A few weeks ago, I told you about Old Doc's class in pairing wines with Thanksgiving dinner. Here's a reminder that the tasting takes place 7 p.m. tonight at the Cedar and Nees store. Call (559) 224-3627 to reserve a spot.

Also, there is a tasting of Fresno State Winery's 2009 Nouveau wines from 5:30 to 8 p.m. tonight. The tasting includes the wines, hors d'oeuvres and a cooking demonstration by Fredrick Clabaugh, executive chef of the Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite.

These Nouveau wines are created in the style of Beaujolais Nouveau, the extremely young French wines released every year on the third Thursday of November. Drink them soon, for these wines are closer to juice than the complex, layered flavors of older wines.

The tasting costs $15. (Fresno State students and alumni pay $10. Fresno State Wine Club members pay $5.) It will take place in Fresno State's Enology Building, 2360 E. Barstow Ave. Guests must be at least 21 years old.

Parking permits are available at any parking dispenser on campus. Enter coupon code 16080002. For more information, call (559) 278-4867 or go here.

I know how much you 'hivers like a bargain, so here's the latest crop of cheap eats:

Pizza Fusion -- until 9 p.m. Sunday
Pizza Fusion has a deal for its e-mail club members until Sunday night. The details: Buy a regular or personal-sized pizza and get a second one free. (The second pizza has to cost the same, or less, than the one you buy. The offer is good for dine in, take out or delivery.)

Interested? Fill out a form at the restaurant or e-mail Pizza Fusion owner Mike Parisi at m.parisi@pizzafusion.com. If you're already part of the club, remember to print out the e-mail with the deal's details. Show it to the cashier or the delivery guy to get your free pizza.

Jamba Juice -- 2-5 p.m. Tuesday
Jamba Juice is giving away its new California flatbreads at participating stores for one afternoon. (Call ahead to make sure your store has 'em.)

There are four flavors. Three of them have really silly names: Tomo Artichoko, MediterranYum, Four Cheesy and Smokehouse Chicken. Warning: Some of the reviews of these breads have been pretty bad.

If you try one, feel free to leave your own review in the comments.

Wahoo's Fish Taco -- Nov. 21
All of Wahoo's locations are celebrating the chain's 21st anniversary by giving away free meals, gift cards, and more. Call the Fresno restaurant for more details.

The news of Pacific Seafood's upcoming closure has traveled far and fast, and some of you already have contacted me asking for the restaurant's recipes. In addition to the ones for house dressing and sauteed scallops, I also found the clam chowder in our archives.

Apologies for the delay in posting this; I've been tied up testing more Thanksgiving recipes for next week's food section.

Also please note that I have not tested the recipes below. They come straight from The Bee's archives.

Pacific Seafood's house dressing
Makes about 5 cups of dressing

1 cup wine vinegar
4 cups olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
2 tablespoons dry tarragon leaves
1 teaspoon salt

Blend the ingredients with a wire whisk until well blended.

This recipe was printed in The Bee on 8/7/1991.

My column yesterday about this week's screenings of Fresh and Food, Inc. raised a question about the future of agriculture. Will sustainable ag remain a niche market, or will it grow to compete on a much larger scale with conventional ag?

These are some provocative movies, and I bet they'll result in lively discussion tonight and tomorrow about the definition of sustainability. Will someone bring up the argument that grass-fed cattle have a higher carbon footprint than grain-fed cattle? Will others mention the limitations of looking only at food miles, as described here and here?

We'll see. In the meantime, feel free to share your take below. For more info, here are the movie trailers:

Food, Inc.:

Fresh:

Our little discussion about knife skills reminded me of the videos we did with Wendy Carroll, the private chef behind Seasoned to Taste.

If you're cooking Thanksgiving dinner, now's the time for a short course on handling knives. The following eight videos will list the essential knives for your kitchen, tell you about Epicurean cutting boards (love them!) and teach you how to care for your knives.

You'll also see techniques for cutting onions, garlic, red peppers, carrots (into a julienne and a batonette), spinach (into a chiffonade), tomatoes and herbs.

These videos accompanied my story about knife skills. Enjoy!

If you haven't yet checked out the latest iteration of TasteFresno, please do. This web site aims to celebrate Fresno's diverse food, and it will succeed only if we submit sources for the best local eats.

My favorite idea is the community cookbook. TasteFresno is collecting requests for restaurant dishes from Fresno restaurants. Want to know the recipe for the fish tacos at the latest Guadalajara? Or the lomo saltado at Limón? TasteFresno just might get it for you.

As someone who collects recipes from local chefs for stories, I can tell you firsthand that the bulk of work will be in the editing and the cooking. (Case in point: This week's food section features The Vintage Press Restaurante's Thanksgiving recipes, which had me brushing melted butter on a turkey, drying sourdough croutons in the oven and straining pan drippings for gravy last week.)

So, good luck to the TasteFresno folks as they embark on this endeavor. Here's a recipe to get them (and you) started: the sweet potato fries that Roy Harland used to make at Harland's and Max's.

According to the latest restaurant rumor, The Chef's Table is about to shut down.

It's not true, says Mike Shirinian, who owns The Chef's Table and the Elbow Room in Fig Garden Village. Here's what is true: Executive chef Malachi Harland will leave The Chef's Table in 2010. Harland plans to spend some time cooking in Spain, Shirinian says.

That means fans of Harland's cooking should head to The Chef's Table soon for dinner or these events.

After Harland's departure, expect to see some changes at The Chef's Table. Shirinian is staying mum on the details until they're worked out. Stay tuned.

Above: Malachi Harland teaches a cooking class at The Chef's Table. Photo credit: Mark Crosse, The Fresno Bee

UPDATE: As promised in this week's food pages, here is the Valley's ultimate guide for the lazy Thanksgiving dinner. These supermarkets, hotels, restaurants and delis allow you to dine out -- or take out the entire meal.

Check out the story for the full list, then browse through the menus below. (I'll add more of them as they become available.) And if you have more places to add, drop them in the comments.

Supermarkets

• Whole Foods Market, Fig Garden Village


• Vons


• Save Mart


• The Market, Herndon and West avenues

Next week, the Food Network will release its new video game, "Cook or Be Cooked." And I can't help but chuckle.

Moving a Wii remote to simulate flipping pancakes seems absurd. Why not just make real pancakes and bacon? The house would smell great -- and you get to eat at the end.

The game reminds me of Michael Pollan, who compared the decline of home cooking with the rise of food television in The New York Times Magazine. He wrote:

"Today the average American spends a mere 27 minutes a day on food preparation (another four minutes cleaning up); that's less than half the time ... it takes to watch a single episode of "Top Chef" or "Chopped" or "The Next Food Network Star." What this suggests is that a great many Americans are spending considerably more time watching images of cooking on television than they are cooking themselves -- an increasingly archaic activity they will tell you they no longer have the time for."

What do you think? Will "Cook or Be Cooked" be one more reason for us to stay on the couch? Or will it prompt us to get back in the kitchen?

Hungry yet? Wine, Mexican dishes and food inspired by Dr. Seuss are just some of this week's offerings. Read on:

Chiles and Sauces: The Color of our Cuisine -- Thursday
The Consulate of Mexico in Fresno is organizing a free Mexican food tasting 6-8 p.m. at Arte Americas. Featured restaurants include Oaxaca Restaurant, Mezcal Bar & Grill, Toledo´s, and Taco Grande.

Sierra Nut House's 40th anniversary party -- Friday
Sierra's flagship store at the Villaggio shopping center will host a party 5-9 p.m. with free samples of its wares. Earlier this week, owner JoAnn Sorrenti talked of serving wines, espresso, pumpkin barley salad, brandied cranberry pecan dressing, chocolate truffles and more.

Green Eggs and the Met! -- Friday
Will the Met serve green eggs and ham and schlopp with a cherry on top? Find out at this Dr. Seuss-themed evening.

The Ahwahnee's 2009 Vintners' Holidays -- Sunday to Dec. 3
Now in its 28th year, this annual event always features lots of wine to drink and plenty of winemakers to meet. Here's the full schedule.

Far Niente and Nickel & Nickel tasting at Old Doc's -- Wednesday
Old Doc's at Cedar and Nees avenues will pour 8-10 Far Niente and Nickel & Nickel wines. The $20 tasting starts at 7 p.m. and includes light food. Call (559) 224-3627 for more information.