CHEF COOKOFF EVENT RAISES AWARENESS FOR SETON’S HTTP://WWW.GOODHEALTH.COM

On October 21 at the Austin Farmer’s Market downtown, the Seton Family of Hospitals hosted a wildly entertaining showdown between two of Austin’s best-loved chefs, Tyson Cole (Uchi) and David Bull (Executive chef, the Driskill Grill). I sang some songs, the chefs worked their magic with avocados as the star ingredient, and the Deen brothers of the Food Network show “Road Tasted” kept the competition spicy. Celebrity judges included Andy Langer of News 8, who admittedly manages to live in Austin without eating avocados — so he recruited me as a ghost judge. The food was fantastic: Tyson Cole trotted out a vegetable-citrus ceviche, and a killer smoked avocado and chicken entrée with a side of butternut squash soup. But as always it was David Bull who won my heart, with an avocado brulee that gave me the shivers. With his two little boys as his sous chefs for the day it was impossible not to love the show.

The Austin Farmer’s Market is the ideal showcase for The Sustainable Food Center, a beneficiary of Saturday’s event along with Meals on Wheels. Sustainability is my new favorite word — building a network of locally-produced food and creating demand that sustains both itself and the local community. It’s one of the things I love about Austin.



COMING NOVEMBER 8
WHOLE FOODS AUSTIN CULINARY CENTER PRESENTS TRISH AND DARIN MURPHY
For Reservations: 512-542-2340

I’ve been waiting for this class for a long time — my brother Darin and I have been cooking (well...experimenting) together since we were kids  making macaroni and cheese out of a box. Everybody in our family got assigned a kitchen duty at supper time, and I guess it stuck. Just in time for the holidays, we’ll present a family cooking class with recipes from and inspired by our Italian grandmother and great-grandmother, who came to the U.S. from Italy’s Adriatic coast. We’ve adapted some of the recipes for a typical American kitchen so that anyone can re-create them. We’ll tell you the stories behind the food and some of the hilarious memories we grew up with. With a name like Murphy, nobody even knew we were Italian. So the food stayed a well-kept secret until now....call the culinary center to get a seat: 512-542-2340

Oh. Music? Highly likely.

WHOLE FOODS TASTING MENU

Passatelli (a holiday soup from Romagna)
Roasted Turkey Breast with Rosemary and Moscato
Parmesan Mashed Potatoes with Sage Butter
Fagiolini al Nocino (Green Beans with Walnuts and Nocino)
Panettone Cake with Marsala Cream

COMING DECEMBER 19, HOUSTON
THE MUCKY DUCK PRESENTS TRISH AND DARIN’S CHRISTMAS DINNER AND CONCERT
Tickets: 713-528-5999

We could never diss our Houston fans — they’ll sample some of the above recipes (with variations for, well, variety) at the Mucky Duck on Tuesday, December 19 at a seated dinner followed by a holiday concert. We’ll be the executive chefs, but totally hands-on for the music. Call the Duck for advance tickets: 713-528-5999.
 

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