Culinary, Wine and Spirits
June
Tuesday June 6 1:00-4:00
Intro to Wild Mushrooms and How to Cook with Them
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This event will include a short lecture covering the most gourmet offerings our local forests provide, as well as basic safety guidelines and a hands-on learning experience. You will learn ways to take these mushrooms from the forest to your dining room table and medicine cabinet. This is a rain or shine event, please dress accordingly.
Location: Mountain Retreat and Learning Center
3872 Dillard Rd, Highlands, NC 28741
The Mountain is an ecologically-conscious retreat and learning center located on 4,200 foot high granite cliffs on the Eastern Continental Divide in the Blue Ridge Mountains, The Mountain offers a unique opportunity in gratitude to the unique ecology and history of the oldest mountains in the world. Refresh your spirit in the natural beauty of these ancient mountaintops.
Wednesday June 7 3:00-6:00
Appetizers and Charcuterie Boards: A Cooking Demo
Back by popular demand! Susan offered two demos for CLE last year and both sold out with waiting lists. Now is your chance! The word “charcuterie” is derived from the French words for flesh (chair/char) and cooked (cuit). The word was used to describe shops in 15th century France that sold products that were made from pork, using a practice of salting and smoking meats to preserve them which dates to ancient Rome. Today’s boards include a variety of meats, cheeses, fruits and more which delight any palette. During this demonstration, you will learn how to build a gourmet and visually stunning charcuterie board featuring a bounty of fresh, quality ingredients, and a variety of textures and flavor profiles. Susan will demonstrate how to make four different seasonal appetizers. The appetizers are easy to make and will impress your friends and family this summer! Afterwards, we will all socialize and enjoy this creation with wine!
Location: Private Residence
Presenter: Susan Hansen has spent over 30 years creating and cooking all sorts of culinary delights in her kitchen and in various public eateries. She enjoys teaching others and bringing out each participant’s “inner chef!”
July
Thursday July 18 3:00-5:00
How to Taste: The Practical Science of Wine Enjoyment
Join us in a wine tasting and presentation of science-based advice for improving your enjoyment of fine wines. You will learn about the biological basis of flavor, the components of wine flavor, and the process of developing tasting skills. The tasting will also explore the psychological aspects of wine enjoyment.
Location: CLE Lecture Hall
Joe Frank is a retired professor of food microbiology. He taught a University of Georgia study abroad course in wine science in Cortona, Italy for 12 years. He also served 10 years as wine director for the Athens Chapter of the American Wine Society.
Thursday July 20 3:00-5:00
Cooking Demo: One Pan Dinners
Just because you're feeding one or two doesn't mean you need to resort to endless takeout, frozen dinners, or have gallons of leftovers that you end up tossing. You will learn how to prepare quick, easy, nutritious and healthy meals that don’t require a whole lot of fussing. Take time to explore how healthy eating leads to a healthy life! We will prepare several meals that can be on the table in 30 minutes or less. Afterwards, we will all socialize and enjoy this creation with wine!
Location: Private Residence
Presenter: Susan Hansen has spent over 30 years creating and cooking all sorts of culinary delights in her kitchen and in various public eateries. She enjoys teaching others and bringing out each participant’s “inner chef!”
August
Tuesday August 22 3:00-5:00
Find Your Champagne Style
What makes Champagne different from other sparkling wines? We will discuss a slew of topics from the unique history of the region, why Champagne began to sparkle and how the Champenoise learned to work with the bubbles, to the variety of styles, why yeast is so important, how it is made, and how to serve it. There are three grapes blended in NV Champagne and you will get to taste and compare examples of each varietal dominating the blend as well as a wine that is equal parts all three varietals. By the end of the seminar, you should have a better idea of what style of Champagne you prefer. Come with any questions about Champagne!
Location: Private Residence. Address and other details will be provided to registered attendees closer to the program date.
Presenter: Cara Freije became a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers in 2015. Living in Asheville, she can be spotted mostly in Cashiers and Highlands at this time of year, representing Tryon Distributing. Cara designed and managed the wine program at nationally acclaimed Corner Kitchen in Asheville. Cara’s passion for wine is rooted in its unique relationship to the world, a product of nature and human invention that expresses history, culture, creation, and a sense of place and time in every good bottle.
September
Tuesday September 5 11:00-1:00
Forest to Table Lunch
You’ve heard of Farm to Table cuisine, what about Forest to Table? This event will feature a delicious meal made almost completely from ingredients that were either grown or foraged at Many Hands Peace Farm. You will be dining under a large covered tent right in the field where your food is grown. This is a rain or shine event, please dress accordingly.
Location: Mountain Retreat and Learning Center
3872 Dillard Rd, Highlands, NC 28741
The Mountain is an ecologically-conscious retreat and learning center located on 4,200 foot high granite cliffs on the Eastern Continental Divide in the Blue Ridge Mountains, The Mountain offers a unique opportunity in gratitude to the unique ecology and history of the oldest mountains in the world. Refresh your spirit in the natural beauty of these ancient mountaintops.
Thursday September 7 3:00-5:00
Just Say No... To Pinot Grigio!
Explore the Fascinating World of Italian White Wines
Italy's white wines are as diverse as the country's reds. There is an Italian white wine with a trove of native varieties to fit every budget and occasion. There are so many choices that shopping for Italian white wine can be overwhelming. Adding to the confusion, many of the white grapes have similar-looking names. You don't have to memorize an encyclopedia to find the perfect wine for dinner. During this tasting, you will learn about the large world of Italian White Wines other than Pinot Grigio.
Location: Private Residence. Address and other details will be provided to registered attendees closer to the program date.
Presenter: Stephanie Miskew, CSW, CS, WSET III, is an award-winning Sommelier who turned degrees in Art History + Speech Pathology into a successful career in the wine world. Over the past 14 years, she has worked as a wine educator, consultant, judge, Fox News food & wine contributor and regional TV wine segment personality. In 2011, she launched The Glamorous Gourmet and Wine Atelier, an educational website,
podcast + retail wine business with retail locations in Cashiers, NC and Delray Beach, FL. As of January 2022 Stephanie and her husband are the new owners of Highlands Wine Shoppe. Stephanie and her husband also own Buck’s Coffee Café in Cashiers.