"dallas" news and stories

It doesn't get any better than this. If I had magical powers and could transport myself to any food festival in the country this weekend, I don't think I'd be able to decide where to go! We've got BBQ in Missouri and Pies in Florida, and starting next Wednesday (4/23), Texas is the place to be with festivals in both Houston and Dallas.

Read on for details about all of these yummy events, and check out the gallery from last weekend's Scottsdale Culinary Festival!

Fans of Paula Deen will no doubt be excited to learn that she plans to take her show on the road, quite literally, as she kicks off a national tour this summer.

The show, Paula Deen Live, will be broadcast in 2-hour segments and is scheduled to visit Shreveport, Charlotte, Nashville, Dallas and Atlanta beginning this summer.

As always, Paula will cook some of her favorite Southern recipes, as well as answer questions and share tips about getting families involved in the preparation of meals.

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A Texas-based pizza chain, Pizza Patron, is now accepting pesos at all of their 59 nationwide locations. Many of the stores, particularly those in Texas (others are in California, Nevada, Arizona and Colorado) are located in primarily Latino neighborhoods and, according to the director of restaurant operations for the company, "many of [the] customers travel back and forth to Mexico regularly, and sometimes they end up with pesos left over... [so] now we also welcome the currency of our homeland. We want to make Pizza Patron a better choice for our customers than any of our competitors." The program is a trial one that will last from now until at least the end of February, although it could be extended if it is met with a positive reaction from the customer base.

Even though it has only been in place for a week, the plan has not met with a warm reception. The company has received "hundreds of e-mails," most of them critical. The fact that 10% of sales this week in the chain's five primary stores were in pesos, however, is probably enough to keep the plan in action for another few weeks.

If chicken fried steak ice cream sounds like a bad idea to you, rest assured that it sounds bad to me, too. If it actually sounds like a good idea to you, I am sorry to be the one to tell you that you are mistaken. In either case, the rather unusual combination doesn't live up to the promise, whatever small amount there is, of its name. The concoction was dreamed up and skillfully put together at Dallas Food, who reported that "Flavorwise, this was hands down the most disgusting ice cream I've ever had the misfortune to taste."

They were going for something that would approximate the flavor of cream gravy, with a thick and rich consistency, but in a frozen form. After all, similar things haven been done with bacon (not necessarily to general success, however). Flavor issues aside, I really think that Dallas Food did a fantastic job putting this together, frying the steak and carefully putting together the ice cream, which was flavored with pepper, thyme and CFS drippings. It's too bad that it didn't turn out to be a winner, but as DF points out, it will be on hand to serve to that "one deserving guest" at the next barbecue.

[Thanks, Slow Crow!]

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I don't know about you, but I certainly take my fair share from Epicurious, the uber-food website with a giant database of recipes and articles about food and dining, without ever paying a dime. Well, now, I guess it's time for a little payback. And what better payback than charitable payback!

Epicurious editor, Tanya Steel, has developed a fundraising program aimed at raising money for the millions of children who go hungry in the US. The program, called Wine. Dine. Donate., launched on the Epicurious site on August 1st, has three ways to participate.

1. Throw a dinner party - Each month, epicurious will suggest a dinner menu and offer tips and tricks for entertaining. You invite your guests, prepare, cook, and then at your dinner party, collect contributions from your guests. Afterwards, you can share your experience in the Epicurious forum. This month, the menu comes from chef Michael Mina of San Francisco.
2. Go to a dinner party - Epicurious has coordinated with America's top chefs and will throw a dinner party once a month at one of their restaurants. You can buy a ticket to the dinner, and the proceeds go toward the cause. On September 18, the dinner is at Michael Mina in San Francisco; October 3 at Via Matta in Boston; October 24 at Custom House in Chicago; and November 12 at Abacus in Dallas.
3. Donate directly - Go directly to the America's Second Harvest site and make a contribution online.