[MORSELS]

Getting personal with rare wines

Here's an idea: Ask a prominent winemaker why his wines are so darned expensive. Just be sure you're prepared for a discussion on boutique wineries, controlled production, retail allocations and other finer points of supply and demand in the vintners' world.

Vintners in Paradise 2001, a benefit for the Hawaii Theatre Center, scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Halekulani Hotel ballroom, will allow you to get personal with representatives from exclusive wineries such as Far Niente, Grgich Hills, Jordan wines, Stags Leap, Testarossa and Turley.

They will be pouring vintages so rare they are rarely found outside high-priced restaurants. Along with tasting these wines, you'll be able to learn about how they're made and what to expect of them in the future.

Also offered will be a menu suited to an exotic mix of wines: Roasted Suckling Pig with Apple and Hoisin Sauce; Lamb, Feta Cheese and Olives Baked in Phyllo; Cajun Breaded Sea Scallop Wrapped in Bacon; plus oysters, cheeses and desserts.

Tickets are $65, available at Fujioka's Wine Merchants (739-9463) or Hawaii Theatre Center (791-1302).

Gingerbread deluxe

The event isn't until December, but you've got to make reservations by Friday for the Easter Seals Gingerbread Festival.

Experts from Alan Wong's restaurants and the Culinary Institute of the Pacific will guide participants through the making of a gingerbread house using pre-baked pieces, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall.

Cost is $29 for a small house; $49 for the large. Call Easter Seals, 536-1015.

Special events

Flavors of Fall: Police, fire and paramedic teams will compete in a cooking competition as part of a food festival, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Kahala Mall. Each team will compete on behalf of a charity, for a $1,000 cash prize. The day's event will include cooking demonstrations, food sampling and entertainment, with mall restaurants offering tastings.

The Taste of HAMB: Hawaii Association of Mortgage Brokers members will do the cooking at a benefit dinner, 5 to 9 p.m. Nov. 15 at McCoy Pavilion in Ala Moana Beach Park. Cost is $45, with a portion of proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity and the September 11 Fund. Call 521-6936.

New Hawaiian Cooking: Kaiulani Cowell teaches the making of an Italian lunch, featuring shiitake-stuffed ravioli and an antipasto platter, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Moili'ili Community Center. Cost is $20. Call 955-1555.

The Cheese Culture: Holiday cheeses and matching wines may be sampled at this month's cheese-tasting session, 6 to 7:30 p.m. today at the Mariposa at Neiman Marcus. Cost is $15. Call 951-3420.

Whiskey tasting: Free tasting of single-malt Scotch whiskeys, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Tamura's Wines and Spirits. Includes Glenlivet and Bunnahabhain.

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WHO'S THE BEST BAKER YOU KNOW?

Here's a great idea.

You bring us cookies and we'll eat them.

What's in it for you? How about a cash prize of $100 if your cookies turn out to be the best of the batch? Second prize is $50; third is $25.

Here's how it works:

>> Fill out the entry form below and submit it along with a recipe for a truly great cookie.

>> We'll go through the recipes and choose several finalists who'll be asked to deliver baked cookies to us for taste-testing.

>> The winning recipe and the runners-up will be published in the Star-Bulletin a couple of weeks before Christmas, in time for everyone's holiday baking. Because that's what the season is all about, right? No, not cookies, sharing.

Your recipe can be for a traditional holiday-type cookie or something that's just plain delicious no matter what the time of year. Rolled, dropped, bar, filled, layered, spritzed, pressed -- any kind of cookie is eligible.

IN COOKIES WE TRUST

Attach this entry to your best cookie recipe:

Name:
Daytime phone:
Name of cookie:
Why it's great:

Send entries to: "In Cookies We Trust," Honolulu Star-Bulletin features section, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813. Fax 529-4324; email features@starbulletin.com

Entries must be received by Nov. 28.

No more than three entries per person. Employees of Oahu Publications are ineligible. Entries may be published without compensation.

Questions? Call 529-4777.

Click for online
calendars and events.

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