(NAPSI)-Take a satisfying serving of friendship and add a hearty portion of delicious food and you have all the ingredients you need to create a cooking club. Six friends who were tired of boring, bland dinners, but not of each other, formed the Cooking Club, as a fun way to bond over food and friendship. These friends recently authored The Cooking Club Cookbook. They also teamed up with Calphalon, a leading manufacturer of cookware for cooks of every level, to share cooking tips, including essential kitchen tools, so others can start their own successful clubs:

w Pick a consistent meeting day and time. Once a month is frequent enough to be regular without feeling like a chore.

w Don’t worry about your cooking expertise or lack thereof. The object is to have fun.

w Plan meetings around a theme. Themes ensure that six or more dishes will work together.

w Convene in the home of the member cooking the entrée. Carting around a 10-pound turkey is no fun at all.

w Prepare the assigned dish in advance. Six people cooking six different dishes in one kitchen is a recipe for chaos-not fun.

w Celebrate success and chalk up mistakes to experience. Mutual support and admiration is the name of the game.

Having basic tools in the kitchen will go a long way toward successful food preparation. To get started, the Cooking Club and Calphalon recommend two basic tools:

w Chef’s pan, such as the 3-quart Tri-Ply Stainless chef’s pan: combined features of a sauce pan, stir-fry pan and skillet make it ideal for risotto and other grains, pasta sauces, brown-and-braise recipes.

w Chef’s knife, such as the fully forged, full-tang 8-inch chef’s knife, is well proportioned for any adult hand and balanced to encourage an even rocking and gliding motion as you cut.

More tips are available at www.Calphalon.com.

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