SlowFoodVastWine™

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With a mission to support local and sustainable farmers, artisans, and vintners in the Shenandoah Valley, SlowFoodVastWine™ is a premier food and wine event that this year supports the John XXIII Montessori Children’s Center in Front Royal, VA.

Dine-N-Dash 2016

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On June 15, 2016, Chef José Andrés will host the fourth annual Dine-N-Dash event. From 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., event-goers will walk through the city’s Penn Quarter and 14th Street neighborhoods, enjoying food, drink and music at all of the participating restaurants. Over twenty new restaurants and food trucks were added to the Dine-N-Dash lineup this year. All proceeds from the event will benefit World Central Kitchen, José Andrés’ international non-profit that focuses on smart solutions to hunger and poverty.

At Home: Vanilla Chocolate Chip Almond Biscotti

For this year's 5th Annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, I decided to make Vanilla Chocolate Chip Almond Biscotti as a gift from What Micky Eats...At Home.  Biscotti is Italian for "twice baked" and is a favorite snack of both my Aunt Debbie and my Mother-in-Law, Bernice.  These cookies are great with coffee and tea in the morning, or as an after dinner dessert, and I had plenty left over to keep for myself as snacks for work.  The recipe makes a large batch, so it was perfect for a holiday cookie exchange such as this one!

Dine-N-Dash

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On June 9, 2015, Chef José Andrés hosted the third annual Dine-N-Dash event. From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., an estimated 2,500 event goers strolled through the city's Penn Quarter, enjoying specialty dishes, craft cocktails, and live music at Washington D.C.'s top restaurants and food trucks - all in one evening! All proceeds from the event benefited World Central Kitchen.

Hungry Harvest

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Hungry Harvest is on a mission to eliminate food waste by buying and selling surplus produce (aka "ugly produce") to members in the DC/MD/VA area.  For every bag of produce sold, one bag is donated to a community member in need.

At Home: Buttery Almond Cookies

For this year's 4th Annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, I decided to make Buttery Almond Cookies as a gift from What Micky Eats...At Home.  I just love the flavor of almonds and it is really kicked up in this recipe with the use of real sliced almonds and almond extract.  There are many variations of this classic holiday cookie, but I think mine is pretty easy and uses no eggs nor milk - just lots of butter, hence the name.  This recipe is great to make large quantities for a cookie exchange such as this one.

Field to Fork 2014

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The Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association invited us to the eighth annual Field to Fork event and dinner at St. Brigid’s Farm on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.  The dinner raised money for a great non-profit, the Sassafras Environmental Education Center. The SEEC aims to teach how human beings can live compatibly with nature’s design. The center demonstrates how outdoor education integrated into the regional school system can enhance learning across various disciplines, such as Science, Math, Social Sciences, Language Arts, Music, and Art.

Dining Out for Life

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In 1991, Dining Out For Life was created by an ActionAIDS volunteer in Philadelphia and is now an annual dining fundraising event raising money for AIDS service organizations. Dining Out For Life is produced in 60 cities throughout the United States and Canada. More than 3,000 restaurants donate a portion of their proceeds from this one special day of dining to the licensed AIDS service agency in their city. Make a reservation for Thursday, April 24th and make a difference!

Chef Spike Boxed Lunch to Support Local Breast Cancer Nonprofits

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Chef Spike Mendelsohn is offering a boxed lunch to support local breast cancer nonprofits. From March 18 - 26, 2014, everyone who registers for the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure at GlobalRacefortheCure.org using promocode SPIKE will get $5 off registration and be able to pick-up a free boxed lunch from Bearnaise restaurant on April 2 (sandwich on a fresh baguette, green salad, homemade chips and pink macaroons).

2014 Sugar & Champagne Affair

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On Wednesday, February 5^th Chef Todd Gray & Ellen Kassoff Gray hosted The Washington Humane Society’s annual dessert and champagne reception, Sugar & Champagne, that honors our local crusaders against animal cruelty.  This celebration of all things sweet, showcases the DC area’s most talented pastry chefs.  Keith and I won tickets to this event courtesy of Best Thing on the Menu, and enjoyed delectable confections complemented by some of the world’s finest sparkling wines.

At Home: Coconut-Cranberry Chews

I am so thrilled to take part in the 3rd Annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. The basic idea of this cookie swap is to send out 1 dozen cookies to 3 food bloggers that you've been matched up with, and then you get to receive 3 different types of cookies from 3 different people that have been assigned to you. But the best part about this year's swap is that both Lindsay and Julie organized all this to support Cookies for Kids' Cancer. So with a cookie swap registration fee of $4, every dollar goes directly to this charity - raising over $13,778 this year. How awesome is that?

For the swap, I decided to make Coconut-Cranberry Chews as a gift from What Micky Eats...At Home.  I tried to go really festive with this combination of coconut, cranberries, and orange. In fact, these straightforward, tasty rounds are everything a holiday cookie should be.

Giving Back This Thanksgiving? Easy As Pie!

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It's pie time again at Food & Friends! Each pie purchased through Slice of Life will provide one full day of meals for a child or adult living with a life-challenging illness. Serve a Thanksgiving pie that will warm your heart and help your neighbors. Your purchase will provide healthy, home-delivered meals to a child or adult battling HIV/AIDS, cancer or another life-challenging illness. With these meals, you will not only provide vital nourishment, but hope and comfort in their time of need.

Open Kitchen Celebrates Anniversary with Slow Food Fundraiser

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Known for its contemporary American cuisine and their passion for making, eating, and sharing good food with their community, Open Kitchen celebrates their four-year anniversary by giving back to its community and partnering with local non-profit Slow Food, DC chapter.  On October 7, 2013, Open Kitchen will generously donate 50% of the night’s sales to support Slow Food DC’s The Ark of Taste Garden program.

Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction Celebrating Food & Friends

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On Monday, May 13^th, more than 60 of the area’s best chefs dished up special tastings of their signature plates in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton to raise money for Food & Friends, a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC.  The chefs participated in the organization’s Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction Celebrating Food & Friends’ 25th Anniversary presented by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation. 

Dining Out For Life

*Sponsored Post
In 1991, Dining Out For Life was created by an ActionAIDS volunteer in Philadelphia and is now an annual dining fundraising event raising money for AIDS service organizations. Dining Out For Life is produced in 60 cities throughout the United States and Canada. More than 3,000 restaurants donate a portion of their proceeds from this one special day of dining to the licensed AIDS service agency in their city. Make a reservation for Thursday, April 25th and make a difference!

"Take A Bite" with Hank's Oyster Bar & Lavagna

Come eat with Micky!  For the second year in a row, I am an ambassador for Take a Bite Out of Breast Cancer, a Pink Jams event that is an outreach and fundraising campaign focusing on educating Washington, DC area residents about the importance of early detection and breast cancer awareness.

Dining Out For Life

In 1991, Dining Out For Life was created by an ActionAIDS volunteer in Philadelphia and is now an annual dining fundraising event raising money for AIDS service organizations. Dining Out For Life is produced in 60 cities throughout the United States and Canada. More than 3,000 restaurants donate a portion of their proceeds from this one special day of dining to the licensed AIDS service agency in their city. Make a reservation for Thursday, April 26th and make a difference!

GRAND PRIZE: 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway

This giveaway has ended.  The winner is Courtney Dredden.
For a list of all #12DaysDC winners look here
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For Day 12 of the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway, I am happy to feature this fabulous What Micky Eats Holiday Bundle worth over $200!

In addition, I will donate $1 for each giveaway entry below to the World Food Program, up to the total value of the prize.  Each dollar donated will fill 4 cups with nutritious meals and help build a world without hunger.

PREVIEW: 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway

In the spirit of the holidays, What Micky Eats and 11 other Washington DC blogs are planning one Massive Giveaway from December 1st - 12th featuring products and services from various DC area small businesses.

12 Blogs - 12 Days - 12 Awesome Prizes!

Todd Gray's Watershed

From the DC restaurant powerhouse couple Todd and Ellen Gray, Watershed is where NoMA residents and visitors alike can come together to connect over nationally acclaimed Chef Gray’s modern culinary interpretations of the watersheds of the East Coast.