Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Vicki Bensinger grew up in an extended

family where she quickly developed a passion for cooking, a credit she gives to

her maternal grandmother. Vicki’s cooking evolved from using chicken fat as a

child, to now using heart-healthy fats. A culinary instructor since 1992, she instills

stress-free cooking while teaching privately in her clients’ homes, online, and

in venues throughout the area. You can nd Vicki sharing recipes, videos, and

culinary tips through her blog, VickiBensinger.com.

Vicki Bensinger

I’ve been cooking for what seems like my entire life.

Growing up in an extended family, there was never

a lack of food. In fact, food was the center of our

universe. We’d always congregate in the kitchen,

cooking, entertaining, sitting around the table eating,

and laughing — always laughing, because let’s face

it, food makes us happy. I’ve never seen anyone eat

an ice cream and cry unless it fell on the ground.

While I’m sure it was challenging for my parents with

both grandmothers and a disabled aunt living with

us, I reaped the benefits. My maternal grandmother

was the best cook. Most days we’d sit together at the

kitchen table, prepping and cooking the evening meal

or snacks, which were laden with chicken fat. The

smiles on the faces of our family as they devoured

our dishes gave me immense satisfaction. A favorite

snack was made by slowly cooking chicken skin and

rendering the fat, leaving fried skin — our version of

potato chips. Who knew then it was a heart attack

waiting to happen? 

Where Women Cook

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Where Women Cook

SUMMER 2015

“Life isn’t about

waiting for the

storm to pass. It’s

about learning to

dance in the rain.”

— Vivian Greene

My mom was/is a good cook, but like many moms

in the ’50s and ’60s, she kept plenty of convenience

foods on hand. Swanson TV dinners, boxed, canned,

and frozen foods, Hostess Cupcakes, Twinkies,

Snowballs, frozen Snickers, Milky Ways, and

Butterfingers were staples. No wonder I’ve been a

chocoholic all my life! My diet was awful as a child,

and as a result, I looked like Olive Oyl (Popeye’s

girlfriend), skinny and sick all the time.

While attending college to earn a teaching degree,

my passion for cooking never waned. I prepared

dishes for my roommates and friends — thrilled to

make them home-cooked meals. After graduation,

I taught school for two years. I changed careers to

become a certified financial consultant and for the

next 10 years taught others how to manage their

assets. In 1984 I married my husband and close

friend of 11 years. Two years later we had a son.

When our daughter was born in 1989, I left the

workforce to raise our children. After growing up

eating a high-fat diet and lots of sweets, I vowed to

feed my children well-balanced meals. Of course,

eliminating sugar completely didn’t seem necessary.

“Everything in moderation,” was my motto.

Stay-at-home moms aren’t rewarded like they are in

the workplace, but I was content with my role. I was

graciously repaid most nights with satisﬁed smiles

from the meals I served my family. Trivial as that

might seem, it was the encouragement I needed to

delve into cooking, creating culinary masterpieces

for my family and friends. Soon friends were asking

me to cook for them, share my recipes, or give

them culinary advice. By 1992, I went from being

a room mom cooking with my children and their

classmates, to teaching classes at a local culinary

school. I joined the IACP (International Association

for Culinary Professionals) and expanded my classes

to include adults at venues throughout the area.

Little did I know this would be the beginning of a

lifelong career. 

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In 2004 I established “At Home with Vicki Bensinger,

In-Home Culinary Classes,” to accommodate those

wishing to have private or small classes in the comfort

of their homes — an idea that came to me as a result of

venues cancelling classes due to low enrollment, hence,

disappointed clients. While initially I was hesitant about

this venture, my son looked at me and said, “You always

told me to follow my passion. If you never try, you will

never achieve it.” It seemed ironic that my son was

preaching to me the exact thing I taught him. I knew if I

didn’t follow through it would be hypocritical.

By 2009 I created my blog, VickiBensinger.com, as a

means to stay in front of my clients when I wasn’t

teaching in their homes. I had no idea the world would

soon be following my blog.

My cooking has come a long way from the days when we

cooked with chicken fat. Since its inception, my blog has

gradually transformed to sharing mostly heart-healthy,

whole-food recipes using sustainable foods, including

nuts, whole grains, fresh ﬁsh, chicken, vegetables,

and fruits, with occasional recipes for beef, bread, and

sugary treats. I’ve found that by maintaining a healthy

lifestyle with regular exercise, plus cutting out the latter

three items above, I feel healthier, more energetic, and

my ﬁgure is streamlined. A lesson I teach in my classes

and blog — while still offering those drool worthy

recipes for those craving them.

I’ve been told by my clients they feel comfortable learning

from me because I’m approachable and non-threatening.

I attribute this to my teaching background and patience.

To schedule a private class, clients contact me to discuss

a menu or skill they’d like to master. I put together a

menu, do the grocery shopping, and come to their home

ready to teach in their kitchen. After several hours, they

master the skill they set out to learn. While enjoying the

fruits of their labor, I answer questions to ensure they feel

conﬁdent re-creating the dishes on their own. I then clean

up and go home, leaving them with a packet of recipes,

newfound knowledge, and conﬁdence. 

Serves 4

Chilean sea bass

Extra-virgin olive oil

cherubs tomatoes

zucchini squash

Spiralizer

4 (6–8 oz.)

2 (10½ oz.)

GRILLED SEA BASS

over Zucchini Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes

1. Rub sea bass with olive oil, leaving skin on,

and place fish meat side down onto preheated

grill over medium heat. Grill for approximately

10 minutes; carefully flip over for an additional

10 minutes. Fish will be done when the tip of a

knife inserted separates layers easily. Remove

skin at this point if desired by sliding a thin

metal spatula between the skin and fish.

2. Cut tomatoes in half and place on a foil-lined

baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and

toss to coat. Place in preheated 425-degree

oven for approximately 15 minutes or until

slightly charred and wilted.

3. Rinse zucchini, place on spiralizer, and

spin until completed. Just before plating,

microwave for 20 seconds to make zucchini

more pliable.

4. Divide zucchini pasta among 4 plates. Top with

sea bass, and place roasted tomatoes on top of

each. Serve.

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Where Women Cook would like to thank Vicki Bensinger

for her involvement in our summer issue. To learn more,

visit vickibensinger.com, or follow Vicki on Facebook, Twitter,

Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube.

It’s been an incredible journey. Over the years I’ve

had the opportunity to appear on numerous local TV

programs preparing fun and creative dishes, to have

articles written about me in local publications, and

to be a regular contributor writing a culinary column

for a local magazine, in addition to freelance work

nationwide. Sharing my passion for food and instilling

the conﬁdence and comfort of stress-free cooking

with others gives me the greatest pleasure. While I

continue to teach at both public and nonproﬁt venues,

I have diversiﬁed by teaching private online cooking

classes as well. I’m currently orchestrating an online

cooking series and culinary tours throughout the

world. While my goals are lofty, it’s far better to have

tried and failed than to have not tried at all. 

Roasted Vegetable & Quinoa

Serves 4

1. Place 1 tablespoon olive oil in a nonstick skillet with

diced shallots and sauté for 1–2 minutes. Add quinoa.

Stir to combine. Continue cooking on medium heat until

quinoa becomes fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add water

and bring to a simmer. Cook for approximately 15 minutes

or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Add pesto,

Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Set aside and

allow to cool.

2. Meanwhile, prepare 4 (4¾-inch) tartlet pans with

removable bottoms. Spray with non-stick spray. Add ½ cup

of quinoa mixture to each tartlet pan. Using your ngertips,

gently press quinoa mixture into bottom and up sides of

tartlet pan. Be sure to create at least a

⁄8-inch border of

quinoa around edges for stabilization. Place quinoa lled

tartlet pans into a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes or until

golden brown.

3. Remove tartlets from oven and allow to cool briey before

removing them from their container, onto a plate.

4. Wash tomatoes, carrots, and asparagus. Place tomatoes and

carrots on a sheet tray lined with heavy-duty foil. Drizzle

lightly with olive oil and salt. Place in a 425-degree oven for

12 minutes. Lightly drizzle asparagus with extra-virgin olive

oil and salt, and add alongside tomatoes and carrots for an

additional 6–8 minutes until bright green in color. Remove

pan with all vegetables from oven.

5. To make lemon vinaigrette, combine lemon juice,

2 tablespoons olive oil, honey, Dijon, and salt and pepper

to taste, and whisk.

6. Top tartlets with greens, veggies, and drizzle with a touch

of lemon vinaigrette.

extra-virgin olive oil, divided

large shallot, diced

quinoa

water

pesto (homemade/store-bought)

Parmesan cheese

Salt & pepper, to taste

grape tomatoes

baby carrots

asparagus spears

mache rosettes/arugula

fresh lemon juice

honey

Dijon mustard

3 TB.

1 cup

2 cups

2 TB.

1 TB.

1 container

1 bunch

4 handfuls

1 TB.

1 tsp.

TARTLETS

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