Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I am back again with a new edition of Thursday Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I highlight some interesting, upcoming food & drink events.. **********************************************************
1) On Sunday, September 27, at 6:30pm, Osteria Nino will host its first “Sunday Supper” event to benefit the National MS Society’s Greater New England Chapter (Waltham) whose mission is to drive research for a cure and to address the challenges of everyone affected by MS. At this family-style dinner, Osteria Nino has enlisted help from their friends at The Farm School (Athol), a nonprofit organization and working farm that trains and educates people about the farm industry. One of Osteria Nino’s favorite farms in New England, the Farm School specializes in certified organic vegetables, 100% grass-fed beef, pastured pork and more.

The Farm School will provide farm-fresh products and Osteria Nino’s executive chef, Walace Benica, will prepare a true farm-to-fork menu celebrating the best tastes of the local bounty, which will be paired with Italian wines and local beers. The four-course menu will be served family-style and presented as follows:

ANTIPASTO
Farm School Lettuces (radishes, celery, shaved fennel)
Farm Tomatoes (shell beans, breadcrumbs, aioli)
PRIMO
Rigatoni Cacio e Pepe (black pepper, pecorino romano)
Cavatelli All'Amatriciana (tomato sauce, cured pork, pecorino romano)
SECONDO
Misty Knoll Spit Roasted Chicken (spicy greens, polenta, last of summer eggplant caponata)
DOLCE
Lemon & Raspberry Granitas (Shaw Farms cream)
Mint Tisana (biscotti)

COST: $75 per person (includes beverage pairings; tax & gratuity not included). A portion of the proceeds benefit National MS Society’s Greater New England Chapter and the Farm School. Reservations are required via EventBrite at: http://sundaysupperatnino.eventbrite.com.
This event is open to all ages. Patrons must show a valid 21+ ID to consume alcohol.

2) From September 9 to October 3, Bistro 5 will offer one of my favorite tasting menus, the Heirloom Tomato Tasting Menu. Chef Vittorio Ettore always prepares an amazing dinner and the variety of tomatoes he uses is both intriguing and delicious. I highly recommend you check out this dinner.

Heirloom Tomato Tasting Menu: (all tomatoes featured on our menu are from Kimball Fruit Farms in Pepperell)

Brandywine
Miso, tamarind marinated bufala mozzarella, coconut-basil sauce and sesame cracker
2014 Aragosta, Vermentino, Sardegna
Green Zebra
Balsamic spaghetti, lobster and lemon basil
2013 Powers, Chardonnay, Columbia Valley
Speckled Roman
Smoked crème brûlée with caviar and farm greens
2011 Michele Chiarlo, Barbera d'Asti
Constoluto Genovese
Venison, black olive soil, romesco and shishito pepper
Eighth Cuvée Shebang, Zinfandel Blend, CA
Persimmon
Baked ricotta, pistachio and persimmon marmellata
2006 Vittucio, Vin Santo

Cost: Tasting Menu, 3 Course $55, 5 Course $75
Wine Pairings, 3 Course $20, 5 Course $30

Please make Reservations by calling 781-395-7464

3) The sixth annual Raise Your Glass for Jimmy presented by the Jimmy Fund Council of Greater Boston will take place 6-9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2 at the Battery Wharf Hotel in Boston. All proceeds support adult and pediatric cancer care and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Admission to the event includes a wide variety of beers and wines to taste from August West Wines, Blue Hills Brewery, Boston Bottle, Gordon's Fine Wines and Liquors, Mayflower Brewery, Medusa Brewery, M.S. Walker, Plymouth Bay Winery, and Wormtown Brewery. The event also includes hors d'oeuvres, live music, and a silent auction.

Tickets are $75 per person, and early bird pricing is available with two tickets for $125 if purchased before Sept. 21. The first 150 guests at the door will receive a $25 gift certificate from Tresca. For more information, visit www.jimmyfund.org/raise-your-glass.

4) Confectioner Lee Napoli, whose history in pastry and candy in this city spans three decades, has been quietly conducting chocolate-making classes in a kitchen on the corner of Dartmouth and Montgomery streets in the South End since closing her retail shop, Chocolee Chocolates, in 2014. Often sold out months in advance, the classes were a local secret spread strictly by word of mouth ... until now.

Beginning Saturday, September 26 and continuing every first and third Saturday of the month thereafter, Lee is bringing news of her classes out of the shadows and into the light. Chocolate class dates for 2015 are: September 26, October 3, October 17, November 7, November 21, December 5 and December 19.

Each two hour class, held from 2-4 PM, begins with classroom instruction, then shifts to a commercial stove where chocolate tempering, truffle-rolling, and nut bark-ing become a messy but engaging activity open to "students" age 18 and up. Cost is $75 per person, with space in the class reserved by major credit card.

When class concludes, each student goes home with a one pound box of artisanal candy (retail value $40-50) that they made with their own hands, plus recipes. Napoli notes that her classes are "great for corporate team building, bachelorette parties, father-daughter outings, or truly unique birthday gifts."

Pre-registration for 2015 chocolate classes begins this week. Go to www.chocoleechocolates.com or call 617-236-0606.