Food File

By PEGGY ANDERS

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 3, 2001

Special events and food tastings

CHEFS COMPETE: 6-9 p.m. Fri., St. Petersburg Museum of History, 335 Second Ave., NE, St. Petersburg. Iron Chef-inspired cooking competition challenges area chefs Eric Neri, John Pivar and Bill Groen to create several courses in 90 minutes using a secret ingredient, with panel of celebrity judges. Event celebrates 40th anniversary between St. Petersburg and sister city Takamatsu, Japan. Tickets: $15; museum members, free. Call (727) 894-1052.

COSENTINO WINE DINNER: 5:30-9:30 p.m. Thur., Roy's, 4342 W Boy Scout Blvd., Tampa. Five-course dinner features selections from Cosentino Winery from heart of Napa Valley. $90 plus tax and gratuity. Call (813) 873-7697.

OKTO-BEER-FEST: 5 p.m.-midnight Fri., 11 a.m.-midnight Sat., Dunedin Brewery, 937 Douglas Ave., Dunedin. Handcrafted beers, root beer and Weihenstephen beer from Germany highlight Oktoberfest tasting event along with German food and entertainment. Free admission; charge for food and beverages. Call (727) 736-0606.

CULINARY CLASSIC: Food and wine benefit Oct. 11-14 with interactive cooking classes, winemaker lunches, Champagne and caviar tastings, vintner panel discussions and gala dinner at various venues along 1900 block of S Osprey Avenue in South Side Village, Sarasota. Guest chefs include Suzette Gresham of Acquerello in San Francisco; guest wineries include Far Niente, Turkey Flat Vineyards and Laurent-Perrier Champagne. Event prices $30-$150. Proceeds benefit K.I.D.S. by the Sea charity. Call (941) 954-0609, ext. 6815.

MORGAN WINE DINNER: 7 p.m. Oct. 10, Cafe B.T., 3324 Gandy Blvd., Tampa. Five-course dinner pairs menu with Morgan Winery varietals such as pinot noir reserve, syrah, sauvignon blanc. $100. Call (813) 831-9254.

HUNGER BANQUET: 6:30-8 p.m. Oct. 11, St. Jude's Cathedral, 5815 Fifth Ave. N, St. Petersburg. Bring your own bowl, spoon and donation of nonperishable food item to partake in this dinner of soup from the Wine Cellar and bread donated by Bruno's Bakery. Proceeds benefit St. Petersburg Free Clinic's programs to help the homeless. $5. Call (727) 821-1200.

TASTE OF PALM HARBOR: noon-6 p.m. Sun. Oct. 7, downtown Palm Harbor, Florida Ave. between Alt. 19 and Omaha (County Road 1). Food festival with tastes from Magnolia Grill, El Jalapeno Otra Vez, Consciousness Blossoms Cafe, Palermo's, Sutherland Cafe and more. Arts and crafts, music. Free admission; charge for tastes. Proceeds benefit community programs. Web site: www.phmainstreet.com/phjwc.htm.

DINING WITH POE: Edgar Allan Poe, as portrayed by David Keltz, makes the Vinoy his haunt for two Halloween appearances: A Poe Halloween Party at 3 p.m. Oct. 28, with cider and sweet treats; $10 for kids 12 and under, $20 for adults; and Edgar Allan Poe Wine Dinner Show, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28, $85 inclusive, both at Renaissance Vinoy Resort, 501 Fifth Ave. NE, St. Petersburg. Four-course wine dinner includes calamari and rock shrimp in squid ink "spider web," pheasant breast with duck confit, chocolate praline mousse dessert and wines from Ravenswood Winery. Limited seating. Call (727) 894-1000, ext. 515 to reserve.

Wine and beer tastings and classes

IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: 5-7 p.m. Thur., ABC Fine Wine and Spirits, 6398 Ninth St. N, St. Petersburg. Neighborhood Tasting of 12 wines plus beers and including hors d'oeuvres and souvenir glass. $2. Call (727) 527-1579.

LANGUAGE OF WINE: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Fri., Wines by Morrell, 2009 N 22nd St., Ybor City. Learn terms, pronunciation and other wine talk. $20. Call (813) 241-8587.

Cooking classes

CARNIVORE'S DELIGHT: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tues., Margaret Ann's Catering, 5625 Fourth St. N, St. Petersburg. Learn to prepare pork tenderloin with rosemary pesto, beef tenderloin with mushrooms and bleu cheese with wines to complement. $37.50. Call (727) 525-3983 to reserve.

BETTER BREAKFASTS: 7-8 p.m. Oct. 10, 10-11 a.m. Oct. 11, Nature's Harvest Market, 1021 N MacDill Ave., Tampa. Start your day with healthy vegetarian breakfasts in this free class. Call (813) 873-7428.

ITALIAN CUISINE: 6:30 p.m. Thur., Casa Italia, 2080 Constitution Blvd., Sarasota. Guiliano Hazan, author of The Classic Pasta Cookbook, shares cooking tips as he prepares a full meal for sampling. Class includes wine tasting and hors d'oeuvres break, printed recipes. $70. Call (941) 924-1179 to reserve.

ARMANI LUNCH CLASS: noon Sat., Armani's, Hyatt Regency Westshore, 6200 Courtney Campbell Parkway, Tampa. Chef prepares favorites from the Armani menu in this cooking class. $50, includes tax and gratuity. Limited seating. To reserve, call (813) 207-6800.

FALL FLOWERS: Cake decorating classes at the Honey Bee Shop, 10202 N 30th St., Tampa, include Fall Flowers, 7-9 p.m. Thur., $60 for four classes; Basic Cake Decorating, 7-9 p.m. Mon., $25 plus supplies; and Advanced Cake Decorating, 7-9 p.m. Tues., $25 plus supplies. Call (813) 971-7599.

FRENCH VIETNAMESE AND EXOTIC CUISINE: This week's classes at La Maison Gourmet, 471 Main St., Dunedin include two hands-on classes: French Vietnamese, with corn and crab soup, chicken with lemongrass and red pepper, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Sat., $39.50; and Couples' Exotic Flavor Fusion, with pineapple and juniper marinated grilled duck breast, pancetta Israeli couscous with curried sweet onion and cherry relish, spiced oranges with caramel sauce, $49.50. Call (727) 736-3070.

Worth sending for

TASTEFUL FISH TALE: Follow the cross-country adventures of fictitious couple Deanna and Harold as they collect and journal regional catfish recipes from chefs such as Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse that include crispy fried catfish with Asian slaw and potato-crusted catfish with Romano cream sauce and crisp shallot rings. For copy of journal with recipes, send $3 check (payable to TCI Catfish Journal), plus name and address to TCI Catfish Journal/SB, 2405 Grand Blvd., Suite 700, Kansas City, MO 64108.

Food talk

GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS: 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Unitarian Universalist Church, 3975 Fruitville Road, Sarasota. Speakers discuss genetic engineering issues in plants and foods. Free. Call (941) 921-3330.

- Send news of coming events at least two weeks in advance of the publication date to Food File, the St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731.

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