Unique dinner will spotlight women with culinary expertise

Five regional women will come together in May 2 in the preparation of a theme-based dinner at Blue Skies Farm. The theme of this dinner will be “She-Fs.” The five participating “She-Fs” include Kristine Russell, Nikki Barr, Ang Brown, Kendall Kurz and

Carrie Wilson. Contributed photo.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

On Saturday, May 2, a culinary spotlight will focus upon five area women who are making a name for themselves in the regional food industry.

A one-night-only dinner will be served at Blue Skies Farm, rural Hannibal, during a reservations-only event appropriately named “She-Fs.”

This locally-focused event is in keeping with a monthly series of fine dining events hosted by Pete and Stacy Raith, owners of Blue Skies Farm.

The five women, each associated with the food industry, will bring courses to the table, specially prepared for the evening, and they will offer the story behind the speciality choice.

Featured will be:

Kristine Russell of The Dubach Inn, Hannibal;

Nikki Barr of Langhorne Meats and Provisions of Hannibal;

Ang Brown of The Warped Spoon - Historic Ilasco, Mo.

Kendall Kurz of Blue Skies Farm, Hannibal; and

Carrie Wilson of The Little Pallet Farm House, Philadelphia, Mo.

Kristine Russell 

Kristine Russell has always loved to cook. She and her husband Steve have owned and operated the Dubach Inn at 221 N. Fifth St., Hannibal, for 18 years.

“I started cooking when I was about 12, and picked up more and more skills, expanding my repertoire over time,” she said. “Cooking for people makes me happy.”

At the Dubach Inn, Kristine and Steve prepare a full service breakfast each morning. One recent day she made banana blueberry pancakes. “I’m known for my scones,” she said, and frittatas are another Bed and Breakfast favorite.

“After 18 years I still enjoy what I’m doing,” she said.

As far as participating in the speciality dinner at the Blue Skies Farm, “It’s fun to be doing it,” she said.

For the May 2 dinner, she will serve Swedish meatballs and crepes.

Nikki Barr 

Nikki Barr, co-owner of Langhorne Meats, shares insights on heritage pork, the Kune Kune breed, and the importance of preserving such breeds for cultural and agricultural reasons. She will follow up the course with a conversation about the dinner event.

“I love learning about and telling stories through food, and that’s what I’m aiming to do with this dish. Heritage pork, the older breeds once raised by our agrarian ancestors, is something I care deeply about.

“In the 60s and 70s, as pork production industrialized, we saw the decline of over 200 breeds. They were replaced by animals crossbred for how quickly they could get to market and most farmers moved to confinement operations to keep up with competition.

“By the 90s and early 2000s, there was a shift back toward local, thoughtfully raised meat, and the difference in flavor and quality was evident. These animals are raised outdoors, able to forage and develop naturally - traits that support both better meat and a more resilient agricultural system. Supporting the farmers who raise them is an important part of preserving these genetic traits. So while it may sound a little backwards, consumption is the key to conservation in this case.

“For this dish, I’m showcasing the Kune Kune breed (translates to fat and round in Māori), a small grazing pig with roots in Māori culture in New Zealand. The breeds people raise are deeply tied to their cultural heritage, and my goal is to highlight not only the importance of preserving heritage breeds, but also to respectfully share the history behind them and in the case of the Kune Kune, its significance to the Māori people.”

Angela Brown

Angela Brown cooks because, she said, it is the fabric of “who I am and how I was raised. I love to cook because it keeps me close to my roots and my family. It calms me.”

She admits that this may sound strange, “but I love to watch people eat something they’re really enjoying. I can feel how happy it makes them. I love that. It warms me.”

Angela learned to cook from her Slavic grandmothers and her aunts, and also her ‘Nana.’

“While their cooking was nothing even close to being similar, I sit somewhere in between them. My Ilasco family taught me all of those wonderful Slovak recipes that I treasure, while my Nana was rooted in 1950s comfort foods. One thing they all had in common was gardens and bread!

“I wish I could make bread as well as they did.”

When she was asked to be a part of “She-F’s,” she said, “I was honored to be able to tell the stories through my recipes to the guests at the Blue Skies table. I am so excited to be working alongside these other four ladies. They are all spectacular!”

Kendall Kurz

Kendall Kurz, a high school junior, first met Pete and Stacy at Hannibal’s Folklife Festival.

“Pete said, ‘Why don’t you come in the kitchen and work with us?’

They have invited Kendall back each month, where she plates food, serves, “and if Stacy needs me to cook,” she does that, too.

“They have given me the chance to meet chefs from all over Missouri, and I’ve had a really good time with them. I’ve stuck with them. I want to be able to cook all the time. I want to be comfortable going into the kitchen. Growing up, I  always loved watching cooking tv shows. My love language is acts of service.”

For the May 2 dinner, she will prepare two desserts, which she selected.

“My plan is to prepare a lemon blueberry cupcake with blueberry cream cheese frosting, and lemon curd on top. “It is getting to be spring,” she said, so she is spotlighting lemon and blueberries.

The second dessert is a chocolate trifle, with a layer of brownie on the bottom, chocolate mousse in the middle and chocolate ganache on top of that.

“Pete always tells me you can’t have a dessert without chocolate, so the trifle is to please him.”

Carrie Wilson

Carrie Wilson, of rural Philadelphia, Mo., is the fifth of the “She-Fs” to prepare and serve a dinner course at Blue Skies Farm on May 2.

A native of England, she has chosen a dish that is representative of her culture: Shepherd’s pie, made with lamb.

She and her husband are  participants in the “farm to table” movement.

On the small farm they co-manage, “We have a big emphasis on clean foods and regenerative agriculture,” she said.

“We believe that it is important to avoid pesticides and chemicals as much as possible.

“We have health values behind what we’re doing. We want to be able to insure our customers that we are raising our livestock with clean food. What (the livestock) eat, we end up eating. We seek to source them good clean food, organic food.”

During the last few years, the Wilsons have been raising heritage breed pigs, and in turn taking the meat to sell at the farmer’s market in Hannibal.

In the future, “We will be getting into sheep,” she said.

“We’re about keeping food local, knowing where your food came from, supporting local communities, and knowing the farmer.”

The dinner course that she will serve “is a comfort food dish and an easy family meal to prepare.

“When I grew up, cooking was taught in school, home economics,” which is where she learned to cook Shepherd Pie.

Blue Skies Farm

Stacy and Pete Raith operate Blue Skies Farm, and dinners such as the one they are hosting on May 2 are a regular part of their life.

“We have this farm and restaurant,” she said, with the goal “to bring community together for good conversations over food.”

They have converted an old farm house into seating for 30 people. 

Each month there is a different themed six-course dinner with Pete working in front in front of the house, wine in hand, and Stacy cooking and plating in the kitchen. A couple of times a year, Blue Skies Farm will welcome a guest chef “to bring their talents to our guests.

“We try to utilize as many local ingredients as we can. Pete produces vegetables and bread on the farm,” she said.

“Langhorn is one of our vendors,” she said. Trevor (Schultz) and Nikki can make it happen,” Stacy said.

For information about the dinner or Blue Skies Farm, call (573) 310-1978.