EG New Neighbors to Get Cookin'

From the East Greenwich/Cowesett New Neighbors Club:

The East Greenwich Cowesett New Neighbors Club has the cure for the winter blues. Join us to make friends and learn something new! On Wednesday, March 2nd, Erin Penhall will join us to demonstrate how to cook her original family recipe, Penhall’s One-Pan Fennel Chicken & Sausage.

Erin began cooking as a hobby when she was 20 years old, inspired by her father-in-law’s talent and love for preparing meals at home. Over the years she taught herself to cook a multitude of dishes and realized she had a knack. A few years ago Erin’s husband gave her the most thoughtful birthday gift of her life and enrolled her in culinary school at Johnson and Wales. She has relished this experience, her most exciting class so far being Advanced Pastry, in which she learned complex chocolate and sugar arts. Her next class, Classic French, is what Erin describes as the basis for modern cuisine and “where food got its start”. She explained that as a busy mom she appreciates that she can attend J & W on Sundays from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. “It is a lot of hard work, but a great way to get the experience all chefs need for working long hours.” She will earn her Bachelors in one year.

This talented chef in the making has aspirations of someday opening her own “farm to table” restaurant in Rhode Island. She believes that using the freshest locally-sourced ingredients is the key to delicious food. Her dream eatery would have a rustic style and source all the best foods that our state has to offer, from fresh-caught seafood to farmer’s market produce. Erin explains that the most flavorful foods are similar to the ones the Pilgrims ate, dishes pared down to their simplest form. “The tomato you buy in the supermarket may look red and juicy, but it is no comparison to the kind you would find generations ago. I would rather have a misshapen, cosmetically imperfect tomato from the farmer’s market. You should be able to eat a tomato right out of your hand, like a piece of fruit.”

Erin’s cooking demonstration will happen at the club’s upcoming Monthly Meeting on March 2nd, at 7:00 PM. Samples of the finished product will be offered. The meeting will take place at the United Methodist Church at 1558 South County Trail in East Greenwich. The Club offers friendship and fun to both new and long-time women of the area. EGCNN has a wide variety of activity groups including Theater Outings, Chick Flicks, Walking, Running, Tennis, Book Clubs, Lunch Bunch, Taste of Rhode Island (Dinner Club), and more. There is a $35 annual membership fee (reduced to $17.50 for those who join now), but newcomers may attend two monthly meetings before deciding to join. More information about the club can be found online at http://egcnn.org/