{Food Events} CityMeals-on-Wheels A Taste of Home 2011

Dining under the stars at the CityMeals-on-Wheels event at Rockefeller Center with desserts by Daniel Boulud, crawfish by NOLA's Commander's Palace, and reserve cognac by Pierre Ferrand.

If you like photos of food, then this post is for you! After winning two tickets to the Citymeals-on-Wheels fundraising event at Rockefeller Center, I knew we would be treated to a feast for the senses.  This event was a chef's tribute for a great cause. Most chefs had a NY restaurant, but plenty of others came in from around the U.S.  The chefs were sharing family recipes - though plenty seemed a lot more fancy than my family ever made at home!  Armed with my camera and an empty stomach, I met up with Jeff (and soon Yvo of Feisty Foodie who also got tickets) to enjoy a night out in NYC.

It was great meeting so many chefs! David Burke was plating his BBQ chicken, with corn whipped potatoes while Bill Telepan shredded cheese on his potato & farmer's cheese pierogi, scallions, and brown butter.

I don't know what was more exciting for us - the food or meeting the chefs! Bill Telepan was friendly as always. We love his restaurant and chatted about his recent pop-up and how we wished he kept it open.  Happily he said it'll return in the future!

Commander's Palace Chef Tony McPhail was tasting his Creole crawfish gnocchi with grilled Louisiana crawfish, Creole cream cheese gnocchi flambeed with cognac, mushroom bacon, and crawfish boil cream.

One of my favorite food cities is New Orleans and I still remember my meal at Commander's Palace.  We were both excited to see their table here - and their crawfish and gnocchi dish was one of our favorites of the night! 

The Sea Grill's root beer float with espresso ice cream and fish tacos; Jonathan Waxman's organic chicken hot dog with asparagus slaw; Proof on Main's NJ sweet corn with smoke aioli, ricotta salata, and lime; Perrier Jouet Champagne cocktails

Cedric Vongerichten's rice cracker crusted tuna with Sriracha-citrus emulsion; Angelo Sosa's tomato curry soup and photo op

Jean-Georges' son Cedric served fresh pieces of tuna that were crusted with light, crunchy rice crackers - so good! Top Chef's Angelo Sosa was charming ladies all night - though I was more interested in hearing that he's bringing back his 1000 year old ice cream sandwich in his next culinary venture.

Jean-Georges Vongerichten's bacon-wrapped shrimp with cherry mustard sauce; Fulton's swordfish, Scott Conant's (Scarpetta) crudo of yellowtail, fluke, and mackerel. 

Nobu's Bara Zushi: seasoned sushi rice with vegetables or fish garnish; Maine's Arrow served Lobster rolls and fried oysters; Oceana's "Mom's Tuna Casserole"; Tom Colicchio's roasted lamb with marinated chanterelle mushrooms. 

Newest Iron Chef Marc Forgione and family's buffalo tartare with vinaigrette and red veined sorrel; a contender in the meat throwdown between Quality Meats and Smith & Wollensky; Brisket Slider with burnt brisket ends, brioche bun, apple jicama slaw, chipotle drizzle from Austin, TX's The Salt Lick

ABC Kitchen's salmon tartine on warm garlic-herb toast; Aaron Sanchez's (Centrico) Tingo de Pollo of chicken hash, chipotle chiles, and aromatic spices and tomatoes.  For dessert, Charlie Palmer plates his Rum Baba with vanilla chantilly and berries.

The first thing Jeff said when he ate Charlie Palmer's Rum Baba? "That could rival my mom's!"  There could be no higher praise for this surprisingly light dessert!

Daniel's caramelized hazelnut sable with caraibe chocolate mousse, dulce de leche cream; Sprinkles mini cupcakes

Lincoln's Spumoni with chocolate and pistachio gelato with poached sour cherries

Despite being so full from all of the mouth-watering dishes, we still couldn't get enough of Lincoln's light spumoni. They were tasty and playful too. You held it like a lollipop, and then push the handle up so the gelato just pops in your mouth...So much fun!

With live music, light summer breezes, and wonderful food, it was one of those NYC nights that we will never forget!  The next day, we met Charlie Palmer at another event and he told us this event raised over $750K for Citymeals-on-Wheels!  Thank you Citymeals-on-Wheels for letting us be a part of this great event!