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By James Ensor
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Liz Barbour of Liz Barbour’s Creative Feast, came to the Medfield Library on the evening of Thursday, September 15, to present Feasts from Literature, a presentation based on some recipes she has learned through her reading. She read selected passages from three of her favorite cooking-related novels, intermittently adding tips and tricks of her own. The most exciting portion of the presentation, of course, was the two-dish cooking demonstration she gave during the latter part of the evening.
“I add salt to the water, but no oil, as that will make the sauce just slip right off the pasta,” she informed while preparing pasta carbonara. “And if you want to get that restaurant-quality flavor, cook the pasta in the sauce for a minute, because it will absorb all the flavors of the water and sauce that you cook it in.”
Another helpful tip came in the form of a new and improved method of cutting onions. She demonstrated how cooks can cut the onion down the middle, vertically, leaving the root and stem in place. Once peeled, she sliced off the stem, and then began to cut thin slices down from the root of the onion. After that was done, she cut across the other way, creating small pieces of diced onion perfect for salads or sautéing.
Thick-cut sweet bacon permeated the air in the library’s reference room, and is sure to have left a trace of its scent for the day or two after Barbour’s presentation. Audience members were treated to a taste of her pasta carbonara along with homemade vinaigrette dressing on a salad.
“Everyone needs some essential recipes,” Liz informed her audience. “Eggs, chicken, fish if you like it, as well as a good vinaigrette. You can put that dressing on salads, chicken and steak. It can be as simple as three parts olive oil and on part red wine vinegar.”
There were plenty of leftovers, and after the attendees ate their fill, they were able to bring home some food as well. Barbour also handed out recipes for the dishes she cooked and directed anyone interested to her website, thecreativefeast.com.
