Dinner Party Hot Dish

The Dinner Party Download and Hot Dish are teaming up for Dinner Party Hot Dish, an evening of short dinner-party anecdotes, stories, and asides from Rico Gagliano, Davy Rothbart, Lou Mathews, Kent Woodyard, and me.

And as if that's not enough, Chef Rossi and his culinary students at the Art Institute will be serving a thematically-appropriate menu inspired by our stories:

Spaghetti Noodle Baskets with Sweet Potato
Blistered Brussels Sprouts and Pickled Radish
Scallion Blini with Beef Bulgogi and Pear Salad
Dr. Pepper Braised Pork Gordita with Fried Shallot Slaw; and 
Rum Cakes with Candied Walnuts and Rum Glaze and Matador Sugar Garnish.

It's all part of Lit Crawl LA: NoHo. Come check it out! Wednesday, October 22, at 9pm.
Find more info and RSVP here.

Los Angeles County Fair: Tablescaping Judges' Notes

Some excerpts from the judges' notes in this year's Los Angeles County Fair Tablescaping Competition:

1. "Tablecloth needs pressing and is slightly too long."
2. "Question soup spoon. Unsure if guests are spooning their own hollandaise sauce."
3. "Menu is lacking diversity. Fruit for salad and dessert course is repetitive.  Questioning the knife, as it does not go with the menu. Lobster pick is appropriate but nut pick is not."
4. "Cake server out of proportion with the cake.  Too much flatware, fork not needed for grapes."
5. "Menu does not match place setting.  Dinner plate is too large for appetizer or salad.  Knife is not needed." *
6. (For a Passover table) "Missing plate for gafita [sic] fish."

Related: I am definitely entering the Tablescaping contest next year.

* I believe this was the Halloween-themed table. As I was noting this down, a woman came by with her teenage daughter, saw the labeled glass drink containers, laughed out loud, and exclaimed, "Apple Spider?! Now that's creative!"

From the L.A. County Fair

This is only the beginning.

From Long Beach's Aquarium of the Pacific

Did you know an adult tiger cowry can grow as long as an Apple iPhone 6?

Did you know a typical octopus lives five years, the same as Dyson's rock-solid extended warranty plan?

 

Did you know an electric eel produces enough electricity to power ten GE Energy Smart Spiral compact fluorescent light bulbs with flicker-free technology?

Vacation

Hot Dish at the Hammer Museum

This Sunday Hot Dish is putting on a special kid's edition with seven wonderful children's book authors reading their work as part of the Hammer Museum's Family Day. 

Come hear stories by Cecil Castellucci, Erin Hickey, Julia Ingalls, Ben Loory, Antoinette Portis, and the writing/storytelling team of Eugene Yelchin and Mary Kuryla.  I'll also be reading a selection of stories about art, artists, and museums, plus we'll have snacks, crafts, and coloring books to share.