Just because your weekend is over doesn't mean you have to starve. This week offers plenty of events to keep you fueled till Friday comes around.
Monday Night Chef's Table
Tonight you can kick start the week with a four-course wine-paired dinner at ZuZu at the Hotel Valley Ho. The menu includes seared prawns with roasted sweet corn polenta and heirloom tomato butter, summer bean salad and olive oil poached salmon with artichokes, barley, and peppers. To finish, guests will enjoy a nectarine and rhubarb tart. Each course also will include a glass of wine from Justin Vineyards and Winery, the estate vineyard in Paso Robles that produces world-class, Bordeaux-style blends. The meal will also include conversation with the chef and costs $56 a person. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 480-421-7997.
More upcoming events: - Drinks with Mixologist Kim Haasarud, Author of 101 Tropical Drinks, August 22 at Changing Hands - Phoenix Public Market Cafe's "Chef for a Day Contest": Here's How to Enter - Liberty Market's Burger Daze: 31 Surprises in August
Cooking with Summer Vegetables
Join Sassi chef Chris Nicosia for the next event in the restaurant's Summer 2013 Food & Wine Series. The class on Wednesday, August 14, "Cooking with Summer Vegetables," will highlight the bounty of Arizona summer vegetables including heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, squash, and herbs. Nicosia will share cooking techniques, recipes, and samples with guests, who also will taste a selection of wines from Southern Italy. The wines for this event include Fiano di Avellino, Etna Rosso and Nero d'Avola. The class costs $49 per person and begins at 6 p.m. Call 480-502-9095 or visit the Sassi website to reserve a spot.
Makin' Bacon class
If you've ever wondered what goes into making those fat, crispy strips of bacon you enjoy on Sunday mornings, this class will provide the knowledge you seek. Go lb. Salt's two-part Makin' Bacon course starts Wednesday, August 14 when students will learn about the process of curing bacon, developing flavor profiles, and more. The 90-minute session will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Allstate Appliance in Scottsdale. The second part of the course will be on Wednesday, August 28. Tickets are available for purchase up to an hour before the class and cost $125 for both sessions. To purchase, visit the bacon makin' event page.
Southwest Summer Sizzler Wine Dinner
This month's wine dinner at Central Phoenix's Tertio brings guest chef Amanda Langham of Aside of Heart Cafe into the kitchen for a five-course meal with wine pairings on Thursday, August 15. The dairy and meat-free menu includes Baked Vegan Chile Cashew "Pleezsh" cheese with housemade blue corn crackers and roasted red pepper sauce, as well as chilled avocado and napolito soup with a flax seed crisp. Gluten-free dining options also will be available. Wines include the 2010 Arizona Stronghold Tazi White Blend and Warres Warrior Port Portugal with dessert. The dinner costs $55 a person and begins at 6:30 p.m. For reservations, e-mail [email protected] call 602-595-2244.
Tiki-Themed Cocktail Dinner
Don't worry cocktail kids, we didn't forget about you this week. In fact, there's an Island Punch at Lon's at the Hermosa calling your name. On Thursday, August 15, Last Drop Bar spirit guide Travis Nass is taking a cue from Donn Beach and Vic Bergeron, the originators of the midcentury tiki craze, for a four-course meal with cocktail pairings. The evening will start you off with an Adult "Otter Pop" with Solerno, Campari, orange, passion fruit and lime before you dig into courses such as Marlin Poke with wasbi, yuzu, seaweed and taro chips or Kahlua Pork with pineapple-scotch bonnet-mesquite glaze and grilled peppers. As for drinks, expect unique offerings including a "Suntory Swizzle" with Yamazaki 12, mint, R&W apricot, arnum, lime and Peychauds and a "Flowers for the Devil" that feautures Partida Blanco, hum botanical, grapefruit, and ginger beer. The dinner costs $49 a person and reservations can be made by calling 602-955-7878.
