{"id":6473,"date":"2011-11-11T14:02:37","date_gmt":"2011-11-11T22:02:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/?p=6473"},"modified":"2011-11-11T14:10:56","modified_gmt":"2011-11-11T22:10:56","slug":"3rd-annual-foodbuzz-gala-dinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/?p=6473","title":{"rendered":"3rd Annual Foodbuzz Gala Dinner"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The rain started pouring down &#8211; so I was very excited to be staying in the hotel where the gala dinner was being held. Bloggers were coming through the front doors with dripping umbrellas. A group of us made our way down to the cocktail reception and were welcomed with big tables full of Alexia fries.\u00a0 I had my fill at the tasting pavilion, so I just grabbed a glass of wine and tried to find some familiar faces. I ended up having a fabulous conversation with Devaki Das &#8211; who blogs over at <a href=\"http:\/\/weavethousandflavors.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Weave a Thousand Flavors<\/a>. Devaki has lived in some amazing countries and I&#8217;m excited to have a new blog to follow. As the fry fest went on, I spotted <a href=\"http:\/\/karainthekitchen.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Kara<\/a> at a table with a group of girls. I&#8217;m so glad I ventured over in her direction &#8211; such a fun group and great company for the rest of the evening.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6935b.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6517\" title=\"IMG_6935b\" src=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6935b.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6935b.jpg 450w, http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6935b-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sometimes I wonder if I secretly would be a better home decor blogger&#8230; because the flowers and table setting interested me more than the food.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6929.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6475\" title=\"IMG_6929\" src=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6929.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6929.jpg 450w, http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6929-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6920.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6476\" title=\"IMG_6920\" src=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6920.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6920.jpg 450w, http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6920-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Typical hotel banquet style tables and set up. Lots of glasses, dishes and flatware.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6934.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6477\" title=\"IMG_6934\" src=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6934.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"333\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6934.jpg 333w, http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6934-199x300.jpg 199w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 333px) 100vw, 333px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We started with wine and family style appetizers. <strong>Butternut Squash Risotto Bites w\/Roasted Wild Mushrooms, Vegetable Samosas w\/Tamarind Dipping Sauce<\/strong> and <strong>Veggie Sushi<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6930.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6478\" title=\"IMG_6930\" src=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6930.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6930.jpg 450w, http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6930-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6938.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6479\" title=\"IMG_6938\" src=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6938.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6938.jpg 450w, http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6938-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I tasted small bites of each thing &#8211; but wasn&#8217;t really a fan. I was more interested in the entertainment for the evening.<\/p>\n<p>My foodie boyfriend &#8211; Tyler Florence hosted a live cooking demo for Alexia. He first introduced four new &#8220;Reinvent a Classic&#8221; flavors from fellow bloggers:<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li><strong>Bruschetta Waffle Fries <\/strong>(created by Farihah Ali of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.spicesbites.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Spice&#8217;s Bites<\/em><\/a>)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Classic Dill Julienne Fries<\/strong> (created by Angela Williamson of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fabfindfoodie.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Fab Find Foodie<\/em><\/a>)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Thai Spiced Sweet Potato Julienne Fries<\/strong> (created by Marla Meridith of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.familyfreshcooking.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Family Fresh Cooking<\/em><\/a>)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Herbes de Provence &amp; Garlic Sweet Potato Julienne Fries<\/strong> (created by Chrystal Baker and Amir Thomas of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.duodishes.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>The Duo Dishes<\/em><\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We were encouraged to go vote for our favorite flavor on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.Facebook.com\/AlexiaFoods\" target=\"_blank\">Alexia Foods facebook page<\/a> &#8211; voting is from November through March.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6960.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6480\" title=\"IMG_6960\" src=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6960.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6960.jpg 450w, http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6960-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Tyler then started cooking. The demo was broadcast live on Alexia Food&#8217;s facebook page. He let us know that he would be cooking <strong>brined and pan roasted pork chops over braised red cabbage with chive spaetzle and a mustard and\u00a0cr\u00e8me fra\u00eeche sauce<\/strong>. Yes please!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6945.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6508\" title=\"IMG_6945\" src=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6945.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"356\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6945.jpg 356w, http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6945-213x300.jpg 213w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 356px) 100vw, 356px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Tip from Tyler &#8211; A nice caramelization is a very good thing. &#8220;Color = Flavor&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6946b.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6510\" title=\"IMG_6946b\" src=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6946b.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"311\" srcset=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6946b.jpg 450w, http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6946b-300x207.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Kind of hard to engage a roomful of chatty food bloggers, but his enthusiasm for food and technique made me want to listen. Plus&#8230; he&#8217;s hot and I&#8217;m a huge fan of\u00a0 &#8220;The Great Food Truck Race&#8221; and he dished a bit about team Korilla and the cheating scandal (them adding $2000 to their cash drawer) and getting kicked off the show.<\/p>\n<p>My table was really far from the stage, so I could only see the details of what he was doing and the final plating on the big screens.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6958b.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6513\" title=\"IMG_6958b\" src=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6958b.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"287\" srcset=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6958b.jpg 450w, http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6958b-300x191.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Then it was our turn to enjoy dinner&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6970.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6484\" title=\"IMG_6970\" src=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6970.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"324\" srcset=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6970.jpg 450w, http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6970-300x216.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Kara from <a href=\"http:\/\/karainthekitchen.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Kara In the Kitchen<\/a>, Elise from <a href=\"http:\/\/phdstrides.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">PhD Strides<\/a>, Julia from <a href=\"http:\/\/joggingmymemory.com\/blog\/julia\/\" target=\"_blank\">Jogging My Memory<\/a>, Mellissa from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.afitandspicylife.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">A Fit and Spicy Life<\/a> and Melissa from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.melissalikestoeat.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Melissa Likes to Eat<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6966.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6485\" title=\"IMG_6966\" src=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6966.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6966.jpg 450w, http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6966-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The salad course was a <strong>bibb lettuce salad with honey roasted pears, glazed pecans, bleu cheese and bleu cheese vinaigrette dressing<\/strong>. I really liked it, but I&#8217;m not a huge bleu cheese fan, so I wasn&#8217;t jumping out of my chair with excitement. I felt bad for Elise, it took our server over 20 minutes to bring her an alternative salad and dressing. She requested a special meal when she signed up for the festival &#8211; she has a dairy allergy.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6974.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6486\" title=\"IMG_6974\" src=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6974.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6974.jpg 450w, http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6974-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Our entree course was <strong>Brandt Beef Farms filet mignon with a peppercorn demi-glaze and Meyer lemon roasted prawns, asparagus, heirloom carrots and celery root puree<\/strong>. Not bad at all,\u00a0 but not incredible like the meal we had last year.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6982.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6487\" title=\"IMG_6982\" src=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6982.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6982.jpg 450w, http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6982-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Dessert was a San Francisco Trio &#8211; <strong>Cowgirl Creamery Cheesecake<\/strong>, <strong>Sourdough Bread Pudding<\/strong> and <strong>Scharffen Berger Chocolate Mousse<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6981.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6488\" title=\"IMG_6981\" src=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6981.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"333\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6981.jpg 333w, http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_6981-199x300.jpg 199w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 333px) 100vw, 333px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The cheesecake was my favorite on the plate.<\/p>\n<p>The chocolate mousse was also pretty good, but the bread pudding was &#8220;hockey puck&#8221; hard &#8211; not sure what happened there. You pretty much needed a steak knife to cut through it. All in all it was a very nice evening. I got to see my foodie boyfriend in action, I got to share stories with my fellow bloggers and the bonus is that Kara, Elise and Julia all live in Northern CA. I&#8217;m hoping there will be some future meet-ups.<\/p>\n<p>We all parted ways &#8211; Elise had a 1\/2 marathon to run the next morning, Kara headed home to her kiddos and I ventured back to my room. A very drunk wedding party crashed my floor at around 2:00 a.m. &#8211; yelling, screaming, singing&#8230; it lasted FOREVER. Hotel guests were telling them to STFU, and finally security came&#8230;but I had trouble falling back to sleep. I ended up checking out around 7:00 a.m. &#8211; The Hyatt made it right upon checkout, great customer service. I skipped the farewell brunch and headed straight to my niece&#8217;s soccer tournament. It was a great decision&#8230; I didn&#8217;t hit any traffic and I got to spend the rest of Sunday with my family.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m very happy that I braved the festival for the second year in a row. It&#8217;s always major anxiety going into a situation where you basically don&#8217;t know anyone very well. I have a small blog compared to some of the ones I read. I plan to change that. This won&#8217;t mean me making a single change\u00a0 to my blog, it will mean me thumbing through the stack of cards I got at the festival and finding new blogs to enjoy and new bloggers to connect with.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/foo1121.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1460\" title=\"foo1121\" src=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/foo1121.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"74\" height=\"41\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The rain started pouring down &#8211; so I was very excited to be staying in the hotel where the gala dinner was being held. Bloggers were coming through the front doors with dripping umbrellas. A group of us made our way down to the cocktail reception and were welcomed with big tables full of Alexia &hellip; <\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link btn\" href=\"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/?p=6473\">Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[82,50,17,57],"tags":[335,340,341,339],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6473"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6473"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6523,"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6473\/revisions\/6523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}