New York City Wine & Food Festival - Grand Tasting - Sunday October 18

WHAT AN EXPERIENCE! This event opened my eyes to so many more options for cocktails, food preparation, flavor combinations, and sampling.

 Waiting in line for the volunteers to let us in with our branded glasses

 Grand Tasting giftbags

 North Stage (and South Stage behind) were where the chefs did their demos

 the wine space

 the main hall

sampling

 Delta foliage wall

The Delta booth gave out wine glass necklaces for easy sipping during the festival!

 tuna tartare with avocado mousse and fresh greens

 pumpkin donut and a cocktail with a hibiscus flower in it (I did not like this one)

 Absolut Elix cocktail stand

 this drink had fresh flowers as garnish!

 at the Japanese chocolate stand, this is a green tea chocolate-covered almond

 checking out the liquor tables

 aged rum

mac-n-cheese in phyllo dough with shaved black truffles

 Nutella french toast

 fried egg ball (I did not have this one)

 mini ice cream cups! yum

 Coke display

 in the "Plated" truck

 more rums

kale salad with farro, cranberries, walnuts and tofu

 Chef Robert Irvine!

 Chef Michael Symon!

 Patti LaBelle, host of "Patti LaBelle's Place" on Cooking Channel

 Bobby and Jamie Deen

 Chef Duff Goldman! #baltimore, "Ace of Cakes"

 Chef Tyler Florence

 Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos, hosts of "Extra Virgin" on Cooking Channel

 Chef Katie Lee, "The Kitchen" on Food Network

 Haylie Duff, host of "The Real Girl's Kitchen" on Cooking Channel

 Ted Allen and Marc Murphy, judges on "Chopped"

 Chef Valerie Bertinelli!

 Ceviche demo

 Our photographer, Andrew Renneisen, and me

 Taking a selfie at the Cupcake Vineyards booth

 Deb and Gab, and me!

With Duff Goldman!

What a great time! I'm full, happy, and tired. Such a fun-filled weekend!

Cheers!

New York City Wine & Food Festival - Giada's Italian Feast and the Midnight Jazz Breakfast

This past week, I had the tremendous opportunity to attend a few events at this year's Wine & Food Festival in New York City.

Giada De Laurentiis' Italian Feast
Last Thursday, my coworkers and I went to Giada's Italian Feast (photos here) on Thursday last week and, after dozens of minutes of waiting, I got a picture with her!

 Here are some of the foods I tried:

 panzanella (bread and tomato salad)

 margherita pizza with fresh mozzerella and basil

 chocolate hazelnut ice cream sandwiches

 lemon riccota gelato

fancypants Voss water
...and many more! One interesting one was a black truffle chocolate truffle, made with dark chocolate and shaved black truffle mushrooms. Weird...

 The esteemed Food Network Photo Team!

 Gabriele Corcos, co-host of Cooking Channel's "Extra Virgin" tv show, and me!

a cool shot through the wrinkled plastic of the rooftop tent

* * *
Midnight Jazz Breakfast
Late Saturday night at 9pm, I traveled from Coney Island to Harlem for the Midnight Jazz Breakfast. I was to meet our event photographer there early to see the place and assist if he needed help getting all the shots on the shot list.
Rev Run, of Run-DMC fame, is the co-host of "Rev Run's Sunday Suppers" and the upcoming "Rev Run's Thanksgiving Special", along with his wife Jackie. They were the hosts of the Midnight Jazz Breakfast, held at the Cecil. Here are some of my photos from the night:

 Me, at the Cecil, shot by our event photographer on my phone

 Rev Run (Joseph Simmons), me, and Jackie Simmons

 banana bread pudding with coconut and rum

fried biscuits with berries, and my drink of the night, made with Hypnotiq, a glow stick, and a gummy shark

chocolate bread pudding with creme fraiche glaze and pink peppercorns

Stay tuned for my post on the Grand Tasting from Sunday!