roast an additional 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Serve warm or at room temperature with chicken, seafood or toasted French bread slices.
After the demonstrations we headed into the conference room to discuss the products and our ideas. We watched the cute new commercial, and were also privy to some top-secret information that I can't disclose (had to sign an agreement), but just know that this company is constantly developing new and improved ideas that are still in the R&D phase.
As if that wasn't enough, we took to our stations and made the Delicious One Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies. There were no mixers, only wooden spoons, which made for a great workout. This was to show how accessible these recipes are for everyone. You don't need a mixer or a beater to make these yummy cookies. I added heath bar, walnuts and dried cranberries to mine. We were all given take-out boxes to bring them home, and between me and my husband, they were gone the next day.
This was the entire group. I'm to the right of Norma Jean. I look creepy. Food coma?
ICBINB! covered the cost of my trip to the test kitchen for the tour. It was a real treat for this mama to be chauffeured to and from the facility. Thanks so much to everyone who made this event possible.
Oh this post makes me hungry! How cool that you got to participate. :)
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