Acorn Farm
A Special Springtime Dinner Menu
In a few days, it will be official - Spring! With the new season comes many occasions to celebrate -- bridal showers, weddings, graduations, and Easter (it's early this year, March 27th). Take a break from the routine and get together with family and friends for a springtime dinner. In this issue, we've prepared a great menu based on familiar classics, but each with a fresh twist! Invite people over, set the table, and get cooking!
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Classes and Events
We hope that you're enjoying these spring breezes and warm days leading up to the official beginning of spring!

SPRING CLASSES:
We've got a wonderful slate of classes for April and May and apparently everyone is just as excited about them as we are -- some of them have filled already! Below, we've listed  the classes that still have space available.

BRUNCHTIME BRUSCHETTA:
We have tastings and such almost every Saturday afternoon between noon and 3:00pm in the back of the store. This Saturday, we're going to make a homemade breakfast bruschetta that is out of this world! We'll send you home with the recipe and also show you how to whip it up in a flash using our RotoMac chopper and a great little avocado tool. Do come in for a taste! Once you do, it will, no doubt, make an appearance at your next brunch buffet.

PERFECT PIZELLE:
The following Saturday, we'll have pizzelles for your tasting pleasure! They're simple to prepare with the Cuisinart Pizzelle Maker, and are great to serve as the perfect after-dinner treat with just enough sweetness to round out the meal.They'd be beautiful on your Easter table!

CHARITY NEVER TASTED SO GOOD:
Please browse the classes below and give us a call at 248-684-1373 to register. Please pay special attention to the charity event, PAINTS & PIES WITH A PURPOSE. It'll be a lot of fun while providing help for a lot of people. The gals at Acorn Farm will be serving our favorite homemade pies while enjoying a great time together! You may read all about it below.
PAINTS & PIES WITH A PURPOSE
Thursday, March 24 from 7:00pm-8:30pm  $15
What? You've never put those two together? Truth is---we haven't either so we're going to give it a try.  Many of you are familiar with Community Sharing - a wonderful group that provides food, clothing, educational and emergency financial assistance to those in need in our area. Each year they run The Empty Bowl Project, highlighting the importance of making sure no one goes hungry. Here's how it works. Bowl-painting parties are held at homes and businesses for a charge of $15 per person. Your bowl then serves as your ticket to attend the main event - a simple meal of soup and bread donated by local chefs. Acorn Farm is hosting one of the painting parties and since we always think of March as "Pi Month," our staff will provide a variety of pies for your sampling pleasure! A donation of $15 (it all goes to Community Sharing) allows you to paint a bowl, enjoy some pie, and then attend the soup supper on May 15th. If you are unable to attend, you can donate your bowl to Community Sharing who will, in turn, sell it so that someone else can attend the soup night. Sounds like a win-win event to us! No experience necessary and all materials will be provided. We'll have a blast!
SPRINGTIME COOKIES
Wednesday, April 6 from 6:00 - 8:00pm - $30
with Sharon Mancini
Sharon Mancini is a wonderful teacher and she loves to help you make great-looking (and tasting) cookies! This is a very hands-on class and Sharon brings everything you'll need to decorate 4 large springtime cookies. The skills you'll learn will translate easily to other cookies and you'll learn a great new skill! This class is a lot of fun and a great night out with a friend!The spring cookies we'll be decorating are a flower, a dragonfly, a butterfly, and a teapot!
THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL
Thursday, April 14 from 7:00 - 8:30pm - $40
with Steven Grostick
Indian cuisine is aromatic, intense, complex in flavor and just plain delicious. It sometimes employs a whole different set of cooking skills from tempering the spices to grinding your own curry blends. Steven is going to give us a peek into some of these wonderful dishes, starting with a classic and adding a few dishes that he loves. All incorporate a lot of spices typical to Indian cuisine but no heat to be afraid of! And please don't worry, we'll learn how to pronounce them all before class!
- Butter Chicken (Makhani) - A true Indian classic, laden with a mildly-spiced curry, yogurt, green chilies and butter, of course! Marvelously creamy , served over a lightly-seasoned yellow rice.
- Chole Bhature -  a classic curried chickpea dish served with any of a number of Indian breads. We'll be serving naan. So simple but so much flavor! Garnished with cilantro and served with  fresh onion & lemon wedges.
- Baingan Bharta - a fabulous dish of charred eggplant, cauliflower and zucchini, seasoned Indian-style. If caponata married baba gannoush and honeymooned in India, this dish would be the result!
- Kulfi - a deliciously different dessert, an iced milk with pistachios and spices. Reminiscent of the flavor of a frozen chai latte. You'll want seconds!
THE CUTTING EDGE
Saturday, April 16 from 9:30am - 11:00am - $35
with Ed Bartush
The one thing we all use in our kitchens every single day is a knife. With something that we use so much, it would be a shame not to use it as efficiently and expertly as possible. Sometimes it helps to have a little bit of instruction. Ed Bartush is our Wusthof representative, and he's a wonderful teacher, ready to show you the proper way to use your most common knives, how to hold them, care for them, sharpen them, and answer your questions. The class is hands-on, and each person will be slicing, dicing, and chopping right along with Ed. It's a lot of fun so sign up! Your fingertips will thank you.  Each participant will leave with an Epicurean cutting board valued at over $20! Hurray! Class starts at 9:30am sharp. Very punny.
LOOK SHARP!
Saturday, April 16 from 12:00n - 3:00pm - FREE!
with Ed Bartush
Ed will be happily sharpening your knives for free on April 16th. You can bring up to 3 knives, (no serrated please), and he'll get them in tip-top shape for you. The sharpening is free and we will have a donation jar for Community Sharing if you feel so moved!
LADIES NIGHT OUT!
Thursday, April 21
Ladies Night Out is a big favorite in Milford, and it only happens twice each year! This spring we'll be exploring an Earth Day/Green Theme with some wonderful products to go along with that topic.  We'll be serving some of our favorite treats that we carry in the store, and highlighting some of the products that we're proud to carry because they reduce waste or are healthier for you and the planet!  We hope you'll be a part of the fun!
Red Bag RED BAG DAY
Saturday, April 30 - ALL DAY!
April 30th will be our second Red Bag Day of 2016. RED BAGS are given to our Kitchen Cash members after they've filled their first Kitchen Cash Card. Whenever there are five Saturdays in a month, you're invited to come in on the fifth Saturday and bring your RED BAG to get 20% off most things in the store.  If you're already a Kitchen Cash Club Member, we really want you to have a Red Bag, so visit the store and we'll upgrade you. Not a member? Come and sign up! It's completely free!  Fill out a Kitchen Cash Club Card; it stays in the store so you don't have to remember to bring it with you each time. Every time you make a purchase, we record it on your card. Once you've made purchases on six visits, we total the dollar amounts, take 10% of your total, and return it to you as a gift card to use on absolutely anything you want in the store! What's the catch? There isn't one!
A SPRINGTIME SOIREE
Thursday, May 5 -  7:00pm - 8:30pm - $40 - only 2 spots left!
May is such a lovely month. We begin to long for the lighter flavors of spring -  peas, asparagus, fresh fish, etc. We've put together a lovely springtime menu for you that is perfect for treating your family or fabulous to share with friends. Colorful dishes with lively, bright flavors will make for a dinner they'll remember.
- Lemony Springtime Soup - A wonderful soup with fresh spring peas & rice, brightened with lemon and just a hint of mint.  
- Poached Salmon - Poaching is a cooking technique that produces flavorful, moist fish every time. Come learn the secrets that make poaching a go-to method for your fish and fowl.  
- Cucumber Dill Sauce - a great complement to the salmon, flavored with Dijon and fresh chives.
- Warm Glass Noodles with Edamame - the easiest and tastiest side you'll ever love. Goes together in minutes but tastes like you put in some serious effort. Some of us on this continent are just starting to experiment with things like edamame and cellophane noodles but there's no better time to start. We like this dish because it tastes great but it's also good for you! Edamame is full of protein, omega-3's, and all sorts of things your body needs!  
- Madelines  - a delicate and delightful little French cake, crispy on the outside, tender and moist on the inside. Ours will be scented with citrus and served with fresh strawberries and a reduction of white balsamic.
Menu
recipeone RECIPE: Smoked Ham with a Cherry-Dijon Glaze
RECIPE: Smoked Ham with a Cherry-Dijon Glaze
Leftovers
Set the Table
recipetwo RECIPE: Three Cheese Potato Gratin
RECIPE: Three Cheese Potato Gratin
Spring Kite Napkin Fold
Set the TableA Special Springtime Dinner Menu
Spring Dinner Essentials
recipethreeRECIPE: Truffled Peas and Pancetta
RECIPE: Truffled Peas and Pancetta
recipefourRECIPE: Baby Carrots with an Orange-Thyme Glaze
A Special Springtime Dinner Menu
recipefive A Lovely Lemon Mousse
A Lovely Lemon Mousse
recipesixSparkling Pomegranate Punch
Punch
Flowers

 

Happy Cooking!

Kathy Magaluk and all of us at Acorn Farm