Needham Community Education

Learn how to create beautifully decorated cakes that will be the centerpiece of parties and events. Your instructor will teach you the best decorating methods, and you will follow along with the cake and frosting provided. You will learn how to make buttercream frosting. Then, you will use it to frost and fill a cake. Next, you will get instruction in how to use a decorating bag properly to make star tips, rosettes, and shell borders, and for printing with icing. A $30 materials fee is payable to the instructor in class. Limited to 12.

Summers in India are hot and humid. The scorching Indian summer heat can often lead to dehydration, lack of appetite, indigestion, and malnutrition. Indian cuisine, however, can offer a variety of options for meals that are cooling for the body and easy to assimilate. We will prepare Pani Puri, a cold popular street food of small round puris, stuffed with sprouted moong beans, chickpeas, and potatoes, then smeared with sweet and sour date chutney and finally filled with a spicy mint water. We will also make chutney sandwiches with cilantro and peanut spread with cucumbers, tomatoes, and beets–ideal for a lazy afternoon meal. We will end with Falooda, a dessert imported from the Muslim world, of milk sweetened with rose syrup, speckled with chia seeds, and topped with ice cream. These dishes are ever so popular in India and yet hard to find in local Indian restaurants. Let’s have a summer soirée! A $20 ingredients fee is payable to the instructor in class. Limited to 12.

Spend your Friday night having fun in the kitchen, learning how to make two classic French desserts: fruit tart & cream and crème brûlée. Does that have your mouth watering? Your creations will go home with you, so you can impress family and friends (if you choose to share). Limited to 12.

Nothing says summer like delicious food fresh from the grill. Come to Powisset Farm and learn the in’s, out’s, tips, and tricks for field to grill meals. Chef Thi will be grill master leading the charge on spicy, garlicky roasted harissa vegetables, stone fruit salad with arugula and goat cheese, and a briny, lemony herb chicken spiedini (all prepared on the grill of course). We will enjoy the meal we prepared in the beautiful setting of Powisset Farm. You will be given recipes to bring home. Limited to 12.