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By LENNIE BENNETT
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 15, 2001
The convergence of Passover, spring break and Easter leaves me with no parties to report this week.
But the dearth gives me space to deal with odds and ends and to highlight the big spring parties that are coming your way.
The annual Dali Benefit Dinner always features fine dining and gorgeous table decorations in the galleries of the Salvador Dali Museum. This year, the dinner on April 28 is preceded by a small cocktail party April 20 at a Snell Isle waterfront home for patrons at the $1,000-level. Both parties are catered by Michael's on East. The theme will tie in with a new exhibition called "A Disarming Beauty: The Venus de Milo in 20th Century Art," with work by Dali, of course, along with 20 other contemporary and surrealist artists. A ticket for the dinner only is $175. 823-3767.
The Mahaffey Theater Foundation is kicking things up more than a notch with a tres chic, tres exclusive Mahaffey Theater Benefit Dinner hosted by Mark and Marianne Mahaffey in their Snell Isle house on April 26. Chad Harrison, a favorite society caterer, will do the food. At $2,500 for two, it is the priciest ticket in my memory. 892-5710.
Some snazzy invitations have crossed my desk recently, but none more dramatic than that for Poetic Justice 2001. A clear mailing tube contained a mariachi, which my dog loves, and an invitation to "shake things up" with "a little cha cha cha." Instead of the black-tie galas of the past, chairwomen Karen Richardson and Carole Merritt have transferred the dinner dance to the Bayou Club and invoked salsa cocktail attire, which presumably means you may break out that Carmen Miranda headdress. Also important to note when planning your outfit is that the party will have putting and chipping contests. Tickets begin at $150. 545-7564.
Across the bridge, Tampa Mayor Dick Greco and Dr. Linda McClintock Greco host Silver Spoons and Sandcastles, an annual event benefiting the city beautification program, at A La Carte Event Pavilion on May 4. This is a buffet and cash bar, so ticket prices are relatively low, beginning at $60. The bottom line presumably will be beefed up by profits from the silent auction, which includes a stay at Carl Lindell's five-bedroom pied-a-terre in Highlands, N.C., dinner at a four-star restaurant on Sunset Island, near Key West, with transportation on a private jet provided by Don and Erika Wallace, and dinner for eight catered by Chad Harrison of Personal Gourmet with hosts Cathy Unruh and Tom Sansone. (813)221-8733.
Also in Tampa, at the Hyatt Regency Westshore, is the Storybook Ball on May 5 to benefit Ronald MacDonald House Charities of Tampa Bay. Since it serves Ronald MacDonald houses in both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, organizers rotate the venue every year. Special guest is Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf. Auction packages include a trip to the 2002 National Football League Pro Bowl in Hawaii; a stay at a California vineyard; surfing in Costa Rica and a trip to London. (813) 258-6430.
The 2001 Magnolia Ball on May 11 at A La Carte Pavilion in Tampa benefits the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. Lou Rawls (whom I've always liked as sort of a Barry White-lite soul man) will perform. Tickets begin at $175. (813) 632-1403.
Lots of other parties are scheduled before the season ends in May. Now is also the time to send in dates for the 2001-2002 season and the annual On the Town Calendar published in early fall. Already in my planner are the Bayfront Medical Center gala on Sept. 28, the R'Club gala on Oct. 13, Stuart Society Fashion Show on Nov. 7 and the Gingerbread House Party on Dec. 6. A caution about e-mailing me: Please be specific about the contents. I delete without opening any mail with questionable provenance.
This column has been effusive in recent years over the upscaling of downtown. Now let us deal with Downtown: The Dark Side.
I am talking about parking.
I am ticked that I can no longer zip into an empty space along Beach Drive at any old time, day or night, because so many more people are hanging around. I am more ticked that the city's parking people are taking it so seriously. In the past, I have appreciated their laissez faire attitude. They didn't get their shorts in a knot over occasional creative parking, of which I, who like to flit quickly from one event to another, have become a master. Few solutions to problems bring me as much satisfaction as finding a row of filled spaces and then finding I can squeeze another itsy bitsy one out for my car by maybe waffling a bit on the lines. Okay, it's illegal, but no one seemed to mind as long as I wasn't blocking a fire hydrant during a four-alarm blaze or pinning a senior, squeezing into a handicapped spot, beneath my car.
No more. In one week, I received three parking tickets, two on the same evening. Is parking in front of a culvert on a rainless night at 10 p.m. such a bad thing? Or borrowing a few feet from a loading zone after all the trucks have gone to bed?
After I mentioned it in this column, a number of you have requested the recipe for Redwoods' Oyster Rockefeller Stew served at the Great Chefs Tasting for Family Resources on March 31. I have not forwarded it because the version printed in the program did not look quite right. A call to owner Emmanuel Roux confirmed that, through no one's fault, the recipe was incorrect. So here is the real skinny on this soup, which is the creation of sous chef Eddie Keene. Being an inveterate recipe-tinkerer, I tweaked it a little when I tested it at home. I used half a green pepper, and two scallions, increased the flour to one-half cup and decreased the amount of Pernod to one-half cup.
Redwoods Oyster Rockefeller Stew
1/2 pound butter
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped shallot
1 small yellow onion, minced
2 celery ribs, minced
1 green bell pepper, minced
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart heavy cream
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 10-oz package of frozen chopped spinach
1 cup Pernod
1 pint shucked oysters with liquid
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add garlic and shallots and saute one minute. Add onion, celery and green pepper and saute one minute more. Add scallions and saute another minute. Add flour, whisking for several minutes until it becomes light brown. Do not burn it. Whisk in cream until incorporated. Add bouillon cube, spinach and Pernod (which is optional). Gently simmer for about 10 minutes. Add oysters and heat them through. Serves six. A note on the oysters: I tried the grocery store ones that are shucked and packed in a plastic container. They were too fishy for me and their liquid far too gritty to add, even after straining. Next time, I'll use fresh oysters.