Staff Reports
Ranch-raised, grass-fed beef is the star of the show at the first of three cowboy Dinners to be served at the new Genoa Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival, running April 29 through May 2 in Nevada's oldest town.
On April 29, the Trimmer Ranch No. 1 One owners will roast beef raised on the first land claim in Nevada. J.B. Lekumberry, who with his wife, Lisa, and her family, operates the ranch, said the meat will be cooked on their barbecue/smoker grill.
"We're going to slice it up thin and serve it with Basque beans and as much locally grown food that we can get," Lekumberry said, including Winnemucca potatoes. "We're trying to promote grass-fed beef and other local foods, so we're all volunteering our time."
Lekumberry, a co-owner of JT Basque Bar & Dining Room in Gardnerville, added that on May 15 the Douglas County Commissioners will declare May 2010 Carson Valley Meat Month in an effort to promote locally raised beef as well as lamb, pork and chicken, and this is a kick-off event.
Also on the cowboy dinner menu are salad, bread, dessert and one beverage at a cost of $20. Reservations must be made by April 26. The same price and deadline apply for the festival's dinners on April 30 and May 1.
The Mendiko Euskaldun Cluba, or Basque Club, of Carson Valley will serve steak, lamb chops and paella April 30, with master Basque chef Jesus Rey manning the barbecue. "The paella will have rice, chicken, pork, fish and vegetables," Rey said, "so it should please just about everybody." Side dishes include green and macaroni salads and bread, with a traditional Basque dessert of hard cheese.
Genoa volunteer firefighters cook Genoa resident Pete Quenzer's special rib-sticking beef stew May 1, according to fire chief Bill Hutchison. Proceeds from this meal and the fire department's breakfasts and lunches also on the festival schedule will be used to retrofit the department's rehab trailer.
"The trailer can be hauled to a scene and offer a place for firefighters to get out of the weather, rehydrate and eat something nutritious," Hutchison said. According to regulations, he said, firefighters must take a mandatory rehab period after using two air bottles in their self-containing breathing apparatus.
"We've got the trailer," Hutchison said, "and it could roll today, but we have more work to get it finished." The trailer will be used as a first aid booth at the Cowboy Poetry Festival so visitors can have a look at what their lunch and dinner money is going for.
Cowboy dinners will be served from 5 to 7 p.m. in the town community center, the former Genoa VFD fire truck bay next to the Genoa Town Hall. The festival includes concerts by top-rated cowboy poets and Western entertainers, a Native American Cultural and Historic Center, juried Western art show and 80 workshops offered in a dozen venues in and around Genoa.
For festival information or to obtain dinner tickets, go to www.genoacowboyfestival.com or call the Town of Genoa, 782-8696, or the Carson Valley Arts Council, 782-8207.
