News and notes from the San Antonio food scene
Calling all vegetarians: Chef, cookbook author, and avid gardener David Hirsch, of the famous Moosewood Restaurant, will teach a course at the Central Market Cooking School, 6:30-9 p.m. Friday April 21.
If you’ve been wondering how to get away from stir-fry and black beans, this is the class for you. Someone gave me Sundays at the Moosewood — a collection of easy vegetarian recipes influenced by international cuisines, from South Africa to Armenia to Japan to the Southern U.S. — when I headed off to college, not a new vegetarian but certainly not a cooking one. At the time, everyone I met had that book on their kitchen shelf, and it has stood the years, along with several of the restaurant’s other titles.
Hirsch has been involved with the Moosewood, (located in Ithaca, New York), for 30 years, and is the co-author of all 11 of its cookbooks, including the latest, Moosewood Restaurant’s Simple Suppers. During his CM class, Hirsch will provide tips on stocking the pantry for healthy veggie meals, and will prepare such delights as Sicilian Chickpea Spread, Navajo Stew, and Mango Coconut Sorbet. Cost: $55. Info: 368-8617.
For those who like to escape the city during Fiesta, Fall Creek Vineyards is offering box-lunch picnics April 22-23 and April 28-30. During the “Wine & Wildflowers Trail Lunch,” the winery will offer tastings of its wines, Roscar Belgian chocolates, and a lunch that includes three glasses of wine, orange-flower-scented chicken, Texas pesto cous cous, and a chocolate-raspberry brownie. Cost: $25. Reservations required: (325)-379-5361
Staying in town? Apparently, Biga, 203 South Saint Mary’s, will be the place to hobnob with the costumed characters that participate in the Fiesta River Parade (7:30-9 p.m. April 24), as it is the staging area for the parade. “Last year we had the Riverboat Gambler trading tequila shots with Marie Antoinette, circled by Shamu. All drinking like fish,” Chef Auden wrote in his latest newsletter. “Before dispatching Marie Antoinette on to her barge, we fed her bread, as there was no cake available, and we did not want to see her head roll!” Info and reservations: 225-0722.
Cheers to chef and restaurateur Andrew Weissman, who has been nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award for best chef of the Southwest. He is in good company — Wolfgang Puck and Thomas Keller, among other great chefs, have also been nominated for 2006 Beard Awards. We are also pleased to note that chef and cookbook author Linda Carucci has been nominated for her book, Cooking School Secrets for Real World Cooks `see “A chef worth her salt,” December 15-21, 2005`. Award winners will be announced in New York on May 8.
- Susan Pagani
