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Berkshire Tidbits: Introductions to Cheese, Maple Dining
By Judith Lerner, Special to iBerkshires
02:49PM / Tuesday, March 15, 2016
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Standing on the tractor at Outstanding in the Field at Stonehedge Farm in Great Barrington. Photo by Judith Lerner.


Matthew Rubiner of Rubiner's Cheesemongers & Grocers is offering cheese workshops geared for children.

Classes and cheese pairing seminars continue at Rubiner's Cheesemongers & Grocers this month.

Owner and presenter Matthew Rubiner has, wisely, divided his popular — FREE — kids' cheese tasting and talking classes, "Introduction to Cheese for Kids,"  by age group. He admits that they are now "improved by age segregation."

Rubiner invites 3- to 8-year-olds "to come, taste and discuss a range of cheeses, where cheese comes from, how it gets to be so darn delicious and other interesting facts," on Tuesday, March 22 between 4 and 5 p.m.

He has set Tuesday, March 29, from 4 and 5 p.m. for the older kids, between the ages of 9 and 15, to taste and discuss cheeses.

"Special appearance by some stinky cheeses. Educational, but mostly delicious," he adds.

As for his seminars, Rubiner's offers one with beer and one with wine this month.

Of his Beer & Cheese Pairing Seminar from 3 to 5 p.m. this coming Saturday, March 19, Rubiner says, "We’ll guide you through some winning pairings and give you the opportunity to test some questionable combinations. The only limitation is your imagination."

This beer and cheese seminar costs $65 per person.

He offers his Wine & Cheese Pairing Seminar, $75, the next Saturday, March 26, from 3 to 5. And uses such adjectives as storied, time-honored, classic, stormy and rigorous.

Hopefully, the afternoon will also be tasty and fun.

Call the shop, 413-528-0488 to register for all classes or seminars or register at www.rubiners.com.

 

This Saturday, March 19, between 10 and noon, expert sharpener Bob Sheets will again bring ProSharp Mobile Knife Sharpening Service, his belt grinder filled truck, to The Chef's Shop, 31 Railroad St. in Great Barrington, to sharpen kitchen knives, scissors, garden tools and every type of blade for $1 per blade inch while you wait.

Blades may also be dropped off at the shop any time before to be picked up after noon on Saturday.

 

Wild Oats Market Co-op produce, meat and cheese manager Leigh-Anne Nicastro and grocery manager Nicole Delmolino will be cooking up quinoa and chickpea soup as their Soup of the Week to be sampled, free, at the hot bar next Wednesday, March 23, from noon to 1 p.m. It'll be for sale from about 10:30 a.m.

 

Jim Nejaime, owner and wine merchant of Spirited Wines in Lenox, told me he is collaborating with Hotel on North to present a series of wine tastings and pairing dinners.
 
The first event will be this Friday, March 18. It will feature French wines grown by artisan producers from importer Kermit Lynch and personally chosen by Jim. Lynch has been knighted  with the prestigious "Legion d'Honneur" by the French government for his work.
 
Chef Brian Alberg, with many titles from Eat on North, Main Street Hospitality Group and the Red Lion Inn, will craft the 4-course dinner. This will be real food as well as fine dining.
 
The evening begins with a pre-dinner wine tasting of 10 special French wines from Kermit, including Bandol Rouge, Sancerre, Rhone and Chablis, with hors d'ouvres from 5:30 to 6:30. The tasting is available by reservation. It is included in the dinner reservation or costs $25 as a separate event.
 
The dinner itself will focus on Rhone River Valley wines. Special guest Lisa Strasser, the sommelier and wine educator for Kermit Lynch, will discuss the region and the wines as they are served during dinner.

The cost of the dinner is $90 per person and includes the wine tasting, dinner, tax and gratuity. Call 413-553-4210 for wine tasting and dinner reservations.

For those who wish to stay that night, Hotel on North will be offering a special rate of $149 for those attending the events. To reserve your room call Hotel on North Lodging at 413-358-4741.

Menu

Climbing Tree goose confit tarte with mushroom, raclette and golden frill

Domaine Phillip Faury Saint Joseph Blanc 2013

chilled scallop and crab torchon with pickled onions and fennel

Domaine du Joncier L'O de Joncier Rouge 2012

handmade potato gnocchi with braised pig cheek, crispy skin and pecorino

(two wines side-by-side)

Domaine le Sang des Cailloux Vacqueyras 2013

Domaine Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf-du-Pape 'Telegramme' 2013

S'mores tart with caramel smoked sea salt

Patrick Bottex Bugey Cerdon Rose La Cueille 2014

 

So that Berkshirites get a crack at this, the fourth Outstanding in the Field dinner at Lila Berle's Stonehedge Farm in Great Barrington, here's notice that tickets for this wildly popular five-course, all local farm food, $235 per person dinner prepared by Brian Alberg for 200 or so lucky guests, go on sale here at 8 a.m. sharp, this Sunday, March 20, and could sell out in 15 minutes.

The dinner will take place at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 8. It is always fun. It's a deceptively homey, exquisite dinner at the looooooong table dressed in many white tablecloths and set with glassware and flatware — bring your own plate — in the field at the top of the hill under the restored stone hut.

People come from all over the country — including California, Texas and Brooklyn — for this dinner. If you can afford it, you will not feel you have wasted your money.

If you go, I bet you'll be eating at least one course of Lila's lamb, grilled to perfection.

In addition to the dinner at Lila's Farm, there will be other OITF dinners in our area this summer.

The OITF bus will bring dinners starting on Aug. 23 when they will bring dinner ($215) to Samascott Orchards in Kinderhook, N.Y., which is just down the road, so to speak. Samascott sells apples and berries and greenbeans and potatoes and so much more at the Lenox Farmers' Market, where I see them all summer. So, they are my neighbors. And John McCarthy and Ryan Tate of The Crimson Sparrow restaurant in Hudson, N.Y., who brought such originality to ChefX at Allium in 2013, will work their magic.

The next week, OITF will be in Vermont on Aug. 28. Then in Rhode Island and around Boston. Check out other events here.

OITF website notes, under frequently asked questions, that, to make a reservation for one of the dinners, "Go to the Upcoming Events page of our website. Select the event you would like to attend, input the number of tickets you would like to purchase and proceed to the checkout. When making your reservation, please include all of your contact information (including email address and phone number) so we can communicate with you effectively. After you make your reservation, you will receive a confirmation email from us."

 

Next Monday, March 21, is Berkshire Grown's March Maple Dinner, its big fundraiser at Cranwell Resort & Spa and the celebration of maple products, the first harvest of our local growing season.

Adam Zieminski, chef and owner of Café Adam in Great Barrington, will be this year's dinner host.

David Jordan, Cranwell's executive chef and Wes Malone, Berkshore seafood purveyor, will present the hors d'ouvres at the 6 p. m. cocktail reception in the Music Room off the main lobby.

Dinner is at 7.

Ben Daire of Alta Restaurant & Wine Bar in Lenox; Douglas Luf chef at the Marketplace Catering in Sheffield (and the original chef at the storied Spice Restaurant in Pittsfield); Joshua Needleman chocolatier, pastry chef, chef and owner of Chocolate Springs in Lenox; Gustavo Perez chef at The Southfield Store (and, in winter, like an ermine, at The Old Inn on the Green in Monterey with Peter Platt); and Jeffrey Thompson of Wheatleigh in Lenox are the stellar local chefs who will prepare the dinner in Cranwell's kitchen labyrinth.

Barrington Brewery in Great Barrington; Berkshire Mountain Distillers and Big Elm Brewing both of Sheffield; and M.S. Walker Wines of Somerville will contribute the evening's beverages. There will also be a cash bar.

The funds raised by the March Maple Dinner and the live auction that follows it sponsor CSA shares for food pantries, community kitchens and low-income groups through Berkshire Grown's Share the Bounty. One ever-popular favorite auction item is the eight-course tasting dinner with wine pairings for eight guests at The Old Inn on the Green.

Dinner tickets are $125 for the public at Eventbrite; $100 for Berkshire Grown members or $1,000 for a table of 10 guests at 413-528-0041.

 

All Saints Episcopal Church in North Adams is hosting a St. Patrick's Day feast on Thursday, March 17, from 4:30 to 7. Dine on corned beef and cabbage, with homemade Irish soda bread or Italian bread, and beverages. Cost is $11 at the door, $10 reserved (by contacting vestry members) and $6 for children ages 5 to 12.

Becket Federated Church, 3391 Main St., also holds its annual St. Patrick's Day on Thursday, from 5 to 7 p.m. Corned beef and cabbage are on the menu, along with Irish soda bread, beverages and homemade desserts. The cost is $12 for adults and $5 for children younger than 12.
 

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