When you're cooking up a culinary storm this holiday season, spare a thought for the unsung heroes of the kitchen. For all the dishes you'll be creating this Christmas, it's the big names—the roast turkey, the ham, the cranberry sauce, the apple pie—that get all the press. But the real taste hero of the season…is the seasoning!
We've been adding seasoning to enhance, pep up, and improve our food flavors for thousands of years. As we explored the globe, we discovered and coveted more and more of these exotic flavors, traded them like gold and diamonds, priced them accordingly, made fortunes from them, and waged war over them. The countries possessing them enjoyed great economic success and wealth overseas, and those who could afford to buy them won great social status at home.
Today, their possession is a little less rewarding, but spice is still a booming industry worth up to an estimated $14bn globally. Which means we ordinary mortals have plenty of options to create a masterpiece of flavors in the kitchen.
We can all sprinkle a little something on our food to help it along, but the real art is finding that perfect balance; the mixtures and combinations of seasoning to best bring out the food's taste. Too little, and you don't notice; too much, and it's overpowering. And when to add is just as important as what you add.
Some people take the “classical music” approach to finding this balance; everything is written down, measured, and counted precisely, so there's no chance of a mistake. Others take a more “jazz” approach; a sprinkle here and pinch there to see how it turns out. But whatever your strategy, here are three essential tips for good seasonal seasoning.
One, typically cold food needs a little more seasoning than hot; a few extra pinches of something over a salad can really bring it to life. Two, sprinkle your seasoning from high up; tv chefs don't just do it to look cool. Sprinkling spice distributes it more evenly across the food. And three, gently roast your seasoning first to enhance the flavors perfectly, but be careful as it's easily burnt.
So, when you're enjoying the culinary arts over the holidays, remember those underused and unsung heroes at the back of the kitchen cupboard. Use them creatively and they will reward you, turning your family meals into flavor-filled dining experiences.
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Thursday, December 10 from 6:30-8:30pm
Figure Painting & Drawing
With Sarah Holl
In this class, students can practice their drawing or painting skills while working from a live model. Students will be encouraged to find their own voices and explore various mediums. Students will receive individual instruction as well as group critiques. Open to all levels of experience.
Socially Distanced - Mask Required
$25 per person
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Friday, December 11 from 5-7pm
Happy Hour Painting
With Odin Smith
Friday Night Wine Down turned into HAPPY HOUR!! Grab a glass of your favorite beverage or a cup of coffee, and get ready to paint along with Odin. Simply follow along as she guides you step by step through a painting, all while you relax and engage in the creation of a work of art made by you. At the end of the class, you will have created your very own masterpiece!
$30 Members, $35 Non-Members
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Bring on the holiday decor!
We are so lucky and thankful for all of our dedicated volunteers who make the Cultural Center feel like home.
From volunteering at events to stuffing envelopes, knitting up a fundraiser, and decking our halls with holiday cheer. Let's hear for our volunteers!
Cheers!
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Saturday, December 19
10am-12:30pm
Heirlooms and Blooms
With Molly Demeulenaere
If 2020 has shown us anything, it is that family and friends are more important than ever. Pick a favorite heirloom—maybe your great aunt's teapot, grandfather's French horn, or your grandmother's menorah—and join us for an evening of friendship, libations, and bespoke tablescapes featuring those closest to you.
This socially-distanced class includes all materials and a festive glass of prosecco with homemade lavender and lemon syrup.
Members $105, Non-members $125
Socially Distanced - Mask Required
Limited to 5 people.
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ARTISAN GALLERY
The Cultural Center has a wonderful gift shop that highlights the work of Cape and Islands artisans and artists: jewelry, small paintings, tiles, books, pottery, Nantucket Lightship baskets, glass work, clothing, and more. Quality is exceptional, but the prices are reasonable.
Give us a call for a personal shopping experience from the comfort of your own home!
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TURN, TURN TURN - Open Now
Come enjoy “Turn, Turn, Turn," by the Cape Cod Wood Turners. This incredible exhibition features the combination of art, craft, and science that shows through in each piece of work. The marriage of technique and imagination, different materials, and a vast array of results, tiny delicate goblets to bowls reminiscent of canyons in earth tones and fascinating textures.
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Format changed to Gourmet Take Out
Friday, December 11
A Christmas Carol Dinner
With Chef Joe Cizynski
Curbside pick up between 4:30-5:30pm
“Heaped up on the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, great joints of meat, sucking-pigs, long wreaths of sausages, mince-pies, plum-puddings, barrels of oysters, luscious pears, immense twelfth-cakes, and seething bowls of punch ...” So wrote Charles Dickens in A Christmas Carol, inspiring generations of readers …
Menu:
- Oyster stew with root vegetables
- Smoked goose and lentil salad
- Roast suckling pig with cranberries and oranges Pear, blackberry, and white chocolate cobbler
$50 Members, $55 Non-Members
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Friday, December 31
Gourmet Take Out
With Chef Joseph Cizynski
Curbside pick up between 3-4pm
It's New Year's Eve!!
Menu:
- Smoked and pickled fish from Poland
- France Reveillon de Saint-Sylvester (blinis with foie gras)
- Italy Cotechino e lenticche. (garlic sausage with lentil stew)
- For the next day- a Hoppin’ John (black eyed pea stew) that will fix your New Year’s Day hangover
$35 Members, $40 Non-Members
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Every Friday from 8:30-9:30am
Yoga for Wise Warriors!
With Lees Yunits
Beginners will be taught basics; more experienced will deepen their knowledge, and all will learn varied ways to enhance their knowing. Lees’s background includes many assorted styles of yoga, including hatha, viniyoga, yin and kundalini. Just as important are the invaluable techniques of breath work. Always there will be some form of meditation, as well, whether simple stillness, or transcendental, counting, mantra singing, or guided. The whole of a yoga session depends on joining body work, breath work, and meditation. Not to mention some humor here and there! Whether fast, or slow, all of Lees’s yoga classes intend to move you forward on your Journey to Joy.
$15 Drop-In, $75.00 - 6 weeks
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See Yourself and Your Friends at YOUR Cultural Center next year!
20% OFF Gift Memberships with
code GIFT20 now through Dec. 10!
Your gift of a Cultural Center membership will provide your friend or loved one with fantastic benefits for 12 months and will give you the satisfaction of supporting arts in our community. The continuing impact of COVID-19 has had a significant impact on our financial stability, and your membership gift will help us remain a vibrant center for the arts in our community.
Find the membership level that is right for your recipient and include your recipients information during checkout.. Now through December 10, 2020, enjoy 20% off gift membership purchases. This offer can only be used on gift memberships at the Individual through Patron levels and cannot be combined with any other discounts offers or discounted membership levels. Use code GIFT20 at checkout!
All gift memberships will be mailed directly to the recipient by December 18.
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Socially Distanced - Mask Required |
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Holiday Open House and Holiday Shopping on Saturday, December 12, from 2-5 pm.
The ART of Social Distancing - where we keep our distance while staying inspired. We welcome you to join us for a holiday open house where you will enjoy the holiday spirit, a demonstration and work by the Cape Cod Wood Turners, and the artwork of artists Bill Davis, Lydia Mozzone and Raymond Perry.
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CALL FOR ENTRIES
Open Theme deadline this Friday, December 11!
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South Yarmouth Library Association Invites You to the 12 Days of Christmas Stroll, this Saturday, December 12 from 2-5pm
(rain or shine)
All outdoors – enjoy beautifully decorated front yards as you stroll the Bass River Village and find all “Twelve Days.” Starting at the South Yarmouth Library, look for the Partridge in a Pear Tree. Tickets sold at the South Yarmouth Library on day of stroll, starting at 12:00 noon. Sorry, no advance ticket sales. Event to be held Rain or Shine. Complete your ticket booklet to be eligible for a Holiday Drawing!
$10.00 donation to the South Yarmouth Library Association greatly appreciated.
Cash or checks only.
Holiday Masks for sale - $8.00
Massachusetts COVID-19 protocols of social distancing and mask-wearing required.
No food, trolley services or additional stops this year.
To contact the South Yarmouth Library Association for more info, please click here
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