Michelle Roberts laughs merrily when she says she loves food.

“I absolutely enjoy food,” she said. “I live to eat. I don’t eat to live. I am not a food snob.”

That’s a good thing because Roberts is the senior culinary specialist and territory manager for the Taste of Home Cooking Schools.

She specializes in meals that are easy to cook with items that are readily available in most kitchens.

Roberts just got started on her fall cooking tour, which began in Meridian, Miss., on Sept. 8, which happened to be her 33rd birthday.

“My host newspaper had a local girl make me the cutest cake and the audience sang happy birthday. It was a very nice surprise.”

Her final show will be Dec. 1 in Montgomery. Roberts will do 18 shows, including the Sept. 29 show in Columbus.

Taste of Home is headquartered in Greendale, Wisc., where she and the other nine cooking show hosts travel twice a year.

“We get to practice the recipes and we all come in together,” Roberts said. “The rest of the time, we’re on the road, so we don’t see each other. We were there a week, getting everything ready and organized.”

Roberts said so far, so good.

“The recipes are going well and everyone seems to be liking the new show.”

Typically, she does two shows a week.

Heather Williams, the L-E’s vice president of audience development, said the 2010 show had about 1,000 in the Columbus Civic Center. She’s hoping to have at least that many this year in the Columbus Convention & Trade Center.

“We will sell the Taste of Home cookbooks again this year,” she said. “People at the show will get a special discount price on the books. We’ll also have lots and lots of good door prizes.”

It’s the fourth year the cooking school has been in Columbus. Everyone attending the show will receive a special goodie bag filled with coupons that are worth more than the price of admission, Williams said.

“I’ll be coming to you from Mississippi, close to where I’m from,” Roberts said. “That’s my home show. It’s in a good-sized auditorium. I’ll ask who is from Franklin County and half the audience will raise their hands. Half of those people are kin to me. So a quarter of the audience are my relatives.”

Roberts said one year, she was under great pressure because her eighth-grade home economics teacher was in the audience.

After the show, the teacher told Roberts she had done well.

Roberts said her grandmother was the person who taught her to cook.

“I was always in the kitchen with her,” she said. “When I was young, she was already older and couldn’t stand up for long. She would instruct from the table. I used to get frustrated because she’d say, ‘Add a pinch of that.’ Or ‘It’s just a dab of that.’ She would never measure a thing, and my pinch and dab were difference sizes from her pinch and dab.

“I’ve tried to duplicate her recipes, but they don’t turn out the same. I do miss her cooking a lot. She died my senior year of high school. She never got to see me do a show, but I think she’s there.”

Roberts said she cannot do a show without volunteers.

“They help prep everything,” she said. “They chop it up and do some cooking. They make the show run as smoothly as possible. They are very important to the whole show itself.”

Because many of the volunteers in Columbus have been at each show, Roberts says it’s like a mini-family reunion every fall.

And for those who have never been to a show, Roberts says, “it’s a fun evening out.”

“You’re not stuck at home watching a cooking show. It’s live and in person. You can see what I’m doing and smell what I’m cooking. And you can see how easy cooking can be. You’ll see that I’m not a magician.

“I love to cook. I want to share my love of cooking.”

She’ll make 10 dishes from appetizers, soups, salads, main dishes and desserts. “There will be something for everybody. It’s a great lineup.”

At the end of the evening, all 10 dishes will be given to audience members through a raffle.

TASTE OF HOME RECIPES

PUMPKIN PIE DIP

1 package (8 ounces) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese softened

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin

½ cup sour cream

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

½ teaspoon ground ginger

Gingersnap cookies

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in the pumpkin, sour cream, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and ginger until blended. Serve with gingersnaps.

Refrigerate leftovers.

Yield: 4 cups or 32 servings

CANDY BAR APPLE SALAD

1½ cups cold 2 percent milk

1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix

1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

4 large apples, chopped (about 6 cups)

4 Snickers candy bars (2.07 ounces each), cut into 1/2-inch pieces

In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Fold in whipped topping. Fold in apples and candy bars. Refrigerate until serving.

Yield: 12 servings (3/4 cup each)

CHICKEN ARTICHOKE PASTA

2¼ cups uncooked ziti or 6 ounces uncooked fettuccine

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

3 teaspoons olive oil, divided

½ cup fresh broccoli florets

½ cup sliced fresh mushrooms

½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can (14 ounces) water-packed artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained and halved

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

¼ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/3 cup white wine or additional reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook ziti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook chicken in 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.

In the same skillet, cook and stir broccoli in remaining oil for 2 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, tomatoes and garlic; cook 2 minutes longer. Add the artichokes, salt and oregano; heat through.

Combine the flour with broth and wine or additional broth until smooth; stir into the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Add parsley and reserved chicken.

Drain ziti; add to chicken mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle with cheese.

Yield: 4 servings.

CUCUMBER SALAD

2 cups sugar

1 large onion, chopped

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon celery seed

In a large serving bowl, combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Serve with a slotted spoon.

Yield: 8-10 servings.