The Pennsylvania Beef Council recently announced the regional winners of the 2005 Beef Backer Contest, which honors independent and chain food-service operations that go the extra mile in marketing beef and emphasizing it on menus. The three will receive a formal presentation and award plaque to display at their operations. They also are eligible for national judging next February at the beef industry’s annual convention. They are:

Dingbats, Pittsburgh, winner of the independent restaurant category. The 22-year-old, four-unit chain was the 2004 Certified Angus Beef National Chain Restaurant Marketer of the Year. It encourages patrons to order beef through use of table tents, radio promotions and staff training. Hoss’s Steak & Sea House, Duncansville, the winner in the chain restaurant category, for including beef in breakfasts, soups, salads and pasta as well as serving steaks. Doc Holliday’s Steakhouse & Saloon, Lancaster, winner of the innovator of the year category for its work with the new beef cuts called flat iron and petite tender. Details: PA Beef Council, 717-939-7000 ‘Everyday Italian’ author set to visit Borders Giada De Laurentiis — a trained chef and host of Food Network’s “Everyday Italian” — will be visiting Borders Book Music Movies & Cafe, 200 Mall Blvd., Monroeville, to sign her best-selling cookbook, “Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes” (Clarkson Potter/Publishers, $30). The event begins at noon on Monday. Admission is free. Details: 412-374-9772 Frick cafe slates harvest wine dinner The Cafe at the Frick has scheduled a four-course harvest wine dinner on Friday. The menu includes a roasted autumn terrine featuring rabbit pate and mustard horseradish; a salad of roasted black Mission figs with fromage blanc and pancetta; a choice of Elysian Fields rack of lamb or Arctic char; and roasted pumpkin spice cake. Each course is paired with a complementary wine. The cost is $90 per person, inclusive. Seatings are at 6 and 8 p.m. Reservations are required. The cafe is at The Frick Art & Historical Center, 7227 Reynolds St., Point Breeze. Details: 412-371-0600, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week Game cooking experts to sign books Hunting enthusiasts Steve and Gale Loder, of Cranberry, will be offering samples of venison dishes and signing their cookbooks — a three-part, self-published series called “Quality Venison” — at five regional stores in October and November. All of the events are from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Gander Mountain, 1040 Towne Square Road, Greensburg, Sunday Gander Mountain, 4505 Century III Blvd., West Mifflin, Oct. 23 Cabela’s, One Cabela Drive, Triadelphia (Wheeling), W.Va., Oct. 29 Barnes & Noble Booksellers, University Town Center, 3000 University Towne Centre Drive, Morgantown, W.Va. Woolrich Clothing, Prime Outlets-Grove City, I-79 and Route 208, Grove City Details: www.qualityvenison.com , gloder@zoominternet.net , or visit the stores’ Web sites for more information The Carlton schedules wine events Four wine dinners have been announced by Kevin Joyce, proprietor of The Carlton restaurant, 1 Mellon Center, Grant Street, Downtown. Each begins at 6:30 p.m., and prices exclude gratuity. Reservations are required. “Miner Family Vineyards” (Oakville, Napa Valley) with Joanna Mackenzie, sister of co-founder Emily Miner, Oct. 19, $109 per person. “Artesa Vineyards & Winery” (Napa, Napa Valley) with national brand director Bill Spears, Oct. 26, $89. “Treana-Liberty School” (Paso Robles, Calif.) with Northeast regional manager Nicole McLean, $89. “Casa Lapostolle” (Chile) with U.S. trade manager Serge Lozach, Nov. 10, $89. Details: 412-391-4099 Old-fashioned food events at Meadowcroft Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Museum of Rural Life is sponsoring several food-related events for the public this fall. “Country Harvest Supper,” from 2 to 6 p.m. Oct. 23, involves guests in butter churning and helping to prepare an 1830s meal on the open hearth. The cost is $45 per person. “Taffy Pulling Parties” take place in one of the village’s log homes. Guests will sing carols, take part in a holiday program in the one-room schoolhouse and make an ornament to take home. The cost is $7 for adults, $5 for children. The parties are on Nov. 19 and 20 and Dec. 3 and 4, by appointment. Reservations are required for all the activities. Details: 724-587-3412, www.meadowcroftmuseum.org Shady Side academy fundraiser includes demos Shady Side Cooks!, the annual fundraiser for Shady Side Academy Senior School, has been redesigned to offer patrons a chance to dine at one of 12 area restaurants, including a cooking demonstration and lunch. The event is set for Oct. 27 and features Asiago, Common Plea Catering, Mallorca, Oakmont Country Club, Per Mie Figlia, Sonoma Grill, Typhoon, Vivo and Willow restaurants. Tickets are $75 per person. A private dinner at Eleven and gift baskets also will be raffled. Proceeds benefit programs supported by the Shady Side Academy Senior School Parents’ Association. Details: 412-828-1153 or e-mail jcapr20896@aol.com . Cooking expo to feature celebrity chefs Good Taste! Pittsburgh Food and Cooking Expo, presented by Giant Eagle, is a culinary extravaganza set from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 29 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown. The event will feature celebrity chefs, cooking demonstrations, cook-offs, new food and cooking products, food sampling, wine tasting and nutrition information from Judy Dodd, R.D., the supermarket’s food and nutrition adviser. Chef Rocco DiSpirito, host of NBC’s “The Restaurant,” a New York City restaurateur and cookbook author, will be among celebrity chefs doing demonstrations. Also presenting will be cookbook author and cooking instructor Linda West Eckhardt, WQED’s Chris Fennimore, and two executive chefs — Corey Hayes and Rick Laskie — from the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. The Celebrity Chefs Stage is sponsored by the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Tickets are $8 in advance, $12 at the door; children under 12 are admitted free. Group rates are available for 10 people or more. Details:412-421-9859, www.goodtastepittsburgh.com , info@goodtastepittsburgh.com Sara Moulton to sign books at In the Kitchen Fans of Sara Moulton — executive chef at Gourmet magazine and a host on the Food Network — will want to mark their calendars for a “Meet and Greet” by Moulton from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Dec. 8 at In the Kitchen, a kitchenware and specialty-foods store and cooking school in McCandless. Moulton will be signing copies of her new book, “Sara’s Secrets for Weeknight Meals” (Broadway, $29.95), which will be released Oct. 18. It features a collection of busy-night family favorites, including 200 recipes for quick and easy dinners. Admission is free. Details: 724-934-6160 Holiday teas set for Trax Farms Trax Farms in Finleyville, Washington County, is sponsoring holiday teas during November and December, featuring herbal teas with savory and sweet treats. There are two seatings per day: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the cost is $15 a person. Reservations are required. “Holiday Tea,” to start off holiday shopping, is set for Nov. 12, followed by “Christmas Tea” on Dec. 17. A basket of Christmas items will be raffled at each event. Details: 412-835-3246, www.traxfarms.com

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