Food Notes

By The Daily Progress Staff

Published: October 14, 2008

Taste from the barrel at Autumn Hill Vineyards

Autumn Hill Vineyards will have its 22nd annual Barrel Tasting Open House from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and Oct. 25 and 26.

There will be cellar tours, barrel tastings of 2008 wines and a vertical cabernet sauvignon tasting. Homemade soup and snack foods will be provided.

Admission is $7 and includes a souvenir wine glass. The event will continue rain or shine. Picnics are welcome, and no reservations are needed. For information, visit http://www.autumnhill

wine.com or call 985-6100.

Catfish is served at the American Legion Post

The American Legion Post at Madison will have its fall catfish supper from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday inside its post building.

The fish fry, which has continued for more than 10 years, has been one of the post’s main fundraisers for its youth programs. The post expects to have about 300 people over for dinner.

The supper includes a seven- to nine-ounce catfish filet served with hush puppies, cole slaw, black-eyed peas, buttered red-skin potatoes with parsley, applesauce, homemade desserts, iced tea and coffee. Only fresh, U.S. farm-raised catfish are served, and the boneless filets are freshly breaded and cooked in canola and vegetable oil with no trans fats..

Admission is $12, $6 for children ages 5 and younger.

The post is at 310 Thrift Road. No reservations are required. For details, call (540) 948-6683.

Brownsville has some crafty gourmet selections

Brownsville Elementary School will present its Art and Craft Show from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Gourmet food items will include dilly beans, roasted onion and tomato ketchup and orange-honey-tarragon mustard, and the Brownsville Bakers will offer many sweets for sale.

There will be children’s activities, a dance performance and music by students and folk artist Mary Gordon Hall.

For information, call 456-6251.

Time to pair food and wine at DelFosse Vineyards

DelFosse Vineyards and Winery has a Fall Wine and Food Pairing at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

Chef Genevieve will pair her seasonal gourmet selections with award-winning DelFosse wines.

The menu includes four elegantly prepared dishes paired with four generous samplings of wines, and there will be a short discussion of the pairings. Additional glasses may be purchased.

The event is $30 per person, and reservations are required. There also will be a 10 percent discount on wines purchased at the event. For information, call 263-6100.

Amateur chef competition continues tonight

Local amateur chefs competed in the first night of the Top Amateur Chef Cook-Off Benefit for the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA, which continues tonight.

Yuan Tang and Collins Huff won the first round in the quest for Charlottesville’s Top Amateur Chef honors. The winning dishes — gnocchi with roasted butternut squash, sage and crispy bacon and Chilean-marinated brochette of Devon beef — were selected by popular vote and by judges Rick Daniels of WINA-AM, Annie Sholz from NBC-29 and John Dove from BackstageWeb.

The next round of competition will be 5:30 to 7:30 this evening at Siips Wine and Champagne Bar. Tonight’s judges will be Billy Wagner from the New York Mets, Jane Foy from WINA and Daniels. The finals will be Oct. 22.

Tickets are $20 per event and include a tasting menu and a pour of wine. For details, call 964-3314.

Yet another new winery holds a grand opening

Sunset Hills Vineyard in Purcellville, a new Loudoun winery, will have a pre-grand opening Saturday and Sunday.

There will be wine tastings, live music, wine processing tours and a selection of Amish cheeses.

Master Amish carpenters restored the 130-year-old barn, which has a tasting room with 35-foot ceilings and chandeliers. A double deck outside overlooks rows of grapes.

Owners Diane and Mike Canney, who are incorporating biodiversity and sustainability in their operation, have been supplying Virginia wineries with grapes for 10 years. Mike Canney races in the Koni Challenge NASCAR series, and two of his racing Mustangs will be on display.

Learn more at http://www.sunsethillsvineyard.com.

Skyland Resort gets into the spirits of tastings

Skyland Resort in Shenandoah National Park will have a wine tasting at 3 p.m. Thursday featuring the wines of Chateau Morrisette.

A minimal charge of $10 per person includes assorted cheeses and a handcrafted glass to take home.

Guests must be 21 to attend. Skyland is at mile 41.7 on Skyline Drive. Call (800) 999-4714, Opt. 1, for reservations.

Indian is the flavor of the day at cooking class

Jim Winecoff, owner and chef of Mona Lisa Pasta, and Terre Sisson of Charlottesville Wine and Culinary are presenting a series of fall cooking classes.

“Incredibly Flavorful Indian” will begin at 7 tonight. The demonstration-style class will focus on saag paneer (spinach with cheese or tofu), mushroom pullao, chicken in sweet red pepper sauce, spiced basmati rice with coriander chutney and raita (yogurt with cucumber and mint).

The class is $55. To reserve a space, call 295-2494.

Buckingham 4-Hers have fun with food Tuesday

Buckingham 4-H is offering its Fun with Foods series again for ages 9 and older. Program dates are Tuesday, Nov. 18, Dec. 16, Jan. 13, Feb. 17 and March 17.

The program will meet from 3:30 to 5:15 p.m. once a month at the Buckingham Agriculture Center.

Participants will learn basic cooking skills and nutrition information and prepare food to take home and share with the whole family.  The series is $36. Dates may change as a result of bad weather. For registration or details, call (434) 969-4261.

From staff reports

Charlottesville Cooking School will offer “A Dinner in Tuscany’’ with Marisa Catalano from 6 to 10 this evening for $65.

There will be crostini di fregato, spinach nudi with sage butter, Florentine roast pork loin, cannellini beans in olive oil, sauteed escarole with garlic and crushed red pepper and Florentine sponge cake for dessert.

“Fall Weeknight Cooking with Fish’’ with Ashley Clarke will be 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday for $65.

The lesson will cover shopping and will focus on choosing seasonal fish. The class will cover braised monkfish with bacon and mushrooms, baked rockfish with onions and pan-sauteed tilapia. Complementary side vegetables and grains also will be prepared.

“Secrets of Great Soups’’ with Erik Speer will be 6 to 9 p.m. Monday for $65. The class will prepare five-onion soup au gratin, Chesapeake bay crab and corn chowder and butternut squash bisque with candied pecans, Knife skills, caramelization and soup presentation techniques will be demonstrated and practiced.

“Beginning Knife Skills’’ with Martha Stafford will be offered twice, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Oct. 22 or 6 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 23. The cost is $45 for one session.

Stafford will teach how to choose, sharpen and store a high-quality chef’s knife. Skills to be covered in the class include knife grips, slicing, dicing, julienning, chopping, mincing and chiffonade. Local seasonal vegetables will be used and a light, fresh meal will be prepared.

Sign up and learn more at http://www.charlottesvillecookingschool.com or 963-COOK.

From staff reports