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The buzz on Tulsa's tastiest products, restaurants and events.
Cork classes at OSU
If you are a wine and food enthusiast, make plans to attend the first Wine Forum of Oklahoma, April 3-4.
It will take place in Stillwater, hosted by Oklahoma State University’s School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration.
The event, sure to attract wine enthusiasts from all over the country, will offer educational seminars, wine tastings, cooking demonstrations and vintner dinners. Students in OSU’s School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration will benefit from funds raised.
Keynote Speaker Tim Hanni will present “Vines to Wines” and “Why You Like What You Like.” In addition to being a professionally trained chef, Hanni is one of only two resident Americans to successfully earn the title “Master of Wine.” Like TulsaPeople’s wine writer, Randa Warren, he holds the title of “Certified Wine Educator” from the Society of Wine Educators.
Other presenters include nationally known wine educators G.M. “Pooch” Pucilowski and Christi Dufault, who will join Van Duzer Vineyards winemaker Jim Kakacek and OSU professors Bob Miller and Eric Stafne as presenters in educational seminars.
Kurt Fleischfresser, proprietor and chef of The Coach House in Oklahoma City, and Robert Merrifield, proprietor and chef of Tulsa’s Polo Grill, will share their expertise on wine pairing during cooking demonstrations both days.
Winemakers and chefs come together on Friday evening, April 3, for the Grand Tasting, while Master Chef Alain Sailhac, executive director of the French Culinary Institute in New York City, will be the celebrity chef for the Gala Patron Dinner and live auction at the forum’s conclusion Saturday evening. Author Michael Wallis will emcee the evening’s activities, and auctioneer Jay Litchfield will donate his services for the live auction.
Honorary co-chairs Marilynn and Carl Thoma, OSU alumni and owners of Van Duzer Vineyards, provided seed funding for the Wine Forum of Oklahoma. For details on the event and ticket information, visit www.wineforumofoklahoma.com.
Local food news
Tuck Curren has opened The Local Market adjacent to his second restaurant, The Local Table (he also owns Biga Vino e Cucina). The market features soups, salads and sandwiches (some of which are culled from The Local Table’s menu), as well as many other prepared dishes to take home for easy and delicious gourmet dinners. 4329 S. Peoria Ave.
Flying Fish Sushi has opened in south Tulsa next to Super WalMart and features a full sushi menu as well as other Japanese favorites. 10846 S. Memorial Drive
Jenks now lays claim to a new pizza joint. Beyond traditional pies, Gaetano’s Pizzeria and Creamery features classic parlor favorites such as calzones, pasta and Italian subs. Go for the real Italian-style drip beef with melted mozzarella and provolone and au jus. The eatery ships in 16 flavors of ice cream from The Chocolate Shoppe, a super-premium dairy in Wisconsin. 12141 S. Elm Place, Jenks
Don’t pass over the matzo
Every year, on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan, Jews worldwide celebrate Passover. This year Passover begins at sundown on Wednesday, April 8, and ends at nightfall on Thursday, April 16.
One of the most common of Passover foods is matzo, or unleavened bread. The Israelites ate unleavened bread because, according to the Torah, in their haste to leave Egypt, they did not have time to let dough rise for their bread — matzo was their only provision.
Matzo is used to make the time-honored matzo ball soup, sweet or savory matzo brie (a sort of bread and egg scramble) and matzo bark (matzo layered with chocolate and nuts). This simple, sweet snack is perfect for Passover, as well as any other time of year.
Matzo bark
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and then parchment paper. Arrange 4 pieces of matzo bread on the baking sheet, breaking up as needed to fill in spaces and leaving no gaps. Bake 10 minutes, or until golden. Sprinkle with 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips. Let stand 5 minutes and then spread chocolate over matzo with spatula. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup toffee chips and 1/2 cup chopped toasted pistachios. Place in refrigerator until set, about 15 minutes. Break into pieces and store in tin in refrigerator.
The best thing since …
With all of the sandwich research I did for my “Dining in” column this month, one thought kept popping into my mind: Sandwiches are “the best thing since sliced bread”! What is the origin of this food idiom that we hear so often? Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented a machine in 1912 that both sliced and wrapped bread, preventing the loaves from going stale too quickly. The invention of this “wonder”-ful sliced bread caught on. Oddly enough, sliced bread seems to be the benchmark against which all other inventions are judged, deeming those that are successful “the best thing since sliced bread.” Wonder Bread, the first mass marketer of sliced bread, launched an ad campaign in the ’30s featuring the invention.
