The ballroom of the Pittsburgh Hilton & Towers will be alive with tempting aromas Sept. 17 for the eighth annual Star Chefs Gourmet Dining Event and Auction benefiting the March of Dimes.
Chefs from top restaurants -- Steelhead Grill, Lidia's, Poli's, Original Fish Market, Atria's, Renaissance Pittsburgh and Omni William Penn, to name a few -- will prepare their specialties while guests try to find space for just one more bite.
Godiva and Betsy Ann Chocolates, BreadWorks and Old Vienna Baking Co. breads and assorted wines and beers are also on tap.
The Grand Buffet Tasting starts at 6 p.m., followed by the auction at 8 p.m. Tickets are $75. Call 1-800-422-2437.
Make-A-Wish dinner
Make-A-Wish's annual fund-raiser, Dine Around the World 2002 on Sept. 19, will take a novel approach to fine dining.
This progressive dinner starts at 5:45 p.m. and features dishes by five top chefs at five different restaurants. European food is the focus and wine will be served with each course.
The event begins with Yorkshire Pudding with Oyster Stew at the Pittsburgh Hilton, moves to the Omni William Penn for Crab Bisque; then to the Marriott for Pine Nut and Chickory Salad, followed by Tuna and Medallion of Veal at the Ramada, and ending with Wild Berry Strudel at the Radisson Green Tree.
Cost is $85 a ticket. Seating is limited and deadline for reservations is Monday. Call 412-471-WISH.
Tailgate time
With Steelers season upon us, maybe tailgate food is more to your liking than fancy chefs' creations.
If so, Better Homes and Gardens has "Tailgating," a special publication on sale ($4.99) at supermarkets and newsstands. It has hearty recipes for football fans.
Game-day dishes vary from barbecued pork chop sandwiches and blue cheese burgers to chicken wings, buffalo stew, red-skinned potato salad, chilis and New England meatballs.
Lowdown on school lunch
Moms, take a break from packing school lunches with a clear conscience.
Research shows that children who participate in school lunch programs eat more nutritious meals than those who bring lunches from home.
Measuring food actually eaten, a registered dietitian from The Human Nutrition Program of Eastern Michigan University compared the lunches of 570 second-, third- and fourth-grade students in two Michigan school districts.
She observed calorie counts of the two types of lunches to be similar, averaging 577 calories.
However, school lunches, which must meet one-third of a child's daily nutritional needs, provide more variety.
Overall, the school lunches provided more vitamins, calcium, iron, zinc, protein and fiber, and had twice as much fruit and seven times as many vegetables as lunches brought from home.
Because the mainstay of the lunchbox is the sandwich, it offers more bread and meat items. Kids are also treated to three times more snack foods in homemade lunches.
This combination makes for more carbohydrates, fat, sugar and vitamin C in the lunchbox, the latter from fortified fruit drinks or fruit snacks.
Juice boxes are prevalent in lunches brought from home, and they encourage children to forgo the purchase of milk to go with their lunch.
Nutritionists feel that "overjuicing" contributes to low calcium intake, as well as weight problems in children.
Milk was included in 87 percent of the school lunches and only 7 percent of lunches from home.
Reader writes
Susy Moran of Arlington e-mailed about my recent feature on peaches:
"I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your mention of Kaelin Farm's use of integrated pest management.
"I try to eat organic, but IPM is the next best thing, especially when it's local. I will put them on my list of good places to buy produce!"
Canned corn
Cornell scientists have discovered that canned corn isn't nutritionally lower in value than fresh corn; in fact, the reverse is true.
Their study proved that heat processing of sweet corn (that's how canned corn is prepared) increased both antioxidant activity and the level of phenolics (phytochemicals found naturally in many fruits and veggies).
Something to remember in the winter when fresh corn is nowhere to be seen.
Correction
In last week's column, we mentioned the Dole 5 A Day Recipe Contest for kids ages 5 to 12. Recipes aren't limited to canned products, as we said, although one Dole product must be used. Fresh, frozen, canned or dried fruits and vegetables may also be used.
The last word
"To offer wine is the most charming gesture of hospitality, and a host brings out for his guests the finest he has. Whether there are four wines or one, the gesture is the same." -- Alexis Lichine, American wine expert and author
E-mail Nancy Anderson at nanderson@post-gazette.com .
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