- [Michael] Tonight on "WPBS Weekly: Inside The Stories".

Girls Incorporated in Kingston provides life skills and mentoring for girls no matter what gender they're born.

Discover how this nonprofit empowers them.

And join Johnny Spezzano in the kitchen as he plates up scallops and pumpkin risotto with Paddock Club Chef Robert Dalton.

Also, meet a young author eager to change minds about the environment.

Jenna Audlin inspires children of the North Country to explore more.

Your stories, your region, coming up right now on "WPBS Weekly: Inside The Stories".

(theatrical music) - [Announcer] "WPBS Weekly: Inside The Stories" is brought to you by: the Watertown Oswego Small Business Development Center, The J.M.

McDonald Foundation, The Estate of Grant Mitchell, and The Dr. D. Susan Badenhausen Legacy Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation.

Additional funding from the New York State Education Department.

- Good Tuesday evening everyone and welcome to this edition of "WPBS Weekly: Inside The Stories".

I'm Michael Riecke.

We kick off tonight with a powerful program for young people.

Girls Incorporated in Kingston, Ontario offers life skills, education, and mentoring for young people.

The result offers solutions for girls issues as well as persuasive advocacy at both local and national levels.

Take a look.

(light music) (audience clapping) - [Coach] Okay.

Three, two, one, go.

- [Student 1] Let's go again.

- [Student 2] I need to get it.

- [Gail] Girls Inc. Limestone was founded as Big Sisters of Kingston in 1972, dedicated to improving the life situation of girls in the Kingston community.

Since that time, they have grown to serve more than a thousand girls each year in the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, and Hastings in Prince Edward Counties.

- I think that communities need Girls Inc. agencies and girl and women focused supports because large scale, we do still see an inequitable society for girls and women.

And that's not just something to say in a political sense.

Girls and women have been identified as one of the top three groups that are gonna suffer long term and experience ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we've seen that.

We're seeing girls who need more work on interpersonal skills.

We're seeing so much more anxiety.

Everybody stayed home for quite a long time and if these girls were already struggling with difficulties at home, family struggles, families who were already having economic struggles, everything was made worse.

Everything was intensified.

- [Gail] Their programs are evidence-based.

Using surveys, reaching out to participants, and community partners and being aware of what is happening politically, they deliver programs and experiences that help girls and young women navigate gender, economic, and social barriers.

Their programs are always free to ensure accessibility.

- We see incredibly high statistics in our programs of women coming to us who experience and come from a cycle of poverty, women who are struggling with addictions, women who have experienced domestic violence, gender-based violence, sexual violence, and who are then trying to live a life with that, you know, experience behind them.

Single moms who don't have a lot of support and who maybe have tried to get support and are falling through the cracks of our systems.

So, knowing those statistics right in our own communities for those women, one, it's really important to serve those women and get them leveled up with the skills and the support that they need to be members of society in the way that they want to.

And then for the younger girls, we wanna prevent that.

We wanna get younger girls, give them the self-esteem and the knowledge that they need to be the forces that they are and know themselves and make strong decisions.

- [Gail] The Girls Ed program is for just that, prevention and intervention-based programs that address specific issues affecting participants and provide critical ongoing support.

Program delivery includes healthy and fun physical activities and healthy eating education.

Topics addressed include relational aggression, bullying and exclusion, self-defense, personal safety, body image and self-esteem, STEM education, media literacy, and economic literacy.

- The girls we serve in the Girls Ed program are typically around age six to 18.

And so each group or program that we're delivering under this umbrella is tailored to that age group to be like developmentally and topically appropriate.

We do this through afterschool programming for grades one to eight.

We go to schools and classrooms during school time, during instruction hours and deliver typically an eight week program once a week.

And then we have our camps.

So the majority of our camps are delivered in school gyms during the summer.

All of our camps are focused on delivering activities in three main categories, which are strong, smart, and bold.

- [Gail] With a mission to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold, compared to their peers, Girls Inc. girls are significantly more likely to be more engaged in school, exhibit post-secondary readiness and confidence, think math is fun, get excited about science, exercise daily, and see themselves as leaders.

- For girls to have a space that they know is like pro girl I think is so, so important.

I think the biggest change I see in the girls is their confidence grow.

And it's also just fun to see them be themselves.

- Girls Inc., I think is, it's a really great place to just come together as a group of girls and just be able to be yourself.

And I think it's just a really great environment and a way to express yourself.

Like, one of my favorite parts about this Girls Inc. program is just how free and open everyone can be with each other 'cause there's no judgment.

I've met quite a few new friends here and just they've really helped me learn to grow and be more confident as a person.

- [Gail] Standing up for fairness and their own beliefs and relying on positive relationships with adults, there is strong evidence that Girls Inc. changes the trajectory of girls' lives and sets them up for lifelong success.

- I really have always thought that Girls Inc., it like it's a safe space where people can come and they can learn skills that they're going to use for the rest of their life.

- My favorite part was probably meeting new people.

I really like to meet new people.

It's always a great experience.

You get to figure out, you know, like new things about other people, new things about yourself, and it's just great experience.

- [Everyone] Girls Inc. go!

(cheers) - [Gail] For "WPBS Weekly", I'm Gail Paquette.

- For more information on Girls Incorporated, please visit girlsinclimestone.ca.

Well, fall is officially here and that of course means pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin risotto.

Why not?

Johnny Spezzano is back in the kitchen with Robert Dalton of The Paddock Club in Watertown.

Paired with the scallops, this might become your new favorite fall dish.

(light music) (light rock music) - Hey, come on!

(light rock music) Hello, my friends.

It's time for another episode of "Johnny on Fire".

I'm with Robert Dalton today.

What are we making, Rob?

What are you making us?

- We are making a pumpkin risotto with pan fried scallops and goat cheese and cranberries and walnuts.

- We're gonna cook it on fire.

Super excited about this.

Robert, I'm very, very, very eager to dig in.

Let's talk about what our ingredients are.

- [Robert] Okay, we got some risotto here, which is an Arborio rice.

- [Johnny] Okay.

- We got some jumbo- - 'Cause everybody always asks me what is risotto?

So it's that special rice that you mix with cream and cheese.

- Yep, high in starch.

- Garlic, all that.

Okay.

All right.

- There's no overcooking it.

- All right.

So scallops.

- [Robert] We got some jumbo base scallops.

We got some fresh lemon.

We got some real pumpkin.

We got some crazy nuts.

We got some all spice.

We got some walnuts and we got some goat cheese.

- All right, this is good.

- Then we got our cream.

- Where are we gonna start?

- We're gonna start with cooking off some risotto in the pizza oven.

- [Johnny] All right.

So we're gonna add this to the pan?

- [Robert] Yep, you're gonna add a little bit of that.

- [Johnny] All right.

- And do as much as you want.

We got enough pumpkin here, but don't make a mess.

(Johnny chuckles) Keep going, got lots of it.

- Robert has been to the house here and helped make pizzas at parties plenty of times.

- [Robert] I've taken over.

(Johnny laughs) - [Johnny] And I'm more than happy to let him.

- [Robert] Okay.

- Okay.

- So now, we're gonna add some pumpkin.

- All right.

So, this came right out of the jack-o'-lantern?

- Yeah.

(Johnny laughs) Right outta the can.

- [Johnny] All right.

- [Robert] Keep going.

We're just gonna- - [Johnny] You wanna go all the pumpkin?

- Yeah, and we're just gonna get some cream.

We're gonna get it all nice and softened up.

- [Johnny] Oh wow.

- [Robert] Yeah, go ahead.

Use all that pumpkin.

- You know what?

Pumpkin is delicious.

- Okay.

Yes it is.

Okay.

Oh look, we're just gonna take all that and we're just gonna mix it in.

Make it all pumpkin.

You can do a lot with risotto.

You can add broccoli, asparagus, tons of cheese.

Do whatever you want.

- So good, but it's so hard.

- You can't go wrong with it.

It is.

So we're just gonna get it chopped up.

We'll just get it all mixed a little.

I want it nice and creamy so let's add some more cream.

- [Johnny] Okay.

Happy to help out.

(Robert assents) - [Robert] Okay, that's good.

See that?

- And if we add it a little too much, it'll burn off.

- It really is.

I mean, like I said, this has a lot of starch.

I mean, you could have this on the stove for a little bit.

If you don't get to it in an hour, just add some more.

- Add some more cream, cooking it up.

- Broth, whatever.

However you're making it.

it's ready to go.

Get that in the oven.

- All right.

We're gonna put this in our oven right now.

Now, Robert Dalton has been the owner operator of The Paddock Club for how many years now?

- Be 18 in October.

- [Johnny] All right.

- There you go.

I would just let that cook and we're gonna grab our pot holder.

- Okay.

- And we're gonna get our hot pan out for our scallops.

Hopefully should be nice and hot.

- All right, so we've been keeping this pan good and hot 'cause you wanna get a sear whenever you're doing scallops.

- Yeah, and I think, look and feel.

Yeah, I mean, you can feel it.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Okay, so now we got our scallops.

We're just gonna give it a little bit of salt.

A little bit of pepper.

- [Johnny] That's the loudest pepper mill ever.

- That is.

And we're gonna get a little bit of that.

- Okay, so scallops you don't cook very long.

- You're not.

- Don't take long.

- Not at all.

So I mean, if we put 'em in right now, look at that.

- Look at the searing.

(oil sizzling) - [Robert] That pan, I'm always amazed by your pizza oven, how hot it gets.

I do my pizzas on the grill outside.

- [Johnny] Ooh!

(Robert laughs) Anybody who's friends with Robert on Facebook in the North Country - Yes.

- knows that every night is a gourmet meal at his house.

- Yes, I have a whole Instagram account solely for my food.

- Yep.

- Don't get a lot of likes or anything, but.

- Everybody just looks.

- Just looks.

So we're just gonna pop these back in just for a minute.

Gonna keep it hot.

And then we're gonna just wait a minute and we're gonna turn 'em once and that's it.

- You, of course, being the owner of The Paddock Club, your club is famous for martinis.

How many martinis do you guys make there?

- Well, we used to have 72, but now I've downsized it.

I don't know, I'm guessing maybe 25.

- [Johnny] Okay.

- And then we do a different ones, special ones every month.

- Are we gonna make a martini here?

- We're gonna do a martini today for fall, yeah.

- What are we gonna make?

- One of the most popular ones.

It's gonna be our apple cider caramel martini.

- I love this.

(upbeat music) So while these beautiful pans are cooking, let's make some martinis.

All right, so tell me what we got.

- We're gonna do one of my most popular martinis in the fall.

We run it for two months.

And this is our apple cider caramel martini.

- Okay, show us how to do it, Maestro.

- So easy.

- Okay.

- And I don't measure.

So we're just gonna pour, let's make two of 'em.

That's a little bit more.

- All right.

(laughs) - And we're just gonna add some- - And that's Smirnoff caramel.

- Smirnoff caramel.

- Okay.

- [Robert] We're just gonna add that.

- Okay.

- So top it.

- Cider.

- Let's do our.

- It's all about the rim.

- Look at that.

Little seven sugar.

Just drop that right in there.

- Wait, you use the apple juice around the edge?

- Yes!

- Wow, that's how you do that.

- Yeah.

- And then you can set it on the glass.

But you know what?

It looks prettier when they float.

- Okay.

All right.

- There you go, okay.

- Fun.

(ice shaking) - I'm not a professional at shaking.

I just do it any way you want.

Nice and cold.

Long you do it, the colder it's gonna be.

- [Johnny] We should have done these first.

I love this.

Great for all, great for fall.

- [Robert] Divide it up.

- So Robert, Paddock Club, of course you guys are known for your nightlife, exciting nightlife, but you have amazing menu there each and every day.

Giant too, by the way.

- Five days a week for the kitchen.

Tuesday, I mean, we have my specialties, escargot, jumbo shrimp cocktails, but we also specialize in pub grub, pizzas, hamburgers, all that stuff.

Taco Tuesday, Wing Wednesday, Thursdays are flatbreads, Friday's fish fry and maybe Italian dishes.

This summer we're doing barbecue.

And Saturday's beer and burger.

- All right.

Now I wanna talk about how you started, but quick.

- Cooking?

- Yeah.

- I started way back at Howard Johnson days.

Crown n Feather, Crown n Feather to Partridge Berry and Partridge Berry to The Paddock.

- I remember you at Partridge Berry.

I mean, you obviously were behind some of the big brunches that everybody loved to go have at the Partridge Berry.

- 19 and a half years.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

- Yes.

- And I heard that maybe the fondue recipe followed you.

- The fondue recipes on the Paddock menu.

The house pies on the Paddock, special.

- [Johnny] Some of these things- - When I feel like it, yep.

- [Johnny] Yeah.

- Yep, but we have five different kinds of fondues, so it's not just one.

- Yeah.

- The buffalo, the classic, the bacon, the blue cheese, and the lobster.

- You're super creative.

Again, I know you're always cooking for friends and guests and even just the meals you make for yourself, of course this is me checking you out on social media, are over the top gorgeous.

Everything is just great.

- It's just what I like to eat.

- [Johnny] Yeah.

- I make whatever.

I make what I like to eat.

- And it has to look good.

I know that.

- And it has to looks good.

- It always does.

- I'm right on my Instagram account.

- All right.

- Robert-_Dalton.

- Okay, Robert-_Dalton, go check it out.

- Yeah.

- So these scallops, we gotta get to 'em, but I'm gonna have one more sip.

They don't cook very long.

- Nope.

- So let's go see what's going on.

- We're ready.

(rock music) - [Johnny] All right, let's see how we're doing here.

- [Robert] Beautiful.

- [Johnny] There we go.

- [Robert] Beautiful.

- Our scallops, our risotto with the pumpkin.

- Okay, so you know what?

Let's add a little bit of all spice to this pumpkin risotto.

Let's stir all that in.

Look at that.

Okay.

- [Johnny] Looks great.

- It's an orangey.

- What inspired you to be a chef?

Did you cook around the house, what?

- I didn't.

I learned, I started way back in the day frying donuts.

- Okay.

- And then I just moved on, and I just, well, I went to that fast food restaurant.

- Frying donuts at the house or?

- Frying donuts at Jean's Beans - Okay.

- when I was very young.

- Okay.

- And then I moved on to, remember Howard Johnson's back in the day?

- [Johnny] Sure, yeah.

- And then I was a fast food cook and I was so good at it, out back was the Crown n Feather.

Remember that?

- Yeah.

- And then I was a chef.

I was standing in, the dining room was there, the grill was here, or the grill was behind me, and the plates were all right here and served right to the dining room.

They didn't, you know, they last quite some time, but then they didn't last.

And I always cooked for the guy from Partridge Berry.

- And ended up there.

- And I ended up there.

- Now you got your own place.

- And now I got my own place.

- And now you're here making me an amazing meal.

- Yeah.

So now we're just gonna put our scallops on there.

Very simple.

Rearrange it just like that.

Put 'em right on there.

- Oh wait, there's more.

- Oh, let's put 'em all on there.

- [Johnny] Ooh!

- [Robert] Why not?

Okay.

- [Johnny] Oh my gosh.

- Now, let's do our goat cheese, oh, yeah, let's do some goat cheese.

- [Johnny] Okay.

- [Robert] Let's get that goat cheese on there.

Just like that.

- [Johnny] Wow.

- A little soft and that's okay, just get it.

- [Johnny] It'll all work out.

- Yep, it'll all work out.

Let's go just like that.

It's more crumbly - Here, I'll help.

- as they get softer, you know, cheese is sometimes crumbly.

- Yep.

Okay.

- [Robert] And then, let's get some of that all spice on there, like that.

- [Johnny] Okay.

- [Robert] Let's just top it with our cranberries.

Let's top it with our walnuts.

There you go.

- [Johnny] Voila.

- That's your pumpkin risotto, pan fried scallops with goat cheese, cranberry and walnuts.

- Robert Dalton, you are one of the greatest chefs in the North Country.

And obviously, you've spent enough time doing it and you make so many people happy each and every day.

- Cheers.

- So cheers to you, my friend.

Thank you for bringing this amazing recipe to WPBS.

Check out the "Johnny on Fire" page on the wpbs.tv.org site.

Of course, you can check out my "Dinner at Johnny's" podcast as well.

I can't wait to dig into this.

Can we dig into?

- Let's do it.

- [Johnny] All right, here we go.

We're gonna take a taste.

- [Robert] We're gonna use one of these forks right here.

- [Johnny] All right.

- See if we can scoop it up.

- Put some risotto.

Get a scallop, little cheese.

Here we go.

Okay, everybody at home, thank you for watching.

- Bon appetit.

(both speaking at the same time) - Oh, that pumpkin risotto out of this world.

Oh, so good!

Friends, thank you.

We did it with fire, we had the best time.

Robert, thank you.

- Thank you.

- All right, all right.

Catch you next time, "Johnny on Fire".

Woo!

All right, I'll do some more.

(rock music) - If you're looking for more great fire grilled recipes from Johnny, just visit wpbstv.org and scroll through our library.

And if you'd like to be a guest on the segment, send us an email at wpbsweekly@wpbstv.org.

Make sure you include your name, and of course, your fire grilled recipe idea.

Well, families visiting the Adirondacks for the first time can help their child become more engaged with the region around them.

Thanks to one inspiring environmentalist in Franklin County, curious kids can have more meaningful and engaging experiences outdoors.

High school student Jenna Audlin wrote and published an interactive book and it covers a lot of ground.

(light music) (birds chirping) - They look like the mushrooms that were in the.

See if we can.

Do you want me?

(kid in red mumbles) - It's an activity book for kids that gives five challenges, which are hiking, birding, wildlife, plants, and respectful recreation.

So it has different challenges that kids can do while they're visiting the Adirondacks, or for locals too that are looking for something to do with their family on the weekend.

- The "Adirondack Region Explore More" activity book is available in gift shops and other retailers throughout the Tri-Lakes region.

And it's also available on Amazon, too.

We wrap things up tonight with musician Gretchen Koehler of Potsdam.

Gretchen shares her visual music compositions called Fiddling with Traditions.

Here she is with pianist Daniel Kelly, composing to the likes of rug-braider Helen Condon.

(drum beating) - My name is Gretchen Koehler and I'm a traditional fiddle player.

(relaxing fiddle music) Fiddling with Traditions is a new suite of handcrafted fiddle tunes that were inspired.

by Northern New York folk artists.

The core of it is the interviews I had with these different artists and I actually wrote articles about them so you could meet them, see what their studio looks like, see how they create, see a bit about our conversation.

I also made music videos so that you could really see exactly what I was thinking when I was composing.

The tune you're going to hear, it was inspired by the rug braiding of Helen Condon of Adirondack Rug Braiding in Parishville.

She works with threes, so I thought a waltz was in order in three, four time.

She really follows tradition.

She's doing it the same way that rug braiders have been doing it for many, many years.

So I wanted her piece to be to follow traditional form.

One of the things that she did that really inspired me is she writes a story to go with each one of her rugs to explain the colors that you're seeing in her rugs.

So I thought I need to write a story and then write my piece.

So I picked a "Sunset on the Raquette".

I was fishing with my son Syl and I thought about all the colors and how I felt, and then I was able to compose the tune.

And so this is an old time waltz.

It's called the "Sunset on the Raquette" that braids together the colors on the Raquette River.

(bright fiddle music) (bright fiddle music continues) (bright fiddle music continues) (bright fiddle music continues) (bright fiddle music continues) (bright fiddle music continues) (bright fiddle music continues) (bright fiddle music continues) (gentle music) - That does it for us this Tuesday night.

Join us next time for a fresh look inside the stories.

We take you to Martha's Table Community Program in Kingston where people in need have access to nutritious meals.

And career coach M. Michelle Naden is back with more tips on finding your dream job.

This time, she helps you explore your career wishlist.

Plus, indigenous storytelling is an essential part of sharing language, culture, and traditions.

Meantime, if you have a story idea you'd like us to explore, we'd love to learn more.

Drop us an email at wpbsweekly@wpbstv.org and let's share it with the region.

That's all for now, everyone.

Have a safe night and we'll see you soon.

Take care.

(light music) - [Announcer] "WPBS Weekly: Inside The Stories" is brought to you by: the Watertown Oswego Small Business Development Center, a free resource offering confidential business advice for those interested in starting or expanding their small business.

Serving Jefferson, Lewis, and Oswego Counties since 1986. online@watertown.nysbdc.org.

Additional funding provided by: The J.M.

McDonald Foundation, The Estate of Grant Mitchell, the Dr. D. Susan Badenhausen Legacy Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation, and the New York State Education Department.

(bright fiddle music) (bright fiddle music continues) (gentle music)