Virtual Italy

If you can't be in Italy, a Nov. 2 event at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts may at least get your mind there as Anna Bonavita and Isabella Dalla Ragione present "A Taste of Italy." Bonavita, a chocolate connoisseur and director of the Italian Cultural Center of Minneapolis/St. Paul, will talk about artisan chocolate from its roots as a secret "jasmine chocolate drink" created by Cosimo III de' Medici — the Grand Duke of Tuscany — to modern creations by artisans at Amedei and Domori. A guided tasting of artisan chocolate promises to educate and satisfy — you can experience an artful selection of chocolates like a true expert.

Dalla Ragione is an Italian agronomist and researcher who has been inspired by the fruits and vegetables depicted on the frescoes of palazzos in Umbria to identify and preserve forgotten species in her orchard, Archeologia Arborea. Following a talk showing fresco paintings and recovered varieties, she'll lead a tasting of rare heirloom apple varieties and rate them, following criteria from Seed Savers Exchange, the nonprofit based in Decorah, Iowa, dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds. The event is from 1-4 p.m. For tickets, call 612-870-6323, or register online at artsmia.org. Cost is $40; $20 for museum members.

Cookie Cart fundraiser

The annual Cookie Cart Chefs' Dinner is Nov. 2, with a five-course gourmet dinner prepared by a team led by award-winning chef and educator Pat Weber. Each year, Weber chooses star alumni of the International Culinary School at the Art Institutes International Minnesota to help his student-chefs with a meal to benefit the urban nonprofit bakery staffed by teens in north Minneapolis. The chefs each prepare one of the meal's courses and current students prepare the hors d'oeuvres. Chefs this year include Tyler Shipton, of Coup d'Etat and Borough; Sameh Wadi, of Saffron and World Street Kitchen; Eli Wollenzien, of Coalition and Blue Plate Restaurants, and Dominique Nelson, with Cookie Cart's bakery program staff. The dinner is at Thrivent Financial Building, 625 4th Av. S., Minneapolis. Tickets are $125 or $1,000 for a table of 10. For details, visit http://cookiecart.org/about/blog.

Scotch whisky comes to the MOA

Vom Fass, the epicurean oil, vinegar, spirits and liqueur store at the Mall of America, is hosting a visit from Scotch master blender and bottler Stewart Laing of Hunter Laing and Co. as part of a three-day celebration of all things Scotch Nov. 5-7.

Laing will explore the different types of Scotch whisky, explaining what to look for and tasting techniques, as well as stories gleaned over three generations of making Scotch. A women-only intro to Scotch class is Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. The event is free, but limited to the first 40 women who call for a reservation at 952-426-3222. More events follow on the 6th, with anyone wearing a kilt entered in a drawing for a bottle of Laing's whisky. That evening, Laing leads a master mixing class for introductory and intermediate Scotch fans. Tickets are $55. A similar Scotch school will be held Nov. 7; cost is $55. For more details about these and other events, and to purchase tickets, visit http://vomfassmoa.eventbrite.com or call 952-426-3222.

Cookies, cookies, cookies

Join the fun in our 12th-annual holiday cookie competition. Who knows? Yours could be baked in kitchens all over Minnesota.

Send your recipe — and the story behind it — to Taste Holiday Cookie Contest, Star Tribune, 425 Portland Av., Mpls., MN 55488, or to taste@startribune.com (please write "Taste Holiday Cookie Contest" in the subject field). Please include your name, address, daytime phone number and e-mail address.

Top prize is a $200 gift card to a local cooking store. Don't delay: The deadline is noon Friday.

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