Food Notes

Italian is class act at Tuesday’s demonstration

Jim Winecoff of Mona Lisa Pasta and Terre Sisson of Charlottesville Wine and Culinary will present more cooking classes.

“Italian in the Oven” is offered at 7 p.m. Tuesday for $55.

The demonstration class will cover winter caprese salad, bison and pork meat loaf with porcini mushroom sauce and apple rum cake.

For reservations, call 295-2494.

Stafford gets to the point with knife skills

Charlottesville Cooking School will offer “Beginning Knife Skills” with Martha Stafford at 6 this evening for $45. It also will be offered at 10 a.m. Feb. 28.

Students will learn how to peel, slice, dice, mince, julienne and chiffonade seasonal produce. The class concludes with a light meal prepared with ingredients prepped by the students.

“Thai 2” with Ashley Clarke is offered at 6 p.m. Thursday for $65. Students must take “Thai 1” as a prerequisite.

Under Clarke’s instruction, students will make coconut milk soup with chicken, pad thai, vegetable yellow curry and sticky rice with mango.

“Eating Healthy and Loving It” with Stafford will be at 10 a.m. Feb. 25 or 10:30 a.m. March 15 for $65.

For information on the classes, visit

http://www.charlottesvillecookingschool.com or call 963-COOK.

Octagon takes honors in Chicago competition

Octagon 2005, the eighth edition of the flagship wine of Barboursville Vineyards, has added to its trove of awards.

Octagon 2005 won the gold medal and best overall red wine ranking in the Beverage Testing Institute’s World Wine Championships in Chicago on Jan. 15. With 93 points, Octagon outclassed every other red wine and achieved the highest point total in the competition.

At the same event, Barboursville’s Cabernet Franc 2006 won the silver medal and earned 89 points for “highly recommended” status.

On Jan. 19, Octagon 2005 was selected for an inaugural celebration honoring President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama that took place at the Mellon Auditorium in Washington and was chaired by former President George H.W. Bush and former President Bill Clinton.

In January, Octagon 2006, the ninth edition of the wine, was bottled. Its constituent parts already have won the gold medal at the Critics Challenge in California for the Cabernet Franc and at Town Point in Norfolk for the Cabernet Sauvignon.

A preview tasting of Octagon 2006 is set for 1 p.m. April 4 at the preview celebration lunch at Palladio Restaurant with guest chef Ian Boden of Staunton Grocery. The four-course springtime lunch will welcome the new Vintage Rose 2008 and Octagon 2006.

The meal is $95 per person, all-inclusive, and reservations are required at (540) 832-7848.

Clifton chef shares his skill in cooking steak

Dean Maupin, executive chef of Clifton, continues his new cooking demonstration series tonight, presenting “Great Steak: Marinades, Rubs and Butters” at 6 this evening before dinner.

Each demonstration starts at 6 p.m. and includes a chance to sample the results. Diners are invited, but not required, to stay for dinner.

Coming up in the series will be “Cheese Course: A Study in Fine American Artisan Cheese” on Feb. 25 and “Dessert Secrets with Pastry Goddess Erin Maupin” on March 4.

For details or reservations, call 971-1800. Find out more about Clifton at http://www.cliftoninn.net.

Colonial Williamsburg offers daylong seminar

Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Foodways staff will demonstrate 18th-century methods of butchering and preserving beef in “From Steer to Steak” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at the Peyton Randolph Kitchen.

Historic foodways interpreters will carve beef according to 18th-century butchering charts, which are quite different from modern charts. Beef preservation methods included use of dry salt and brine. Learn more at http://www.history.org or call (800) HISTORY.

From staff reports

From staff reports