Mouthing Off

Anna Williams

Tonight at 11 pm ET, Vinny Guadagnino and his castmates from MTV’s Jersey Shore are hosting Restore the Shore, a one hour special to encourage viewers to make donations that will help rebuild Seaside Heights, NJ, which was badly damaged during Hurricane Sandy.
 
Guadagino will soon host his own talk show with a food angle, according to an announcement by MTV. On The Show With Vinny, he will interview celebrities at his family’s Staten Island house and serve them homemade Italian food, likely made by his mother Paula Guadagnino, who cooks enormous Italian meals for her family every day.

Related: Superb Italian Recipes
How to Eat and Drink Like the Cast of MTV's Jersey Shore
5 Reasons Why This is the Last Season of MTV's Jersey Shore

Courtesy of Daniel Boulud

The dinners and food-related events to assist Hurricane Sandy victims are still coming fast and furious. Like Eleven Madison Park's benefit to help rebuild the DUMBO restaurant Governor on November 20th. I applaud every single person who has done something in the kitchen or out of it, to help and urge everyone to keep up their great efforts.
 
I don’t know how most of those fund-raising meals came about. But I did hear the backstory of Momofuku and Café Boulud for NYC, the $495-per-person, one-night-only extravaganza which raised thousands of dollars for the Red Cross on November 2nd. And I got this groovy photo. So I wanted to tell the story.
 
The Players: Superchef Daniel Boulud and Momofuku’s Dave Chang. And Ben Leventhal (Eater.com’s co-founder and food-world rainmaker) who had the idea to bring downtown uptown, then got Boulud and Chang together. Along with Café Boulud chef Gavin Kaysen and a bunch of Momofuku staff who wanted to do something, but couldn’t because their downtown restaurants were closed.
 
The Location: The elite Café Boulud (a place where Chang was once a harried line cook).
 
The Complications: Chang was in Toronto during the Hurricane; his return flight was repeatedly cancelled. So the chef jumped in a rental car and drove back to NYC. Stories of speeding tickets and empty gas tanks can’t be confirmed or denied.
 
The Café Boulud & Momofuku Menu:
scallop - chick-pea miso, tamari
matsutake agnolotti - buckwheat, french toast
veal sweetbreads - yuzu kosho, labne, asian pear
foie gras - lychee, pine nut
duck - wild rice, apple, brussels sprouts

To book seats at Eleven Madison Park's dinner in support of Governor restaurant on November 20th, call 212-995-0905.

And for more on Boulud and Chang, and another great photo of the two together, check out the Toronto story in the December issue of F&W (I happened to write it).

Related: Learn about #DineOutNYC
Daniel Boulud Recipes
David Chang Recipes

It's not every day that Mario Batali hands out a Golden Pie Service Award. In fact, he'd never given one out before Sunday night, when he handed one to President Bill Clinton. Clinton was the star of an astonishing crowd that came out to support the Mario Batali Foundation, which works to keep kids well fed, well read and well cared for. Read more >

© Lucy Schaeffer / Creamy Shrimp Casserole

Top food bloggers will cook to fight hunger at a public event this Friday. Recipe site Cookstr and crowd funder Zokos are teaming up to throw an innovative charity potluck that will include dishes from The Artful Gourmet's Kristen Hess, JustcookNYC's Justin Schwarz and the team behind Rendezfoods. Attendees must RSVP through Zokos by noon tomorrow with a $20 donation to get unlimited drinks from Brooklyn Brewery, Vinport and Red Jacket Juice as well as blogger-cooked offerings. Those inspired to do so can also bring their own favorite sharable dishes. The event will run from 6 to 8 p.m. at Cookstr’s downtown New York headquarters, and all proceeds will go to City Harvest, an organization working to end hunger in New York City.

Related: F&W's Chefs Make Change
Delicious Potluck Recipes
Portable Desserts

Courtesy of Locanda Verde

On Saturday, July 7th, some of New York's most talented chefs and pastry chefs will contribute to what promises to be a spectacular bake sale. Cookies for Kids' Cancer, an incredible organization founded by a mom who lost her son to neuroblastoma, will be selling treats from Momofuku Milk Bar’s Christina Tosi, Red Rooster’s Deborah Racicot, ABC Kitchen’s Dan Kluger and Locanda Verde's Karen Demasco among others. Though the group hosts sales to benefit pediatric cancer treatment and research all over the country, this one will be takes place from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. In East Hampton's Amagansette Square. Can't attend? You can still donate, buy cookies online or even host your own bake sale for the organization by visiting cookiesforkidscancer.org.

How much do we love the 2012 class of Best New Chefs? These up-and-comers excel in their own kitchens and give back to the community. Take ABC Kitchen’s Dan Kluger of New York. Kluger recently collaborated with his rockstar boss Jean-Georges Vongerichten to create a limited edition sandwich for Cambodian lunch joint Num Pang’s “Guest Chefs Give Back” series.

Amanda Schwab/ Starpix

Just in time for Mother's Day, Godiva has teamed up wiht Lauren Bush to offer groovy Feed 10 bags. Read more>

Courtesy of City Harvest

Many New Yorkers spend $10 for lunch each day. With a $10 donation, City Harvest can help provide lunch for 5 children for a week; a $20 donation feeds 10.

Read More about the Skip Lunch Fight Hunger campaign>