Food Notes

Class peels away jitters for confident cooks

Charlottesville Cooking School will offer “Beginning Knife Skills” with Martha Stafford at 10 a.m. Saturday.

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.

“Eating Healthy and Loving It” with Stafford can be taken at 10 this morning or 10:30 a.m. March 15 for $65.

Students will learn how to make creamy soups without cream, three simple chicken sautés with little fat, grains in the pressure cooker, leafy greens and roasted fruit desserts.

“Thai 3” with Ashley Clarke will be at 6 p.m. Thursday for $65. Take “That 1” or Thai 2” as a prerequisite. The class will cover chicken satay, chang mai curried noodles, fish steamed in banana leaves and black sticky rice pudding.

“Italian: The Flavors of Lombardi” with Marisa Catalano will be 6 p.m. Friday. It’s $65, and a three-part series for $175. One space remains open in the course.

The menu includes risotto alla Milanese, osso bucco (braised veal shank), mixed green salad with mountain gorgonzola and wine-poached pears with mascarpone cream.

Get ready to cook your way around the nation of Italy, because Catalano also plans to focu on other regions in her cooking series. Look for “Italian: The Flavors of Sicily” at 6 p.m. March 20 for $65. (“Italian: The Flavors of Liguria” on March 8 already has sold out.)

For information on the classes, visit http://www.charlottesville cookingschool.com or call 963-COOK.

Virginia Wine Expo has local presence

The Virginia Wine Expo will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.

There will be more than 30 regional wines and live chef demonstrations.

The Governor’s Cup Grand Tasting will be at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Sweely Estate Winery will participate. Winemaker Frantz Ventre will be on hand to answer questions about the wines and the winemaking process.

The winery also will be part of the Vinum Chef “Capital Challenge” competition on Sunday. Chef Frank Maragos, owner of Foti’s Restaurant in Culpeper and a former chef at the Inn at Little Washington, will work with semifinalists from Saturday’s challenges using Sweely’s wines and local food products.

Three of the winery’s wines have received Governor’s Cup awards, including a gold for the 2006 “1867” Meritage, silver for the not-yet-released 2007 Sweely Estate Winery Viognier and bronze for the 2006 Acorn Hill Merlot.

Meritage and viognier will be served at the Governor’s Cup grand tasting on Friday, and the merlot will be available on Saturday and Sunday.

Learn more at VirginiaWineExpo.com.

Shaps pairs his wines with cuisine at Expo

TJ’s Restaurant at the Jefferson Hotel will feature an evening with Michael Shaps and his wines at 7 p.m. Saturday during the Virginia Wine Expo in Richmond.

Shaps won a gold medal at this year’s Governor’s Cup Wine Competition for his 2007 Cabernet Franc.

Executive chef James Schroeder has created a four-course menu to pair with Shaps’ wines. Shaps will discuss his wines with each of the four courses, including his Chardonnay, Viognier, Cabernet franc and Petit Verdot.

Shaps’ Cabernet Franc also was selected by worldwide wine expert Bartholomew Broadbent for a tasting to compare Virginia’s best wines with wines from around the world. The sit-down event will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.

For information on the event, visit http://virginiawineexpo.com.

Say cheese: Maupin continues cooking series

Dean Maupin, executive chef of Clifton, continues his new cooking demonstration series tonight, presenting “Cheese Course: A Study in Fine American Artisan Cheese” 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 “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.

Mark calendars for Men Who Cook in April

Mark your calendars for MACAA’s 22nd annual Men Who Cook event, which will be 6:30 to 10 p.m. April 25 at Ash Lawn-Highland.

Fifty-five amateur chefs will prepare their specialties for attendees. There will be fine wines, music, dancing and a silent auction.

Tickets are $75. Get them at macaa.org or 295-3171, Ext. 3034.

From staff reports