Chef Mark from Tortilla Press was on Fox 29 this morning, promoting the event.

I can’t wait to try the buffalo mac-n-cheese. I love anything with blue cheese.

It’s been a slow quiet week news and event-wise (except for the wine shipping bill news, of course), so I don’t have any odds and ends for you this week. Enjoy your weekend, and hopefully I’ll see you at the Mac Off!

Philly Homegrown is once again working with the Restaurant Week organizers to bring locally produced items to the menus. Items with a little red tractor next to them on a menu include locally grown, produced or sourced ingredients.

I already have my Center City District Restaurant Week reservations that I made on Open Table. To make sure you don’t get shut out of the restaurant you want to dine at, make your reservations early.

Where are my reservations? I’m not going to tell you unless I absolutely love the place. If I do,  you’ll hear about it here. If not, I’ll keep my mouth shut.

Fromage Fort - a cheese spread made from the odds and ends of cheeses leftover from the holidays. Yum!

After only two truly cold days, the 55 degrees this afternoon have me in a happy, spring-like mood. My mood might also be contributed to the fact that yesterday, the winery direct shipping bill finally made it out of committee in the New Jersey State Assembly and will be going to the floor for a vote on Monday, January 9, 2012. This is the third (I believe) version of the bill – the first two never made it to the floor for a vote. On Monday, if bill A-4436 passes, chances are really good that our wineries will be able to thrive, our vineyards will continue to exist to preserve open land, and consumers will have a freedom of choice.

It’s not a done deal, and this is where YOU are very important. If you go to Free the Grapes, you’ll find an incredibly easy way to contact your district’s representatives. In less than five minutes, you can send them emails encouraging them to vote for A-4436. They need to hear from as many of us as possible. They need to know this is important to their constituents. Please take a few minutes to do this before Sunday evening so when your representatives get to work on Monday, they’ll be inundated with our voices.

I’ve got a few odds and ends to let you know about, too.

• Mark January 16th on your calendar for the 3rd Annual Mac Off to benefit The Food Bank of South Jersey. This year, the event will be held at The Collingswood Ballroom to be able to accommodate all the great people that want to come out and support our restaurants and the food bank.
• Two of my favorite local producers Sharrott Winery and Cherry Grove Farm are teaming up on Saturday, January 21 from noon to 5pm for an afternoon of wine and cheese pairings at Sharrott’s tasting room.
• If you’re being inundated with cute little Girl Scouts asking you to buy their cookies, but you don’t want the unhealthy ingredients, my partner in food writing over at MNN, Kimi, has a recipe for homemade Thin Mints.
• Another recipe that might interest you is Fromage Fort. I read about this in my latest issue of Saveur and had to make it. You take the leftover cheeses that you have in the fridge and mix the in the food processor with white wine and butter to make a cheese spread that’s different every time. You can get the recipe for Fromage Fort on my MNN post.
• In that same issue of Saveur (which was a really great issue – I enjoyed the whole thing cover to cover) there was a list of the Saveur 100 favorite things, and oyster stout made the list.  Flying Fish’s Exit 1 Oyster Stout was one of the stouts mentioned and pictured in the mag. How cool is that?

That’s it for this weekend. Things are fairly quiet after the holidays. We all need a quiet weekend, I suspect. I’ll be un-Christmasing my house this weekend. How about you?

When I take a look at the list of participating restaurants, it’s no surprise to see many of them on there. I know that many of these restaurants are the ones that support our local food producers, help to raise funds for food banks, and probably also donate their time, money and resources to other local charities. If you choose to dine out at one of these restaurants Thursday night, you’ll not only be raising funds for autism, you’ll also be supporting the restaurants that truly get involved with and support their communities.

You’ll also be giving a show of support to a couple of South Jersey’s faithful local foodies and bloggers, John and Lisa of Eating in South Jersey. John wrote about the event last week and shared with readers why this event is personally important to his family.

George Taber will be returning to Amalthea Cellars again this Saturday night to promote his latest book and participate in a New Jersey wine tasting. I really wish I could go to this event, but I’m not able to. It’s sort of killing me that I won’t be there. You might be able to get there, though. Here are the details from the press release.

Wineries from the historic Outer Coastal Plain region in South Jersey are teaming with the South Jersey Tourism Corporation (SJTC) to present a special wine tasting and book signing by wine icon George Taber, author of “Judgement of Paris,” this Saturday, November 19 at 6 p.m. at Almalthea Cellars in Atco.

The Outer Coastal Plain, a historically celebrated American wine growing region is part of the American Viticultural Area (AVA). This federally recognized viticultural region is home to some of the oldest wineries in the country. The South Jersey Tourism Corporation (SJTC), is the official destination marketing organization for South Jersey’s Delaware River Region Taber authored “Judgment of Paris,” a chronicle of the historic moment when Napa Valley wines defeated French wines, creating a paradigm shift for the entire industry. Taber was the Time Magazine correspondent and only journalist in the room when the judging occurred. His reporting on the event led to a major change in the way American wines from California were perceived from that moment forward.

Taber will be signing copies of “Judgment of Paris” along with his newly released book, “A Toast to Bargain Wines: How Innovators, Iconoclasts, and Winemaking Revolutionaries Are Changing the Way the World Drinks”. Taber’s book comes at the perfect time as prices on quality West Coast wines continue to plummet, setting the stage for what could be a long-term realignment of prices more in line with the quality-price value the East Coast has been offering. The tasting starts at 6 p.m. Dress is business casual. The book release will feature handmade Hors D ‘Oeuvres and top-ranking vintages and wines from Almalthea and other Outer Coastal Plain wineries.

The ticket price for this event is $50 per person and will also include a copy of Taber’s new book. Space is limited and interested persons are encouraged to purchase tickets now online at amaltheacellars.com, in-store or by calling (856)-768-8585.

“We are very excited to have such a renowned author and wine expert as George Taber on hand for this event,” said Jake Buganski, Executive Director of the SJTC. “His new book showcases exactly what our wineries are providing to customers, quality wine at affordable prices.” Owing to its position along the Atlantic Coast line and the Pinelands, Outer Coastal Plain wineries enjoy a longer growing season as a benefit of the warming maritime effects on the climate. The soil is sandy and loamy with a slightly higher pH – most comparable to soil acidity levels found in the famed Loire Valley of France, which is known for bright, beautifully balanced wines.

Do me a favor, if you do get to the event, please come back here and let me know how it was. At least I’ll be able to live vicariously.

If you want a great view of the city from high up (and a view of William Penn’s backside), you need to head to the top of Liberty Place to R2L. I experienced the amazing views from Chef Daniel Stern’s restaurant last Saturday when I attended the Philly Area Food & Drink Writers Meetup in Center City. Wendy Kirby (La Phemme Phoodie) and Philly Homegrown did a bang up job of organizing the event.

Servers with trays of champagne glasses greeted area food writers as they entered the restaurant located on the 37th floor. After chatting with Wendy for a few minutes, I was drawn to the windows that surrounded the perimeter of the restaurant’s walls. The views of the city are incredible from the wall-length windows, and I spent some time with Lee (who I had met previously at the Philly Swappers event), of Feed Me Lee, admiring the architecture on the top of some Center City buildings and trying to figure out what various parts of the city were.

Chef Daniel Stern of R2L came out to greet us before heading into the kitchen to do what he does best.

Delicious appetizers were passed around so we could sample Chef Stern’s cuisine. If you ever have the chance to dine at R2L, you have to try the  Fried Risotto with Truffle Aioli if it’s on the menu. It’s scrumptious. That’s the only word I can use to describe it. And, I was introduced to a new (well- new to me) drink – The Sidecar.

The meetup wasn’t all food & drink, though. We were given a food photography tutorial by freelance photographer Eric Mencher who gave us tips on working with kitchen, dining room, and restaurant lighting, looking at food from various angles, and more. After his tutorial, he graciously looked at individual’s cameras and gave each of us who asked specific tips. I had to stay reserved when he showed me that I can change the way my camera takes in light so I didn’t look like a complete idiot, but in my head I was screaming “Maybe I didn’t buy one of the most expensive crappiest camera. Maybe I really have no clue what I’m doing!” I miss film.

R2L's dessert tray. Don't you want to dive right in?

After Eric’s tutorial, several plates of R2L’s menu items were made available for everyone to photograph. I’ve seen some great photos from the day (none of them mine – I have a lot to learn), and I’m going to send  you over to A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis to take a peek at his photos of the afternoon.

Visit Philly also had a few words to say about Foodspotting. Philadelphia is the first destination to work with Foodspotting. There are 21 themed food & drink lists on Visit Philly’s Foodspotting site that lead hungry and thirsty people on tours to find mouth-watering hoagies, cocktails, hot dogs, coffee, breweries, burgers and more. One food tour that you’ll only find in Philly is the Tastykake-Inspired tour that leads you to restaurants that serve dishes like Tastykake Bread Pudding and Tastykake ice cream.

If I hit the Patco trains at the right time, it takes me less than a half hour to get into Center City once I leave my front door, and I love Philadelphia. I want to thank Chef Stern for opening up his restaurant to our group, Eric Mencher for his tutorial that helped me change the way I think about my camera, Caroline and Alethia from Philly Homegrown (Visit Philly) for helping to organize, and especially Wendy for taking the lead with the Philly Area Food & Drink Writers meetups.

If you’re a Philly area food or drink writer, professional or casual, and you want to know when the next meet-up will be (probably sometime in early spring would be my best guess), you need to follow Wendy on Twitter and watch for when she puts out a general announcement. Tickets to these events are on a first come, first serve basis.

If you want some real time updates from today’s Food Day Marquee event in Times Square, follow my Twitter feed today. I’ll be there with the Blog for Family Dinner team helping to spread the word about the benefits of sharing meals together as a family.

So follow @rshreeves. Most of my tweets will come between 10am and 3pm ET time today.

Fallout Shelter 511, a teen performing arts and rec center in Sewell, is holding a benefit concert this Saturday, October 22. Proceeds from the $10 admission fee and donated non-perishable foods will benefit the Food Bank of South Jersey. Fallout Shelter  511 is housed in the 18,000 square foot warehouse-style basement of Lambs Road Tudor Cathedral and has a performing arts stage and state of the art PA system along with video screens and games (ping pong, pool, air hockey, basketball….) for teens to enjoy. The benefit is open to all teens.

Straight from the press release from South Jersey Hot Chefs, the group that brings us the great Farm to Fork week in the summer.

The South Jersey Independent Restaurant Association (better known as the SJ Hot Chefs) is spicing up their traditional bi-annual restaurant week this fall as they host their first ever Fall Harvest Week from October 30th through November 4th. Over 30 of South Jersey’s finest independently owned restaurants will offer special farm to table inspired menus created from the autumn harvest of local farmers and fishermen. For just $35, ($25 at select restaurants), guests will have the opportunity to enjoy specially prepared four-course menus, each with a fall flair.

“Coming off of an extremely successful Farm to Fork Week, we are thrilled to bring the community yet another opportunity to discover everything that South Jersey has to offer in local dining,” said Fred Kellermann, president of the South Jersey Independent Restaurant Association and Chef/Owner of Elements Café in Haddon Heights, NJ. “Autumn in South Jersey is a unique time for food and this gives us the chance to share some of our favorite seasonal specialties.”

As a thank you, guests who dine at any of the SJ Hot Chef members’ restaurants or sign up for the SJ Hot Chef monthly newsletter by filling out a comment card after their meal will receive a $10 gift certificate redeemable at any of the participating restaurants.

Set aside a date on your calendar to visit one of the participating restaurants that will be supporting our local producers.