An 'O' Menu

O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of Gina DePalma, author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchenand Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy, Jenn of The Leftover Queen, and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are asking you to donate to the:

Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (via FirstGiving.org)

and then, out of the goodness of your hearts and to be eligible for the O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month Contest, please do the following:

1. Post a recipe to your blog using a food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato) and include this entire text box in the post;

OR

2. If you’re not into the recipe thing, simply post this entire text box in a post on your blog to help spread the word about the event and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

AND

3. Then send your post url [along with a photo (100 x 100) if you've made a recipe] to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on September 30, 2008.

We will post a roundup and announce prize winners on October 3.

Prizes:

• 1 Recipe Prize for best “O food” concoction: $50 gift certificate to Amazon;
• 1 Awareness Prize for only publicizing event: Copy of Dolce Italiano cookbook.

———

From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:

• Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.
• The American Cancer Society estimates that 21,650 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the U.S. in 2008 and about 15,520 women will die from the disease.
• The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose. There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.
• In spite of this patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.
• When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.

Please donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund
and help spread the word!

We decided to go all out. We didn't have one 'O' food - we had an entire 'O' menu!

We started off with an Orchard Martini . . .

We sipped our martinis while we enjoyed a salad. In keeping with the 'O' theme it was an Orange and Beet salad. I modified a recipe I found on Simply Recipes - it was amazing!

We followed up with a main course that was Italian. We had the classic Osso Buco, Oven Baked Polenta, and Zucca al Forno

Oh, and the Zucca al forno was a Jamie Oliver recipe!

I served Olive and Rosemary rolls with this - perfect for soaking up the incredible Osso Buco juices.

Guess what wine we drank with dinner?

Barolo!

The 'O' theme didn't finish there. I wanted to use one of Gina's recipes to show support for her in her battle with ovarian cancer. I made her incredible Olive Oil Zucchini Cake with Lemon Crunch from Dolce Italiano.

Comments

[Cindy Ruth]

Great job Jerry! Your dinner looks wonderful. I love Osso Buco. And Beet and Orange salads are also one of my favorites. And you got to make the Zucchini Olive Oil Cake. I guess I better put my thinking cap on and see what I can come up with.

[Michelle]

I love this! Thanks so much for spreading the word for Ovarian Cancer Awareness :)

If you haven't yet, please send the link to this post to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com so you'll eligible for a prize (if you've already done so, best of luck)!

[diana]

Jerry, it's truly wonderful!! I just posted about your menu on my blog, hopefully even more people will see it and be inspired!!

[Jerry]

Cindy Ruth - the cake was amazing - now I can see what everyone was raving about.

Michelle - I will post a single recipe tonight and send it your way.

Diana - it would have been a treat to share a nice dinner and great wine with you!

[diana]

Jerry, next time you come here, we will cook together!! Absolutely.

[Brad'll Do It]

Leave it to you to do the perfect "O" menu, EVERY course beginning or ending with that letter. I'm impressed even more than usual... brilliant.

[JennDZ_The LeftoverQueen]

WOW!!! That is a wonderful O FEAST! :)

I love all the components!

[María I.]

Fabulous "O" feast! Everything looks so delicious. I’m going to save this entry for future reference when I need a perfect menu for dinner with a few good friends.

[anne]

Just found you on Creative Structures..Hi...your meal looks delicious ..When we all coming over!! :-)

[sandrac]

Great "O" theme meal -- very imaginative!

[sandrac]

Great "O" theme meal -- very imaginative!

[Jerry]

Diana - I will remember that!

Thanks Brad - I know how refined your palette is - that is high praise!

Thnks Jenn!

Let me know how it works for your Maria.

Anne - pick a date *smile*

Sandra - welcome home!

[Laurie]

You are O'mazing! Beautiful post and those dishes are delectable!

[Jerry]

Thanks Laurie!