DIS 02-06-21

MARK YOUR
CALENDARS!
DISCOVER! | FEBRUARY 6, 2021
Taste | 5
RYLAN HOWE | STAFF WRITER
Luncheon with
INSTRUCTION
Chef Susanne serves up
seafood special for her
date night menu
Valentine’s Day is right around
the corner, which often means
date night at a favorite restaurant
or a sharing a special meal at
home.
With the continuing coronavirus
pandemic keeping some restrictions
in place, picking a restaurant could
be trickier than normal and if you’re
not culinary inclined, whipping
something up edible at home may
seem impossible.
Chef Susanne Bicknese is ready to
help either way with her next Luncheon
with Instruction — February
Date Night.
Classes will be held at noon and
6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, at the
Pearson Lakes Art Center in Okoboji.
The cost is $42 for art center members
and $47 for nonmembers.
And this class figures to be extra
special as the chef always tries to
come up with something especially
appetizing for her February date
night classes.
Seafood is the central theme with
Spanish paella serving as the main
dish with a ceviche appetizer, an assortment
of side dishes, as well as a
chocolate dessert.
Sign up for an evening time slot
and make it a special Valentine’s
Day event in itself, or perhaps pick
up some instructions, as the name
implies, and recreate Chef Susanne’s
dishes for your special someone at
home.
Either way the menu surely sounds
delicious and will be a seafood
lover’s delight.
“Paella is a traditional Spanish
dish that has great flavor and is
loaded with seafood and chicken,”
Bicknese said. “Every region does it
a little differently but we’ll be doing
a pretty traditional version with
shrimp, mussels, chicken, saffron,
rice — it’s a beautiful dish.”
Some of the side dishes are still in
the works, but rest assured they will
be just as mouthwatering as the rest
of the menu.
Everything other than dessert will
have a decidedly seafood slant.
“Originally we started out with just
a simple seafood theme then as we
thought about it more we decided
to do a finished dish that people can
make at home by themselves. That’s
how we landed on paella,” Bicknese
Chef Susanne will be
making several seafood
dishes including
Spanish paella for
her next set of Luncheon
with Instruction
classes at the Pearson
Lakes Art Center
in Okoboji. PHOTO BY
RYLAN HOWE
said. “It’s really a lovely dish with
great flavors. It’s one of those that’s
traditionally served in the middle of
the table and everyone helps themselves.
No one will be going home
hungry!” F
At a Glance:
WHAT: Luncheon with Instruction
— February Date Night
WHERE: Pearson Lakes Art Center,
2201 Highway 71, Okoboji,
IA
WHEN: Noon and 6:30 p.m.,
Wednesday, Feb. 10
COST: $42/members, $47/nonmembers
CONTACT: 713-332-7013
ONLINE: www.lakesart.org
Classes:
Next up on the Luncheon
with Instruction menu includes
rice and grain bowl meals for
the month of March.
Later on this spring in April will
feature a Mediterranean theme.
Chef Susanne Bicknese is
looking forward to the range culinary
influences she can pull from
for that class.
“It covers France, Italy, Spain,
Africa, Cyprus, Greece, all kinds
of influences. It’s going to be a
really awesome, diverse menu to
do,” Bicknese said.
The chef also teaches monthly
classes at Crossroads Pavilion
Event Center in Sheldon.
The next one there is scheduled
for Wednesday, Feb. 17,
and will feature a New Orleans
Mardi Gras menu.
It’s really a lovely
dish with great
flavors. It’s one
of those that’s
traditionally served
in the middle of the
table and everyone
helps themselves.
No one will be going
home hungry!
Susanne Bicknese
Okoboji | Iowa