Here come those dreaded words: “Hey, what’s for dinner?” Well, how about grilled quail served with 20-year-old port? Or, perhaps, farm-raised chicken served by the farmers themselves. Or you could whip up something yummy in your own kitchen.
Glasshalfull (106 S. Greensboro St., Carrboro, 967-9784, www.glasshalfullcarrboro.com) hosts a Portuguese wine dinner at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2. The port wines of Kopke and the table wines of Quinta dos Roques will be paired with a five-course meal by Chef Ricky Moore. Expert Todd Cromwell, whom Glasshalfull calls “a knighted port authority” (is that like the metropolitan port authority?), will answer questions. Cost is $95 per person, and reservations are required.
The same day, SEEDS (www.seedsnc.org), a nonprofit community garden in Durham, hosts its Fifth Annual Harvest Dinner at the American Tobacco Campus’ Bay 7. Beginning at 6 p.m., the evening features dinner catered by the Durham Catering Co., a silent auction and an illustrated talk by Anne Raver, a New York Times columnist. Tickets are $100 per person or $1,000 per table and are available online. For more information, e-mail info@seedsnc.org or call 683-1197.
Lantern (423 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 969-8846, lanternrestaurant.com) hosts its annual Piedmont/ Piemonte dinner at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8. The meal features five courses from Chef-owner Andrea Reusing and wine by Alberto Cordero di Montezemolo, whose family has grown grapes and made wine on land near Alba since 1340, for 18 generations. Consider Braeburn Farm beef braised in Barbera wine, served with Anson Mills polenta with fresh butter and Hickory Grove cheese, and paired with Barolo. Cost is $120 per person, not including tax and gratuity. Reservations are required.
Some of the local farmers traveling to Slow Food’s Terra Madre Conference in Italy are hosting a chicken dinner to help fund their trip. The Oct. 12 dinner begins at 4 p.m. at Castle Rock Gardens (3232 Castle Rock Farm Road, Pittsboro, 636-0832, www.localharvest.org/farms/M16386) and features poultry from Castle Rock Gardens and Castlemaine Farm, side dishes, locally made bread, bluegrass music and Matt Dawes, the chef at Asheville’s Table restaurant.
Tickets are $25 and will be sold at Castle Rock’s or Castlemaine’s booths at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market (both booths, Wednesdays and Saturdays) and Durham Farmers’ Market (just Castlemaine, just Saturdays). For information, call Ristin Cooks at 636-0832.
Author (and mother of seven) Liz Edmunds, who calls herself “the Food Nanny,” will be at two local bookstores to promote her book The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner: Easy Family Meals For Every Day of the Week. At 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 15, Edmunds demonstrates French bread baking and talks about her approach to family mealtimes at Quail Ridge Books & Music (3522 Wade Ave., Raleigh, 828-1588, www.quailridgebooks.com). Oct. 16 at 7 p.m., she gives a talk at Market Street Books (610 Market St., Chapel Hill, 933-1511, www.marketstreetbooks.com).
Know about a fun food happening in the Triangle? Send it to Now Serving at food@indyweek.com.
