Photo courtesy of www.kevinandamanda.com.

We will be celebrating Mardi Gras with two featured events: Hot Sauce for Ohio Farm Relief (February 18^th from 1-3 p.m.) and a N’Orleans Style Gumbo Cook-off (February 19^th from 1-3 p.m.) to benefit Chefs for the Marcellus.

Our featured event of the weekend is the February 19^th N’Orleans Style Gumbo Cook-Off.  Coming off our very successful cassoulet cook-off, the Gumbo Cook-Off event will have chefs both professional and amateur competing for Gumbo bragging rights. Co-host Chefs for the Marcellus (protecting our farms, food and water from fracking) request that ingredients ideally be sourced from the Marcellus Shale region, a geologic formation that covers a large area of the mid-Atlantic region, including much of New York’s southern tier — an area of pristine waters; produce, dairy and livestock farms; and breweries and wineries.

$20 at the door will get you unlimited tastings from the following confirmed chefs:

• Nissa Pierson from Ger – Nis Culinary and Herb Center
• Brent Sims, The Green Table
• Dave Seigal, Stonyfield Cafe
• Sea To Table: Wild Florida White Shrimp
• Jon Bratton from NYC Hot Sauce
• Back Forty’s Chef Michael Laarhoven
• Cathy Erway, author, Not Eating Out in NY
• Jimmys No. 43
• Chef Jessica Wilson with more TBA.

The event will be judged by Curt Ellis, FoodCorps founder and documentary filmmaker, Will Blunt (starchefs.com), and other judges TBA.

Anyone interested in joining the Gumbo Cook-off should e-mail Danielle for details and specifications.

The Hot Sauce for Ohio Farm Relief tasting event will be co-hosted by High River Sauces’ founder Steve Seabury, who will be on hand to sell and sign his cookbook, Mosh Potatoes. $10 admission at the door will benefit Bill Pennell (Rootstown Organic Farm).  Cabot Cheddar will be donating cheese and GuS Soda will be providing “GuS Dry Meyer Lemon” to offer a cool relief for the guests between hot sauce tastings. Other participants include from Tickle Sauce (who with Barry’s Tempeh will be making tamales), Rootstown Organic Farm (Homemade HOT Tonic), Anarchy in a Jar (Hot Pepper Jelly), Beth’s Farm Kitchen (Habanero Jelly), and NYC Hot Sauce. More hot sauces TBA.

This month’s Crafty Brunch with “My Life on Craft’s” Mary Izett will be super special. On Sunday, February 5th, from 2-4 p.m., we’ll be welcoming Evolutionary Organics’ Kira Kinney. Since 2003, Kira Kinney has used Evolutionary Organics to make Certified Naturally Grown produce in her part of the Hudson River Valley’s New Paltz, NY, where she farms a little over 20 acres of many heirloom vegetables, baby greens, herbs and pasture raised eggs. Her products are sold weekly at GrowNYC farmer’s market in Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn. Her farm was severely impacted by last year’s hurricane and flooding, so we’re happy to turn Mary’s usual artisan event into a Farmer’s Crafty Lunch to benefit Evolutionary Organics. Continue reading Farmer’s Crafty Lunch To Benefit Evolutionary Organics

This Saturday, January 28th, from 1-4 p.m. some of the city’s most inventive craft beer wizards will be in the house competing against each other with some really incredible beer-based “cocktails.” Among the challengers and their offerings are: Continue reading Beer Cocktail Brunch Off Challenges City’s Up-And-Coming Bartenders

Ken and Janine at the Crossroads Brewery (photo by Claude Haton/Hudson-Catskill Newspapers)

Jimmy’s No. 43 is very happy to be bringing the owners of Crossroads Brewery, Janine Bennett and Kenny Landin, to town next week to talk about (and drink!) their very yummy beer. A relatively new brewery, Crossroads is located in Athens, NY, and has one of those really cool beer stories (they were looking for a place to showcase musical acts and ended up with a 15,000 square foot historic opera house, which was – of course – the perfect place for a brewery!). Continue reading Meet The Owners Of Crossroads Brewery Next Thursday (1/19)

We love a good cassoulet, and the drop in temperature this week makes Sunday’s Cassoulet Cook-off a well timed event. Competing chefs will include:

• Green Brown Orange’s Alejandro Alcocer, whose cafe/catering company focuses on simplicity of flavors, organic and biodynamic foods from local, seasonal farms;
• Jessica Wilson, formerly of aVoce and Prune;
• Hadley Schmitt of Northern Spy, the East Village Restaurant/Pub that has a menu built around seasonality and quality, whenever possible using locally grown, caught, and produced ingredients;
• Edi and the Wolf’s Eduard Frauneder and Wolfgang Ban will bring some Austrian flare to the cassolet cook-off;
• Phil Conlon of The Highliner Restaurant;

and, of course, Jimmy’s No. 43, which will be offering cassoulet on the menu all next week.

Amateur chefs are competing, as well. You may still join if you sign up with Danielle before Thursday (that’s in two days, so hurry!). Otherwise, tickets are $20 with proceeds to benefit the Greenmarkets’ Hurricane Farm Relief.