Spicing Things Up
It is officially spring!💐
It’s time to clean out the flower beds, get ourselves moving, open the windows, and let in some fresh air. I love the change of seasons for precisely this reason; it motivates me to make a few personal and professional adjustments. The result this spring for me (and you) is a series of new classes at the shop—I suppose this is not entirely new, but we are making it fresh and spicing it up a bit. Food and wine are always fun, but we like to keep it fresh, fun, and inspiring. You may need to clean out that spice cabinet! It is my good fortune is to have an experienced chef on board who is excited to share his culinary knowledge and tools with all of us.
This week, we hosted our first Cooking Without Recipes class with our very own Chef Jon LoPresti. You may not know that Jon studied classical French cuisine at the Culinary Institute and had a successful career in for over thirty years cooking and designing kitchens in NYC, Long Island, Maine, and Newport. (And, you just thought he was good at selling wine!)
I am excited about this series because I am admittedly a boring cook with so much to learn—I want to spice up my own cooking, and I am lucky enough to have an accomplished chef to help me do that. Even better, he will help you, too.
Jon introduced us to three critical spices—tumeric, corriander, and cumin, he taught us how to toast them (the aroma was unreal!) and apply them to a wide variety of dishes, and he discussed and demonstrated the difference between cooking and finishing oils and salts. He did this seamlessly, while effortlessly demonstrating how to perfectly (and I mean perfectly) sear a steak and whip together a simple sauce by deglazing the pan with some ver jus and adding tumeric for color. It was kind of amazing! He just walked to our shelves, paused to consider the options for a moment, and then pulled together a great meal in a snap. We all watched in awe while we enjoyed a sip & a bite. Everyone went home equipped to cook from the pantry with a little bag of treats that Chef Jon prepared for us.
It was a joy to see Jon at work. He is a natural in even the most makeshift of kitchens. I hope you will take full advantage of his knowledge. He announced to everyone at the class that culinary advice is available upon request, so just ask. This is the generosity that I am surrounded by, and I am grateful for it. Jon loves to talk menus and his advice is spot on, so I hope you will come in and chat with us about what your making and what to pair with it. We have loads of new pantry items and new wines arriving daily—we are having fun stocking up our pantry for yours!
The next Cooking without Recipes is Wednesday April 19th. We will continue to build on these ideas, the central one is simply letting go of the recipe and trusting your gut!
We are working hard to inspire you to eat, drink, and think,
Cheers,
Maria