Is Culinary Fine Art? Don’t Miss “Art of the Palette”

Preparing and presenting beautiful and delicious meals are truly an art form. Like painting on canvas, creating a food presentation involves combining colors, shapes, textures, and flavors.

The Community Council for the Arts have had the greatest time partnering with Lenoir County Cooperative Extension and Lenoir County Master Gardeners enjoying the incoming art in all forms and brainstorming ways to enhance the pieces with beautifully presented foods. The options are so endless the difficulty has been narrowing them down!! It will be an explosion of color and taste!

Whether you are looking for a new piece of art to brighten your home, a way to present your favorite dish, or a new recipe, you will not want to miss “Art of the Palette” on Thursday August 27th, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Community Council for the Arts located at 400 North Queen Street in downtown Kinston. The event is free and open to the public.

For a bit of vintage fun, we will also be hosting a Cake Walk, come try your luck!!

For additional information contact Community Council for the Arts at 252-527-2517, or LC Cooperative Extension at 252-527-2191.

What’s old is new again they say and one of the art exhibits inspired us to share some vintage delicacies, these dishes may or may not appear at our event but trust me, your 70’s memories will be jogged. Hope you will enjoy these oldies but goodies and also hope to see you on the 27th!!

Who remembers Cheese Fondue? Dig in your cabinets and pull out those Fondue pots!

Cheese Fondue

For the Dip

1/3 pound shredded Gruyere
1/3 pound shredded Gouda
½ pound shredded Fontina
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
1 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

If you have difficulty finding these cheeses you can adjust the amounts of the ones you can find.

The cheese will melt and blend better if you shred at home and do not purchase pre-shredded.

For Dipping

Cubed crusty bread
Cherry tomatoes
Sliced apples or pears
Cornichons

In a bowl, toss cheeses with the cornstarch. Rub garlic cloves all over the inside of a sauce pan, then discard. (This trick is from Delish)

Over medium heat, add wine to saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the cheese mixture in four batches, whisking constantly and letting cheese melt completely between additions.

Add mustard and stir until fondue begins to bubble, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and ground pepper.

Serve with skewers and bread, fruit, cherry tomatoes, and cornichons. Serves 8.

You may remember Pineapple Rice or Hawaiian Chicken Skewers, this recipe is a combination, and it can be served in an actual scooped out pineapple half!

Pineapple Chicken over Rice

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, or chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 red bell pepper, chopped
¾ cup canned pineapple juice
¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 cornstarch
1 cup pineapple chunks
¼ cup cashews

For Serving

Thinly sliced scallions
Cooked white rice
Lime wedges

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook, turning occasionally, until golden, 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and cook until tender, 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, make sauce in a small saucepan, combine pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, garlic, and jalapeno and bring to a simmer.

Make a slurry by whisking the 2 teaspoons of water and cornstarch in a small bowl, whisk until smooth. Once smooth, whisk into the saucepan, cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Pour sauce over chicken and let simmer 3 minutes. Stir in pineapple and cashews.

Garnish with the scallions and serve over rice and with the lime wedges. You may also serve in scooped out pineapple halves. Serves 4.

Classic Pigs in a Blanket

1, 8-ounce can refrigerated crescent roll dough
1, 14-ounce package cocktail sized smoked sausages, patted dry
1 large egg

Optional seasonings: everything bagel, sesame seeds, poppy seeds

Optional dipping sauces

Dijon mustard
Ranch dressing
Make Your Own, see below

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Unroll the still cold crescent dough sheet on a lightly floured surface and separate the perforated dough into 8 triangles. Cut each dough triangle into 3 equal triangles. Using a sharp pizza roller will make this much easier.

Place 1 cocktail sausage on the wide base of 1 skinny triangle. Rol the sausage toward the pointed end of the triangle, allowing the dough to overlap and wrap around the sausage. Place the rolled sausage on a parchment lined, or non-stick sprayed baking sheet, point side down. Repeat with the remaining dough triangles and sausages.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg with1 teaspoon of water until smooth. Brush the egg wash over the dough and sprinkle with any seasoning of your choice. Bake until the dough is puffed and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

Serve warm with dipping sauce of your choice.

Some “Make Your Own” Options

Spicy Mayonnaise Dip

Combine ¾ cup mayonnaise and ¼ cup chili-garlic sauce, Sriracha, or your favorite hot sauce, (such as Frank’s).

Quick Pickle Dip

Combine ¾ cup sour cream, ¼ cup dill pickle juice, and 1 tablespoon fresh chives.

Fresh Olive Tapenade

(This is the combination of a couple of my favorite recipes for tapenade)

1 cup pitted kalamata olives, drained
1 cup of pitted green olives, drained, Castelvetrano seem to be the freshest
¼ cup capers, drained
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
2 anchovies, finely chopped, optional
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
¼ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

Finely chop the kalamata and green olives and place in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the capers, red onion, and anchovies, if using. Alternately, place the olives, capers, red onion and anchovy in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times to break up into little pieces and combine. Transfer to a mixing bowl.

Stir in the olive oil, lemon juice, fresh basil, and crushed red pepper.

Serve with softened goat cheese, or cream cheese, and thinly sliced toasted French bread, or crackers.