Two Great Events This Weekend

Food and wine lovers, we've come across two fantastic events this weekend - Chefs for Farmers in Fort Worth and Wine & Swine in Austin.

Chefs for Farmers:
This popular dinner will take over the newest location of Times Ten Cellars and host a communal table dinner for 135 guests. Those lucky guests will enjoy six plated courses from top local chefs who source and support local farmers through their own kitchens and menus. The evening will end with a second stop via complementary shuttle service where Rancher Jim Lane will host a bonfire and marshmallow roast at J Bar L Ranch, a working cutting horse ranch, complete with live music under the stars. Tickets $150 per person.

For more information, visit www.chefsforfarmers.com.

Wine & Swine Culinary Weekend:
In this three-day tribute to all things pork, Central Texas food and wine lovers will enjoy great wines, amazing chefs & plenty o’ pig.

The AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center at the University of Texas will be the Wine & Swine Culinary Weekend headquarters and will host the Pork & Cork – A Pig Perfect Wine Tasting on Friday, December 3 (tickets $65 per person), and the Wine & Swine – Sip, Swirl and Squeal Wine Seminar on Saturday, December 4 (tickets $45 per person).

The culminating weekend event is the Texas Hill Country Pig Roast with eight chefs preparing eight whole pigs in their own unique culinary styles. Live music, craft beer and wine tastings will be a part of the outdoor pig party to be held at the Bridges Ranch in Driftwood, about 25 minutes outside of Austin (tickets $35 per person).

For more information on this event, visit www.texaswineandfood.org.

Dazzling Evening of Big Reds & Bubbles

The 8th Annual Big Reds & Bubbles was a dazzling evening of big reds and bubbles paired with incredible food...for a fantastic kick-off to the holiday season.

Guests were greeted with glasses of champagne as they arrived onto the second floor of the gorgeous Driskill Hotel before exploring 20 different food stations and 4 wine/champagne stations with over 100 bottles to sample! Menu items included Wild Boar salpicon, Nantucket Bay Scallops with Shaved Raw Artichokes and Truffle Puree or Spinach & Gorgonzola Ravioli with Queso. After filling up with dinner, guests headed to the "Bubble Lounge" filled with champagnes and desserts such as El Rey Dark Chocolate Trufle Beignets, Vanilla Bean Cake Balls and Rose Champagne gelee.

Thank you to everyone that joined us for a fantastic evening of food and wine - we are already dreaming up big ideas for 2011!

And a very big thank you to our partners and sponsors: Glazer's, Tribeza, The Driskill Hotel, Twin Liquors, Marquee Rentals, Ilios Lighting, Angela Lozano Photography, Kevin Ahart Trio, 1886 Café & Bakery, Andiamo Ristorante, Antonelli's Cheese Shop, Austin Cake Ball, The Carillon, Cuvee Coffee, The Driskill Grill, Eddie V's, El Arbol, Fete Accompli, Garrido's, Jack Allen's Kitchen, Le Cordon Bleu + Jei Grimes, Max's Wine Dive, Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill, Paggi House, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, StrEAT, Truluck's and Wink Restaurant.

8th Annual Big Reds & Bubbles Next Week!

The 8th Annual Big Reds & Bubbles is set for Thursday, November 18 at the historic Driskill Hotel. If you haven't attended this event, you are truly missing out on an signature Foundation celebration.

We'll be featuring over 100 champagnes and red wines, as well as 20 fabulous Austin chefs showcasing their talent throughout the entire 2nd floor. Who do you ask? Here's the all-star line-up: 1886 Café & Bakery, Andiamo Ristorante, Antonelli's Cheese Shop, Austin Cake Ball, The Carillon, Cuvee Coffee, The Driskill Grill, Eddie V's, El Arbol, Fete Accompli, Garrido's, Jack Allen's Kitchen, Le Cordon Bleu, Max's Wine Dive, Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill, Paggi House, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, StrEAT, Truluck's and Wink Restaurant. Wow.

The Kevin Ahart Trio will be performing and we've got some fabulous items lined up for our silent auction. What's even better this year - if you sample a wine or champagne that you fall in love with - you'll have the opportunity to purchase that bottle because Twin Liquors will be taking orders during the event. You won't have to try and remember weeks later when you're searching down every aisle looking for "that one" at Big Reds & Bubbles!

We hope that you can join us for a wonderful evening of Wine AND Food. Sounds just about right for The Wine and Food Foundation of Texas, huh?

11th Annual Stephan Pyles Celebrity Chef Dinner A Success!

What an evening! The 11th annual Stephan Pyles Celebrity Chef Dinner and Live Wine Auction was another stellar evening of delicious food and wine followed by an exciting Live Auction.

Guests enjoyed six courses, each prepared by a different Celebrity chef, paired with a wine. As guests arrived, they were presented with three different appetizers created by the 2010 Stephan Pyles Culinary Scholarship Winner, Keith Hildebrant (Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Austin). Keith prepared a Texas Quail Breast with Kaffir Lime Aioli wrapped with Fresh (made from scratch) Ramen Noodle, Daube of Oxtail Dumpling with Orange Gastrique and Goat Cheese Panna Cottta with Roasted Beets and Arugula. Complimented by Gruet Sparkling champagne, guests were off to a delicious start.

Shortly after finding their seats, guests were then treated to the following outstanding menu:

• First Course: Hirame Dry Miso and Tuna Tataki with Cilantro Dressing by Matt Raso (Nobu Dallas) with a 2009 Sokol Blosser Pinot Gris.
• Second Course: Maine Diver Scallop with Sea Urchin, Celery Roote and Beech Mushroom by Blaine Staniford (GRACE, Fort Worth) with a 2010 Cape Classic Indaba Chenin Blanc
• Third Course: Duck Cavatelli, Swiss Chard and Shaved Foie Gras by Jeff Harris (CRAFT, Dallas) with Ambiente's 2006 Opolo Grand Rouge
• Fourth Course: Pork Jowl Bacon and Half Sour Cucumber Salad with Sweet Chili, Mustard and Molasses by Tim Byres (SMOKE, Dallas) and a 2008 Planata Cerasuolo di Vittoria
• Fifth Course: Portuguese-Spiced cap of Ribeye with Kale-Bacon Polenta Cake, Caramelized Pearl Onions and Cinnamon-Apple Chutney by Matt McCallister and Stephan Pyles (Stephan Pyles, Dallas) paired with a 2007 Chamisal Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir
• Sixth Course: Persimmon Pudding, Brown Butter Chestnut, Membrillo and Citrus-Butternut Squash Spoon by Katherine Clapner (Dude, Sweet Chocolate, Dallas).

After being wined and dined, the guests were ready to bid away toraise money for the 2011 Stephan Pyles Culinary Scholarship fund. Items included hard-to-find wine, Vineyard Tour and Tastings, and an opportunity to have all the Celebrity Chefs of the evening come to your home and serve dinner for 8 people. The Live Auction was a success, raising over $15,000 for the 2011 scholarship!

Thank you to everyone that joined us for this magical evening and to our sponsors Central Market and South Texas Money Management for helping make this evening possible.

11th Annual Stephan Pyles Celebrity Chef Dinner

Let’s take a trip to Dallas! The annual Stephan Pyles Celebrity Chef Dinner and Live Wine Auction is set for this Sunday, November 7 – and this is not an event you want to miss.

Guests will enjoy six courses, each prepared by a different Celebrity chef, paired with a delicious wine. This year, Celebrity chefs include 2010 scholarship winner Keith Hildebrant (Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Austin), Jeff Harris (Craft), Matt Raso (Nobu), Blaine Staniford (Grace, Fort Worth), Tim Byres (Smoke), Katherine Clapner (Dude Sweet Chocolate) and of course, chef Pyles. The evening will start with a champagne reception at 6pm, before moving onto dinner and the live wine auction at 7pm.

Besides delicious dinner and wonderful wine, the evening helps raise funds for the Stephan Pyles Culinary Scholarship that is awarded to a Texas culinary student each year.

Tickets are $150 and space is extremely limited. Sign up here: www.winefoodfoundation.org.