10/08-10/15
Hey, it’s Home Skillet, a food and wine blog voted “Least Funny” by the James Beard Foundation. Here’s what’s going on this week:
Saturday, October 11: The only state fest cool enough to have its own postmark, the one and only Apple Scrapple Festival kicks off Friday with a carnival, then jumps into the Festival Proper on Saturday with scripted all-around mayhem doted upon those lovely grey bricks (blocks?) of salty, spicy, corny pork goodness.
There’s a scrapple breakfast, scrapple chunkin’, scrapple carving, something called a “Kiss the Pig” contest and the always popular Redneck Olympics (their words, not mine).
Call 629-9582 for more.
Saturday, October 11: What does fall taste like? Apple cider and caramel corn? How about pumpkin soup and, um, dried leaves? Forget that noise. Book a seat for Patsy’s Fall Food and Wine Dinner at Patsy’s Restaurant in Bethany Beach, where chef Patsy Rankin will roll out a five course Spanish-inspired menu with a great sampling of Spanish and Argentinean wines.
The seafood-heavy menu includes dishes like fish tacos with cilantro cream and spicy slaw, oil poached halibut with salsa verde and escabeche seafood salad, a ceviche trio, paella and lots more homemade goodies.
“We don’t have wine dinners just to introduce wine to people,” Rankin says. “We think the event is about the food and we’re pairing some pretty damn good wines with it.”
The guest of honor is Specialty Wines and Liquors owner Laura Lamprecht, who will talk a bit about earthy and affordable wines de España.
The cost is $135 a head, call 537-2433 to make your reservation.
Sunday, October 12: Maria Hess did a great job previewing Vendemmia in our October issue, so I’ll just rehash the basics: The Societa da Vinci’s signature extravaganza starts at 2 p.m. at Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park in Wilmington.
Wine? Yeah, they got some of that. They got some from every single region in Italy. I asked Maria how many regions there are in Italy. “A lot,” she says.
There’s a gravy contest for local cooks, 97 percent of whom are grandmas (probably) and homemade wines for the 3,000 or so in attendance.
Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 at the gate. Click here to buy some and call (866) 771-3014 for more info.
New digs: Sushi landmark Utage might be gone (for now), but its alumni are spreading like delicious spores all over Independence Mall in Wilmington. First, former Utage waitress Eve Teoh opened Rasa Sayang, the awesome Malaysian restaurant. Just last week, Utage’s former sushi chef Hideyuki Okubo opened Takumi which serves authentic Japanese cuisine. Check out the new menu–looks solid.
Want your event posted on Home Skillet? Email me here. And check back next week for more.
