Homes, Sweet Homes

In Bilinda Osburne’s culinary arts class, held Tuesday evenings at Glendale Community College, students have spent a semester immersing themselves in every aspect of cooking, from preheating to presentation. With the arrival of the holidays, however, these cooks in training are using their newfound culinary skills to whip up something special in the kitchen, a recipe to warm stomachs and spirits. They’re building gingerbread houses--and letting various charities enjoy the fruits of their labors. These amateur chefs start out with sheets of gingerbread, carefully cutting out walls, windows and doors. Icing is used as glue to attach different parts.

Once the frames are done, the cooks add their personal touches.

Shredded wheat becomes a thatched roof. Melted sour balls reproduce the glassy surface of a lake. Jellybeans form a miniature wishing well. An inverted ice-cream cone--with sprinkles--makes a Christmas tree.

Last year, Osburne’s class baked edible ornaments for First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Christmas tree. This year, after showcasing their work for the college faculty, the students in the Basic Baking class will donate many of their houses to local charitable organizations, including the Glendale Assn. for the Retarded, Camellia Gardens Convalescent Hospital in Pasadena and the YWCA shelter in Glendale, according to Yeimei Wang, head of the college’s culinary department.

In all, 22 gingerbread houses will be given away.