Jackalope Grill Cooking Classes: February = Great Grains, March = Soups, Stews, Braising

(Bend, OR) Join The Jackalope Grill’s Chef Timothy Garling for upcoming cooking classes, this Monday, February 2 and Monday, March 2.  These evenings are filled with great food, wine and cooking tips and secrets. The February class covers “Great Grains,” including risotto, barley risotto, quinoa, farro and amaranth. In March, “Soups, Stews & Braising” is the topic. Cooking classes include wine and hors d’oeuvres, demonstration and hands-on preparation in the kitchen, handouts with recipes and techniques and sampling of menu dishes paired with wine and/or beer.

The Source Weekly writes: “Speaking of branching out, Chef Timothy Garling has been doing a bit of that lately with his popular cooking classes at Jackalope Grill. Because of the strong interest in the classes, which feature cooking tutorials capped off by wine and food, Garling has been adding additional slots.”

Class starts at 6:00 pm at The Jackalope Grill and space is limited (these classes sell out quickly). Cost is $50. For reservations, call The Jackalope Grill at 541-318-8435. For location and info, go to the Jackalope Grill website.

Here in Bend, particularly interesting is the rumor that some those formerly employed by Jody Denton will be taking over the old Merenda space. They hope to reopen by mid-March.  There is also a rumor that McCormick & Schmick’s will open in the old that space.  I hope that downtown will not become dominated by the chains.  The first McCormick & Schmick’s started in Portland in 1979 and now have over 80 locations nationwide.

December 1 was our third anniversary. On that day in 2005, Tim and I purchased the Jackalope, and like any great birth this was not an easy one! We signed papers for the restaurant at the restaurant and started prepping for the evening minutes later. That evening at 5 o’clock the restaurant opened for business as usual. It was a funny and surreal experience.

I can clearly remember the servers and kitchen staff looking at us and you could almost see them wondering, “who on earth are these people and what are they doing here?” I have to admit somewhere in the back of our minds we were wondering the same thing too. After leaving the safe, small and familiar surroundings of Alta, Utah for 16 years we were now in Bend.

Thankfully, not only was it the scariest decision we ever had to make, but it was also the wisest. We have been met with such warmth and been truly embraced by this community. Words cannot express our gratitude.

Here’s to more great years to come!

Join us for Christmas

We will be open Christmas Day, December 25, serving dinner from 4-7pm.

Leave the cooking – and cleaning – to us and enjoy a real holiday break.

~
CLOSED December 26 January 1
~

The Party’s at The Jackalope

There’s still time to reserve our private dining room – or the whole restaurant – for your holiday party. Get more details here, or call Kathy at 318-8435.

2009 Cooking Classes

Tim will be teaching cooking classes in January, February and March. Space is limited, so reserve your spot now!

Women Tasting Wine

Sparkling Wines
Mon., Dec. 15, 4-6pm

From Diane Sienko and Mary Robertson:

“November’s seminar certainly put us in a Thanksgiving mood! Chef Tim’s upscale Thanksgiving menu was paired nicely with wines selected by Byron Scott of Cathedral Ridge Winery in Hood River, Oregon.

With the holidays fast approaching, December’s seminar will feature “Sparkling Wines”. Dennis Sienko of Bend Wine Cellar will guide us through sparkling wines aimed at every price range and every occasion.”

Cost is $45. For reservations, please contact Diane Sienko at Bend Wine Cellars (388-7564), or go to the Women Tasting Wine website.

See last month’s menu.

Finely chop 8 oz. of dates. Make sure the dates are pitted so the chopping will be easy. Bring 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of Kahlua to a slight boil then add to the dates and let sit to cool.

In a mixing bowl add one stick of room temperature butter and 1 cup packed brown sugar. Beat until creamy. Add 4 room temperature eggs one at a time to mixture. Incorporate 1-3/4 cups self-rising flour, 1 tsp. baking powder and 1 Tbs. instant coffee crystals into mixture — do not over mix.

Put chopped dates put into food processor and puree the heck out of them. While you are doing this make sure not to stick your fingers into the processor — it could be very painful, and you may have to start again once you have returned from the hospital. Add date to flour mixture and mix until smooth.

Pour into a 9-inch round or square baking dish and bake at 350° for approximately 45 minutes. The cake should be golden brown and spongy. Let sit to cool off.

After preparing the cake and enjoying a short nap, now you’re ready to prepare the toffee sauce.

In a sauce pan mix:
¾ cup butter
1 ½ cup packed brown sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
½ tsp. vanilla

Heat until nice and warm — the sauce should start to thicken. Add some scotch to the mixture. The amount will depend on how much fun you wish to have. Do not use your finest 15-year barrel-aged scotch — this will ruin the sauce with the taste of peat. In other words, pour the good stuff into a glass with 3 cubes of ice, and dump the cheap stuff into the sauce.

Enjoy with friends!

-Kathy

Thanks to Kathy’s careful attention, the Jackalope Grill is one of only a handful of Bend restaurants to have its wine list recognized by Wine Spectator. Among Bend recipients, the Jackalope is the only restaurant rated as “Inexpensive,” meaning we offer many bottles for less than $50, while also applying a below-normal markup.

Wine Spectator Award of Excellence

According to the magazine, “Wine Spectator’s Restaurant Awards recognize restaurants whose wine lists offer interesting selections, are appropriate to their cuisine and appeal to a wide range of wine lovers.”

A complete list of 2008 Restaurant Award winners is published in the August issue of Wine Spectator, and the magazine’s website lists all the Bend winners.

Here’s our overview page, where you can add your own review.