Classes at Paganini School brighten summer evenings

A trio of upcoming classes from the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking, 8613 Mayfield Road, Chester Township brings new panache to these warm summer evenings.

Chill out starting at 6 p.m. July 27 as Wild About Watermelon gives new ideas for using that favorite summer fruit just when it’s at the peak of ripeness.

Led by chef Stefanie Paganini, the two-and-a-half-hour handson class will illustrate how to prepare — and then let you eat — watermelon panzanella salad, orzo chicken salad with watermelon and feta, crab cakes with watermelon relish, pulled pork with watermelon barbecue sauce and watermelon sorbet.

Gather some friends for Parisian Dreams, a girls-night-out session at 6 p.m. July 28. It’s a hands-on class framed around techniques to make typical French dishes easy to make. The menu includes gougeres with Gruyere and chives, salmon rillettes with a toasted French baguette, chicken Provencal with roasted fingerling potatoes and haricot vert topped off by a blackberry galette with creme anglaise. Both of these classes are $65.

Or recruit your main squeeze to be whisked off to Venice when you sign up for a Cooking With a Partner couples class at 6 p.m. July 29. The two-and-a-half-hour handson class is $135 for the two of you with a romantic menu of Burrata stuffed figs wrapped in prosciutto, fennel salad with roasted lemon dressing, red beet fettuccine with duck ragu sauce, braised short ribs in Amarone, soft asiago polenta, cipolline in agrodolce and peach panna cotta.

Register for any of these classes at 440-729-1110 or www.lpscinc. com.

Molinari’s bargain

Thought you couldn’t afford dinner at Molinari’s in Mentor? Think again.

A new $35 dinner for two, to be served Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings until the end of the summer, has just debuted. A bottle of house wine is included with each dinner.

Start by choosing between a petite baby green salad or a Caesar salad, move on to a choice between chicken piccata with red rice and green beans or a grilled pork tenderloin with sweet corn salsa and sweet corn polenta and then finish off by sharing a peach sundae from West Orchards in Perry Township.

Molinari’s is at 8900 Mentor Ave. Reservations: 440-974-2750.

Gardening teens

See how high schoolers are transforming agriculture in Cleveland with a free visit July 29 to the Green Corps Midtown Learning Farm. It’s set for 1 to 4 p.m. at the farm, 1945 E. 66th St. That’s land owned by the Dunham Tavern Museum — oldest house in Cleveland — which also will be open for tours.

The agriculture initiative, begun in 1996 by the Cleveland Botanical Garden, is a work-study program for urban teens that trains young people to grow and sell produce at five farms on Cleveland’s east side. Young farmers will describe the history of “The Little Yellow House” on the site, as well as square-foot gardening, composting, herb spirals, and beekeeping.

Bumper blueberries

Larry Secor’s red raspberries have ended their season but a bumper crop of blueberries awaits those wishing to pick their own or buy from the farm market at 4940 North Ridge Road in Perry.

Call the farm at 440-259-3487.

Janet Podolak