Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • D8

D8 THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2013 THE HARTFORD COURANT LIVING HOW TO PAIR WINE This week: Fried fish This fish preparation is pretty straightforward and uncomplicated by any fruit or vegetable salsa, say, or rich creamy sauce. As a consequence, it allows for a wide range of wine partners, from light whites all the way through to less forceful reds. So, a tricouleur of recommendations follows, one each white, rose and red. If you use mild white fish such as cod or tilapia, opt for the white or pink; if salmon or oilier fish, the red will suit admirably. Avoid tannic, heavy reds more comfortable around red meats and heavier, grilled foods.

But you knew that. Bill St. John, Special to Tribune Newspapers MARK MIRKO I MMIRKOCOURANT.COM THE INTERIOR of Yolande's Bistro, which is owned by Yolande Lucan. A secret to good batter, she says, is letting it age a day before cooking. A La Carte 1 Events Hartford's Taste of the Nation event takes place April 11 at 6 p.m.

at Marquee Events and Catering, 960 Main St. More than 40 local restaurants and food vendors join wine, beer and spirits sponsors at the annual fundraiser for Share Our Strength, a national organization committed to ending childhood hunger. Tickets are $75 for general admission, which includes food and drink samples. VIP tickets, at $125, include upgraded food and beverage, private entertainment and a goodie bag. One hundred percent of proceeds go to local grantees, including No Kid Hungry Connecticut Campaign, End Hunger Hartford Food System and Foodshare.

For more information, visit strength.orghartford. New Haven hosts its Taste of the Nation event on May 22 at 6 p.m. at the Omni Hotel at Yale. Tickets are $85 for general admission; $150 for VIP entrance. For more information, visit strength.orgnewhaven.

Max's Oyster Bar in West Hartford hosts a New England Brewing Company beer dinner on April 25 at 6:30 p.m. Five courses are paired with selections from the Woodbridge brewery. Cost is $65 a person, plus tax and gratuity. The restaurant also hosts a New England Brewing "tap takeover" that night in the bar, featuring a cask-aged barrel of the brewery's 668: Neighbor of the Beast beer infused with mesquite. Reservations and information: 860-236-6299; maxsoysterbar.com Send restaurant news at leastlO days before publication to MaryEllen Fillo at fillocourant.com, 860-241-3717 (phone), 860-520-6927 (fax) or in care of The Courant, 285 Broad Hartford, CT 06115 Continued from Page D3 Small Bites New Haven Restaurant Week returns for its spring edition April 21 through 26, with $18 prix-fixe lunches and $32 prix-fixe dinners at 30 city restaurants.

Information and menus: infonewhaven.comrestaurantweek Virgil's BBQ will open this spring at Mohegan Sun. The Southern-style restaurant, with seating for 225 people, will open on the upper level of The Shops concourse near The Lansdowne Irish Pub Music House. It's the third Virgil's location, joining the original in Manhattan and another at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. Information: virgilsbbq.com Bonef ish Grill, with more than 150 locations throughout the United States, has opened its first Connecticut restaurant in the Promenade Shoppes at Evergreen Walk, South Windsor. The casual seafood chain is known for market-fresh fish, prepared over a wood-burning grill.

Dinner is served nightly: 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday, which includes Sunday brunch from 11 am.

to 2 p.m. Bonefish Grill is at 400 Evergreen Way. Information: 860-648-0096 and bonefishgrill.com Bartaco, with locations in West Hartford, Stamford and Port Chester, N.Y., recently introduced a Taco Tuesday promotion. After 9 p.m., the restaurant's signature tacos, with fillings like grilled red snapper, fried Baja fish, duck, roasted pork, lamb barbacoa and Thai shrimp, are priced at $1.50. Information: bartaco.com THE FOOD: Panko-f ried fish Season 1 pound fish fillets with salt and pepper.

Place Vz cup flour, 2 beaten eggs and 1 Vz cups panko or regular breadcrumbs in separate shallow bowls. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dip each fillet on all sides in the following order: flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs. Add fillets to skillet. (Do not overcrowd.) Cook, turning once, until fillets are cooked through and golden brown, 4-5 minutes per side.

Serve with lemon wedges and tartar sauce. Makes: 4 servings RECIPE BY BILL DALEY THE WINES 2011 Emile Beyer Riesling Tradition, Alsace, France: Little bests Alsace riesling with fish (or a raft of other foods), as this crisp, linear, zestily acidic, apple-y and citrusy classic illustrates. 2012 Domaine de la Fouquette Rose Cuvee d'Aurore, Cotes de Provence, France: Mostly grenache, with a hearty soupcon of cinsault; gorgeous, limpid salmon-flesh color, with waves of tastes of watermelon, tangerine and mineral; supercleansing acidity. 2010 Kaltern Kellerei Kalterersee Auslese Pfarrhof, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy: See-through fire-engine red, made of schiava grape for mild, cleansing tannins, inviting bouquet of dark cherry and juicy tastes of same. A toast to spring ASK AMY Naughty Nightie Not Neighborly DEAR AMY: My wife and I are in our late 20s.

We have a widower neighbor in his 60s who has been generous to us since we moved in four years ago. For example, he gives us each Christmas and birthday gifts, and we have always reciprocated. This year, however, he gave my wife a Valentine's Day gift of a short, sheer nightgown that leaves nothing to the imagination. He said it was "a gift we would both appreciate." However, I intent, anyway this negligee was a gift to both of you. I agree that this is in poor taste but think you should start by giving your neighbor the benefit of the doubt.

He may hand you an opening when he asks if you "enjoyed" this gift. You can say, "Stan, I've got to admit, I am confused by your gift. I don't like the idea of men other than me giving my wife negligees; honestly, it makes me uncomfortable." You and your wife need to learn that age-old dictum about fences and neighbors. Relationships thrive when the boundaries are clear and respected. DEAR AMY: "Sober Friend" shared her dilemma of how to handle friends who drink too much when they are out for the evening.

I'd like to recommend a personal Breathalyzer. These can be very inexpensive. I got one and use it. If it shows I'm impaired, I don't get behind the wheel. ALSO SOBER DEAR SOBER: Many readers recommended these.

I see there are many different types and I assume they are not 100 percent accurate, but I do like the idea of taking personal responsibility for your own sobriety. "Ask Amy" is written by Amy Dickinson. You can send questions to askamytribune.com or by mail to: Ask Amy, Chicago Tribune, TT500, 435 N. Michigan Chicago, IL 60611. Aj, teel tne girt crossed the pyj line and wonder if he is expressing a romantic ASK AMY interest in her.

She sees nothing wrong with it and thinks I am being overly jealous. She doesn't want to ruin our relationship with him. Am I being unreasonable? GOOD NEIGHBOR DEAR GOOD NEIGHBOR: I don't think you are being unreasonable, but you might reframe your concern by dialing it more toward the "bewildered" part of the spectrum. Your neighbor's statement (that it is a gift you would both appreciate) leads me to think that in his stated Leah Eskin Home on the Range The weather toaster is pure genius. Drop in a slice of white, wheat or rye, and before you've dripped that first cup of coffee, out pops a golden weather report, burnished right into the bread.

Perhaps a radiant sun and 18 (Celsius of course). But even a dripping cloud and 4 degrees Celsius can't dampen the delight of having the weather broadcast in toast. Here is a melding of high-tech and low-brow that surpasses even the iPhone, which, for all its appeal, tastes lousy. The weather toaster's only flaw is that it doesn't exist. Online, you can admire its clever ways, but on Earth it inhabits that gray area the entrepreneur calls "conceptual" and the rest of us call "as if." Shelve it alongside the personal jet pack, flying car and Mars vacation.

Meanwhile, we'll have to rely on the ordinary weather report for signs of spring: sog, soft serve and strawberry, which is particularly nice sweetened with sugar, sharpened with mint and leavened with bubbles. You can achieve the soda-fountain effect by ordering a fancy contraption that turns plain water bubbly. Or you can open a bottle of seltzer. Not glamorous, but it works. Which is more than you can say for the weather toaster.

Leah Eskin is a Tribune Newspapers special contributor. Email her at leahreskinaol.com. E.JASON WAMBSGANSTRIBUNE NEWSPAPERS PHOTO; JOAN MORAVEKFOOD STYLING Strawberry soda Prep: 1 hour, plus chilling time Cook: 5 minutes Makes: About 2 cups syrup, enough for 8 sodas 4 cups sliced strawberries (from about 2 pounds strawberries) 2 cups sugar Zest of 2 lemons 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves Vi cup fresh lemon juice Ice Whole mint leaves Seltzer 1 Sugar: Heap strawberries in a large saucepan. Stir in sugar. Let rest 45 minutes.

Strawberries will release much of their juice. 2 Boil: Stir in zest and chopped mint. Bring to a big frothy pink boil. Boil 4 minutes, stirring and mashing with a spoon; mixture will darken and thicken slightly. Stir in lemon juice.

3 Chill: Strain through a medium-mesh strainer set over a wide heat-proof measuring cup, pressing firmly on berries with a rubber spatula. Discard solids. Let syrup cool. Pour into a clean glass jar, seal and chill. 4 Serve: For each drink fill a tall (12 ounce) glass with ice.

Drop in a mint leaf or two. Pour in Vi cup strawberry syrup and 1 cup seltzer. Stir. Enjoy. of the daily grind will eventually give way to some evening excitement.

There should be smooth sailing on the seas of romance tonight. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Show that you are part of the team by staying out of the limelight. Personal glory will have to wait a little while longer.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Adapt your strategy to the situation. Don't be too rigid about plans, as some situations may require sudden changes. CAPRICORN (Dec.

Even when you're right, there's little benefit to be had from pressing the issue. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You may feel pressure to come to a quick decision, but this is the other party's issue and you should be in no hurry. PISCES (Feb.l9-March 20): You'll find that a more traditional approach will get you farther than trying to be a rebel.

IF APRIL 4 IS YOUR BIRTHDAY: Friends or business matters could briefly interfere with your ongoing pursuit of real happiness. HOROSCOPE By JERALDINE SAUNDERS Tribune Media Services ARIES (March 21-April 19): A difference of opinion could escalate if you let it get to you, but there's little to be gained from a wrestling match. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You may have had things relatively easy lately, but obstacles can crop up todayjust to keep you on your toes. GEMINI (May21-June20): Detailsare someone else's responsibility; your focus should be on the big picture. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Stop worrying about what others think.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Do what feels right as rain. Your senses should be attuned to your current situation. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept.

22): Succeed by bucking conventional thinking and improvising your way toward creatinga crowning achievement. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The monotony.