In March we are holding three events throughout the Metroplex. The April calendar is not yet complete; however, we are announcing a dinner at the Mercury Grill in Dallas and a celebrity cooking class at Sur la Table in Dallas. è

At our dinner at 62 Main in Colleyville five-star chef-owner David McMillan, former executive chef at Nana atop the Anatole Hotel, delivers consistently fine fare. Here you can expect to find new flavors, but never salty or overly spicy.

For a change of pace, we're dining at Pacific Rim in Plano featuring fine Thai cuisine.  For those uninitiated with this cuisine, our dinner offers a variety of choices. One of the four entrée offerings is Pad Thai (Thailand's most well-known stir-fried noodle dish that combines rice noodles, shrimp, chicken, crushed peanuts, garlic, chilies and eggs). One of the desserts is another specialty: mango and coconut sticky rice — aromatic, sweet and flavorful.

At Suze, a little-known hideaway tucked back into an unobtrusive strip shopping center in Dallas, we will hold our annual dinner, always a sellout.  One of my top five favorite restaurants in Texas, chef-owned Suze serves creative New American cuisine with from a staff that genuinely cares about its guests. One of the most interesting starters is poached Alaskan king crab with Miner's lettuce (a rare native American herb) with green goddess dressing. Everything is house made. Desserts are incomparable.

Our April calendar is still in progress. Here we are announcing our dinner at the Mercury Grill in Dallas. Look past the innocuous strip shopping center as once inside you'll discover an upscale setting with cuisine to match. 

Following the first course, cleanse your palate with passion fruit sorbet with fresh thyme. Entrée choices include black cod with ginger root and porcini-dusted prime filet mignon.

At Sur la Table we are honored to have Tre Wilcox, who gained national notoriety on Bravo TV's Top Chef series. At this demonstration class, Tre will teach us the tips and tricks for making two five-star dinners. Limited to a small group of Single Gourmet members. Guest reservations accepted starting April 9 only if event is not sold out.

Have fun. Make new friends. Bon appétit!

Ed

DINNER AT 62 main (colleyville)

FIRST COURSE: Wood-oven roasted tomato soup with extra virgin olive oil and parmesan OR Wood-oven flatbread with prosciutto, smoked mozzarella and arugula OR Curried chicken spring roll with Japanese "cocktail sauce"

SECOND COURSE: Red snapper with blood orange, fennel shallot purée and chervil OR Short ribs braised with porcini mushrooms, Syrah and spaetzle

THIRD COURSE: Chocolate fondant with chocolate sauce and cream OR A demitasse of hot chocolate and a plate of homemade cookies OR Daily cobbler w/sweet vanilla cream

PACIFIC RIM DINNER (PLANO)

FIRST COURSE: Sampler platter of California rolls, chicken satay and house salad

SECOND COURSE: Pad Thai with shrimp & chicken OR Beef with chilies and fresh basil OR Thai-style grilled tilapia OR Shrimp & chicken with fresh basil

THIRD COURSE: Chocolate mousse OR Mango and coconut sticky rice (recommended)

SUNDAY DINNER AT SUZE (DALLAS)

RECEPTION:  Passed hors d'oeuvres

FIRST COURSE: Poached Alaskan king crab with Miner's lettuce (native American herb), crispy potato and green goddess dressing OR Spicy tomato three ways -- curried tomato bisque with panko-crusted green tomato and cardamom tomato relish OR Suze salad -- mixed field greens with ricotta, spicy pecans and orange balsamic vinaigrette

SECOND COURSE: Prime New York strip steak au poivre with smoked paprika aioli, pommes frites and fresh asparagus OR

Cardamom-crusted duck breast with purple Peruvian potatoes, Cosmic carrots and rice wine demi noir OR Almond-crusted Idaho rainbow trout with black quinoa, capers, fresh artichoke hearts and a lemon champagne butter sauce

THIRD COURSE: Key lime pistachio tart with candied lime zest and vanilla crème anglais OR Chocolate truffle cake and bittersweet chocolate mousse with crunchy hazelnuts and Nutello mascarpone OR Double milk gelato and Amarena cherries (rare wild cherries from Bologna and Modena Italy) with crispy chocolate cigar and wild cherry paste

demonstration cooking class with

tre Wilcox of bravo tv's "top chef"

One of the "hottest" most-requested celebrity chefs in the country is Tre Wilcox, former executive chef at Abacus, who gained national attention on Bravo TV's "Top Chef" series.

Tre will make two dishes -- one meat and one seafood. Since Tre won one of the rounds on "Top Chef" with his adept use of scallops, I selected scallops for the seafood.

Tre will teach us the techniques for making two different dinners to wow your guests (or simply, wow you!):

• Peekytoe crab-stuffed diver sea scallops with champagne caviar sauce
• Roasted veal tenderloin with morel mushroom risotto, English peas and tomato confit

SUNDAY dinner at Mercury grill (dallas)

FIRST COURSE: Poached king salmon with cilantro dressing OR Ricotta-filled cannelloni with brown butter sage sauce OR Crackln' chicken confit (absolute YUM!)

SECOND COURSE: Passion fruit sorbet with fresh thyme

THIRD COURSE:  Black cod with blonde miso and ginger root or Porcini-dusted prime filet with and fresh asparagus OR Pork medallions with lentil and roquefort ragout

FOURTH COURSE: Chocolate lava cake OR Beignets with chocolate ganache OR Lemon soufflé with wild cherry sauce