Georgeanne Brennan

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Provence in California- Culinary Weekends at my Small Farm in Northern California

Since I’ve decided to suspend my cooking classes in Provence due the weak dollar against the euro and instead to share my “Provence in California” world by having culinary weekends at my small farm in Northern California. I have a huge seasonal potager garden, more than 100 fruit trees and grape vines, and a field with more than 1,000 tomato plants, all for us to cook from. My husband makes wine and grappa for us to sample, and my neighbors are organic market growers, walnut and almond farmers and one of the first farmers’ markets in California is only 15 minutes away in Davis. It sounds like Provence, doesn’t it?

My farm kitchen, where we will be cooking is light and airy, surrounded by Meyer lemon trees, and with a big kitchen fireplace, where we’ll also cook in late fall and winter, just like I do in my house in Provence. In summer and early fall, we’ll cook on Sundays in my outdoor wood-fired oven, making flatbreads, roasting meats, vegetables, and fruits.

On Saturday we’ll start the weekend by shopping at the nearby farmer’s market in Davis, one of the first in California, where we will meet at 9 am. When we’re done, we’ll come to my home where we will gather herbs, vegetables, and fruits from my garden and orchards. We’ll have a hands-on cooking class in my farm-style kitchen on Saturday, followed by a French-style aperitif together under the deep shade of my 100-year old black walnut tree, and then a long leisurely lunch. On Sunday, we’ll gather again from the garden and orchards, and have a hands-on cooking class that includes using my outdoor wood-fired-oven or big kitchen fireplace, followed by an aperitif and Sunday lunch, just as if we were in Provence.

Sample Class:

All classes and menus determined by what is in season locally.

Day 1

Class

Lunch

Aperitif
Rose Wine, Pastis, or Vin de Citron
Local Almonds and Olives
Grilled Toasts with Anchoiade
Aioli with Garden Vegetables

First course
Heirloom Tomato, Basil and Garlic Salad

Main course
Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Figs, Zinfandel Jus
Mashed Potatoes with Garlic
Tomatoes Provencal

Cheese course
Platter of Local Cheeses

Dessert
Tiramisu
Lunch served with local wines
Coffee

Day 2

Class

Lunch

Aperitif
Rose wine, Pastis, or Vin de Citron
Pork Rillettes
Bacon-Wrapped Figs
Olives

First Course
Flatbreads with Various Toppings
Zucchini Ribbon Salad

Main Course
Mediterranean Chicken
Spiced Cous Cous

Cheese Course

Dessert
Fruit Flatbread with Crème Fraiche
Lunch served with Local Wines
Coffee

Schedule of Classes for 2008

Saturday Classes are 9-3:30 and begin at 9 am when we meet at the Davis Farmers’ Market in Central Park, followed by cooking and lunch at my house.

Sunday Classes are 10-3:00 and begin at 10 am at my house.

Cost : $325.00 for the weekend program, payable at the time of registration. No single classes are offered.  August-October classes limited to 8 participants, December classes limited to 6 participants.

What is included

Guided visit to the Saturday Davis Farmers Market on Saturday with shopping list provided by Georgeanne, access to the gardens and orchards of her property, two 2 1/2 to 3 hour hands-on cooking instruction, two lunches, all wine, copies of all recipes, and to take home, fresh herbs, whatever is in season in my gardens, and a bottle of house-made vinegar.

Not included: accommodations, breakfast and dinner, and transportation. However, I can provide you with suggested accommodations in Davis and Winters, as well as restaurants and evening entertainment possibilities.

Registration

How to register: Please send me an email or call me with your name, address, telephone and email address to request registration and availability. Once I can confirm availability, please send a check payable to Georgeanne Brennan to secure your registration.

Send checks to:

PO Box 502
Winters, CA 95694

When your payment is received you will be registered and sent a receipt, driving and meeting instructions for the Davis Farmers Market, and driving instructions to my home, as well as a list of suggested accommodations, restaurants, and evening entertainment.

Optional Weekday programs: These may possibly be available by prior arrangement for groups of 8 August –October, or 6 in December. The cost is $175.00 per person, and includes a 2 1/2 to 3 hour hands-on cooking class, access to my the gardens and orchards, lunch, wine, all recipes, and to take home, fresh herbs, whatever is in season in my gardens, and a bottle of house-made vinegar. Contact me by email or by telephone with your request.

Cancellations and Refunds
If a request for cancellation is made more than 15 days prior to arrival, $250.00 of the payment will be refunded or the full $325.00 can be applied to a future session if desired. There will be no refund for cancellations 15 days or less prior to arrival unless your place can be filled with another participant. In that event, your total fee will be refunded.
In the event that Georgeanne Brennan must cancel a program for any reason, all fees will be returned in full. No reimbursements can be made for any travel expenses.

Travel Insurance
Travel insurance: We recommend that you purchase separate insurance in case you have to cancel your trip, as well as accident, health and baggage and personal effects loss or damage.

Responsibilities
We assume no liability for injury, delay, inconvenience, irregularity, loss or damage to person or property or additional cost resulting directly or indirectly from the following causes: fire, acts of government, thefts, delays, cancellations over which we have no control. Further, Georgeanne Brennan and her employees act only as agents and assume no liability for injury, damage, loss, or accident in any vehicle or through default of any company or persons engaged in carrying out the arrangements of the program. No refunds will be given for any activities, meals, or excursions that the participant misses or decides not to take.

For more information contact:
Georgeanne Brennan P.O. Box 502, Winters, CA 95694
Tel: 530-795-3043
E-mail: gbrennan@yolo.com

www.georgeannebrennan.com

Culinary Vacations in Haute Provence

Over the past few years, I've shared the experience of life in Haute Provence, its daily rituals, its food, and its slow pace through one-week long cooking school programs.

Haute Provence is located in the interior, the back country of Provence, where life is still paced by the rhythms of the seasons. I first bought a house here in 1970, when I was 27 years old. It had minimal electricity, but no running water, so we hauled our water from the well for our household needs and for our herd of goats. I learned to make artisanal goat cheese which I sold it in the local markets. My daughter, Ethel, who was three years old then, often accompanied me.

I learned to cook from the garden and from the market and to gather each season's bounty - wild greens and mushrooms in fall, truffles in winter, wild leeks, asparagus and dandelion in spring, and wild lavender and fennel in summer. Throughout the year, I discovered I could find wild rosemary, thyme, and savory. In spring I anticipated lamb and kid, and in fall and winter, wild boar and other game. Summer was devoted to tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, beans, and melons which were used to prepare such dishes as ratatouille and soupe au pistou. My neighbors shared their favorite recipes with me, like leek and salt cod gratin, Paté de campagne, pissaladière, and fig clafouti, and over the years we have cooked and eaten many meals side by side, often preceded by pastis and accompanied with vin du pays. Life still continues there with a respect for time, leisure, and one's relationship to the land.

During one-week long programs, held at Le Jardin du Couvent, a restored 17th century convent in the medieval village of Aups. In our common areas we have a huge walled garden to eat or to relax in, a glassed-in sitting room, several fireplaces, a large farm-style kitchen and dining area with a fireplace, and a long, vaulted living room, once the refectory, whose glass doors open onto the garden. The comfortable living quarters are on the second and third floors, and can accommodate up to seven people.

During the week we'll shop at the local open-air market, buy our bread from the boulangerie down the street, order fish from the fishmonger and meats from the local butcher. We'll visit my friends in the region who are artisan cheesemakers, olive millers, honey gatherers, wine-makers, and in season, we'll go to the forests and fields to gather wild herbs, mushrooms, truffles, and greens.

I've designed the weekly programs to let my guests sample and prepare the best of the regional, seasonal ingredients, and to experience the leisurely pace of daily life in Haute Provence. We'll still have ample time to visit antique fairs, faience-makers, and medieval abbeys. Most of our meals we'll prepare at home in a hands-on classroom setting in the big farm-style kitchen.

Culinary Classes in Haute Provence suspended until further notice.

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