What do you serve at a pumpkin party? Pumpkin, pumpkin and more pumpkin

Lynn Jay and her daughter Sarah Johnson really like pumpkin. They really, really like pumpkin.

The mother-daughter duo hosted the First Annual Pumpkin Dinner on Saturday night at Sarah's home in Saugus. The entire menu revolved around pumpkin. This night was a few years in the making. It started with a book called -- oddly enough -- "Pumpkin" by author Joanna Farrow. Sarah and her mother rifled through the book together one day and came up with the idea for a pumpkin party. And for the last several months they've enjoyed toying with menu ideas, decor, beverage ideas, and guest lists.

If this sounds excessive, know that Lynn and Sarah are dedicated foodies. I met Lynn earlier this year when Sarah wrote to the L.A. Times to tell us about her parents' monthly dinner club. When I interviewed Lynn and her husband, David, as well as their dinner club friends, I had trouble staying on point. Every conversation, it seemed, would tumble into all sorts of food talk with memories of past great meals, food magazine articles to read, gread food books, restaurant suggestions....It was all great fun.

I'd almost forgotten about Lynn's pumpkin plan -- we discussed it back in March and she told me to set Oct. 3 aside, which goes to show you how long this has been in the works -- when the invite arrived.

It was written on a pumpkin card, of course.

A dining guide for USC and UCLA grads

 

Graduating from college is kind of a big deal.

After four or more years of midterms and finals, Mom, Dad, and every other relative in the western United States will want to see little Josephine Bruin or little Tommy Trojan shake the dean's hand and move that tassel from right to left.

The big question is: how to feed them all after the ceremony and into the weekend?

We picked 10 restaurants, with a variety of price ranges and cuisines, where UCLA and USC graduates and their families can celebrate a well-deserved brunch or dinner. (And thank goodness that true-blue and cardinal-red blood need not be shed in a battle over one of these restaurants: USC’s graduations begin this weekend on Friday, and UCLA’s are not until mid-June.)

So, class of 2009, after you toss your hats, get ready to fill your bellies:

Evie's top 10 party tips

For a bit o something sweet today, read this post by San Diego food writer and radio host Caron Golden. It's an homage to her mom, Evie:

For as long as I can remember, she's pretty much been the queen of dinner parties. My dad was in the museum "business" so curators, donors, artists and other colleagues were always coming over. Plus, my parents have always loved to have friends and family at the house for meals. My mom is an astoundingly good cook, someone whose gift I continue to aspire to. I regularly served as her sous chef, server and dish washer (actually, I still do). I was told, "watch and learn" -- and that continues today.... So, what's her secret? I sat down with her for lunch at a little Vietnamese restaurant recently and asked her straight out what she thinks are the keys to a successful dinner party. Watch and learn:

Here's an early Happy Mother's Day to Evie and all the moms out there. And here's your Twip of the Day: Follow @carondg

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Photo: Mort Golden

Cinco de Mayo recipes: tuna tostadas, carne asada, chicharrones . . .

 

If you are like me, you're always looking for an excuse to break out the chips and guac. So I was happy to dig through the Times Test Kitchen's archives for some recipes in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Still, I wanted to come up with something ... different. (Nothing against refried beans, mind you!)

So this is a photo gallery of the menu I came up with:

There are grapefruit margaritas to start, along with appetizers including radish salsa, tortillas and chicharrones de queso -- roughly translated as fried cheese, tuna tostadas with chipotle mayo and queso de chiva fundido con pipián verde -- roughly translated as more cheesy goodness. For the main course, choose from green corn tamales, El Cholo's famous chiles rellenos, carne asada tacos, achiote-marinated fish tacos, duck tacos with a chile-cherry compote (I told you I wanted different) and two types of veggie enchiladas.

But I wasn't completely nontraditional. I did include guacamole. And, for a finisher, flan. 

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

-- Rene Lynch

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Photo credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Cake making turns to combat duty on 'Last Cake Standing'

A producer with the Food Network was on the line, pitching cake designer James Rosselle on its biggest, baddest cake challenge yet, "The Last Cake Standing," which starts Sunday. Competitors vie for $50,000 and the title of the "Best Cake Artist in America."

In other words, it was a golden opportunity for the 28-year-old from Whittier (at right) who is looking to open an appointment-only designer cake shop for his fledging business, Elle Cakes. Orders start at $600 and go skyward from there. You can check out a photo gallery of some of his cakes here.

So what did he tell the Food Network? "I told them I had to think about it."

Absolutely nothing against Food Network, said Rosselle, who had already competed in three similar contests for the network and emerged undefeated. But the challenges are so physically and emotionally grueling, he said -- "the audience just sees the tip of the iceberg" -- that he had to do some soul searching and determine whether he was ready to do it again.

Now wait a second. Are we still talking about baking cakes?

If Rosselle sounds like a battle-weary soldier, it's not by coincidence. The melding of two of the most successful genres in TV history -- reality competition and food programming -- have been an unbridled success.

But they get their traction from driving contestants in ways that the regal and genteel Julia Child  would never have imagined.

Picnic picks for the Hollywood Bowl

Now that daylight savings time has kicked in for the season, it’s never too early to start thinking about gearing up for the Hollywood Bowl and outdoor film screenings Cinespia sponsors in warmer weather at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Which is why when I stopped into Yolk on Silver Lake Boulevard after a coffee at LA Mill Coffee Boutique, I immediately pounced on these lovely wooden spoon and fork sets for $1 apiece. They also have wooden Chinese soup spoons for $5 each.

Made in Denmark, they’re smooth to the touch, very light -- and reusable. Just wash with a little mild soap and water. But please don’t soak them or stash them in the dishwasher. Yolk, 1626 Silver Lake Blvd., Los Angeles; (323) 660-4315.

-- S. Irene Virbila

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Photo: S. Irene Virbila

Etiquette weekend at Meadowood, anyone?

Here’s an idea for those who are seriously — and I mean seriously — insecure about food and wine etiquette. Spend $3,800 per couple for a weekend getaway at the Meadowood Napa Valley resort boning up on the rules of etiquette as they apply to eating and drinking. The resort can’t guarantee a figure like the kindly hotel manager Hector Elizondo played in the 1990 film “Pretty Woman” to tell you which fork to use when, but it will provide master sommelier Gilles de Chambure and etiquette instructor (and finishing school founder) Deborah King to teach you “the neglected arts of social grace and cultural awareness as they relate to wine, food and international travel.”

The program begins Friday night with a Champagne tasting and lesson in cocktail-hour etiquette before dinner. Saturday includes a wine tutorial, lunch at Viader winery with owner Delia Viader and a formal dinner at Meadowood and an examination of “international variations of accepted table manners.” Those who find this all a big snore may perk up when the subject turns to how to handle the check around the world (very handy indeed). The weekend concludes with Sunday brunch and the chance to speak one on one with the two instructors about your international travel plans.

I am not making this up.

The next Meadowood Napa Valley International Dining & Wine Etiquette weekend is scheduled for March 20 to 22. Cost: $2,450 per participant, or $3,800 per couple including lodging at Meadowood. For reservations, call (800) 458-8080 or visit www.meadowood.com.

— S. Irene Virbila

Photo: Meadowood.com

Pretty plates from Tord Boontje

Lovely china and glassware from Dutch designer Tord Boontjes’ hard-to-find Table Stories series are on sale now at unicahome.com. I’m eyeing this 13-inch serving plate from Story 1, which features a deer in a fanciful forest setting and comes in blue, red or gray on white, and is on sale for 50% off the normal retail price of $75. The series includes all sorts of porcelain dinner ware in four themes, most with elaborate flora and fauna designs, to mix and match. The etched glasses and tea lights are covetable too. Not everything in the series is on sale, but for those items that are, you might want to grab 'em now. Porcelain is dishwasher safe; glasses need to be washed by hand.

-- S. Irene Virbila

Photo of 13-inch Tord Boontjes plate via unicahome.com.

Beard Foundation lists award semifinalists

Southern California didn't fare too well in the semifinal round for the 2009 James Beard Foundation Awards.The list in 19 categories was announced today, winnowed from 15,000 online entries, the foundation says.

Suzanne Goin of Lucques and AOC was the only Angeleno to make the list of 20 outstanding chef semifinalists. Michael Mina of Michael Mina and Charles Phan of the Slanted Door, both in San Francisco, also were named semifinalists.

For outstanding restaurateur, three Californians made the cut: Bill Higgins and Bill Upson of Real Restaurants in Sausalito; Pat Kuleto of Pat Kuleto Restaurant Development & Management Co. in San Francisco; and Doug Washington and Mitchell and Steven Rosenthal of Town Hall, Salt House and Anchor and Hope, also in San Francisco.

Among the 20 best new restaurant semifinalists were three local spots: Animal and the Bazaar by Jose Andres, both in Los Angeles, and Palate Food + Wine in Glendale. And some other Californians can be found in other categories.

The foundation will announce the finalists -- five in each category -- March 23. Winners are announced May 4 at a ceremony in New York.

Here's how it works: The foundation holds an online open call for entries each year. An independent accounting firm tabulates entries for the Restaurant and Chef Committee, and based on the results and eligibility requirements, the committee produces the 20 semifinalists in each of 19 restaurant and chef categories.

The semifinalists then go to an independent volunteer panel of more than 400 judges -- restaurant critics, food and wine editors, culinary educators and past foundation award winners from around the country. Their votes determine the final five nominees. The same judges then vote to select the winners.

The foundation, named for the late cookbook author and teacher, also gives awards in other categories, including writing.

-- Mary MacVean

Photo: Suzanne Goin at the farmers market. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

Taking stock of what matters most (like olives)

You'll never guess what Times Food Editor Russ Parsons finds when he braves the elements -- and cleans his fridge out of all but the essentials.

What are the absolute must haves in your fridge?

--Rene Lynch