Mustard Mastery

Join us as we delve into the world of mustard-making, where you’ll discover the ancient alchemy of transforming humble mustard seeds into a sensational condiment that will tantalize your taste buds. Led by expert chef and preserving aficionado Valerie Hanson, this immersive culinary experience will guide you through the art of crafting homemade mustard from scratch.

Discover the nuances of mustard flavors, from mellow and classic to bold and spicy, and learn how to strike the perfect balance that suits your palate.

But the adventure doesn’t end there! Expand your culinary repertoire as we explore the realm of flavored mustards. Unleash the fiery kick of jalapeno or embrace the pungent allure of horseradish. Discover how to infuse your mustard creations with a symphony of flavors, unlocking endless possibilities to elevate your favorite dishes.

To ensure the safe preservation of your culinary creations, you’ll also master the art of water bath canning—a time-honored technique that seals in the freshness, allowing your homemade mustards to be enjoyed long after the class is over. Gain confidence in this essential skill as you learn the step-by-step process, including proper jar sterilization, filling, sealing, and processing.

Throughout this immersive class, you’ll be guided by Chef Valerie’s expertise and passion for homemade condiments. Uncover the secrets to achieving a perfect mustard consistency, experimenting with flavors, and preserving your creations for long-lasting enjoyment.

Whether you’re a curious culinary enthusiast or a seasoned home cook, this mustard-making and water bath canning class will equip you with the knowledge and skills to create mustard masterpieces that will impress family and friends. Join us on this flavorful journey and add a dash of homemade magic to your culinary repertoire.

Spaces are limited, so secure your spot today and get ready to embrace the art of mustard-making!

Check out other condiment classes HERE.

$30

Easter

March 2, 2023 vkhanson

Celebrating Easter, Quick Hollandaise, Upcoming Classes

This post is a fun one about some Easter eggs around the world. Also included is a recipe for a quick and easy hollandaise sauce, and some of our upcoming classes. Enjoy!

Regardless of how you celebrate Easter, you’re likely aware of some traditions surrounding the use of eggs. Common American practices include hiding eggs, coloring eggs, and eating delicious chocolate eggs! But did you know that eggs feature in other ways for Easter traditions in different cultures? Here are a few of my favorites:

Giant Omelets

In southern France, there is a giant omelet festival put on by the Knights of the Giant Omelet. Unbelievably, using over 15,000 eggs, cooks create a gigantic omelet to serve to the folks who participate in the festival free of charge (feeding around 1,000 people)! And if you want a taste of France that’s not a gigantic omelette, consider making hollandaise to jazz your eggs up (see recipe below)!

A Whimsical Way to go Egging

In Mexico, cascarones are

Cascarones

used as a form of celebration. These treats are hollowed-out eggs that have been decorated on the outside, filled with confetti, then closed up with tissue paper over the opening. Cascarones can be used as colorful centerpieces or to add playful whimsy to your meal, as it’s great fun to break these eggs over your peers or children’s heads and shower them in the brightly colored confetti. While traditionally, these eggs are more likely to appear during Mardi Gras, they’ve been a big hit at Easter celebrations and egg hunts in more modern times.

Decorate Eggs with Beeswax

Pysanky

A Ukrainian egg tradition takes the form of decorating eggs using dyes and beeswax. Called pysanky, these eggs become beautiful art pieces for your table. While it can take more time to accomplish, it’s a more upscale way of having decorated eggs at your table than the more standard version of dipping eggs in vinegar + dye.

The world is a beautiful place filled with wonderful food traditions, and here at Art of Cookery, we appreciate such creative ways to celebrate! Check out our current classes if you want to improve your cooking skills for a special Easter meal. And if you’d like us to handle the cooking for you, we’ve got you covered!

Print Recipe

Quick and Easy Hollandaise

Here's a quick no-fuss way to make hollandaise sauce that doesn't split on you.

Prep Time2

Cook Time2

Course: Breakfast

Keyword: Hollandaise

Equipment

1 blender

Ingredients

3 egg yolks Be sure they are pasteurized and properly refrigerated as this recipe isn't cooking the eggs.
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp fresh thyme optional
1/16 tsp cayenne pepper
1/16 tsp salt
1/32 tsp white pepper black is fine too
1/2 c unsalted butter melted

Instructions

Place yolks, lemon juice, cayenne, thyme (if using), salt, and pepper in blender.
Run blender until fully mixed.
While blender is running, open pour spout and slowly pour the melted butter in.
Blend until fully emulsified.
taste and adjust lemon juice, salt and pepper to your liking. SERVE!

Notes

Alternatively, use a double boiler with gently simmering water and whisk the eggs and lemon juice together over it. When mixture is doubled in volume, whisk in the butter until thickened. Remove from heat and add thyme, salt & pepper.

Upcoming Classes that Have Available Tickets.

This is not a comprehensive list of upcoming classes, it is simply a few that have a ticket or two still available. To see them all, including ones that have no one registered (and are open for you to book) and ones that are fully booked (but help you see some of the topics Art of Cookery offers, click here. That link works well to register for one of the classes below online. Don’t see anything you are interested in or at a time/date that works? Just ask! ICan@artcookery.com

March 30 @ 5:15 pm – Mother Sauces: Bechamel – $24

April 4 @ 5:00 pm – Lasagna (making the fresh pasta and the dish) – $38

April 7 @ 1:00 pm – Pate a Choux Pastry (cream puffs) – $20

April 11 @ 12:00 noon – Pressure canning (this is a how to can safely class and product to be canned is meat, think venison or abundance of roast on sale, etc.) – $45

April 18 @ 5:00 pm – Tamales (flavor will be green chili chicken and we will also be making the salsa verde) – $42

April 20 @ 12:00 noon – Traditional bread baking and Butter Churning – $29

April 22 @ 1:00 pm – Fermenting – $24

Cooking Classes – Not a Lot of Thyme

January 12, 2023 vkhanson

Not a Lot of Thyme

Hello friend! It has been a while since I reached out with a blog post. This one will be fairly short and here’s why: Art of Cookery is busier than it has ever been since opening in 2009. Cooking classes are occurring more often and are bigger than ever. People are coming from further away than ever too.

WOW that is humbling

It is also winter, and I miss my fresh herb garden. Thus, the title (Not a lot of thyme). See what I did there? 🙂

Upcoming Classes

Many upcoming classes are booked out, but here are some with space still available:

Convection Cooking – 1/24/23 @5:15 pm – $20
Jam Session – 1/26/23 @12noon – $30
Make a Gourmet Pasta Meal – 2/2/23 @ 11am – $55
Handmade Ravioli – 2/7/23 @5:00 pm – $35
Pierogi Paradise – 2/15/23 @5:00 pm – $30

Click on the class title to read more about it and book online.

We are shut down for our yearly re-set and R&R between mid-Feb through mid-March.

Retail Food Menu

We’ve been doing retail food orders for a bit over 1 year now. Below is the menu for 1/16 – 1/31. Feel free to order now for pick-up during that time frame. Ordering early helps me schedule things. As we start the new year, I’ve made a few diets conscious menu choices. Keto seems to be the big thing.

Feel free to contact me privately and ask for a food/diet meal that is not on the menu, but know it isn’t likely to occur for pick-up the same day, but you never know. I am some people’s apparent private chef who take advantage of this.

Did you Know?

We take private cooking classes and they don’t need to be on my class listings. For example, your group wants to learn about cooking with herbs; or, how to use a Tagine.
We do Murder Mystery dinners, called Delicious Demise, by private request. Minimum of 6 people.
We do about 4-5 small catering events each year. Inquire if you are curious about your event.
You can order off our menu for a hot and ready to eat meal, we just need a heads-up.
We do Bachelorette/Bridal Party events.

Class Suggestions?

We are always open to suggestions for class topics. Just reach out via email at ICan@artcookery.com.

Winter Wanderland

I know I said this would be short. Here’s the last item… Winter Wanderland 2023 is coming up. John and I are founding members and very involved in this weekend event. Click HERE for the events/times/locations occuring for the 2/3 through 2/5 weekend event.

A Spare Gus

May 24, 2022 vkhanson

A Spare Gus

It is finally THAT time of the year, ASPARAGUS is up!

As a child we had a lot of acres of it and had to pick it all ourselves. Sometimes we had to get up at 4 am to get some picked before school (and then consequently missed the bus and had to walk to school, ~~uphill both ways, in the snow, barefoot~~) 🙂 But really, depending on which school it was 2 to 6 miles.

I hated asparagus as a child.

Now, I love everything about it. It is delicious, healthy, and beautiful. Also, it is fun to grow.

When we moved to our current location 3 years ago, I dug up some that I had planted at our previous place and a friend gave me some they were planting that spring on their farm. At age 3 the stalks are coming up fat and happy.

I thought I would include a little tutorial.

In case you didn’t know, when planting young asparagus roots, you don’t pick the little stalks that come up the next year. The second year you can take a couple of early pickings. The third year and after you can pick the whole season. My season cut-off date is June 20.

After June 20 I let the stalks (which are actually sprouts) grow into mature plants. A mature plant is about 6 feet tall and is graced with flowing ferning branches.

They enjoy a 10-10-10 or 15-15-15 for fertilizer. They prefer a light sandy soil and their roots grow large and deep. Fertilize when the soil starts warming, usually some time in April. I fertilize again when I stop picking.

If you want to plant a few crowns (roots) for yourself get on over to Tri-County Feeds in Montague as they are selling baby asparagus roots.

P.S. White asparagus is just green asparagus that never saw the sun or other nurturing light. Purple asparagus is a real line of plants. Its color comes from the high levels of anthocyanins in the spears.

Every June, go to Michigan’s Oceana County and enjoy the National Asparagus Festival. It is a fun, quirky festival. The mascot of the festival used to be (guess who?) Gus (as in A Spare Gus)

See bottom for an easy roasted asparagus recipe.

I’ve slightly changed our grab n go foods menu. Each menu will run for two weeks, rather than one. You can also order online through our shop. Of course, cash is welcome, as is venmo, zelle, paypal. There is a sign on the wall above the grab n go refrigerator describing the pay options. Ordering ahead is recommended to ensure you get what you want, but there are usually extras made and placed in front refrigerator for pick-up 24-7. However, there are no guarantees that everything on the menu will be present if you randomly stop in for something. There is always bread, mustard, and cookies. Jams are coming soon. Always check the menu dates at the bottom. Here is the current menu (and below that, the menu that starts May 30):

Upcoming Classes

Gluten Free Vegan Doughnuts, 5/26/22 @5 pm $24

Pickled Asparagus, 6/2/22 @12 noon $38

To see all upcoming classes Click here and then on the red “Calendar of Classes” button.

Print Recipe

Roasted Asparagus

This quick and easy asparagus recipe is delicious, healthy, and beautiful as a side.

Prep Time1

Cook Time15

Course: Side Dish

Keyword: Asparagus

Servings: 2 people

Author: vkhanson

Cost: 4.00