Need ideas to start the new year off on the right foot? Thinking about doing a little more traveling in the new year? Want to check out local cheese? Thinking your system just might need a little more good bacteria? Hoping for better skills in the kitchen? Or want to make some new friends who love barbecue as much as you do? We’ve got you covered.
Credit: C. W. Cameron
Credit: C. W. Cameron
Start Your 2017 Travels with a Trip to Basque Country (in Atlanta)
Cooks & Soldiers is celebrating La Tamborrada, a festival held each year in San Sebastian, Spain. The people of the town dress as cooks and soldiers and march in drumming groups across the city. It's quite a noisy 24-hour celebration. For Atlanta, Cooks & Soldiers is toning things down just a bit. Guests will enjoy dishes from the Basque region including pintxos, grilled meats, seafood and a churro and brandy toast finale. There's a beverage option as well. The staff of Cooks & Soldiers will be dressed in costume and the chefs will process through the dining room while the San Sebastian, Spain event is live streamed in the room. 6 – 11 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19. $45 for dinner and brandy toast. Additional $25 for tasting glass and unlimited txakoli, beer, cider, red and white wine. Cooks & Soldiers, 691 14th St. NW, Atlanta. 404-996-2623. Reserve your spot.
Credit: C. W. Cameron
Credit: C. W. Cameron
Enjoy a New Year of Cheese
In their 3,000 square foot Sandy Springs creamery, the cheesemakers of CalyRoad Creamery produce cheeses made with local milk that's pasteurized and processed on site. Come tour the creamery this evening and meet the cheesemakers, sniff the air in the three new aging rooms, check out the mozzarella stretching machine and enjoy a pairing of their best cheeses with boutique wines. Limited to 12 participants. 7 – 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21. $75. CalyRoad Creamery, 227 Hilderbrand Drive, Sandy Springs. 678-773-1629. Register.
Credit: C. W. Cameron
Credit: C. W. Cameron
What’s Up with Mole?
Chef Chad Clevenger of Alma Cocina is teaching "Holy Mole!" as part of 2017's Simple Abundance cooking series benefiting the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Clevenger will cook up a range of mole recipes and demonstrate White Bean & Mushroom Sope with ramp top Mole Verde, Georgia Shrimp with verdolaga, apple and Mole Amarillo and Roasted Chicken with mashed plantains and Mole Negro. The evening includes wine tastings and a chance to win door prizes. 7 – 9 p.m. Monday, Jan. 23. $55. Cook's Warehouse – Midtown, 1544 Piedmont Road, Atlanta. Register.
Credit: C. W. Cameron
Credit: C. W. Cameron
Start the New Year with Good Bacteria
Yes, fermented foods are all the rage and naturopathic doctor Lupa Irie is teaching a class on lacto-fermentation for Bellina Allimentari at Ponce City Market. Come to class and learn to make mustard, ketchup, relish, salsa, seed dips and crackers, simple krauts, beet kvass drink and herbal whey soda. Whew! You'll sample them all and take home the recipes. You can also take home a kombucha mushroom. Kefir grains will be sold for $7. 6:30-8:00 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24. $28. Bellina Allimentari, 675 Ponce de Leon Ave., Atlanta. 404-330-9933. Register.
Credit: C. W. Cameron
Credit: C. W. Cameron
A Series of Cooking Classes on the Basics of Poultry, Fish, Sauces, Stocks and Desserts
Chef Linda Harrell of Cibo e Beve wants to help with your resolution to cook more in the new year. She's offering a four-part monthly series beginning in January. You can register for one class or save money by registering early for the whole series. for January, you'll go into the kitchen at Cibo e Beve and learn how to butcher, brine, spatchcock and truss a whole chicken, then prepare three classic chicken dishes: chicken caprese, lemon roasted chicken and balsamic truffle chicken thighs. Your class fee includes two glasses of house wine or beer, and you'll sample what you've prepared. 1 – 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28. $55 per class, $200 if you sign up for the four-part series. Cibo e Beve, 4969 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs. 404-250-8988. Register.
Credit: C. W. Cameron
Credit: C. W. Cameron
What’s Your Favorite Atlanta-area Barbecue Joint?
How can you answer that question if you haven't visited every barbecue place in the metro area? Join your new friends from the Atlanta Bar-B-Q Club for their January "meating." They pick a different restaurant each month and for January, it's Bullpen Ribhouse in southwest Atlanta. You'll get a tour of the smokehouse, enjoy a barbecue plate with sides and a drink and have a chance at some barbecue-themed door prizes. Dues for club membership are $25 but anyone can come to the dinner. The club also hosts the Atlanta BBQ Festival each summer. Participants pay for their meal. 2 – 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan.29. Bullpen Rib House, 735 Pollard Blvd., Atlanta. Information on the Atlanta Bar-B-Q Club.
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