In the last few years, boxed wine has been making a comeback. I’ve tried a couple of offerings here and there, but am forced to admit that I’ve never seriously considered serving such a thing at one of my parties because, well, it’s boxed wine. I remember my mother setting up boxes of pink and white wine at baby showers and open houses, and as I’ve learned more about wine, I’ve discovered what a travesty those things were. Even so, when I saw a blurb about the Red Truck Mini-Barrel in either Bon Appetite or Gourmet (can’t remember which, I was on a plan on a business trip so my memory is a blur) I decided that it might be worth giving this cute little barrel a try. After all, it doesn’t look like a boxed wine, and it’s a built-in conversation starter at any party. Who can pass up a little barrel of wine on the counter just waiting to be tapped?

After taking a chance and serving the mini-barrel at a recent party, I’m happy to report that it has changed my mind about “alternative packaging” for wine. While I may not be a boxed-wine convert (yet), I’m a mini-barrel convert.

Disclaimer: While I enjoy wine, I don’t consider myself to be anything more than someone who likes wine. I know what I enjoy drinking and I’ve taken just enough courses on wine to be dangerous to myself and my dinner guests. I do highly recommend Great Wine Made Simple by Andrea Robinson for making any wine list navigable, but please know that I’m writing this post from the point of view of someone who entertains regularly and not as a wine aficionado. Also, because I don’t want the feds breathing down my neck, I was in no way compensated or encouraged to write this post by folks at Red Truck.

Why I Like the Mini-Barrel

The mini-barrel has a lot to recommend it:

• It’s cost-effective. One barrel is the equivalent of 4 bottles of wine and retails for about $30. It contains about 20 standard pours of wine, which comes out to $1.50 per glass. If you are going to throw a party for 30 people and assume each will have 4 glasses of wine (120 pours total), you can buy 6 mini barrels for $180. You’d have to buy 24 standard size bottles of wine to serve the same crowd and to stay on par with the mini-barrel pricing, you couldn’t spend more than $7.50 total per bottle (if you get 20% case discounts you could buy wine priced at about $9.50 per bottle). Now while I do know how to get a decent party wine for less than $10, even with great values you start to run the risk of finding more duds than studs at the $8-9 mark. For reference, the other Red Truck wines (not in barrels) retail for around $10-12 per bottle, so this one is consistent with those offerings.
• It’s eco-friendly. Almost all of the packaging can be recycled, which is true of a wine bottle of course, but there’s still less packaging all around which is good.
• It lasts for 6 weeks. Thus far I’ve written about this wine in the context of entertaining, but the mini-barrel packaging keeps the wine fresh for quite a while, which makes it a good idea for people who only drink a glass or two every few nights.
• It tastes good! Even with the first three pros going for this wine, if it tasted bad I wouldn’t even be writing this post. I liked this wine, and so did my party guests. It’s medium-bodied with tannins that are present but don’t take over your mouth. It’s a blend of syrah, petite sirah, cabernet franc, and malbec, and mourvedre grown throughout California, and they’ve done a nice job of balancing all of the flavors. I tasted red berries and chocolate, and it paired well with my very varied collection of party nibbles. It was easy to sit around and drink as the party progressed. While I wouldn’t say it was stupendous or amazing, that’s not what I’m typically looking for in my party wines in the first place. I want accessible, easy to drink, and tasty – which is exactly what I got.

What Others Are Saying

I’ve done some digging and because the mini-barrel is relatively new, I haven’t been able to find many reviews of the wine, but I did find a few on an interesting cross-section of sites:

• Daily Candy
• The Today Show
• Wine.com

Because reviews of the mini-barrel are scarce, I looked for reviews of other Red Truck wines to see how they fair as a group. In general, reviewers seem to consider them value wines that won’t blow your mind but that are good at their price points. These sites include reviews of Red Truck wines across a variety of vintages and varietals to give you an idea of what to expect from this winery:

• Cork’d
• Snooth
• Wine.com
• Wine Weekly

Get Your Own Mini-Barrel

I’ve only seen the mini-barrel at SAMs Club thus far, but I know they will have wider distribution in 2010. You can order online from their site and they seem to be pretty active on their Facebook page as they help fans find distributors.

If you’ve had the mini-barrel, I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you try it, please come back and tell us how you liked it.

[Jump right to the recipe: Pumpkin Bread]

Early this fall, my company’s resident baker brought in a wonderful loaf of pumpkin bread in an attempt to fatten up our staff. I was of course more than happy to partake of her bread, seeing as I love pumpkin in wholly unwholesome ways. I immediately asked for the recipe, assuming that as the bread was a quick bread the recipe would be devoid of yeast and therefore a strong candidate for something I could bake without totally screwing it up.

Note: I’m determined to conquer my fear of baking. I’ve purchased Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, joined a Google Group, and will be producing loaves of bread very soon. I plan to blog along the way, so look for future posts on how I’m becoming a (hopefully) decent baker. Now, back to our regularly scheduled blog post…

It turns out that Katie’s excellent bread was according to a Food Network recipe. As I reviewed the recipe, I noticed the that it has close to 100 comments and a range of ratings covering the whole spectrum from 1 star to 5. Reading the responses I discovered that the basic recipe seems to be flawed, at least in cooking time, and that it might be too sweet. In general, it seemed that results with the recipe were all over the map. I probably spent an hour reading the comments and thinking about how to assimilate them into my attempt. Along the way, the content geek in my realized that one of the reasons I love recipes stored electronically with tools for reviews and comments is because it allows everyone to contribute to and take advantage of the shared experience of making the recipe. We make the recipe better and improve our own cooking skills along the way. Group wisdom rocks!

I’m very happy with my pumpkin bread, and I’m sure there’s a chance I wouldn’t be if I’d gone right along with the recipe and not stopped to tap the wisdom of the crowd. As much as this is my adaptation of the recipe, it’s absolutely a product of the group of cooks who made it before me and took the time to comment. They validated my ideas about substitutions of applesauce for part of the oil and whole wheat flour for the AP flour. They recommended reducing the sugar and warned that the spices as written might lead to a bland bread. Finally, they helped me not panic when my bread was far from done in 40 minutes.

I can honestly say that this recipe is a shared creation. I hope you enjoy the resulting recipe and share your modifications with me in the comments.

Pumpkin Bread

Adapted from Pumpkin Bread by Cathy Lowe.

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
• Makes: 2 loaves, 12 slices each
• Prep Time: 40 min
• Cook Time: 60 min
• Weight Watchers Points: 4/slice

Ingredients

• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1.5 c. granulated sugar
• 4 oz. apple sauce
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 15oz. can pumpkin puree
• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 2.5 c. AP flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (1.5 tsp if not fresh)
• 1.5 tsp. ground allspice
• 1.5 tsp. ground cinnamon (recommend Saigon)
• 3/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 2/3 c. water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray 2 9×5 loaf pans with flour baking spray (such as Baker’s Joy).
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar and granulated sugar; break up any clumps of brown sugar.
4. Stir in the apple sauce and vegetable oil.
5. Stir in the eggs and pumpkin.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients (wheat flour through cloves).
7. Stir the dry ingredients and water into the wet ingredients in alternating batches, starting and ending with flour.
8. Divide the batter between prepared pans. There should be 1 – 1.5 inches of space left at the top of the pans for the loaves to expand.
9. Set pans on a foil-lined baking sheet and place in oven.
10. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
11. Remove the loaf pans from the oven and let the loaves rest in the pans on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
12. Turn the loaves out of their pans and let cool completely on the rack.

Recipe for Success

• This recipe will work in just about any shape pan, from the loaf pans I used to a bunt pan or even mini-loaf pans and muffin tins. You’ll have to adjust the cooking time depending on the size of your pan. For mini-loaf pans and muffin tins I would start checking for doneness at 25-30 minutes. A whole loaf baked in a bunt pan may take upwards of 75 minutes, but I would still start checking around 50 minutes just in case.
• The recipe reviewers offered a whole host of suggestions for mix-ins: chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans, and dried cranberries just to name a few. I took one of their suggestions and topped one of my loaves with roasted pumpkin seeds which not only makes for a pretty presentation but adds a lovely crunch to the loaf’s crust. For those of you counting Weight Watcher’s Points out there, remember that adding mix-ins will increase the points per slice.
• If your loaves are starting to look overly-brown at about 40 or 50 minutes in the oven, cover them loosely with aluminum foil.

Halloween has come and gone, we’ve fallen back so we’re not waking up and dragging to work in the dark, and it’s officially November. It’s time to transition from jack-o-lanterns to pumpkin pies and start to consider the upcoming holidays. After all, there are only 53 days left until Christmas. Austin’s foodie events continue to occur at a breakneck pace as everyone tries to take advantage of our beautiful weather and the few weeks of downtime until Thanksgiving. This week features several opportunities to eat well and do good at a variety of price points, as well as a couple of very tasty special menus at local eateries. You can also learn how to make bacon and enjoy a celebration of food and wine. In short, there’s no shortage of foodie fun to be had by all.

Although not technically “events”, I’d like to highlight two things that fall into my “foodie goodness” category that readers of this post might like to know about:

• A farmer’s market on Sunday. If you can’t quite make it to the various Saturday farmers markets, then there’s HOPE for you. Austin’s newest market is open from 11am – 3pm on Sundays in the corner of E. 5^th and Waller Streets. In addition to local farmers and prepared foods, the market includes student DJs from Austin AMP, bike repair corners, yoga workshops from Empower Yoga, cooking classes from East Side Show Room, sustainable agriculture and landscaping from Big Red Sun and host free space for other non-profits and community groups as well as promote healthy living for local artists. I’ve spoken with several local food bloggers who’ve visited the market and they’ve said that while this market is smaller than others, it is a great option for a Sunday and includes some unique shopping and experience opportunities.
• Butcher Shop breakfast at the Saturday market. I’m a big fan of the folks from Dai Due, not only because they throw great events, but because they make some really fantastic products. Starting next Sunday, November 7, they will be offering biscuits and gravy and fresh grilled handmade sausages for breakfast (or lunch, or both) at the Austin Farmer’s Market. From 9 am – 1 pm you can nosh on their goodies and even pick up some packages sausages, charcuterie, condiments, and ready to cook items. I’m already planning to serve their charcuterie at my holiday party and feature their chorizo in my Christmas morning breakfast tacos. Stop by and see them for a truly fantastic butcher shop experience.

Be Spontaneous: This Week’s Events

• [NEW] November 2 – 5: Yelp Drinks Week – Yelp is teaming up with some great local bars and restaurants to create a week-long happy hour that runs all day, every day. Each location will have a featured beverage or collection of beverages offered at 50% off, giving you the opportunity to try a new drink or a new place, or possibly both.
• [NEW] [VALUE] November 2 – 4: FLAVORS of Austin at J. Blacks – Week 7 of the FLAVORS of Austin events features J Blacks Feel Good Lounge. The FLAVORS menu features perfect sharing plates giving you the chance to try everything on the menu for just $25 for 3 courses. The relaxed setting is a casual background for business or pleasure, so treat friends or co-workers, or maybe even clients, to a lovely evening this week while channeling your inner hipster.
• [NEW] November 2 – 8: Wurstfest – Their website says it all: “A ten day Salute To Sausage celebration in New Braunfels, Texas”. Take a short drive down to beautiful New Braunfels in this perfect Texas fall weather to eat your fill of German food, listen to German music, and a whole host of special events. $8/day admission. Food and beverages offered for sale. Hours vary by day.
• [NEW] November 3: RIP Gourmet “Mourning” Hour – Gourmet magazine is no more. I’ve sadly flipped through the last printing and join food lovers around the country in a deep sadness not only for the loss of this amazing magazine but for the future we see in food and food publishing. Addie Broyles, our favorite Statesman food writer, is joining forces with FINO, one of my favorite local restaurants, for a wake for Gourmet. We’ll nibble on chef Jason Donoho’s great food and toast to our departed friend with bar manager Bill Norris and Tipsy Texan David Alan. I’ll be there – won’t you join us? $20. 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm.
• [DO GOOD] November 4- 20: Les Dames d’Escoffier Food Fight Online Charity Auction – I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that professional women leaders in food, fine beverage, and hospitality have a world-wide philanthropic organization. Eating well and doing good just go so naturally together. The local Austin chapter of this organization will be hosting their first online event –a Food Fight — that will feature auctions of all sorts of interesting food experiences, including a VIP evening at Stubbs, a customized Oscar Party, an artisan cheese getaway for two in Oregon, and a holiday cookie party. The event promises to be a fun way to support this organization while bidding on unique experiences you can’t otherwise purchase.
• [NEW] [DO GOOD] November 4: Harvest Mandala Food Drive –On November 4th, the Living Color Signature Course in association with the UT Fine Arts Council will be throwing a feel good block party on the Main Mall right under the Tower. You won’t want to miss this celebration of the harvest, complete with live entertainment, can mountain, and UT’s very own colorful mandala. Bring canned goods to donate, and the entire event supports the Capital Area Food Bank. 10am – 6pm. RSVP on Facebook.
• [NEW] [VALUE] November 4: Cipollina Farmer’s Dinner – On the first Wednesday of each month, Cipollina offers a three-course prix fixe meal showcasing the foods of local growers. This Wednesday features the wonderful lamb raised by Loncito Cartwright. At $35, this is a great deal and it gives you a chance to not only enjoy a wonderful local spot but to partake in truly amazing local lamb.
• [NEW] [DO GOOD] [VALUE] November 5: Grape Escape Benefitting Heart House – Heart House is a free afterschool and summer program dedicated to providing a safe haven and academic support to low-income children. For just $25 you can enjoy a variety of wines, a myriad of tasty dishes provided by Austin’s finest dining establishments, and an eclectic silent auction. As foodie fundraising events go, this is one is one of the easiest on the pocketbook and helps support a great local organization. 6:30 – 9:30 pm. Purchase tickets online.
• [NEW] [DO GOOD] November 5: Bringin’ Home the Bacon – Preservation Bacon is one of Austin’s best kept secrets. This Thursday you can join Greg Bass, the curator of said bacon, along with Austin blogger, photographer, and bacon maker extraordinaire Marshall Wright to learn the ins and outs of curing your own bacon at home. The event is free but donations are accepted to support the good work of Slow Food Austin. There will be snacks available, but feel free to bring your own contribution as all of the discussion of bacon is sure to make everyone hungry. RSVP required because seating is limited. 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm. RSVP online.
• [UPDATED] November 5: Texas Wine and Food Festival November Night to Remember – As we look forward to the Hill Country Wine and Food Festival in the spring, this event brings a taste of that event and an opportunity to support the organization as they prepare to tantalize our taste buds in 2010. Enjoy an evening of culinary enchantment prepared by Chef Jon Gelman expertly paired with wines from award winning winemaker Adam Lee and local celebrity winemaker Ross Outon in the splendor of the Driskill Hotel’s Victorian Room. The $100 price tag includes a four-course dinner followed by a lively auction of fine wines, private winery tours and tastings, chef prepared dinner parties, and many other fabulous items. 6:30 pm. For reservations call 512.249.6300 or email erika@texaswineandfood.org.
• [NEW] November 6: Lou Lambert’s Casual Fall Dinner – Lou Lambert, owner of Lambert’s Downtown BBQ and Jo’s, will share the recipes for a tasty fall menu that includes acorn squash soup, chicken pot pie, and corn meal pancake. Lou is a fun teacher so you’ll leave with not only a full belly but a warm heart. $65. 6:30 – 9:00 pm. Reserve online.
• [UPDATED] [DO GOOD] November 6-7: MAX’s Wine Dive Austin Cellar Classic
  –MAX’s Wine Dive wants to help the Capital Area Food Bank offer 10,000 holiday meals to Central Texans in need while offering you some good deals on wine for holiday entertaining. The Austin Cellar Classic is a two-day event that features a Grand Wine Dinner on Friday ($80/person) and two Grand Wine Tasting sessions ($40/person) on Saturday. Guests attending the events will have the opportunity to purchase by the bottle or the case any of the wines served. For every total case purchased, the equivalent of 30 meals will be donated to the Capital Area Food Bank. MAX’s is not your ordinary venue, making these events all the more fun. Order tickets online.
• [NEW] November 6-8: Central Market Wine and Cheese Celebration – The holidays are fast approaching and that means one thing: time to stock up on wine and cheese. Central Market is hosting their annual celebration of grapes and Gouda (and beyond!) with a weekend celebrating Wine & Cheese. Enjoy tastings and conversations with experts at both Central Market locations. I try to make it to this event at least once (okay sometimes two or three times) each year because it is a great way to sample a variety of goodies as I contemplate my holiday party menus. This event also features the biannual 20% off wine sale. Mix and match your 12 favorite reds, whites and bubbles and take 20% off the bunch.
• [DO GOOD] November 8: Sustainable Food Center Inaugural Chef Series Benefit Hosted by La Condesa – To celebrate the importance of locally grown and harvested food, La Condesa will host the inaugural Sustainable Food Center Chef Series on Sunday, November 8 at 6:00 p.m. Austin’s most exciting and innovative chefs will be on hand to prepare an exquisite multi-course tasting menu featuring fresh meats and produce from the Austin Farmers’ Market. Experience amazing food from local chefs including ne Ortiz, executive chef at La Condesa, Tyson Cole, executive chef at Uchi, Shawn Cirkiel, executive chef at Parkside, Todd Duplechan, executive chef at Trio, Jesse Griffiths of Dai Due Supper Club, and Laura Sawicki, pastry chef at La Condesa. This will indeed be a night to remember. $150 with all proceeds benefiting the Sustainable Food Center. 6:00 pm. Purchase tickets online.

Eat Well, Do Good

• [NEW] November 18: A Slow Taste of Tuscany Benefiting Urban Roots – You are invited to be part of a celebration across North America of Slow Food and Douglas Gayeton’s new book Slow: Life in a Tuscan Town. Join Slow Food Austin and Edible Austin in honoring the simple and superb pleasures of local, fresh food that has been prepared slowly and locally at Austin’s own Primizie Osteria. Tickets are $85 and include not only a four-course feast highlighting local ingredients, but an autographed copy of the book ($50 value), and a contribution to Urban Roots. Gratuity and taxes are separate. Reserve online at Open Table for November 18 and note “Tuscan Dinner” in the comments box. Seating is limited. To be sure you receive your book at the event, please reserve by November 6.
• [NEW] December 5-12: Eat Local Week –Eat Local Week, Edible Austin’s winter fundraiser event, is an invitation to Central Texans to explore and celebrate the abundance of local food and to raise money for Urban Roots. Eat Local Week will kick off on December 5 at the Austin Farmers’ Market with the City of Austin’s proclamation and with support from GO TEXAN and other Central Texas communities. Dine out and shop locally, attend featured events, throw a dinner or cocktail party or simply make a home-cooked meal using local foods and beverages.

Plan Ahead: Events in the Next 3 Weeks

• November 9: Quintessa Wine Dinner at Perry’s
• November 10: Café Josie Wine Me Dine Me
• [NEW] [FREE] November 11-14: Gluten Free Week at Whole Foods Downtown
• [NEW] November 11: Holidays with Tre Wilcox Cooking Class
• [NEW] [FREE] November 12: Sagra Fennel Fest
• November 13: Cape Classics South African Wine Dinner with Vineyard Founder Andre Shearer
• [NEW] November 13: The New Thanksgiving Table Cooking Class
• November 14: Dai Due Whole Hog Class
• November 15: Dai Due Whole Hog Boucherie Dinner
• [NEW] [FREE]November 14: Beets Café Grand Opening

October has been a whirlwind of food events and the last week of October closes the month with a big Halloween bang – or boo! This is one of those fun years where Halloween falls on a weekend, so events abound. Interestingly enough, many events are on Friday instead of Saturday, making it possible to celebrate Halloween all weekend long with food and festivities. I’ve highlighted some of the more interesting food-related events, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. The Austin Chronicle has a great list of Halloween and Dia de los Muertos events, so be sure to review it as well as you plan your frightening fun.

I hope everyone has a safe and adventurous Halloween. I haven’t picked out my costume yet, have you?

Be Spontaneous: This Week’s Events

• [NEW] [VALUE] October 25 – 28: FLAVORS of Austin at Judges’ Hill
  – The new “restaurant week is every week” event sponsored by FLAVORS of Austin and supporting the Sustainable Food Center moves to Judges’ Hill Restaurant this week with a $30 menu full of tasty choices. Appetizers include a choice of seasonally-inspired soup, salad, or duck tart (yes please). For your entrée, choose from fowl, fish, or filet, and then wrap the evening up with a trio of desserts that include chocolate, coconut, and bananas. Yet another easy and cost-effective way to try a new local Austin eatery or revisit a favorite. To reserve your table, go online, call 12.495.1857, or e-mail restaurant@judgeshill.com.
• [NEW] [VALUE] October 27: New World Wine Series, The Wines of South Africa – Cissi’s Market is continuing their New World Wine Series with a tasting of South African wines. I’ve been a big fan of wines from this region ever since I was introduced to them by distributor and aficionado Elizabeth Bray at a Central Market Cooking School class. This region is still coming into its own, and as a result these wines are a huge value given their high quality. With the holidays coming up, it’s a great time to learn about these interesting, unique, and cost-effective wines. 7 pm – 9 pm. $25. Make reservations online or RSVP to reckel@cissismarket.com.
• [DO GOOD] [VALUE] October 28: Paint the Town Pink Ladies Happy Hour – Ladies, grab your girlfriends and get ready to get into a bit of trouble (the good kind of course). Local favorites Sugar Mama’s, Cornucopia Popcorn, Tito’s, and Milk and Honey Spa are putting on a great event at the Belmont to benefit the Komen foundation. With the Austin Race for the Cure just around the corner on November 1, this is a great way to celebrate one another while helping support research into this disease that can so quickly impact any one of us. The donation for the event is (at least) $20, which is a steal considering the fun you’ll have. 6 pm – 8 pm. Donate online or at the door.
• [UPDATED] October 29: Ciola’s Foods of Tuscany and Wines of Antinori Dinner
  – As one who dwells a ways away from downtown near the lake, I’m always interested in events out in my neck of the woods. Ciola’s, a well beloved Italian eatery in Lakeway is kick-starting their monthly wine dinner series this week. This initial dinner will feature wines from a vineyard that has been in production for 600 years and dishes like rabbit ragu, herb-roasted pork, and honey-nut cake. Even if you don’t live out in the lake area this event will be worth the drive. $65 – $70 per person. Call 512.263.9936 to reserve your spot.
• [NEW] [DO GOOD] October 30: Ghoulwill Ball
  – Channel the ghosts of Graceland and support Goodwill’s job-related programs and services on the night before Halloween. You’ll hobnob with Austin’s best ghouls and goblins while you enjoy endless food and drink at the Driskill. Have your face painted or your palm read, all while you enjoy music and a live auction. 8 pm – 11:30 pm. $125 per person. Purchase tickets online or e-mail ghoulwillball@austingoodwill.org.
• [NEW] October 30: Halloween Wine Bar Crawl – The Austin Winos are going on a pre-Halloween wine expedition and it promises to be a blast. They will be visiting five wine bars – Aquarelle, Cru, Max’s, Mulberry, and Cork & Co – and buying two bottles at each spot that are listed at between $80 and $100 each. Everyone on the tour contributes to the pot and everyone gets two big pours at each stop. That’s 10 glasses of $80 wine for $72.40. What I love most about this is the opportunity to sample several good quality wines for the prices of one. The company will be great as well and if you haven’t been to all of these fantastic establishments, you’ll get to experience them all in one evening. Space is limited to 24 people so if you’re interested, I’d sign up now. 7:30 pm – 12:30 am. Reserve online.
• [NEW] [VALUE] October 30: Moulin Rouge Halloween PARTY! – Local French favorite Aquarelle is hosting a pre-Halloween party featuring $6 wines and $6 nibbles including truffle-scented potatoes, lamb chops with orange gastrigue, and apple cupcakes. There will be music and a costume contest as well, so grab some friends and start the weekend out right without breaking the bank.
• [UPDATED] October 30: Cooking Class International Food & Wine: France – Central Market’s dynamic duo of Paul Schunder and Robert Jenkins are at it again, continuing their world expedition of food and wine with a stop in France. Sample the flavors of France including dishes like Salade Lyonnaise, chestnut soup, and leg of lamb. Each course will be paired with specially selected wines from France that will amaze your taste buds but not empty your wallet. Seating is limited. 6:30 pm – 9pm. $60 per person. Reserve online.
• [UPDATED] [GREAT VALUE] October 30: Whole Foods Sunset Supper & Cinema Featuring Ghost Busters – Once again this week, Whole Foods and Alamo Draft House bring you dinner and a movie on the roof of the Lamar mothership store. The movie is free and you can purchase wonderful food and drink from the store. A special $15 three course menu is available to go with the theme of the movie. This is a great event for friends or even an innovative date night.
• [UPDATED] [VALUE] October 30: Tea Embassy Halloween Afternoon Tea – Before you get your ghoul on and run about the neighborhood scaring small children, start your Halloween day with a refined spot of tea. Enjoy pumpkin tarts, brie, tea sandwiches, scones, and more along with paired teas for a relaxing and rejuvenating afternoon before the tricks and treats begin. Seatings at 12:30 pm and 3:30 pm. $35 per person. Call 512.330.9991 to reserve.
• [UPDATED]October 31: Dai Due Halloween Feast of Junk at the Cathedral of Junk – Looking for something new and fun to do this Halloween? How about sharing a fantastic meal with your follow Austin foodies at the very Austin Cathedral of Junk. You’ll spend Halloween night eating pickled watermelon rinds, offal, chard stems, dandelion, hoja santa, purslane and bread pudding next to the flickering lights of Vince Hannemann’s magnificent sculpture, listening to the ethereal live tunes of Ethan Azarian and his band at the Cathedral of Junk. And of course, you should dress for the occasion. $75. BYOB. To reserve, e-mail info@daidue.com with the number in your party. Payment required in advance.
• [UPDATED] October 31: MAX’s Underground Halloween Party – MAX’s Wine Dive Underground space is exceptionally cool and it would be a fun place to spend or at least start your Halloween. Their event includes music, drinks, munchies, and a whole bunch of fun. $50 per person. Or, if you’re more in the mood for a sit down meal, MAX’s is offering a $35 prix-fix menu with an optional $20 wine pairing menu. You really can’t go wrong with either option. Call 512.904.0111 to reserve for either event.

Eat Well, Do Good

• November 8: Sustainable Food Center Inaugural Chef Series Benefit Hosted by La Condesa – To celebrate the importance of locally grown and harvested food, La Condesa will host the inaugural Sustainable Food Center Chef Series on Sunday, November 8 at 6:00 p.m. Austin’s most exciting and innovative chefs will be on hand to prepare an exquisite multi-course tasting menu featuring fresh meats and produce from the Austin Farmers’ Market. Experience amazing food from local chefs including ne Ortiz, executive chef at La Condesa, Tyson Cole, executive chef at Uchi, Shawn Cirkiel, executive chef at Parkside, Todd Duplechan, executive chef at Trio, Jesse Griffiths of Dai Due Supper Club, and Laura Sawicki, pastry chef at La Condesa. This will indeed be a night to remember. $150 with all proceeds benefiting the Sustainable Food Center. 6:00 pm. Purchase tickets online.
• November 4- 20: Les Dames d’Escoffier Food Fight Online Charity Auction – I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that professional women leaders in food, fine beverage, and hospitality have a world-wide philanthropic organization. Eating well and doing good just go so naturally together. The local Austin chapter of this organization will be hosting their first online event –a Food Fight — that will feature auctions of all sorts of interesting food experiences, including a VIP evening at Stubbs, a customized Oscar Party, an artisan cheese getaway for two in Oregon, and a holiday cookie party. The event promises to be a fun way to support this organization while bidding on unique experiences you can’t otherwise purchase. Watch their site (and this one) for more details as November 4 approaches.

Plan Ahead: Events in the Next 3 Weeks

• November 2: Cooking Class Celebrate the Season, Texas-Style
• November 5: Texas Wine and Food Festival November Night to Remember
• November 6-7: MAX’s Wine Dive Austin Cellar Classic
• [NEW] November 9: Quintessa Wine Dinner at Perry’s
• [NEW] November 10: Café Josie Wine Me Dine Me
• November 14: Dai Due Whole Hog Class
• November 15: Dai Due Whole Hog Boucherie Dinner

[Jump right to the recipe: Savory Chex Mix with Pumpkin Seeds]

Throwing a really great party doesn’t have to be difficult if you do two important things:

• Plan ahead a bit.
• Create a menu that combines a healthy selection of make-ahead recipes with a few choice “serve immediately” dishes. The make-ahead dishes are the backbone of the party and the more time sensitive dishes add a sense of fresh and just made to the whole affair.

To make party planning and cooking easier, I have a whole arsenal of make-ahead recipes in my collection and am always on the hunt for new additions. And just because a dish can be made ahead doesn’t mean it can’t showcase really great ingredients or have a unique flavor profile. Make ahead does not have to equal boring!

For my upcoming pumpkin carving party, 10 of the 21 different dishes I plan to serve can be (and have been) made more than a week in advance. And really, with travel for fun and work filling up the days before the party, I didn’t have a choice. Even if I choose not to sleep for 24 hours before the party, I won’t be able to pull of such an extensive menu without the help of my make-ahead recipes.

Disclaimer: Really, 21 dishes is probably overkill for a pumpkin carving party, but hey, I like to cook. Also, some of these dishes are simple things like a cheese plate and dippers for fondue, so it’s not 21 complex dishes. Mixing easy and more difficult preparations is another key to throwing a really great party. But, I digress…

Three of my favorite types of make-ahead party foods include:

• Flavored nuts. While you could easily set out a dish of mixed nuts for your guests, in an hour or so you can jazz up any plain ol’ nut to make it just a little more special. Most seasoned nut recipes keep for a week or two at least, and most are also easy to prepare. At this year’s party I’m serving Rosemary Roasted Almonds and Orange Chipotle Spiced Pecans. I made both recipes last night between dinner time and bed time. With just a few ingredients, the prep work goes quickly and the oven does most of the heavy lifting. Nuts like these also make great holiday gifts. They are homemade, which everyone truly appreciates, but they fit neatly into a hectic schedule.
• Biscotti. I have extolled the virtues of biscotti in previous posts. They are surprisingly easy to make, can be both savory and sweet, work with almost limitless flavor combinations, and freeze beautifully. For this year’s party I’ve made a Parmesan and Black Pepper Biscotti, a Gourmet recipe that turned out to be my tribute to that great magazine. With only a few ingredients, the parmesan is the star, with the black pepper adding a contrasting bite at the back of the throat after each nibble. They go very well with champagne too, which is always a bonus in my book. I made the dough for this recipe in my food processor because I really hate cutting butter into flour by hand, and it worked beautifully. The biscotti will keep for up to four weeks wrapped tightly in foil and then zipped up in a freezer bag. Let them thaw the night before you plan to serve them. And if you don’t have parmesan on hand, try another hard cheese like an asiago or even a well-aged manchego.
• Nuts and Bolts. My family calls Chex Mix “Nuts and Bolts” although I’m not really sure why. It’s a much more fun name though so I’ll go with it. While you can buy Chex Mix pre-made, I’d highly recommend that you make it yourself because you can control the salt content and the quality of all of the ingredients. It’s also silly easy. If you’ve only ever had packaged Chex Mix, I highly recommend you try a homemade version – the difference is astronomical. Like all of my other favorite recipes, the Nuts and Bolts recipe is infinitely variable. Change up the cereal combinations, the nuts and other mix-ins, as well as the spices you use for flavor. Like seasoned nuts, putting the dish together is easy and the oven does the hard work. These munchies keep for 3-4 weeks in an air-tight container and are perfect to keep on hand during the holidays for when unexpected guests drop by. My recipe is my take on the one my mother has been making since I was a kid.

Recipe: Savory Chex Mix with Pumpkin Seeds

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
• Serves: 36-40 1 cup servings
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients

• ½ c. olive oil
  
• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  
• 2 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
  
• 1 tsp. red hot pepper sauce
  
• 1 box each Rice Chex, Corn Chex, and Wheat Chex
  
• 8 oz. pretzels, any shape
  
• 6 oz. pecan halves
  
• 4 oz. roasted, shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
  
• 1 1 oz. package Italian salad dressing mix
  
• ¼ tsp. garlic powder
  

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
2. Combine the olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and hot pepper sauce in a small bowl and whisk to mix well.
3. Add the cereal, pretzels, pecan halves, and pumpkin seeds in a large roasting pan and stir to combine.
4. Combine the salad dressing mix and the garlic powder in a small bowl and stir to mix.
5. Sprinkle the dry seasonings over the top of the cereal, pretzel, and nut mixture. Drizzle evenly with the olive oil mixture. Do not stir.
6. Place the roaster in the oven. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour.
7. Remove from oven and let cool completely before storing in an air-tight container.

Recipe for Success

• My local market has tamari roasted pumpkin seeds in the bulk department and they work beautifully in this dish. You can include unshelled, roasted pumpkin seeds in the mix instead of shelled seeds, but they do make add a shelling component to the munching, so be sure to put out a shell receptacle.
  
• My family owned a house with a whole slew of pecan trees for most of my childhood, so pecans tend to be our nut of choice. You can however use any nut, or combination thereof, that you like. Buy roasted or raw nuts – which ever you would normally buy for snacking.
  
• We use standard Chex cereal in our recipe, but you could easily use another similar cereal if you’d like. Experiment!
  
• If you’d like to add a bit of a sweet element to the mix, you could toss in dried fruit or even M&Ms. Add them at the end after the mixture has cooled.

October is crazy time for food and wine events in Austin. This week alone there are 13 events in my post and that’s not including the full complement of cooking classes at Central Market and Whole Foods, wine tastings at stores around town, and events that I didn’t come across. Needless to say, there’s much to keep your palette happy in the coming few days. If you don’t have a good food experience this week, don’t blame me.

While every event I list as a “Do Good” opportunity is just that,  a chance to support important local causes while enjoying a fun event, in the coming couple of weeks, a particularly critical cause will be in the spotlight in Austin: the Komen Foundation. The annual Komen run is just a couple of weeks away on November 1, and between now an then, you can enjoy cupcakes and wine or a girls night out in support of the Komen foundation. Both events are at great price points, $13 and $20 respectively, so I hope that as many of you as possible will take the opportunity to get out and enjoy some local foodie fun while supporting breast cancer research.

This week brings two new changes to the ever-evolving Foodie Bits format:

• I’ve added [VALUE] and [GREAT VALUE] tags to indicate events that are priced at less than $40 and $20 respectively. A fellow food blogger reminded me last week that I’ve been featuring a lot of $100+ events, particularly in the “Eat Well, Do Good” section, and that’s not a practical price point for many food and wine lovers. While I don’t control the price points of the events, I can make a point of searching out a wider variety of events at different prices points (which I will). I’m also going to make a point of calling cost-effective events out so they are easy to find.
• I’ve rearranged the order a bit. As always, the post will focus first on this week’s events with charting activities but is now followed by the “Eat well, Do Good” section to call better attention to future events that give us an attempt to feed our stomachs and our souls at once. I’ve moved the future-looking “Plan Ahead” section to the end of the blog and am only including links to those activities, not a full write-up. As each of these events moves in the current week’s schedule, I’ll dig a little deeper and provide commentary. My goal is to keep providing as many events as possible in this post while being realistic about how much time I have to spend on it each week.

As always, please let me know what you think about the format changes and what I can do to better make this post useful to you. And, without further adieu, let’s get started.

Be Spontaneous: This Week’s Events

• [NEW] [VALUE] October 19-21: FLAVORS of Austin @ Primizie – Continuing with the new series featuring restaurant week-style menus year-round, FLAVORS of Austin’s focus this week is on Primizie, an Italian Osteria in East Austin. Primizie’s special tasting menu features a Sicilian pastry filled with caciocavallo cheese, and house made Italian sausage, a spaghetti tossed with caramelized garlic, fried caper berries and salt cured tuna row, and a semolina cake with toasted almond gelato (just to name a few things). For only $40 ($60 with wine pairings), you’ll be treated to a full survey of Primizi’s style and culinary point of view. I’ve tasted food from Primizie at recent events and was duly impressed. Make reservations online or call 236.0088.
• [UPDATED] [DO GOOD] [GREAT VALUE]: Cupcake and Wine Paring to Benefit Komen Austin – The folks from House Wine and The Cupcake Bar are at it again. They are pairing cupcakes and wine (you read that right) and this time proceeds from the event will benefit Komen Austin. Sample three cupcakes, including Berry Pink Strawberry Cupcake, Halloween Caramel Apple Cupcake, and a Dark Chocolate Cupcake. Then pair them with one of three especially selected wines. At just $13, this is no-brainer event. Stop by on your way to the Slow Food Austin fundraiser or the Film & Food event. 6 pm – 8 pm. RSVP to info@thecupcakebaraustin.com to let them know you are coming so they can have enough wine and cupcakes on hand.
• [DO GOOD]October 21: Slow Food Austin Fund Raiser – Slow Food Austin is hosting their first fund raiser and it promises to be a fun and tasty event. Learn all about raw milk cheeses from Whole Foods’ Global Cheese Buyer Cathy Strange. You’ll get to taste complimentary beers from Austin’s (512) Brewery and honey from Round Rock Honey. The lovely Barr Mansion is hosting the event, so it will be a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds. For only $50 ($40 for members) you’ll learn a lot, taste some great food, and support an important cause. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm.
• [DO GOOD]October 21: 7^th Annual Film & Food – The Austin Film Festival is hosting its yearly fundraiser in support of the Young Filmmakers Program designed to help kids ages 9-18 explore creativity and build literacy skills via filmmaking and screenwriting. A host of local restaurants including the Blemont, Eddie V’s, Jezebel, Roaring Fork, and Ranch 616 will provide great food while attendees enjoy music and bid on items in a silent auction. The Driskill is a beautiful venue and the cause is a great one, so get out your fancy clothes and come out for a fun and tasty evening. $85. 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm.
• [NEW] October 21: Central Market Fall Creek Vineyards Winemaker’s Dinner – Join Ed and Susan Auler, the owners and winemakers at Texas’ own Fall Creek Vineyards along with Central Market Westgate Executive Chef John Maxwell for an evening of food, wine, learning, and fun. The Aulers will present five of their wines paired with five courses created to compliment them. I’ve taken several classes with Susan and she is truly a delight. I’m sure this event will make for a memorable evening. The dinner will be served in the café and reservations are required. Seating is limited. 7 pm – 9 pm. $75. Reserve online.
• [NEW] October 21: FINO Chef’s Table Fresh from Italy – Emmett and Lisa Fox, the owners of local favorites FINO and Asti are just back from a whirlwind trip of Italy and they are ready to share all that they experienced and tasted along the way. The dinner will feature dishes and wine pairings inspired by their visit, and Lisa and Emmett will show photos and tell stories. $65 ($100 with wine pairings). 6:30 pm. Call 474.2905 to make reservations.
• [NEW] [VALUE] October 21: GO TEXAN Two-Sip Tasting – Join Devon Broglie, Whole Foods Market Regional Wine Expert, and celebrate Texas Wine Month with this special GO TEXAN class. Learn about varietals that are emerging as Texas’ signature grapes, including Tempranillo, Sangiovese, and Viognier. You’ll also experience a blind tasting of wines from Texas and around the world so you can truly put Texas wines in context. 6:30 – 8:30 pm. $35. Register online.
• [NEW] [VALUE] October 22: Traveling Bistro Bistro Set October Dinner – Local caterer Traveling Bistro is creating The Bistro Set, a private dinner club. The club’s October Dinner will be held at the historic Charles Johnson mansion, home of the American Legion, Travis Post 76. Members will enjoy wonderful meals, fine crafted beverages, a bit of food education and great company in this cozy historic setting right on Lady Bird Lake. The four course menu will be paired with wine from Grape Creek. The dinner’s cost is $50 per person, but @TravelingBistro Twitter followers will receive a $12 discount, making this event a $38 value. 7:30 pm. Purchase tickets online. Call 587-5097, or email travelingbistro@gmail.com for more information.
• [NEW] [GREAT VALUE] October 23: Whole Foods Sunset Supper & Cinema Featuring Psycho – Whole Foods and Alamo Draft House bring you dinner and a movie on the roof of the Lamar mothership store. The movie is free and you can purchase wonderful food and drink from the store. A special $15 three course menu is available to go with the theme of the movie. This is a great event for friends or even an innovative date night.
• [DO GOOD] October 24: Slow Feast in the Field – Green Gate Farms will host its third annual Slow Feast in the Field celebrating local, naturally grown, freshly harvested food to benefit the Austin Discovery School (ADS). This magical evening will feature a progressive five-course gourmet meal served outdoors at the historic Bergstrom homestead. You’ll dine on seasonal fare surrounded by fields of produce. The menu will feature heirloom vegetables and Duroc/Berkshire pork raised at the farm and prepared by Chef Jesse Bloom of Ecstatic Cuisine. This is yet another opportunity to sample the best that Austin has to offer while supporting a really great local group. 7 pm – 10 pm. $100 per person. Purchase tickets online.
• October 24: Dai Due Seafood Supper Club at Rain Lilly Farm – A quick trip to the markets and shrimp boats in Aransas Pass can yield anything this time of year, from fresh flounder on their annual migration to giant yellowfin tuna and huge, fresh shrimp. Paired with Rain Lily’s amazing produce – grown within oyster-shell-throwing distance of the table – this simple, fresh resource can really shine. Join the amazing Dai Due team for a multi-course bacchanalia of seafood, served raw, stewed and grilled over pecan under the pecan trees on a beautiful fall evening. $75. BYOB. To reserve, e-mail info@daidue.com with the number in your party. Payment required in advance.
• [NEW] October 24: Fredericksburg Food & Wine Festival – The weather is beautiful so why not take a drive out into the Texas hill country to visit lovely Fredericksburg? The $20 cost of admission includes three wine samples, sessions of the Grape Expectations cooking school, music, games, an auction, and food samples. What a lovely way to spend a fall weekend in Texas. 12 pm – 7 pm. Fredericksburg Marktplatz.
• [NEW] [DO GOOD] [VALUE] October 25: Grow Local, Eat Global 11^th Annual Fundraiser – The Green Corn Project helps Central Texans grown their own organic gardens. As you might imagine, they need all of the support they can get to help change the way we eat one household at a time. Join them for their annual fundraiser at Boggy Creek Farms and enjoy food tastings from local restaurants like Café Josie, Fete Accompli, Lake Austin Spa Resort, Mulberry, Olivia, and more. Many of these restaurants haven’t been at recent tasting events, so it will be a real treat to sample their food at this event. You’ll also be able to watch chef demonstrations complete with tastes and recipes, and enjoy music from local artists. At $40 per person, $35 if you pre-order your tickets, this is one of the most affordable fundraisers of the season

Eat Well, Do Good

• [NEW] [VALUE] October 28: Paint the Town Pink Ladies Happy Hour – Ladies, grab your girlfriends and get ready to get into a bit of trouble. Local favorites Sugar Mama’s, Cornucopia Popcorn, Tito’s, and Milk and Honey Spa are putting on a great event at the Belmon to benefit the Komen foundation. With the Austin Race for the Cure just around the corner on November 1, this is a great way to celebrate one another while helping support research into this disease that can so quickly impact any one of us. The donation for the event is (at least) $20, which is a steal considering the fun you’ll have. 6 pm – 8 pm. Donate online or at the door.
• [NEW] November 8: Sustainable Food Center Inaugural Chef Series Benefit Hosted by La Condesa – To celebrate the importance of locally grown and harvested food, La Condesa will host the inaugural Sustainable Food Center Chef Series on Sunday, November 8 at 6:00 p.m. Austin’s most exciting and innovative chefs will be on hand to prepare an exquisite multi-course tasting menu featuring fresh meats and produce from the Austin Farmers’ Market. Experience amazing food from local chefs including Rene Ortiz, executive chef at La Condesa, Tyson Cole, executive chef at Uchi, Shawn Cirkiel, executive chef at Parkside, Todd Duplechan, executive chef at Trio, Jesse Griffiths of Dai Due Supper Club, and Laura Sawicki, pastry chef at La Condesa. This will indeed be a night to remember. $150 with all proceeds benefiting the Sustainable Food Center. 6:00 pm. Purchase tickets online.
• [NEW] November 4- 20: Les Dames d’Escoffier Food Fight Online Charity Auction – I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that professional women leaders in food, fine beverage, and hospitality have a world-wide philanthropic organization. Eating well and doing good just go so naturally together. The local Austin chapter of this organization will be hosting their first online event –a Food Fight — that will feature auctions of all sorts of interesting food experiences, including a VIP evening at Stubbs, a customized Oscar Party, an artisan cheese getaway for two in Oregon, and a holiday cookie party. The event promises to be a fun way to support this organization while bidding on unique experiences you can’t otherwise purchase. Watch their site (and this one) for more details as November 4 approaches.

Plan Ahead: Events in the Next 3 Weeks

• [NEW] October 29: Ciolas Foods of Tuscany and Wines of Antinori Dinner
• [NEW] October 30: Cooking Class International Food & Wine: France
• [NEW] [GREAT VALUE] October 30: Whole Foods Sunset Supper & Cinema Featuring Ghost Busters
• [NEW] [VALUE] October 30: Tea Embassy Halloween Afternoon Tea
• [NEW] October 31: Dai Due Halloween Feast of Junk at the Cathedral of Junk
• [NEW] October 31: MAX’s Underground Halloween Party
• [NEW] November 2: Cooking Class Celebrate the Season, Texas-Style
• [NEW] November 5: Texas Wine and Food Festival November Night to Remember
• [NEW] November 6-7: MAX’s Wine Dive Austin Cellar Classic
• [NEW] November 14: Dai Due Whole Hog Class
• [NEW] November 15: Dai Due Whole Hog Boucherie Dinner

Okay then, getting behind for one week of Austin Foodie Bits puts subsequent weeks in jeopardy. Yet another reason I want to find a more efficient way to manage this information. Along those lines, many thanks to everyone who took the time to share thoughts and comments about how to make Foodie Bits better. In the interests of time and making everyone aware of some really fantastic events coming up very soon, I’ve focused this edition on this week’s activities plus some really great food-related fundraisers that everyone should know about. Next week we’ll be back to the regular grind and I promise to publish on Monday.

With the changes in the weather, foodie fun is really picking up, so I expect you’ll find no shortage of interesting activities between now and the winter holidays. Austin’s diverse and locally-focused food is so well represented by these many events so I hope you’ll find your way to one or two.

Oh, and by the way, there’s this little matter of a football game in Dallas this weekend. All I can say is “Go ‘Horns!”

Be Spontaneous: This Week’s Events [10/12-18]

• [UPDATED] [DO GOOD] October 14: TRIO Pancake Dinner – The Four Season’s newest fundraising event will resurrect the popular “breakfast-for-dinner” concept with a Pancake Dinner at TRIO. The special menu will feature four different pancake options for the evening’s dinner, in addition to their regular a la carte menu. 50 percent of the proceeds from pancake sales will benefit Seton. For $15 for adults and $7.50 for children, this event is a fantastic deal. I’ll be there – will you? This is Life in Austin has a great write-up of the event, so if the words “pancake” and “TRIO” and “proceeds” aren’t enough to get you down to the Four Seasons, hope on over to their post for even more information.
• [DO GOOD] October 15: Austin Museum of Art’s La Dolce Vita – Did I mention that there’s an event this week benefiting AMOA? I gave away two tickets to the event but you can still get your own at any Twin Liquors location. For the cost of a nice dinner with wine at any single Austin restaurant, you can sample food from over 50 restaurants along with a bevy of great wines, all the while supporting the arts in Austin. I’ll be there – I hope to see you. $100/ticket. 6pm – 9pm. Laguna Gloria.
• [NEW] October 16-17: St. Elias Mediterranean Festival – Mediterranean food, music, and dancing – what more fun could there be. Take a couple of hours out of your weekend to stop by the 77^th annual edition of this popular festival to sample tasty food and wine, shop in the marketplace, and even dance a jig or two, all for the amazingly low price of $5 donation. You have no excuse not to go (unless you’re in Dallas cheering on the ‘Horns). 6pm – 12am. Purchase tickets at any Twin Liquors.
• [NEW] October 17: Book Signing and Chef’s Demo at the Austin Farmer’s Market – This weekend promises to be a beautiful one, so why not head out to the farmer’s market to browse seasonal offerings from our local farmers. While you’re there, you can meet Pamela Walker, author of Growing Good Things to Eat in Texas and enjoy a Chefs’ Demo by Jam Sanitchat of Thai Fresh. I can’t think of a better way to kick-start your weekend.
• October 17: Dai Due Venison Workshop – Deer hunting is a popular past time here in Central Texas, yet many hunters turn to a deer processor when it’s time to turn their prize into dinner. This workshop will show you how to process the entire deer and utilize every single bit of it with no waste. Co-taught by “…Tink Pinkard, a professional hunting guide and bona fide East Texas good ol’ boy that knows his way around firearms and food..” it promises to be not only educational but fun. $225 which includes dinner at the Venison Feast on Sunday at Montesino Farm in Wimberley. 2 pm – 6 pm. E-mail info@daidueaustin.com to reserve.
• [NEW] October 17: A Taste of Tuscany Dinner with the Winemaker – If you’re looking for a way to feed your stomach and your mind this Saturday evening, treat yourself to a winemaker’s dinner at Twin Liquors. Giovanella Stianti Mascheroni, proprieter of Castello di Volpaia and one of Tuscany’s leaders in organic viticulture, will share her wines. The accompanying Tuscan-inspired menu is sure to be tasty and you’ll learn something new along the way. 6:30pm – 8:30pm. Marketplace at Hancock Center Wine Room. $50 per person, $85 for two. Purchase tickets online.
• [NEW] October 17: Cuban Pig Roast – Its pig roastin’ time at Rain Lilly Farm, a great activity for a fall evening in Central Texas. You’ll dine on a Full Quiver hog and seasonal sides from the farm. This event is BYOB, so you can pair your favorite beer or wine with the pig. 6 pm – 10:00 pm. $35 per person. E-mail info@farmhousedelivery.com or call 512. 529.8569 for reservations.
• [NEW] October 18: Alton Brown Book Signing – Alton Brown is coming to town to sign copies of his latest book, Good Eats: The Early Years. Pickup a book at Book People and he’ll even personalize it for you. There are some specifics about wristbands on the Book People site, so be sure to read those before you head on down to get your book and meet Alton. I’ll be coming back from Dallas (sniff) so I’ll miss the event, but if you go, tell him I said hi!

Eat Well, Do Good

• [NEW] October 21: Cupcake and Wine Paring to Benefit Komen Austin – The folks from House Wine are at it again. They are pairing cupcakes and wine (you read that right) and this time proceeds from the event will benefit Komen Austin. There are more details to come, but for now, set aside a mere $13 and mark your calendar for 6pm on the 21^st for this most tasty and worthy activity. Stop by on your way to the Slow Food Austin fundraiser or the Film & Food event. What a great way to start your evening.
• October 21: Slow Food Austin Fund Raiser – Slow Food Austin is hosting their first fund raiser and it promises to be a fun and tasty event. Learn all about raw milk cheeses from Whole Foods’ Global Cheese Buyer Cathy Strange. You’ll get to taste complimentary beers from Austin’s (512) Brewery and honey from Round Rock Honey. The lovely Barr Mansion is hosting the event, so it will be a feast for the eyes as well as the tastebuds. For only $50 ($40 for members) you’ll learn a lot, taste some great food, and support an important cause. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm.
• October 21: 7^th Annual Film & Food – The Austin Film Festival is hosting its yearly fundraiser in support of the Young Filmmakers Program designed to help kids ages 9-18 explore creativity and build literacy skills via filmmaking and screenwriting. A host of local restaurants including the Blemont, Eddie V’s, Jezebel, Roaring Fork, and Ranch 616 will provide great food while attendees enjoy music and bid on items in a silent auction. The Driskill is a beautiful venue and the cause is a great one, so get out your fancy clothes and come out for a fun and tasty evening. $85. 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm.
• [NEW] October 24: Slow Feast in the Field – Green Gate Farms will host its third annual Slow Feast in the Field celebrating local, naturally grown, freshly harvested food to benefit the Austin Discovery School (ADS). This magical evening will feature a progressive five-course gourmet meal served outdoors at the historic Bergstrom homestead. You’ll dine on seasonal fare surrounded by fields of produce. The menu will feature heirloom vegetables and Duroc/Berkshire pork raised at the farm and prepared by Chef Jesse Bloom of Ecstatic Cuisine. This is yet another opportunity to sample the best that Austin has to offer while supporting a really great local group. 7 pm – 10 pm. $100 per person. Purchase tickets online.

I’m very excited to hold my first give away. This is something I’ve seen other bloggers do and I look at it as another opportunity to be of service to the Austin community and continue to connect my readers with great food and wine experiences around town. The wonderful staff at Russell/Shaw PR have gifted me with two tickets to one of Austin’s premier events, the Austin Museum of Art’s annual La Dolce Vita Food and Wine Festival, happening this coming Thursday, October 15. Featuring food from a large collection of Austin’s premier restaurants including Moonshine, Primizie Osteria, Truluck’s, and Parkside, this event will also highlight the best of Texas wines and other vino selected by the knowledgeable staff from Twin Liquors. Held at the beautiful Laguna Gloria, transformed for the evening into scenes from Fellini’s La Dolce Vita movie, it promises to be a night to remember. I attended a preview at Twin Liquors a week or so ago, and the food from Primizie and Austin Cake Ball was full of promise for the main event. This is one of the ultimate eat well, do good parties in town because the proceeds from ticket sales go to support AMOA and arts in Austin. To quote News 8 Austin, what a delicious way to support the arts.

Help Me Improve Austin Foodie Bits and Enter to Win

You may have noticed that I didn’t post an Austin Foodie Bit this week. Quite frankly, life just got the better of me and it didn’t happen. Foodie Bits is a labor of love and I missed putting it together this week. As I was contemplating how to avoid missing another week again when life inevitably happens, the content geek in me rose up to declare that I should put the whole thing into a database. And then, because that geek was on a role, she suggested that I should also have an iPhone application to make accessing the database that much easier. I’ve been inspired by my friend Jodi at Tasty Touring to port my blog to a WordPress installation I can manage in 2010. Such a move would give me a lot more control over what content and tools I feature on my site and would allow me to move Foodie Bits into a more structured format. My friend Marshall at Eat This Lens launched his own iPhone app a while back, and he insists it’s totally manageable with help from the right gurus.

But, before I dive head first into redesigns, database development, and iPhone apps, I’d love to get your feedback on if you think a database and iPhone app for Foodie Bits would be useful, and if so, what I could do to make those tools the most usable. I would continue to write a Monday post around the week’s upcoming events but would most likely use it to highlight a sub-set of the events and dedicate a bit more time to the scoop on each.

So, to enter the contest for the tickets to La Dolce Vita ($200 value), simply leave a comment on this post with your thoughts about if it’s worthwhile for me to create an Austin Foodie Bits database and/or iPhone app, or any other feedback you have on how I can make Foodie Bits better. Submissions are due by 5pm CST on Tuesday, October 13, 2009. I will use random.org to select the winner of two tickets and notify them sometime that evening. And, if you don’t win, you’ll still be able to purchase your tickets on Wednesday for the event on Thursday.

Thanks so much for playing and I look forward to reading your feedback.

Image courtesy of GO TEXAN

Happy Monday! I’m fresh from the BlogHer Food 09 conference in San Francisco. I had a wonderful two days filled with food, learning, and networking. I find myself inspired and re-energized and I already have some fun and interesting things for the blog brewing in my mind. But, first things first on this rainy Monday – it’s time for this week’s edition of the Austin Foodie Bits.

There are many fun foodie adventures waiting for us all this week, but I’d like to call your attention to one that’s been listed in this post for the last several weeks: the GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up. This event starts today and runs through Friday, and gives you a chance to experience Texas’ best food and wine at restaurants around the state. Now I know we’re all fresh off of not one but two weeks of Austin’s awesome restaurant week, but I encourage you to loosen your belt another notch and go out to the participating restaurants around the state for yet another set of great meals. No will you have an opportunity to taste the best of Texas, but in many cases you’ll be supporting local food banks like Austin’s own Capital Area Food Bank. If you’re not sure what restaurant to choose, my good friend Jodi at Tasty Touring just put together a preview of some of the Central Texas menus for this event, so take gander and get out and celebrate the goodness that is Texas food and wine.

Be Spontaneous: This Week’s Events

• September 28 – 30: Flavors of Austin Kickoff at Frank – Isn’t restaurant week a wonderful thing? Don’t you wish it could go on all year long? Flavors, a project put together by Launch787, will allow us to do just that, with a focus each week on a different Austin restaurant. Starting on September 28 with flights of hotdogs at Frank and then moving in weekly succession to Austin greats like Cipollina and Primizie, Flavors will highlight a single http://everydayfoodie.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=540restaurant with a special menu and portions of the proceeds benefiting the Sustainable Food Center. Try a new restaurant each week of the year and expand your Austin culinary horizons.
• September 29: Pasta Workshop – When I was little I remember my grandmother buying a pasta machine and making her own pasta on Sundays. While I’ve bought pre-made pasta for most of my adult life, I think there’s something soothing and slowing about making your own pasta from scratch. If you’ve ever want to know how to mix your own dough and craft your own pasta, this class will get you started. You’ll make linguini, fettuccini, and filled ravioli, along with a collection of sauces. 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm. $65. Reserve online.
• [NEW] September 30: Slow Food Drink Happy Hour at Annie’s – Join Slow Food Austin in their inaugural Happy Hour hosted by Annie’s Cafe and Bar on Congress. You’ll have a chance to meet the fine folks who make this important organization tick and you can take this last opportunity to join Slow Food Austin for any donation you can afford instead of the usual $60 annual fee. Drink specials include $3 drafts, $6 carafes of house wine, and $6 “Snail-tails” (a menu of three locally and sustainably sourced cocktails created by the Tipsy Texan). A portion of the event proceeds will help support Slow Food Austin.
• [NEW] October 1: The Best Chicken You’ve Never Had – Hot on the heels of their Happy Hour, Slow Food Austin will present their October Slow Session, devoted entirely to helping you find a really great chicken. Jules Assata and Sue Beckwith of Shades of Green Farm will talk about what makes a chicken really amazing (here’s a hint, it’s not being raised in a factory and fed to bulk up quickly). The session is free and there will be light refreshments, but please do bring something to share as well. 7 pm – 9 pm. Habitat Suites. RSVP online.
• October 2-4: Fall Creek Vineyards 5th Annual Texas Fall Fest and Auction – Join the Aulers, some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, and the cultivators of Fall Creek Vinyards, in a three day festival of food and wine. Some of Texas best chefs will join in a celebration of Texas food and wine in the lovely hill country. The weather looks to be beautiful and the experience will be memorable, so hop online to learn more about the event and procure your tickets.
• October 2-4: Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg – Food and drink, arts and crafts, shopping, and more, all in celebration of German culture and Fall. Take a day trip out to Fredericksburg to enjoy this annual event with friends and family. $6 for adults, $1 for children, or buy a two-day pass for $10 or a three-day pass for $15. Hours vary by day.

Plan Ahead: Events in the Next 3 Weeks

• [NEW] October 7: FINO Chef’s Table Maker’s Mark – Maker’s Mark Diplomat Adam Harris joins Executive Chef Jason Donoho and award-winning bartender Bill Norris for the next Chef’s Table. You can look forward to an evening of fabulous food paired with Maker’s Mark Cocktails and other surprises from the distillery. If you enjoy great food and spirits, this event is perfect for you. $100 per person. 6:30 pm. Call 474-2905 to reserve your spot.
• [DO GOOD] [NEW] October 7: Food For Thought Benefit – I’ve found that one of the best ways to sample a collection of Austin’s best food all at once is to attend a benefit featuring many Austin restaurants. You can taste a nibble or two from each restaurant and get a great feel for what to expect when you dine there. At this week’s Food for Thought Benefit you’ll get to nosh on food from the likes of Aquarelle, Chez Zee, Jeffrey’s, Truluck’s, and more. You’ll also support the great work done by the Communities in Schools organization. $75/person. Call 464-9761 for more information on times and tickets.
• [DO GOOD] October 8: Tour de Vin at Whole Foods – This event is easily Fall’s preeminent Austin food event. Benefiting The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas, Tour de Vin is a get-your-passport-stamped style wine and food tasting featuring the best domestic and internationally-inspired cuisine in Central Texas. Aquarelle, Buenos Aires Café, Primizie Osteria, Satay, Z’Tejas are just a few of the restaurants who will be sharing sweet and savory nibbles. To top it all off, the event will be held on the Whole Foods Rooftop Plaze during one of our most beautiful months of the year. Enjoy food, wine, and good company – all under the beautiful starry Texas sky. $50 for Foundation Members, $75 for the general public. 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm. Purchase tickets online.
• October 10: Dai Due Supper Club Herb Dinner – After a bit of a hiatus, the Dai Due crew is back and opening the October supper club season with an herb dinner at the American Botanical Council’s hidden garden off of Manor road. Take a tour of the grounds then enjoy a 7 course dinner that will highlight a specific herb grown on the grounds. 5:30 pm. $75. BYOB. E-mail info@daidueaustin.com to reserve.
• October 10: International Wine and Food North America – Chefs Robert and Paul from the Central Market cooking school are joining forces again to take you on a tour of the food and wine of North America. Drink wins from New Mexico, Texas, California, and more as you taste dishes created just for the occasion. I’ve attended several of their classes in the past and highly recommend them not only for great food and wine, but for a fun evening during which you’re sure to learn many things. 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm. $60. Reserve online.
• October 14: TRIO Pancake Dinner – The Four Season’s newest fundraising event will resurrect the popular “breakfast-for-dinner” concept with a Pancake Dinner at TRIO. The special menu will feature four different pancake options for the evening’s dinner, in addition to their regular a la carte menu. 50 percent of the proceeds from pancake sales will benefit Seton. For $15 for adults and $7.50 for children, this event is a fantastic deal. I’ll be there – will you?
• October 17: Dai Due Venison Workshop – Deer hunting is a popular past time here in Central Texas, yet many hunters turn to a deer processor when it’s time to turn their prize into dinner. This workshop will show you how to process the entire deer and utilize every single bit of it with no waste. Co-taught by “…Tink Pinkard, a professional hunting guide and bona fide East Texas good ol’ boy that knows his way around firearms and food..” it promises to be not only educational but fun. $225 which includes dinner at the Venison Feast on Sunday at Montesino Farm in Wimberley. 2 pm – 6 pm. E-mail info@daidueaustin.com to reserve.

Eat Well, Do Good

• October 8: Parkside 1^st Annual Pink Party – Parkside is one of Austin’s best restaurants and they are supporting the community by hosting a fund raiser in support of the Susan G. Komen foundation. They will have pink bubbles and cocktails, lovely nibbles from Chef Shawn Cirkiel, music, and schwag bags. This event screams “Girls Night Out!” if ever one has – although I bet the guys would have a blast too. Either way, grab a group of friends and plan to support this important cause. Tickets for this event are now $50. Buy one today!
• October 21: Slow Food Austin Fund Raiser – Slow Food Austin is hosting their first fund raiser and it promises to be a fun and tasty event. Learn all about raw milk cheeses from Whole Foods’ Global Cheese Buyer Cathy Strange. You’ll get to taste complimentary beers from Austin’s (512) Brewery and honey from Round Rock Honey. The lovely Barr Mansion is hosting the event, so it will be a feast for the eyes as well as the tastebuds. For only $50 ($40 for members) you’ll learn a lot, taste some great food, and support an important cause. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm.
• October 21: 7^th Annual Film & Food – The Austin Film Festival is hosting its yearly fundraiser in support of the Young Filmmakers Program designed to help kids ages 9-18 explore creativity and build literacy skills via filmmaking and screenwriting. A host of local restaurants including the Blemont, Eddie V’s, Jezebel, Roaring Fork, and Ranch 616 will provide great food while attendees enjoy music and bid on items in a silent auction. The Driskill is a beautiful venue and the cause is a great one, so get out your fancy clothes and come out for a fun and tasty evening. $85. 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm.

After last week’s foodie frenzy, this week offers us a bit of recovery time, with fewer events to choose from but still plenty to keep us all occupied and satisfied. The highlight of the week of course is the second half of Austin Restaurant week. If you haven’t had a chance to try a restaurant for the first time or visit an old favorite for a new twist on their menu, be sure you do before Wednesday. FINO and TRIO, two of my favorite places in Austin have events this week as well, and make sure to look ahead to late September and early October to start planning for the GO TEXAN Restaurant Round up, Tour de Vin at Whole Foods, and more.

On a personal note, I’m off to the first ever BlogHer Food conference in San Francisco this week. I’m looking forward to meeting with and learning from a host of other food bloggers. Watch my Twitter feed for updates and pictures of tasty food. If you have any recommendations for must see/eat places in the Bay area, please share!

Be Spontaneous: This Week’s Events

• [DO GOOD] September 20-23: Austin Restaurant Week (Part II) – Restaurant week is the best possible way to experience some of Austin’s finest dining without breaking the bank. For $25-$35 per person you can sample the culinary talents of Austin’s best chefs and support the Sustainable Food Center and AIDS Services of Austin. Forklore on Austin 360 has a nice intro to the event if you’ve never participated and want to know more about it. Which great Austin restaurant will you try first?
• September 22: Shop the Season Cooking Class – Alex Duran, Malaga’s Executive Chef, takes you on whirlwind tour of shopping for seasonal ingredients and putting together an entire menu based on them. I’ve taken this class in the past and it’s not only fun, its chock full of useful information and techniques. Because the class is hands on you’ll making your own dinner according to recipes Chef Duran devises on the spot, and you’ll have a chance to learn a collection of techniques from him right there in the kitchen. Seating is limited so reserve now if you’re interested. $65. 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm.
• [NEW] September 23: FINO Chef’s Table Savory and Sweet – As I discovered a couple of years ago when I first tasted dark chocolate and blue cheese together, when paired properly, savory and sweet can be a sublime combination. This week, Executive Chef Jason Donoho and Pastry Chef Andrea Bearce from FINO will combine their talents to offer a thoughtfully paired menu of delights sure to please the palate. Call 474-2905 to reserve. 6:30 pm. $75 for dinner with an optional $35 wine pairing.
• September 25: TRIO Wine Dinner – A wine dinner at TRIO is an event every lover of food and wine should experience at least once. This latest dinner features bouillabaisse, ham and eggs, Niman Ranch pintade, Dorper lamb, and an amazing dessert that involves dark chocolate, hazelnuts, and raspberries. All of Chef Todd Duplechane’s amazing food will be expertly paired with wines selected by sommelier Mark Sayre. Seating is limited, so reserve now. Call 685-8300 for reservations. $95.
• [NEW] [DO GOOD] September 26: Cystic Fibrosis Fundraiser and Auction at Vino 100 in Cedar Park – Find your way up to north Austin this Saturday to spend a few dollars, have some great wine, and support a good cause. This all day fund raiser will include wine tastings, light appetizers, and a silent auction. All of the benefits from the auction plus a portion of those from the tastings will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as they search for a cure. All day. $10.

Plan Ahead: Events in the Next 3 Weeks

• [NEW] September 28 – 30: Flavors of Austin Kickoff at Frank – Isn’t restaurant week a wonderful thing? Don’t you wish it could go on all year long? Flavors, a project put together by Launch787, will allow us to do just that, with a focus each week on a different Austin restaurant. Starting on September 28 with flights of hotdogs at Frank and then moving in weekly succession to Austin greats like Cipollina and Primizie, Flavors will highlight a single restaurant with a special menu and portions of the proceeds benefiting the Sustainable Food Center. Try a new restaurant each week of the year and expand your Austin culinary horizons.
• [NEW] September 29: Pasta Workshop – When I was little I remember my grandmother buying a pasta machine and making her own pasta on Sundays. While I’ve bought pre-made pasta for most of my adult life, I think there’s something soothing and slowing about making your own pasta from scratch. If you’ve ever want to know how to mix your own dough and craft your own pasta, this class will get you started. You’ll make linguini, fettuccini, and filled ravioli, along with a collection of sauces. 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm. $65. Reserve online.
• September 30:
  Royal Fig Supper Club at Caffe Medici –Local caterer Royal Fig is hosting another great supper club, this time at Caffe Medici. The menu includes scallops with a truffled quail egg, squid ink ravioli, roast pork loin with turnip greens, and espresso panna cotta. Each course will be paired with gourmet coffees, a new twist on the art of food and drink pairing. This is upscale fall comfort food at its best. $75. 7:00 pm.
• [NEW] October 2-4: Fall Creek Vineyards 5th Annual Texas Fall Fest and Auction – Join the Aulers, some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, and the cultivators of Fall Creek Vinyards, in a three day festival of food and wine. Some of Texas best chefs will join in a celebration of Texas food and wine in the lovely hill country. The weather looks to be beautiful and the experience will be memorable, so hop online to learn more about the event and procure your tickets.
• October 2-4: Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg – Food and drink, arts and crafts, shopping, and more, all in celebration of German culture and Fall. Take a day trip out to Fredericksburg to enjoy this annual event with friends and family. $6 for adults, $1 for children, or buy a two-day pass for $10 or a three-day pass for $15. Hours vary by day.
• [NEW] [DO GOOD] October 8: Tour de Vin at Whole Foods – This event is easily Fall’s preeminent Austin food event. Benefiting The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas, Tour de Vin is a get-your-passport-stamped style wine and food tasting featuring the best domestic and internationally-inspired cuisine in Central Texas. Aquarelle, Buenos Aires Café, Primizie Osteria, Satay, Z’Tejas are just a few of the restaurants who will be sharing sweet and savory nibbles. To top it all off, the event will be held on the Whole Foods Rooftop Plaze during one of our most beautiful months of the year. Enjoy food, wine, and good company – all under the beautiful starry Texas sky. $50 for Foundation Members, $75 for the general public. 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm. Purchase tickets online.
• [NEW] October 10: Dai Due Supper Club Herb Dinner – After a bit of a hiatus, the Dai Due crew is back and opening the October supper club season with an herb dinner at the American Botanical Council’s hidden garden off of Manor road. Take a tour of the grounds then enjoy a 7 course dinner that will highlight a specific herb grown on the grounds. 5:30 pm. $75. BYOB. E-mail info@daidueaustin.com to reserve.
• [NEW] October 10: International Wine and Food North America – Chefs Robert and Paul from the Central Market cooking school are joining forces again to take you on a tour of the food and wine of North America. Drink wins from New Mexico, Texas, California, and more as you taste dishes created just for the occasion. I’ve attended several of their classes in the past and highly recommend them not only for great food and wine, but for a fun evening during which you’re sure to learn many things. 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm. $60. Reserve online.
• [NEW] October 14: TRIO Pancake Dinner – The Four Season’s newest fundraising event will resurrect the popular “breakfast-for-dinner” concept with a Pancake Dinner at TRIO. The special menu will feature four different pancake options for the evening’s dinner, in addition to their regular a la carte menu. 50 percent of the proceeds from pancake sales will benefit Seton. For $15 for adults and $7.50 for children, this event is a fantastic deal. I’ll be there – will you?
• [NEW] October 17: Dai Due Venison Workshop – Deer hunting is a popular past time here in Central Texas, yet many hunters turn to a deer processor when it’s time to turn their prize into dinner. This workshop will show you how to process the entire deer and utilize every single bit of it with no waste. Co-taught by “…Tink Pinkard, a professional hunting guide and bona fide East Texas good ol’ boy that knows his way around firearms and food..” it promises to be not only educational but fun. $225 which includes dinner at the Venison Feast on Sunday at Montesino Farm in Wimberley. 2 pm – 6 pm. E-mail info@daidueaustin.com to reserve.

Eat Well, Do Good

• September 28 – October 2: GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up – Texas restaurants bring to the dining table a vast array of culinary styles and flavor profiles. You can stay within the bounds of the state, and very often your county, and have myriad dining experiences that celebrate the talents and harvests of our great state. This fall, Texas will celebrate those restaurants that are committed to serving great local ingredients and pouring Texas wines during the Restaurant Round-Up. When you dine at a participating restaurants around the state you’ll not only have an opportunity to taste the best of Texas, but in many cases you’ll be supporting local food banks like Austin’s own Capital Area Food Bank. And, as if dining on great food from our great state to support critical charities isn’t enough, the event includes a whole passel of giveaways you can register to win by completing a very short survey that will help the GO TEXAN staff better serve the interests of our state’s diners an restaurants. My good friend Jodi at Tasty Touring just put together a preview of some of the Central Texas menus for this event – take gander and mark your calendar.
• [UPDATED] October 8: Parkside 1^st Annual Pink Party – Parkside is one of Austin’s best restaurants and they are supporting the community by hosting a fund raiser in support of the Susan G. Komen foundation. They will have pink bubbles and cocktails, lovely nibbles from Chef Shawn Cirkiel, music, and schwag bags. This event screams “Girls Night Out!” if ever one has – although I bet the guys would have a blast too. Either way, grab a group of friends and plan to support this important cause. Tickets for this event are now $50. Buy one today!
• October 21: Slow Food Austin Fund Raiser – Slow Food Austin is hosting their first fund raiser and it promises to be a fun and tasty event. Learn all about raw milk cheeses from Whole Foods’ Global Cheese Buyer Cathy Strange. You’ll get to taste complimentary beers from Austin’s (512) Brewery and honey from Round Rock Honey. The lovely Barr Mansion is hosting the event, so it will be a feast for the eyes as well as the tastebuds. For only $50 ($40 for members) you’ll learn a lot, taste some great food, and support an important cause. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm.
• October 21: 7^th Annual Film & Food – The Austin Film Festival is hosting its yearly fundraiser in support of the Young Filmmakers Program designed to help kids ages 9-18 explore creativity and build literacy skills via filmmaking and screenwriting. A host of local restaurants including the Blemont, Eddie V’s, Jezebel, Roaring Fork, and Ranch 616 will provide great food while attendees enjoy music and bid on items in a silent auction. The Driskill is a beautiful venue and the cause is a great one, so get out your fancy clothes and come out for a fun and tasty evening. $85. 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm.