Plumed Horse Celebrates Foie Gras April 9

With California set to be the only state in the nation to outlaw foie gras starting July 1, a bevy of chefs have been rallying to raise grass-roots support for the luxurious delicacy.

The latest to join in on the action is the Plumed Horse in Saratoga, which will host a top toque-studded $200 per person prix fixe on April 9 in which every course will feature the decadent fattened liver of a goose or duck.

Among the chefs cooking that night alongside Plumed Horse Executive Chef Peter Armellino will be Victor Scargle of Lucy at Bardessono in Yountville, Ron Boyd of the Daniel Patterson Group, Marc Zimmerman of Alexander’s Steakhouse in San Francisco, and Joey Elenterio of Chez TJ in Mountain View.

Scargle will be serving his Sonoma Artisan foie gras and sauteed Petrale sole with spring onions, ramps and Granny Smith apples. Armellino will serve smoked chicken and foie gras dumplings. And Ted Romero, executive pastry chef of Lucy at Bardessono, will be turning heads with a Guittard chocolate, hazelnut and foie gras nougat with ruby port poached pear.

Half of the $200 per person price for the dinner will be donated to the Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards, which is made up of pro-foie gras culinary professionals. For tickets, click here.

For those who want to bring their own wine, corkage will be waived that evening.

Giada De Laurentiis To Visit the Bay Area

Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis will be signing copies of her newest book, “Weeknights with Giada” (Clarkson Potter) at three upcoming Bay Area events.

The cookbook is filled with go-to dinner recipes that take about half an hour to prepare.

Meet De Laurentiis at Costco in Danville at noon, April 27. She’ll then make an appearance at 5 p.m. that night at Williams-Sonoma’s flagship Union Square San Francisco store.

Saturday, April 28, she’ll do a signing and a Q&A at Sur La Table in San Jose’s Santana Row at 11:30 a.m.

Silicon Valley Chefs Headline Gourmet Fund-Raiser

Join a slew of Silicon Valley chefs when they cook up a storm for “Star Chefs & the Wines They Love,” April 29 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View.

The event is a benefit for Child Advocates of Silicon Valley, a non-profit that provides services for neglected and abused children.

Among the participating chefs are: Ross Hanson of Restaurant James Randall in Los Gatos, Josiah Slone of Sent Sovi in Saratoga, Chris Schloss of Cin-Cin Wine Bar and Restaurant, and Tim Luym of the WOW Truck.

Tickets are $150 per person.

Food Gal Contest Winners

In my first contest of last week, I asked you to tell me about a time when you’ve really hammed it up. The winner will receive a half bone-in Kurobuta ham from Snake River Farms (a $99 value), plus a basket of Tree Top goodies.

Congrats to:

Karen Grant, who wrote, “Well, many years ago when I was still selling wine, as a cheese maven I was asked to perform something well above my station;to pair some of the world’s finest blue-veined cheese with some of the world’s finest ports and sherries for Ms. Christian Finger, for a gala being held at the Beverly Wilshire hotel. The event was to host HRH Princess Margaret of England. At the appointed time I was to be introduced to her under specific guidelines. I was to keep my arms down, look down until I was spoken to, look up, smile, make a small smile, wait for her to ask me a question, then answer her with a few words, make a small curtsie, turn and be escorted away. When it was my turn, I knew I had my s^%^^%t together. She asked me how I came about making my choices for the wine and cheese pairing, I smiled and said, ‘Amegump duh swmihg vebuleboo sumelleoovmahump”.EEEEohvoumeph.’ Since I was unsuccessful getting my tongue out from behind my uvula in time to show off my sophisticated verbal skills, I just smiled at her, made a slight curtsie and walked away. Her head was cocked sideways to her left, I’m sure, trying to understand which language I was speaking, and I just figured I’d leave her guessing. Today I try not to ham it up so as not to embarrass myself and others like that again.”

In my second contest last week, I asked you to tell me about something you’re proud of growing. The winner will receive a “Grow Your Own Olive Tree in a Tin’‘ (a $7.49 value) from Nudo-Italia.

Congrats to:

Rena Takahasi, who wrote: “I’ve been growing good soil! It seems kind of strange to think about growing dirt, but all the plants I plant and every gardening product I use build the soil. We cook a ton in this house and just about all our food scraps go to the compost or to our hens, thus building better soil. When we first moved into this old 50s tract house in the valley, the backyard was paved and bricked over. The soil was compacted gray clay, there were a few scraggly decorative trees, and there wasn’t a worm in sight. With a lot of heavy labor my husband and I have changed it into a thriving garden that grows a small amount of our house’s food, complete with three spoiled pet chickens. My kids go out into the garden after school and munch on sugar snap peas and peer at the worms, ladybugs, and hundreds of bugs that now populate our tiny backyard. There’s even a red-breasted house finch that just took up residence above some grape vines. The soil is rich and dark and full of worms – great for growing all sorts of delicious things. Guess I’m pretty proud of my patch of dirt!”

More Foie Gras News: Monthly Foie Dinners at Lafitte in San Francisco