The Eleventh Annual Philadelphia Wine Festival is being held this year on Saturday, May 5th at Lincoln Financial Field.

This event is a collaboration between Philadelphia Magazine and PA Wine and Spirits Stores with proceeds of a silent auction benefiting The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Guests will have the opportunity to taste hundreds of wines from wineries around the world. Would YOU like to attend? Good news, Wilkie Lexus is giving away 2 tickets to the event!

LIKE the Wilkie Lexus Facebook Page to be automatically entered to win!

Wild Game Dinner w/ Beer Pairings

Thursday, March 1st

On Thursday, March 1st, Vince Totaro of Trattoria Totaro is offering one of his famous Wild Game Dinners.  The event is $55.00 per person with open seating and each course is paired with craft beers.

First Course

Antelope lentil stewoup (soup so thick you’ll think it’s stew)

Second Course

Radicchio and arugula, toasted pine nuts, purple onion, sliced grape tomatoes and gorgonzola cheese tossed in fig vinaigrette, topped with grilled frogs legs

Pasta Course

Buffalo Bolognese

Ground buffalo sautéed with mushrooms in a classic blush sauce, tossed with fresh cut fettuccine and topped with grated romano cheese

Main Course A sampling of each:

Wild River Steelhead

Served over saffron basmati rice

Roasted Rabbit

Served over a mix of green olives, golden raisins, capers and pine nuts with a foie gras sauterne drizzle

Roasted Boned Duck

With Pomegranate Koresh (scallion, garlic, orange zest, onion, walnuts, cinnamon, saffron and pomegranate)

Buffalo Bracciola

Caramelized onions, fontina cheese, fire roasted poblano peppers, spinach and egg, wrapped with flank steak brushed with olive oil, garlic and herbs. From the Double J Ranch, the buffalo is grass fed only, then fed corn the last two weeks.

Grilled wild boar tenderloin in a prune and cherry red wine sauce

Dessert

Family Style Dessert Sampler

$55 per person

Trattoria Totaro

639 Spring Mill Avenue

Conshohocken, PA 19428

610-828-7050

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Trattoria Totaro presents:

CHRISTMAS EVE FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES

Take out menu

Pick Up December 23,24^th, 2011

GARLIC SHRIMP COCKTAIL

Jumbo shrimp sautéed in olive oil, garlic, butter and basil, served chilled

$8.45 ½ dozen

SCALLOPS WRAPPED WITH BACON

$6.95 ½ dozen

CLAMS CASINO

Stuffed littlenecks topped with bacon…$8.95 ½ dozen

FRIED SMELTS

A tradition! …$9.95 ½ pound

BACALA (CODFISH SALAD)

Finely diced celery, onions and carrots tossed with flaked codfish in olive oil and garlic vinaigrette…$9.95 per pound

STUFFED SHRIMP

Jumbo shrimp stuffed with crab imperial, breaded and fried

$5.95 each

STUFFED CALAMARI YOLANDA

Vince’s mothers recipe – calamari tubes stuffed with sauté of vegetables, bread crumbs, herbs, pistachio nuts and raisins in marinara sauce or aiola sauce

$8.95 ½ pound

FLOUNDER PORTO

Flounder stuffed with lump crabmeat and spinach in a port wine cream sauce

$10.95 each

FRUTA DI MAR

Shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams and calamari tossed with celery and onion with a garlic, olive oil, vinegar and herb dressing

$10.95 pound

PESCATORE

Sauteed shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams and calamari in marinara sauce over pasta. Also available in garlic, olive oil, white wine sauce…$12.95 pound

Dine In Menu

CHRISTMAS EVE FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES

Friday December 23 and Saturday December 24, 2011

First Course

Seafood Sampler – A sampling of fried smelts, clams casino, garlic shrimp cocktail and bacala (codfish salad)

Second Course

Fruta di Mar (Cold Seafood Salad)

Shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams and calamari tossed with celery and onion with a garlic, olive oil, vinegar and herb dressing, served over greens

OR

Crab and Seafood Bisque

Third Course

Pescatore – Sauteed shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams and calamari in marinara sauce over home made pasta.

Also available in aiola sauce (garlic, olive oil, white wine sauce)

Flounder Porto – Flounder stuffed with lump crabmeat and spinach in a port wine cream sauce, then baked.

Calalmari Yolanda – Vince’s mothers traditional recipe: calamari tubes stuffed with sauté of vegetables, bread crumbs, herbs, pistachio nuts and raisins in marinara sauce or garlic, olive oil and white wine sauce

Dessert Sampler

Cannolies, Biscotti, Pizzelles and Cookies

$50.00 per person

Trattoria Totaro

639 Spring Mill Avenue

Conshohocken, PA 19428

610-828-7050

The most magical day of the year! Christmas Tea 2010

Do you have a precious holiday memory from your childhood? I have worked diligently to create so many for my children, from the smell of cinnamon and cloves throughout the house from Thanksgiving to New Years, to all of the home baked cookies we make, peppermint bark, decorating with fruits, cutting down our tree (yeah, forget that this year), decorating with fruits and greens, and The Wonderland Tea at The Four Seasons in Philadelphia.

If you have never experienced this event, or have never heard about it, there is a reason: it is the best kept secret in Philadelphia! Nearly impossible to obtain a reservation, throughout the month of December, this is the HOTTEST ticket in town. Wonderland Tea is only available on Saturdays beginning the Saturday after Thanksgiving through December. It is a children’s tea. There is only ONE day to make reservations. It is usually the 2nd Tuesday (don’t quote me) in October. There is a hotline # setup for tea only and the entire month is booked in an hour after the phone lines open. It is a very small window and makes for an exclusive event!

The desserts!

We first attended when my youngest was 3 or 4. She was a little squirmy, although she enjoyed every minute. We felt the next year that we would do something else, so we left the youngest at home and went to The Rittenhouse. As we passed The Four Seasons, my older daughter, probably 6 at the time, sighed, “That’s where I am supposed to be.” The rest is history! The Wonderland Tea has been a tradition ever since.

The day begins with my girls’ favorite; vanilla tea and champagne for the ladies. but of course…

Everyone is dressed to the nines! I am searching as I write this for a picture from their younger years where they were still cute enough to get decked out! Tea sandwiches are served, followed by assorted scones and desserts. Alice in Wonderland roams the room taking pictures with all of the girls. Each girl receives a copy of the photo in a paper frame. After dessert, the Nutcracker Dancers perform. Since we are pros, we know just the perfect time to strategically move the girls into position for the best seat.  The children are enchanted by the performance and when it ends they rush forward with their paper framed picture and pens to gather autographs from the dancers.

Always a treasured gift

Each child receives a wonderful take away. Amongst the gifts have been: A Four Seasons Christmas Bear, A Royal Tea Set, The Nutcracker the book and last year’s gift; an MP3 player engraved with “Four Seasons Philadelphia.”

YAY! I found past pictures:

Enjoying marshmallows

With Alice!

With Mom Mom!

Ready for show!

Getting autographs

A great day! Excited for today!

I use apples and oranges as candle holders on our mantle

My centerpice is apples, with a pineapple top filled in with boxwood greens.

My grandfather made the mold from wood.

I add cloves to oranges for a great look and smell

Sugared Fruits are MY FAVORITE and a great activity with the kids!

Sugared fruits are used with greens and pine cones throughout the house

Sugared Fruits

Egg whites

Sugar

Assorted fruits such as red and green apples

pears

grapes

ornages and clementines

Roll the fruits first in egg white using a basting brush to cover

Then add to a bowl of sugar

Use a spoon to coat and lightly roll in sugar.

Let the fruits dry on wax paper.

Sugared fruits look beautiful in a crystal bowl or scattered amongst greens.

Thank you to Hillary Chybinski for motivating me to finally get this post done by posting her 12 days of Christmas blog.

Merry Christmas!

Trattoria Totaro

Hosts a December

Wild Game Dinner

Thursday December 15th

Five courses of exotic wild game such as quail, kangaroo,

wild boar, elk and duck

Each course paired with micro brewed beers

$55.00 per person

Open seating, but seating is limited!

For reservations call: 610-828-7050

Trattoria Totaro

639 Spring Mill Avenue

Conshohocken, PA 19428

Conshohocken Italian Bakery Installs New Oven

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA – Conshohocken Italian Bakery recently acquired and installed a new Alitech thermal tunnel oven.  The oven will allow for increased production of their Italian roll varieties including Hoagie, Steak and Kaiser Rolls distributed throughout the region. Bakery owners, Domenic and Michael Gambone, expect to have the new oven fully operational the week of November 21^st.  As customary, a blessing ceremony will be held on Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 11:00am at their 79 Jones Street location; his Reverend Father Gasper A. Genuardi of SS Cosmas & Damian Church will officiate the ritual.

The new Alitech oven, endearingly named “Irene”, replaces a 25 year-old Thermotun oven. The breakdown/installation process took nearly 9 weeks to complete with an additional 4 weeks for calibrating and testing. The new oven is expected to reduce energy consumption by 10 – 15% in addition to providing more efficiency by reducing baking times while maintaining product consistency. The oven is expected to bake up to 25,000 Kaiser Rolls per hour and nearly 6,300 Hoagie Rolls per hour.  The overall dimensions of the oven are 16 meters long X 4.8 meters wide X 2.6 meters high or 52.5ft X 15.6ft X 8.5ft, which is about the length of a humpback whale. For more information on Alitech bakery equipment, please visit their website at www.alitech-online.com.

During the transition, the bakery was using a similar, but smaller Thermotun oven to keep up with production demands.

Established in 1973, Conshohocken Italian Bakery has been manufacturing and supplying wholesale and retail baked goods to the greater Philadelphia five-county region.  The bakery continues to focus on producing freshly baked artisan products.

Conshohocken Italian Bakery

79 Jones Street

Conshohocken, PA 19428

610-825-9334

www.conshybakery.com

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Men’s Italian Night at Chick’s Tavern

Tuesday, October 4, 2011 – 7pm

Family Style Menu:

Appetizers:

Mixed Garden Greens with Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella & Shrimp,

Pasta Fagioli Soup, Garlic Bread with sautéed onions & peppers,

Broccoli Rabe and White Mussels

Entrees:

Chicken Parmigiana

Penne in an Arrabiatta Sauce

Eggplant Parm Rollatini

Roasted Pork Sirloin with Red Bliss Potatoes

Home-made Desserts

$25 per person – Reserve your table today!

Chick’s Tavern

231 East 4th Street

Bridgeport, PA

610-279-9606       www.chickstavern.net