AdkAction’s second annual cooking class series kicked off last night with “Farm to Table cooking”, the first of two classes in 2019 taught by Curtiss Hemm of the Carriage House Cooking School. The class was held at the Keeseville Pharmacy (Farmacy), and participants gathered around the demonstration amongst the fresh food and delicious items for sale in the Farmacy section. This class was intended to highlight the seasonal, local products in the North Country and help participants feel comfortable preparing these ingredients in their own kitchens. The majority of the ingredients prepared in the class were taken directly off the shelves of the Farmacy that day, including Juniper Hill’s first of the season tomatoes, Reber Rock’s Sunflower Seed Oil, North Country Creamery’s Maple yogurt, and Moon Valley’s Pork chops. 

Chef Curtiss started off with a farm to table risotto, including a healthy serving of local, seasonal products, such as tomatoes, garlic scapes, and onions. This risotto recipe is intended to change with the seasons, as produce comes in and out of availability. As the risotto bubbled away, Chef Curtiss showed participants how to prepare and cook raw meat to perfection. The Farmacy was filled with delicious aromas as the pork paillard sizzled on the grill. To finish, guests received a refreshing and easy dish of a local yogurt with honey and berries. 

“If you are going to cook farm to table, you have to be ready to be flexible and creative with your recipes on the fly,” says Chef Curtiss. “The first rule about cooking seasonally is that nothing is a guarantee. If a farm loses a product, or your neighbor hands you a handful of herbs you’ve never tried before, you have to learn how to adapt your dish”. 

Guests walked away with full bellies and hungry minds for new dishes to be created as the North Country comes into the tomato, snap pea, and berry season. 

AdkAction will be hosting a second cooking class at the Keeseville Farmacy on Saturday, September 21st from 10am-1. This class is titled “Cooking with a Limited Kitchen”, and is intended to showcase creative, local recipes using only a waffle iron and a coffee pot. To sign up, please visit the AdkAction “Cooking with a Limited Kitchen” event page.

This cooking class series was generously sponsored by Adirondack Foundation.