Tasting Week Teaser….more to come next week!

We are still busy hosting Tasting Week in schools throughout Nevada County! Next week I will share the full experience with photos, recipes and bios of our all of incredible chefs, but this week I am going to give you a glimpse of what Tasting Week is all about! Special thanks goes to our LHNC’s Rachelle Zorne for organizing this phenomenal event!

 Monday, October 29th

Chef Ike Frazee
Winter Squash
Apple/Pear Sauce
Marcia Darden’s 2nd/3rd grade class at Deer Creek Elementary

Chef Ike Frazee grew up in Nevada County. He attended Seven Hills school
and graduated from Nevada Union in 1989. He worked around town at local
restaurants all through his junior and high school years. After graduating
high school Ike moved to San Francisco to attend the California Culinary
Academy. Since then he has traveled and worked in the food industry quite
extensively. In 2001 Ike and his wife Adrienne opened Ike’s Quarter Cafe in
Nevada City. Their restaurant focuses on serving organic, made-from-scratch,
delicious food utilizing all of our county’s bounty of farms and ranches. He
will be presenting many ways of cooking the winter squash that even the kids
will enjoy. There will also be some other fall harvest flavor surprises!

Spiced Winter Squash for Pie or Muffins

Your favorite winter squash. Butternut, delicata, pumpkin, blue hubbard cut in half and
seeded.  Place on a sheet pan with baking paper and oil, sliced side down. Bake at
390 degrees until golden on the bottom. Approximately one hour. Flip over and lightly
sprinkle with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and brown sugar if you like. Bake for at least
another half hour or until dark golden but not burnt. Now you may eat as is or with a little
butter, or scoop out the insides with a large spoon and use in any recipe i.e., pumpkin
pie, muffins, etc. Enjoy!!
Happy holidays and harvest time.

Photos by Aimee Retzler

Tuesday, October 30th
Chef Ian Ballantyne with Farmer Amanda and Farmer Kate
Winter Squash grilling and tasting
Sherry Chargin’s 1st grade class at Deer Creek Elementary

Chef Ian Ballantyne

Ian graduated from the New England Culinary Institute in 2006.  He spent 3 years working in various restaurants across Boston including Rendezvous, Chez Henri, Grottoa and the Marliave.  For the last 3 years he has been working as a Chef for New England’s largest off-premise caterer.  In that time he has done lunch and dinner parties for several U.S. Senators, former British prime minister Gordon Brown and most notably, current United States president, Barack Obama.
photos by Rachelle Zorne