I’ve had the pleasure of attending a very unique experience at Aitoro Appliances in Norwalk, CT last month. There was a demo for Monogram Appliances where a local chef (ambassador) used the appliances to whip us up something yummy.

When I heard that chef was Jay LeBlanc, I already knew I was in for a treat. (Jay is also the mastermind behind the local eatery, Knot Norms, in East Norwalk.) During this event, he created a three-course menu for us to enjoy while demoing the appliances that Monogram has to offer.

Our first course was a burrata with San Marzano sauce. This was perfectly prepared in a personal cast iron in the hearth oven. And no, I am not just saying this because I am a sucker for cheese. This was actually really good. The warm oozy cheese in a tomato sauce with some carbs? Bathe me in this, please. The really awesome thing about this oven is that it can get up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit and the exterior is not hot to touch. Plus, it makes pizzas (lots of styles to choose from) and can roast veggies.

Up next was the buddha bowl. In this, we had a marinated flank steak with some mushrooms and roasted peppers on top of a bed of quinoa. It had some nice finishing touches with sesame seeds and a spoonful of Lao Gan Ma’s spicy chili crisp (aka my new favorite condiment). Seeing how easily this came together makes me realize that meal preps can actually be yummy and easy at the same time. I will definitely try and re-create this dish for work weeks.

The dessert is really what blew my mind. He used this Advantium Oven that baked the cookies in no time at all. It requires no pre-heating and is done in less than the package time suggests. Ok, now I’m just being a dork and fan-girling over an appliance. Back to the dish — it was served with Stew Leonard’s ice cream, a soy caramel drizzle, and some dark chocolate sea salt pretzels. Ice cream and cookies? Can’t really go wrong there.

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Here are my takeaways from this meal:

• I love chili oil.
• I should marry rich to get these appliances in my dream kitchen.
• Meal preps don’t have to be boring.

I should also thank Ria for having me and Andrew for being his +1 to this dinner.