Fast bikes, fine food and bocce ball rocked this year’s Phillips Collection gala.One thing that puts a party in the “best parties” category is top-notch food and drinks. On May 3rd, this year’s Phillips Collection Gala – in collaboration with the Embassy of Italy’s 2013 “Year of Italian Culture in America” – raised around $700,000 for The Phillips Collections’ nationwide education programs. To celebrate America’s first museum of modern and contemporary global arts, a spectacular black-tie dinner was curated by Italian chef and food guru Lidia Bastianich. The La Dolce Vita after-party, hosted by Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero, included antipasti, with Fiats and “paparazzi” stationed outside. A tent with bocce ball (a popular Italian ball sport) was accompanied by Peroni and gelato mini-cones from Dolci Gelati. Entertainment included the high-energy band, Amaretto, a DJ and plenty of dancing. Guests indulged on decadent desserts, including a lemon torte with salted meringue, mousse-like tiramisu, chocolate cream bon bons and a few different panna cottas. Mini pizzas, cured meats from Olli Salumeria, and a variety of antipasti topped off the savory bites. Guests sipped on made-to-order espresso drinks.
The gala was attended by high-profile guests, including two U.S. Supreme Court Justices and the Ambassadors of Israel and France. The auction showcased a 12-carat diamond bracelet by Italian jeweler Roberto Coin, a villa rental and a Ducati.
Amy Sherman is a San Francisco-based cookbook author, food writer and recipe developer.
Who doesn’t like bacon!? If you must, this appetizer blends savory bacon with nice, healthy sweet prunes, producing an edible nugget of holiday cheer. 
Talkative, friendly and outspoken, a seemingly always-smiling Art Smith is chef/owner of one of Washington, D.C.’s most prestigious restaurants. He is one of the first chefs on Capitol Hill to “put fried chicken in fine dining” at southern-style Art and Soul Restaurant in the Affinia-owned Liaison Hotel.
In honor of the 100th anniversary of Julia Child’s birth, I made this Beehive Cake from her Way To Cook cookbook published in 1999.
Oh no she diiiiin’t!!! Oh Martha, this is NOT a good thing! Methinks Martha Stewart had waaayyy too much time on her crafty hands when she was in the slammer, jotting down her ideas for the next 10 years’ worth of entertainment segments for her show.
Nearly ten years ago, the cupcake started its rise to fame on the set of “Sex in the City” in the heart of New York City’s West Village. Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) bit into a pink-icing Magnolia Bakery cupcake, and it quickly became one of America’s most popular desserts. Overnight, every 18 to 35 year-old woman in America wanted to try one of these small, single-serving pastries. The appeal? It is smaller than a piece of cake, it looks pretty, and it is one of the easiest desserts to eat (no fork required) as well as clean up aft er. Aft er consuming, cupcake eaters can simply fold over the baking liner and toss it in the trash, with icing-free fingers.
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