From Julia to Michael: America’s Food Revolution Evolves

When: Saturday, November 21, 5 – 7 PM
Where: Café Amelie, 912 Royal Street
Price: $30 Slow Food Members, $35 nonmembers
RSVP:  slowfoodneworleans@gmail.com

From the invasion of the Frenchies to the rise of the Greenies, American food is on the march.  Fifty years ago, Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cookery  introduced the land of the bland, canned & frozen to  the subversive idea that cooking was an art that was disciplined, intellectually rigorous and fun.  Today, Michael Pollan’s best-selling Omnivore’s Dilemma deepens that subversion by connecting cooking and eating to the abuses of industrialized agriculture and to the many greenie movements that connect ecology to health. Betty Fussell explains the breadth and depth of this half-century revolution that we’re only beginning to understand, even though its directions affect the daily lives of us all.

Café Amelie welcomes Betty Fussell and Slow Food New Orleans to their charming French Quarter patio with a decidedly local menu that includes Des Allemands Crab Cakes, Mini Wild Catfish and Cochon de Lait Sandwiches, Amelie Oysters, Bordelon Sweet Potato and Andouille Soup, Delacroix Shrimp and Grits with Corn and Andouille Sausage Macque Choux and Cherry Almond Bread Pudding with Brandied Cherry Sauce.  A special Satsuma cocktail is included.

To benefit Slow Food New Orleans, Chef Jerry Mixon and Danny Akers of Café Amelie are generously donating all proceeds.

To learn more about the amazing Betty visit www.bettyfussell.com

Ristorante Del Porto and

Welcome Books invite you to

A Slow Taste of Tuscany

A celebration and special dinner at

Ristorante Del Porto

Supported by Zagat, we present this event as part of a celebration across America of slow food and Douglas Gayeton’s new book Slow: Life in a Tuscan Town

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Join us in honoring the simple and superb pleasure of fresh food that has been prepared slowly and locally.

Tickets are $100 and include a five-course feast highlighting local ingredients, tax, gratuity, and a signed copy of SLOW: Life in a Tuscan Town.

Please RSVP to Linda Roy
Call 985.875.1006

Del Porto, 501 East Boston St.
Covington, Louisiana
Telephone 985-875-1006

welcomebooks.com/slow/11-18 G delportoristorante.com

Joy of Oysters – an oyster tasting event

When:  Tuesday, October 20, 6 – 8pm
Where:  The Uptowner, 438 Henry Clay Avenue, NOLA
Cost:  $15 Slow Food members, $20 non-members
RSVP:  slowfoodneworleans@gmail.com

Join Taylor Shellfish’s Oyster Bill Whitbeck, author of “The Joy Of Oysters” for a comparative tasting of Pacific Northwest oysters  (Olympias, Kumomotos! YUM!)  He’ll be joined by Sal Sunseri of New Orleans’ own P & J Oysters who will be featuring Gulf oysters from various area of our region.

Let’s put real food in school lunches!   Help us draw attention to the need for a better Child Nutrition Act that brings real food to all schools!

When: Saturday, September 12, 11a.m. to 1 p.m
Where: Edible Schoolyard New Orleans located at Samuel J. Green Charter School, 2319 Valence Street (entrance on Liberty Street.)
Cost: Free

Join Slow Food New Orleans and Edible Schoolyard New Orleans, plus participating organizations: Kids Rethink New Orleans Schools, marketumbella.org, New Orleans Food & Farm Network and the Food Policy Advisory Committee. Find out what you can do!  Sign the petition, get information, take a garden tours, and participate in children’s activities.

This is a free event which will be held rain or shine.

For more information on the event and the full press release, go to page 2.

Swirl Wines of New Orleans and The Farmhouse Table are closing in on the final reservations for their Slow Food inspired Wine, Culinary and Cultural Tour of Sicily.  There are a few spots available for this amazing trip and they are offering current Slow Food members a $300 discount.

Focused on Gambero Rosso, award winning wine producers, the trip will take a small group of people on an extensive tour of the island starting in the exciting Mt. Etna region and finishing in the oldest wine producing regions of the northwest near Trapani.   You’ll be staying at working farms, going on tours and tastings at local vineyards, visiting a cheese and salumi producing family in the east, exploring the beautifully Baroque city of Ragusa, picnicing at the Valley of the Temples on the shores of the Mediterranean, tasting freshly pressed olive oil at the Mandranova and taking farmhouse cooking classes featuring the foods of the region.

The trip is October 11 through the 21.  If you would like to view the itinerary, please go to Divine Sicily Itinerary and contact Beth Ribblett of Swirl Wines at beth@swirlinthecity.com for more information.  Click here to visit the Farmhouse Table website and you can go to Luxist travel website to view their post on this exciting trip by clicking here!

Advocates within the food movement – along with politicians on both sides of the aisle – have long said that a strong grassroots voice demanding a transformation of the food system is critical to creating corporate and political change. The Time for Lunch campaign is our chance to demonstrate that the demand is stronger than anyone predicted.

This Labor Day is our first opportunity to show that our movement is strong and far-reaching.  But we need to make sure the media and national leaders hear the message. You can sign the petition, make plans to participate in the National Day of Action, and perhaps even write your Congressman. Today, I’m asking for another critical element of support: your financial contribution. Your gift will allow us to take the message to policy makers and the media that people in this country care about what kind of food they eat and what we serve our children at school.

Your support is our most important tool in the effort to create a better food system. I hope you’ll take a moment today to make a donation to this important effort.

Yours truly,

Josh Viertel
President, Slow Food USA

p.s. Your gift of $60 or more will now renew or initiate your annual membership in Slow Food USA, connecting you to a local community and growing international movement of people who want to eat food they believe in. Please show your support today!

In Association with Slow Food New Orleans, Le Meritage to Host Louisiana Wild Caught Shrimp Dinner to Benefit Shrimper Ray Brandhurst and his Family

Date:  Saturday August 15th
When:  7-10 pm
Where: Le Meritage Restaurant, 1001 Rue Toulouse, 504.522.8800
Cost:  $75/person, includes wine pairings

Join us for a four course dinner with wine pairings featuring Louisiana Wild Caught Shrimp prepared by award winning Chef Michael Farrell.

This dinner is to provide financial and emotional support to Louisiana shrimper Ray Brandhurst of Four Winds Seafood. Mr. Brandhurst, has Stage Three Lung Cancer, minimal health insurance and young children. He and his wife and business partner, Kay, are long time vendors and very familiar faces at the Crescent City Farmers Market.

The Maison Dupuy Hotel will offer rooms for $69 per night for guests attending the dinner.

Shrimp Cocktail
mango salsa, chive, potato gaufrette
NV Louis Perdiers, Brut Champagne, France

Shrimp and Grits
tasso ham, “red eye” gravy
07 Valminor, Albarino
Rias Baixas, Spain

BBQ Shrimp
dirty rice, creole tomatoes
07 Simi, Chardonnay
Sonoma County, California

Peach Pie
vanilla ice cream
NV Fonseca
20 year Tawny

Shrimp Cocktail

mango salsa, chive, potato gaufrette

NV Louis Perdiers, Brut Champagne, France

Shrimp and Grits

tasso ham, “red eye” gravy

07 Valminor, Albarino

Rias Baixas, Spain

BBQ Shrimp

dirty rice, creole tomatoes

07 Simi, Chardonnay

Sonoma County, California

Peach Pie

vanilla ice cream

NV Fonseca

20 year Taw
Shrimp Cocktail
mango salsa, chive, potato gaufrette
NV Louis Perdiers, Brut Champagne, France

Shrimp and Grits
tasso ham, “red eye” gravy
07 Valminor, Albarino
Rias Baixas, Spain

BBQ Shrimp
dirty rice, creole tomatoes
07 Simi, Chardonnay
Sonoma County, California

Peach Pie
vanilla ice cream
NV Fonseca
20 year Tawnyny

Pasta Making Class with Chef Dan Esses, Part 2

Date:  Wednesday August 5th
When:  6-8pm
Where: Swirl Wines, 3143 Ponce de Leon Street, New Orleans, 70119
Cost:  $35/person,  $30/Slow Food Members)

This class is back by popular demand and will feature 3 new pastas and sauces!  Chef Dan’s Handmade Pastas have been getting rave reviews around New Orleans  and we’ve convinced Chef to share his secret recipes with a small group, in this fun and informative class. Chef Dan will demonstrate the creation of 3 different pastas and sample them with 3 of his homemade sauces.  Swirl Wines will provide a tasting of three wines to match with the sauces give a lesson on wine pairing as we’ll match wines with the different dishes. Cooking demo, food sampling and wine pairing, how great is that!?!

Reservation and Prepayment are Required to hold your spot.  Please call 504.304.0635

Book Signing with Poppy Tooker at Swirl Wines

Date:  July 31
Where:  Swirl Wines, 3143 Ponce de Leon Street
Time:  6 to 8pm
Cost:  Free

Slow Food New Orleans Founder, published author, culinary activist and chef Poppy Tooker will be at Swirl Wines this evening for a book signing of The Crescent City Farmers Market Cookbook where she tells the story of the Crescent City Farmers Market through recipes, anecdotes, and profiles of key market vendors. Local culinary talent Chef Daniel Esses will join Poppy with tapas plates for sale created from the recipes in the book using ingredients from the Crescent City Farmers Market.  And as is there is each and every Friday at Swirl, there will be free wine to taste and enjoy as Antonio Molesini, Italian Wine Specialist from Republic National, will be pouring 4 free wines from his native Italy.  For more information call Swirl Wines at 504.304.0635.

Photo by Chris Granger, Times Picayune

Slow Food Canning Seminar – Learn to Preserve Summer’s Bounty
-top local chefs teach hands on event-

Date:  Saturday, July 25th
Where:  Bourbon House, 144 Bourbon Street
Time:  1:30 to 4:00pm
Cost:  $25 Slow Food Members, $30 non member

Canning is definitely in! Around the country and locally, more home-cooks are turning to tried and true methods to enjoy summer’s great bounty all year.  New Orleans chefs are resourceful wanting to preserve peak season flavors in traditional and creative ways, and some are even willing to share their secrets.  Two of the city’s most talented and locally focused Chefs will lead this hands-on Canning Seminar at Bourbon House.  Executive Chef Darin Nesbit of Bourbon House and Palace Café will demonstrate his Creole Tomato Preserves, and Sous Chef Mike Doyle of Dante’s Kitchen will demonstrate how to make Pickled Sweet Peppers.  Attendees will leave with recipes, and an 8-ounce jar of each of these treasures.  Class size is very limited and reservations are essential.  For reservations contact: 504.442.8373.

These chefs are leaders in the farm to fork effort led by the Crescent City Farmers Market. Interestingly, they both work with Paulina area small family farms, and are having a significant economic impact on that nearby community.  Dante’s Kitchen works closely with Anthony Accardo, and Rabbit Dog (aka Steven Brignac) and Bo-Boy (aka Ricky LeBlanc) supply a good majority of the produce at Bourbon House and Palace Café. These restaurants serve dishes filled with local flavor from farmers practicing sustainable agriculture in our backyard.

Here’s a great article by Judy Walker to learn more about canning.   http://blog.nola.com/judywalker