FoodWire offers a monthly update on what’s cooking on
The Food Channel®, as well as a quick preview of what’s coming soon to our menu. The latest recipes, the hottest trends—it’s a quick and tasty buffet you can scan at a glance.

Taste of Tuscany Tour

If you love great Italian food and have an appetite for adventure, we have the trip for you. The Food Channel presents the Taste of Tuscany Tour! Join us for the chance to taste wine in Tuscan vineyards… to wander the markets for fresh ingredients and wonderful Italian cheeses…and to take cooking classes from world class chefs in Tuscan kitchens. We’re making this amazing tour available to a limited number of people, believing that intimate dinners and leisurely tastings are central to the experience. But hurry, because sign-up for the July trip ends April 15th. Click Taste of Tuscany for details and registration information.

Chat ’n Dish Joins Our Lineup

You may remember our “Pitch Place” video contest from last month—perhaps you even voted for your favorite show from among the finalists. The winner is Karen “K.C.” Quaretti and her show, “Chat ’n Dish.” K.C.’s show offers up some of the home cook’s favorite recipes, demonstrated step-by-step and accompanied by her charmingly enthusiastic narration. She typically gives a shout-out or two to other foodie websites and blogs that she suggests her viewers should check out. Ms. Quaretti’s recipes have been published in Every Day with Rachael Ray, The Real Women of Philadelphia Community Cook Book, Taste of Home, and the Herald Tribune. She has appeared on a number of network and local TV shows demonstrating her dishes. We’re happy to have her now on The Food Channel. You can view “Chat ’n Dish” episodes every day on our home page.

Wine Week Celebration

The Chicago location of the Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group opened its doors to us during National Wine Week, and those folks really know how to celebrate the fermented grape. This was Smith & Wollensky’s 50th Wine Week event—they do it twice a year, and have been having fun with it for 25 years now. We had an opportunity to sample all kinds of fabulous wines from across the country and around the globe, and learned a great deal about food and wine pairings. We were also able to meet and chat with the winemakers from the Kunde Family Estate, whose winery in Sonoma County has been making wine for more than 100 years. We posted several stories about the Wine Week event…you’ll find the links if you start here.

For the Love of Chocolate

In celebration of all things chocolate, Jelly Belly Candy Company forged a culinary and artistic partnership with Chicago’s acclaimed French Pastry School at Kennedy-King College of City Colleges of Chicago to adorn a 10-foot replica of the famous “Cloud Gate” sculpture (fondly known as “The Bean”) that resides in Chicago’s Millennium Park. Jelly Belly provided more than 250,000 of its Jelly Bean Chocolate Dips, the company’s new dark chocolate covered Jelly Belly beans, for the ambitious chocolate sculpture. The sculpture was unveiled last month at the exclusive For the Love of Chocolate Annual Scholarship black-tie event at The Merchandise Mart in Chicago. The Food Channel was on hand to record the festivities and is currently completing a four-part documentary video series about the event, called “Behind the Dream.” Watch for the premiere, coming soon on The Food Channel. In the meantime, here’s a behind-the-scenes sneak peek.

Recipes—with Videos How-to’s!
		To help welcome K.C. Quaretti and her “Chat ’n Dish” video series to The Food Channel, we’re featuring a quartet of K.C.’s scrumptious recipes, starting with Crispy Oven Fries. Each of these recipes is accompanied by a video starring K.C., demonstrating how to make it. To view the video, just click the video box below the recipe photo.
KC’s Crab Cakes Light and fluffy crab cakes—a delightful choice for the Lenten season.	Tortini Di Patate (Potato Tart) This sensational side dish recipe offers a new way to try Mortadella (which can be found in most deli cases).	Spaghetti & Lentils Here’s an easy, healthy pasta dish that puts lentils center stage, paired deliciously by spaghetti, bacon and saffron.
Get the very latest on what’s happening and what’s going to happen. • Wanna Downsize That? • Craft Beer to Go—Straight from the Tap • Surprising #1 Source of Salt in U.S. Diets
Surfing The Channel
	VIDEO: Faces of Italy (New!) Join Chef Kevin Marshall and hosts Janine and Morgan for a new cooking show that lets you learn how to make such classic Italian dishes as Chicken Marsala, Pasta Primavera, and Fried Ravioli—as well as unexpected and fun fusions like Italian Tacos. It’s a half-hour show (actually 22 minutes) that’s both entertaining and instructive.
	See How It’s Done: Brandied Cherry Sauce (VIDEO) View this First Person video and visualize yourself preparing this luscious sauce that is simply amazing drizzled over ice cream or cheesecake.
	Two Restaurants, One Kitchen It’s a growing trend in the restaurant business: one kitchen serving two different restaurant concepts.
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	Feeding Your Facebook Appetite Network with fellow foodies from around the world. Check out the Food Channel’s Facebook fan page.