Tonight, I’ll be at the Chefs for Jimmy event at Chez Josef in Agawam. This is the big fundraiser for the Jimmy Fund, part of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Last year, over $100,000 was raised at the event, all for cancer research. I participated last year for the first time, and am kind of goose-bumpy at going back again. Last year, I made Pad Thai for the 800 attendees. Yes, there was lots of other food, from a bunch of great chefs and restaurants, so I didn’t have to make mine in a wok the size of a bathtub. The host location for the event, Chez Josef, is a really cool, 60’s-looking banquet facility. And I say that in a retro-Rat Pack, Frank and Sammy and the boys kind of way. It’s a setting right out of Mad Men. And their food is excellent. If I do my bar mitzvah again, I’m having the party at Chez Josef…
This year, I’m making three variations on crostini, which is Italian for toast. Okay, it actually means little toast, which isn’t to be confused with big toast, which you slather with butter and more butter. My three crostini are my world-famous (at least in my world) smoked trout spread with brandy, crab with avocado, and what I cross-culturally call Mexican Crostini, with a cumin-flavored toast, black beans, corn, and roasted red pepper. I’m adding the crab recipe to my website’s recipe because it’s soooo good. While it has crab and avocado, it also has the subtle flavors of lemon and Tabasco. Yeah, I know. Tabasco and subtle don’t often go together. But this time, they do. Plus, it’s fast and easy. And, since it goes a long way, it’s also not that expensive. But the big thing is, it tastes great.
If you go to Chez Josef tonight, don’t forget to stop by for some crostini. And to say hello…
