Focus is on Rocky Mountain Foodways Dec. 2 at Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum

Foodways! One of our favorite topics here at the Arts Council. Found this on Tammy Christel's excellent Jackson Hole Art Blog:

The Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum opens “Key Ingredients: Jackson Hole Flavors,” on Sunday, December 2, from 1-5 p.m. Emphasis is on “local.” The exhibit explores Jackson Hole food culture and is associated with Key Ingredients: America by Food, a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition. Artifacts from the museum collection, including select recipes that have been interpreted, give museum visitors a sense of Jackson’s the evolving food culture.

At 2 p.m. Andrea Graham, Folklife Specialist, delivers a program entitled Foodways in the Intermountain West, says the museum. During the program attendees will learn about the importance of our food traditions. Graham studied food culture in the American Studies Program at the University of Wyoming, where she conducts fieldwork statewide and produces public programs.

Beverages and favorite cookies from Jackson Hole cooks will be served during Sunday’s afternoon opening celebration. Free! www.jacksonholehistory.org/

"Sinful Delights" (and humanities) on the menu next week at Casper College

Yum!

From a Casper College press release:

In honor of the upcoming 27th Annual Humanities Festival, the focus for the next Casper College Ethnic Dinner will be on “sinful” foods. The “Sinful Delights” dinner will be held on Thursday, Feb. 23 from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

Selections for the dinner include fire-roasted red pepper soup with sour cream, cilantro, and Mexican chocolate shavings; fresh greens with passion fruit vinaigrette; homemade jalapeno cheese bread with red onion; sautéed beef tournedos on grilled sun dried tomato polenta with cabernet sauvignon demi-glace, roasted roma tomatoes, and fresh asparagus; vegetarian entree option; and shrimp de jonghe in savory pastry cup. Desert will feature four chocolate-themed treats: rich chocolate mousse with pepper flakes, blackberry-cocoa sabayon torte, Devil's tongue chocolate-dipped cookies, and tri-color chocolate-dipped strawberries rolled in toasted pistachios.

Advance tickets for the Sinful Delights dinner will be sold through Friday, Feb. 20 at a cost of $9.50 each. Tickets will also be available at the door for $11 for adults, $7 for ages 7 through 12, and free for children 6 and under. Tax will be added to all ticket purchases. Because dinners often sell out, advanced ticket purchases are highly recommended.

Tickets may be purchased at the Casper College Business Office or the Gateway Café, both located on the third floor of the Gateway Building. Other locations include the Roberts Commons Cafeteria, and the cafés in Liesinger Hall and the Wold Physical Science Center. Cash is accepted at all locations and credit cards are accepted at the cafeteria and cafés.

Christmas chocolates in hand-painted box

Culinary artists meet creative placemakers at Wyoming Winter Farmers' Markets

The creativity is in these creatives' custom pies

Jackson Farmers' Market - Creative Bakeries from Indie Media: The New Journalism on Vimeo.

WAC staffer Randy Oestman and videographer Alan O'Hashi have been traveling the state gathering footage for a film about Wyoming's Creative Vitality Index (CVI). Most of you won't be surprised to learn that Jackson, Wyo., has one of the highest CVI rates in the region. And who can quibble with that once you see pies like these? This was filmed at Jackson's Saturday Market.

Dine on traditional foods of the Jewish culture at Casper College Humanities Festival

From Casper College:

Traditional foods of the Jewish culture will be served at the next Casper College Ethnic Dinner on Thursday, Feb. 24, in conjunction with the 26th Annual Casper College Humanities Festival February 23-25.

Dishes to be served at the dinner include three entrees: Ashkenazi beef brisket, citrus-baked fish with rhubarb, and potato pierogies with caramelized onions, which is vegetarian. The side dishes include noodle kugel, carrot and sweet potato tzimmes, matzo ball soup, and Sephardic salad with nuts and dried fruits. For dessert, mini rugalah is tentatively planned.

Advance tickets for the Traditional Jewish Dishes ethnic dinner will be sold through Friday, Feb. 18 at a cost of $8.50 each. Tickets will also be available at the door for $11 for adults, $7 for ages 6 through 12, and free for children 5 and under. Tax will be added to all ticket purchases. Because dinners often sell out, advanced ticket purchases are highly recommended.

Tickets may be purchased at the Accounting and Financial Management Office, located in the Liesinger Administration Building, Room 103; the Roberts Commons Cafeteria; and the coffee bars in the Liesinger Administration Building and the Wold Physical Science Center. Cash is accepted at all locations and credit cards are accepted at the cafeteria and coffee bars.

The final dinner in this year's series will be Hungarian with a special presentation by the Casper College forensics team on April 14.

The ethnic dinner series is sponsored by the Casper College Diversity Committee, and is presented by Sodexo Campus Dining under Justin Dreslinski with the menu composed by Chef Josh Kronberg.

Combining the artistry of food and music at Casper College

From a Casper College press release:

Mardi Gras-inspired dishes will be served at the next Casper College Ethnic Dinner on Thursday, Jan. 27, in the Roberts Commons Cafeteria from 5-6:30 p.m.

The Mardi Gras celebration will feature chicken and andouille jambalaya, crawfish court bouillon, okra etouffee, gazebo garden gumbo, confetti chopped salad, red beans and rice, ratatouille, and bananas foster for dessert.

The dinner will feature live music to promote the upcoming Kinser Jazz Festival Feb. 8 and 9 at Casper College.

Advance tickets for the Mardi Gras ethnic dinner will be sold through Friday, Jan. 21 at a cost of $8.50 each. Tickets will also be available at the door for $11 for adults, $7 for ages 6 through 12, and free for children five and under. Tax will be added to all ticket purchases. Because dinners often sell out, advanced ticket purchases are highly recommended.

Tickets may be purchased at the Accounting and Financial Management Office, located in the Leisinger Administration Building, Room 103; the Roberts Commons Cafeteria; and the coffee bars in the Leisinger Administration Building and the Wold Physical Science Center. Cash is accepted at all locations and credit cards are accepted at the cafeteria and coffee bars.

The final two dinners in this year's series will be traditional Jewish dishes featured in conjunction with the Casper College Humanities Festival on February 24, and Hungarian with a special presentation by the Casper College Forensics team on April 14.

The ethnic dinner series is sponsored by the Casper College Diversity Committee, and is presented by Sodexo Campus Dining under Justin Dreslinski with the menu composed by Chef Josh Kronberg.

Call for blog posts: Creative Nonfiction food issue

From Creative Nonfiction magazine:

Creative Nonfiction is seeking narrative blog posts to reprint in our upcoming food issue.

We’re looking for: interesting, true stories that focus on food, including restaurant reviews; tales of meals gone awry; secrets, tips and kitchen short cuts; confessions from cooks, chefs and/or servers; an examination of the kitchen life; and so on. Narrative, narrative, narrative. Posts that can stand alone, 2000 words max, from 2010. Something from your own blog, from a friend’s blog, from a stranger’s blog.

The small print: We will contact individual bloggers before publication and pay a flat fee for one-time reprint rights. Deadline for nominations: 11:59 PM EST, Monday, November 29, 2010. Nominate as many posts as you like, though we ask that you not nominate the same post multiple times.

FMI: http://www.creativenonfiction.org/blog_nomination.html

Hot peppers & tunes enliven Chili Cook-off

From the Cheyenne Depot Museum:

Union Wireless Peppers on the Plaza, Cheyenne’s Chili Cook-Off will be held at the Cheyenne Depot on Saturday, June 13th and Sunday, June 14th.

This will be the International Chili Society’s (ICS) Wyoming State Championship and the Chili Appreciate Society International’s (CASI) Cook-Off. The Cheyenne Chili Cook-Off will have 20 cooking teams on Saturday and more than 35 cooking teams on Sunday. This will be one of Wyoming’s largest chili cook-offs ever held.

This event is being hosted by United Way of Laramie County, Cheyenne Depot Museum Foundation and the Cheyenne Depot Museum. Union Wireless is the sponsor. The City of Cheyenne, the Cheyenne Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Historic Plains Hotel are also supporting this event.

This family event will include free children’s activities and musical entertainment. Children’s activities will be available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The free entertainment will be on the Cheyenne Depot Plaza on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

On Saturday, Pride of Five will be performing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m; Seven Sundays will be performing from 1-3 p.m; Warwick Jones will be performing from 3:30-5:30 p.m. and our Saturday headliner -- Delta Sonics -- from 6-8 p.m.

On Sunday, Avenue will be on stage from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m; followed by Allison Draw from 1-3 p.m. The event will conclude with Country Club from 3-5 p.m.

FMI: Cheyenne Depot Museum at 307-632-3905 or Pam@cheyennedepotmuseum.org.

Sinclair's "Taste of Wyoming" due out in March

Truck-stop cuisine it ain’t. Worland’s Pamela Sinclair has written a book, “A Taste of Wyoming: Favorite Recipes from the Cowboy State,” described on amazon.com as “a divine blend of Wyoming's rich culinary heritage and contemporary cuisine.”

You have to leave the interstate to find the food so lovingly described by Pamela in her book. Photographs are by Paulette Philpot, winner of a national award from the Professional Photographers of Canada. An extra bonus: the foreword is by one of the state’s foremost fiction writers, Alyson Hagy of Laramie.

Pamela has a master’s of arts degree in communications, and she is an adjunct faculty member at Northwest College. Her hobbies include cooking, gardening, hiking, and reading. She resides in Worland with her husband and four dogs.

Here’s more about the book from amazon.com:

This exquisite cookbook features sophisticated interpretations of Western dishes from Wyoming's finest restaurants, lodges, and bed-and-breakfasts as well as classic Cowboy State favorites. Belly up to the table for mouthwatering Western cuisine: Blue Ribbon Caramel Cinnamon Rolls, Pine Nut Crusted Goat Cheese, Warm Green Bean Salad, New West Clam Chowder, Lamb Ossobucco, Brandied Apricot Stuffed Pork Loin with Port Wine Glaze, Pan-Fried Rocky Mountain Trout with Hazelnut Butter, Sour Cream Cherry Pie, and Wild Huckleberry Muffins with Orange Glace. Complementing the delectable recipes and gorgeous photographs are excerpts from the works of Wyoming writers and delightful historical images. Author Pamela Sinclair as struck a culinary cord with Wyomingites, according to author Alyson Hagy, who writes in the foreword, "Sinclair has discovered a knotty little Western secret. She has toured our kitchens and our stubborn gardens and our memories. She has listened to the way our stomachs growl before we head off on a brisk hike or after we’ve spent a twilight hour shoveling snow. She knows our hearts are half-hitched to our dinner plates."

Farcountry Press plans a March release of “A Taste of Wyoming.” Find out more at http://www.amazon.com/Taste-Wyoming-Favorite-Recipes-Cowboy/dp/1560374586/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201287118&sr=1-1