30-Minute Dinner Recipe

This chicken tarragon is "30-minute French cooking at its everyday best," says cookbook author Wini Moranville. Find the recipe here. Photographer: Richard Swearinger.

FOOD AND DINING
Easy French Dinner in 30 Minutes

Writer: Karla Walsh

Contrary to what you might believe, everyday French cuisine is easy. Casual, fuss-free, seasonal fare reigns supreme, says local food pro Wini Moranville.

“I’ve spent over 25 summers in France discovering beautiful, life-enhancing—yet simple—recipes that prove it,” Moranville says. She’s now sharing those recipes in her new book, “Everyday French Cooking: Modern French Cuisine Made Simple” (Harvard Common Press), which was published May 17.

“You can get such great results in so little time and spend more time at the table with those you cherish rather than in the kitchen,” says Moranville, also a dsm contributing writer. “This is the way French families cook. They want to eat really, really well but don’t have time to spend all day in the kitchen.”

There’s no need to purchase obscure ingredients or invest hours in the kitchen to enjoy French flavors. “I prepare these dishes in France,” Moranville says. “When home, I cook these same easygoing French meals for family and friends at my own table.”

And now you can, too, with this exclusive recipe from her book. She says she selected this chicken dinner as a favorite because it’s “30-minute French cooking at its everyday best. Tarragon transports me to France, and this recipe has three things the French cook with all the time: butter, white wine and shallots. When I don’t know what I’m going to cook, I just start chopping a shallot and that usually inspires me. And this recipe is emblematic of this book; the effort-to-enjoyment ratio is wildly high.”

Get the recipe here.

Award-winning choreographer Sonia Dawkins (right) directs a showcase at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Photographer: Leiland Charles.

PLAN YOUR WEEKEND

Dance Theater Performance Debut

Des Moines Performing Arts will present “Pieces of My Heart” this weekend at the Des Moines Civic Center. World-renowned choreographer Sonia Dawkins debuted a 10-minute excerpt of the work in 2017 with Philadanco (the Philadelphia Dance Company); DMPA is supporting the completion of the work into a full-length production.

Featuring professional dancers, actors and live musicians, the one-act “choreopoem” is based on seven unpublished love poems by playwright August Wilson. The work explores the challenges and joy of love, Dawkins told dsm, adding that she hopes the audience “takes away a feeling of love from the [performance]—love you have for yourself, love for one another. The ‘Pieces of My Heart’ are the pieces of anyone’s heart.”

Read more about the performance in this dsm exclusive.

Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. June 9-11 and 2 p.m. June 12. For more details and tickets, go to dmpa.org.

PLAN YOUR WEEKEND

Latino Film Festival (Friday and Saturday, times vary): Des Moines’ second annual Latino Film Festival, celebrating cultural diversity and accessibility, continues through the weekend. Enjoy food, music, performances and screenings of films from Latin America, Spain and local filmmakers. Friday’s lineup is horror movie-themed, and Saturday is Festival Family Fun Day. The events are free to attend. Register for tickets and find more information here.

Zenith Chamber Music Festival (Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.): The annual summer chamber music concert series wraps up this weekend with two performances: Friday’s concert will take place at Westminster Presbyterian Church, and Saturday’s will be in Drake's Sheslow Auditorium. The shows will be free to the public.

Pride Fest 2022 (all weekend, times vary): Celebrate Pride Month and the LGBTQ+ community all weekend in the East Village. Pride Fest officially begins Friday at 5 p.m. with a street festival following an address from Capital City Pride President Jen Carruthers. Other weekend highlights include a pet parade and performer Todrick Hall on Saturday, and the Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus on Sunday. See the full schedule here.

Emancipation Day: A Juneteenth Event (Saturday, (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.): Visit Living History Farms to learn more about the historic event that inspires current Juneteenth celebrations. There will be a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation, presentations by experts in Iowa history on the Underground Railroad and life following emancipation, plus dramatic performances and hands-on activities. Visit lhf.org to see the schedule of events and purchase tickets.

ARTS AND CULTURE
Performance lineup: The Des Moines Arts Festival has announced the schedule of musical performances during the June 24-26 event. Catch 23 performances between two stages – all free to attend. We’re excited to see Des Moines musicians like Abbie Sawyer and Andre Davis in the lineup. See the list of acts here.

FOOD AND DINING
New one-stop shop opens: Middlebrook Mercantile (4125 Cumming Ave., Cumming) is the newest addition to the agrihood known as Middlebrook Farms. The original and historic Cumming schoolhouse was restored to house a wine bar, general store and event space. Stop in for grab-and-go bites with craft beer and cocktails, or shop the locally sourced and hand-picked wares. Visit their website for store hours and event inquiries.

SAGES OVER 70
Nominations open: At dsm magazine, we are honored to recognize community leaders over age 70 who have positively influenced Greater Des Moines in innumerable ways. We invite you to nominate individuals for this year’s Sages Over 70 honor here. The deadline is June 30.

Slipknot was the headlining act at last year’s Knotfest in Indianola. Currently the band is on a 60-stop international tour and also expects to release a new album this year. Front row, from left: Shawn “Clown” Crahan, Jay Weinberg, Craig Jones, Sid Wilson, Alessandro Venturella. Back row, from left: Mick Thomson, Corey Taylor, Jim Root. Photographer: Anthony Scanga.

dsm ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

Slipknot: Who are Those Men Behind The Masks?

Writer: Kyle Munson

No heavy metal guitars to be heard on this remote patch of Iowa soil—only the howling winter wind. The sound is no less fierce when you consider it whistles with its own brand of pastoral dread: What wild beast may prowl over the next ridge or lurk among the shadowy timber?

Just ask the resident farmer on these 100 acres, Sid Wilson.

Wilson, 45, has locked eyes with a mountain lion that startled him from no more than 30 feet away.

He spotted the lion “crossing the gravel road with a big red hen in its mouth flapping its wings,” he said in January from the comfort and safety of his kitchen, over a cup of coffee.

The massive cat—looming larger than Wilson’s gentle giant of a 6-foot, 4-inch long, 150-pound Irish wolfhound, Seamus—leapt across the road in a single bound and disappeared with its prey.

Such is modern farming for a man whose day job as a musician in Iowa-bred metal band Slipknot sees him surrounded not by rural wildlife but the festooned, shrieking fauna of the music industry.

Last September, Wilson and his eight band mates occupied a different patch of rural Iowa with their Knotfest outdoor music festival. A throng of 30,000 fans (affectionately, “maggots”) blanketed the rolling hills of the Indianola Balloon Field. There were long lines for food and drink but also two stages full of acts such as Megadeth—a band that helped inspire Slipknot but now was supporting it.

Read the full online exclusive on Iowa’s most influential cultural export here.