Oh So Tasty: Cauliflower Soup from Battuto

photo Julie Gates

Gene and Julie Gates of Battuto Italian Kitchen are offering diners at their restaurant free refills of their delicious Cauliflower Soup all month long in celebration of National Soup Month. Can't make it over there in the next couple of weeks? No worries! They are also sharing the recipe for those who wish to make it at home.

They claim "their cauliflower with roasted garlic soup is simply delicious AND guilt-free with less than 110 calories per serving so it's perfect for all those New Years resolutions to eat healthy and lose weight!"

Let me know what you think!

Oh So Tasty: Burgers and Burgundy 2012

Debra Nelson, Greg Haynes Johnson and Anne Stodghill

Celebrity chefs and philanthropic foodies joined Chef John Tesar at the estate of Anne and Steve Stodghill on Friday, October 19th for the fourth annual Burgers & Burgundy event benefiting The Dallas Chapter of DIFFA (Design Industry Foundation Fighting AIDS).

“I was very excited to bring my fellow chefs together for what has become an annual event for DIFFA/Dallas,” comments Chef Tesar. “I have had the honor to work with DIFFA for four years to put on this event. The best part, though, is that it’s for a great cause.”

Each chef was tasked with the challenge to serve up the best burger sliders and compliment them with the burgundy of their choice. I was a bit leery of attending this event, since I am not a fan of red wine (or I should say, it is not a fan of ME!) but thankfully, there were plenty of other libation selections from which to choose if burgundy wines weren't your thing.

Gene & Julie Gates help make Rankin Hobbs Halloween Carnival a sweet success

LuAnn Hobbs, Julie Gates, Rankin Hobbs and Gene Gates

Earlier this week I told you about 14-year old EDS student Rankin Hobbs who had the idea to create a Halloween Carnival and donate the proceeds to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital.

My pals Gene and Julie Gates over at 103.7 Lite FM read my post and were also touched by Rankin's desire to help those less fortunate. They had us all in Thursday morning to their CBS studios and interviewed him on their morning show.

I asked his Mom if he had been a patient at Scottish Rite at one point or had a family member there - what drew him to that particular charity? I was shocked when she responded with, "He went on a field trip in 4th grade (he's now in 8th grade) and it just made a tremendous impression on him."  Whoever led that tour should get a gold watch... Just sayin'.

KVIL's Gene & Julie Gates to open Italian restaurant

Well, I have to hand it to my pal, Steven Doyle, over at CraveDFW. He totally scooped me on this bit of news.

KVIL Hosts Aurora Fundraiser and Dallas Delivers

(left) Ryan and Dawn Neufeld  (right) Jane McGarry and Steve Kemble
Holly Forsythe, LeeAnne Locken, Bill Griffin, Parris Rigby and Gina Noble

I got a call from Gene Gates last Tuesday. He is one half of the adorable The Gene & Julie Show on KVIL 103.7 Lite FM every weekday morning.  Gene & Julie had connected with Megan Saunders, one of the survivors from the Aurora movie massacre.  Megan shared her story on Gene & Julie's radio show via telephone from Colorado.  They were so moved by her struggle and her need to help her community that Gene's call to me went a little something like, "We want to do a fundraiser for those affected by the shootings in Aurora last week. Are you in?" And so began a three day whirlwind off phone calls, emails and postings on social media channels to pull together a benefit.

(left) Gene gates, Matt Nordgren and Julie Gates  (right) Melissa Poe

The first thought was to host a buffet style dinner and charge $50 a ticket. I wasn't so keen on that idea. It was fellow hostesses LeeAnne Locken and Parris Rigby who called Holly Forsythe, owner of Sambuca. Forsythe not only donated her venue in Uptown but offered up hors' de ouvres for guests at no charge.  This is really when things started picking up speed.  David Kiger of Worldwide Express and Bill Griffin of Bill Griffin Real Estate wrote checks to underwrite funds so that all of the proceeds could go to benefit the victims and survivors.  Carter Malouf donated a beautiful pearl necklace for us to raffle off. The whole project just came together seamlessly, with so many offering their resources to help.

Last Thursday, local media like Jane McGarry, Giselle Phelps from CW33, Teresa Frosini from CBS 11 and Danielle Vollmer from CW33's EyeOpener joined us at Sambuca to support and even broadcasted live on site. Bravo TV's Most Eligible stud Matt Nordgren was such a good sport and allowed us to auction off a date with him (raising $500!). And other Dallas starts like former NFL player Ryan Neufeld and his VH1 Football Wives spouse Dawn Neufeld, Steve Kemble and Melissa Poe from Big Rich Texas all showed up to support this cause and helped us promote the event through their social media channels.

Aurora, CO survivor Megan Saunders shows that Dallas helped raise over $12,000

Gene & Julie's goal was to raise $10,000. In the end, we raised over $12,000 that will go to aid the victims and survivors of this terrible tragedy. They say everything is bigger and better in Texas - clearly, that includes our hearts and our willingness to help our fellow man.

photos: Bob Manzano

Iron Fork 2012

The Dallas Observer hosted their 2nd annual Iron Fork event on May 8 at f.i.g.  This event was a dream come true for foodies looking to sample cuisine from a wide variety of Dallas restaurants like Bread Winners, Cafe Brazil, Dallas Fish Market, Greenz, Landmark Restaurant, Lockhart Smokehouse, Primebar, Torchy's Tacos and a whole lot more!  The trick to surviving this event is to not eat all day and come hungry!

Scott Romano (left) took home the giant skillet. Photo: Dallas Observer

The evening's big entertainment was a Chef's Challenge moderated by local culinary legend, Kent Rathbun. Last year's Iron Fork champion, Scott Romano, returned to battle TJ Lengnick from Whiskey Cake and for the second year remained victorious!  Each chef received a basket of ingredients and the challenge was to go head-to-head in a creative cook-off using provided items with celebrity judges Gene Gates from KVIL, Steven Doyle from Crave DFW and the Dallas Observer's Cheap Bastard columnist Alice Laussade selecting the winner!  Throughout the night, guests not only enjoyed the Chef's Challenge, but tastings from local restaurants, live music, a mixologist station, along with beer, wine and cocktail stations.

Here are some scenes from the event:

(top right) LeeAnne Locken and Kent Rathbun  (top left) Employees of Cafe Brazil
(bottom left) Gene gates, Kent Rathbun and Steven Doyle  (bottom right) Lockhart Smokehouse

(top left)  Mesa  (top right)  Katy Messersmith and Marc Mattox
(bottom left) Matt Russell and Danielle Latta (bottom right) photo booth fun

The best part of the night was an awesome swag bag from sponsor Whole Foods that came with my VIP ticket that was packed with gift cards from participating restaurants and a gorgeous pair of earrings from Kendra Scott.  Surprisingly, it did not include a copy of the Dallas Observer... This is one super fun and tasty event I encourage you to check out next year!