Celebrating and learning with food this holiday week

Warwick Valley High School students in Corrine Lane’s Taste of Culinary Arts class teamed up and squared off in the Mac n’ Cheese Challenge. As one student chef put it, “macaroni and cheese is one of those foods that’s like French fries or pizza, it’s just never not good.” Four teams created unique mac and cheese dishes and served them up to a panel of judges to see whose would be chosen as the best version of the all-time favorite dish!

In the culinary class, students are introduced to the basic principles of cooking, baking and kitchen operations, with an emphasis on practical experiences like following recipes, making measurements, knife work, food/equipment safety, and more. By the time they complete the class, students have the skills to handle a broad range of basic cooking/baking skills, applicable at home and in multiple career paths.

With just 40 minutes to prepare their dishes before judging, the four teams measured, combined, stirred and baked with immediacy and accuracy. The students applied what they’ve learned to properly prepare their pastas and select complementary spices. They were deliberate in their choices about how to make their dishes stand out, adding ingredients like breadcrumbs or bacon for a unique touch.

WVHS senior Finley Moller’s team made a mac and cheese topped with bacon bits.

“And the cheese is mostly cheddar cheese in our recipe,” she said. “We chose our recipe because it had good [user] ratings but was also something that’s quick to make.”

The four dishes included two traditional mac and cheese dishes, a baked mac and cheese, and a Buffalo mac and cheese. And the winner was… baked mac and cheese! The breadcrumb-topped dish was the judges’ favorite.

Here is a gallery of photos from the Mac n’ Cheese Challenge…

Meanwhile, at Sanfordville…

The Sanfordville Elementary School PIE program held its 3rd Annual Farm-to-Table Feast this week. In the spirit of PIE, the feast is a collaborative effort between students, their parents and teachers, and relies on support from the greater Warwick Valley community. As the Warwick PIE Community put it, “This event is a wonderful reminder of the value of community, teamwork, and enjoying the fruits of our labor—literally.”

One thing that makes this celebration so unique is that all the dishes on the menu included ingredients grown in the Sanfordville garden! And that menu included pasta with fresh tomato sauce, vegetable soup, applesauce, mint iced tea, zucchini bread, and pumpkin bread.

After taking a moment to reflect and give thanks, everyone enjoyed the meal they’d helped prepare. The students were excited to be eating and sharing things that they had grown themselves.

“This is all possible because of [the students],” said Debbie Lustberg, a PIE feast organizer. “Everything is farm-to-table, and that’s why I had the students reflect on everything at the beginning, before they began to eat; so, that they can recognize their efforts and how this all reached their plates.”

On behalf of the PIE community, thank you to Ms. Lustberg, Sara Lustberg and Caitie Collis for coordinating this event with the wonderful SES teachers and parent volunteers who helped before and during the event.

Here is a gallery of photos from the fabulous PIE feast…