YONKERS, N.Y., September 4, 2007 --, Tickets are now available for the Stew Leonard III Children’s Charities "Celebration of Italian Food and Wine" event, taking place on Sunday, September 23, 2007 from 4:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M. at Stew Leonard’s Yonkers store, located at One Stew Leonard Drive in Yonkers, New York.

Meet Lidia and Taste Dishes from Her Latest Cookbook: Lidia’s Italy

The evening’s special guest is award-winning restaurateur, cookbook author and star of her own Public Television cooking show, Lidia Bastianich, who will sign copies of her newest cookbook, Lidia’s Italy, of which all event attendees receive a copy. Guests will taste some of Lidia’s favorite regional dishes from her cookbook, paired with more than 50 highly-rated Italian wines. Live music and a silent auction with impossible-to-get experiences and rare wines are also featured as part of the gala event, with all proceeds going to help children learn how to swim.

Stew Leonard’s Yonkers store outdoor Garden Center will be transformed for the event, being completely tented and decorated in a fall Tuscan theme. The event will also have valet parking and a separate entrance from the food store for guests’ convenience.

Taste 50 Award-Winning Wines from Italy’s Best Wine Regions

Attendees will have the opportunity to taste more than 50 wines from the great wine-producing regions in Italy: Piedmont, Tuscany, Sardinia, Vento, Sicily, Trentino Alto Adige, Emilia Romagna, Campania and Abruzzo. Highlights include renowned winemakers Banfi, Bertani, Feudi di San Gregorio and Marchesi di Barolo, as well as award-winning wines such as Planeta Merlot, a 2007 Tre Bicchieri winner.

The tasting also features wines from Lidia’s son, Joe Bastianich, who owns vineyards in two regions in Italy: in his native Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and in the Maremma region of Tuscany. The wines include: Tocai Friulano, Tocai Plus, Vespa Bianco (Tre Bicchieri award winner), Vespa Rosso and Rosato.

Tutti a tavola a mangiare!

Lidia’s signature sign-off translates to, "everybody to the table to eat." The menu for the event ensures that no guest will leave hungry. To start, there will be antipasto, a raw bar and an Italian cheese and charcuterie table, accompanied by a tasting of Prosecco’s from Mionetto. For main course tasting, there will be a variety of dishes from Lidia’s Italy cookbook, all specifically chosen to pair with the wines served at the event, including:

• Bucatini with Onion, Bacon, and Tomato (page 228)
• Gemelli with Smothered Cauliflower and Saffron (page 288)
• Hunter-Style Chicken with Rosemary (page 190)
• Pappardelle with Long-Cooked Duck Sugo (page 183)
• Jumbo Shrimp Buzara Style (page 22)
• Monkfish in Brodetto with Artichokes (page 216)
• Roasted Lamb Shoulder (page 87)
• Sausages with Fennel and Olives (page 221)

Dessert will feature Lidia’s Limoncello Tiramisù (page 120), along with Italian pastries from Artuso Bakery on Arthur Avenue, espresso from Illy, and an assortment of Italian dessert wines and liquors.

Priceless Experiences Offered at Silent Auction

Join Lidia on a tour of Tuscany and Rome, attend a private dinner featuring St. Francis wines at Stew Leonard, Jr.’s wine cellar with 12 of your friends, or take a private tour with barrel tasting and lunch at Raphael Vineyards, Long Island’s premier vineyard and winery estate -- these are just some of the incredible experiences event attendees will have to bid on at the silent auction. In addition, there will be rare and hard-to-find wines up for auction, such as a Marchesi di Barolo Barolo Millenium 1990, a magnum bottle of Castello Banfi Poggio All’ Oro Brunello Di Montalcino Reserva 1999, valued at $300.00, or one of California’s most sought after cult Cabernets, a 1993 Bryant Family Vineyard, valued at more than $600.00.

Help Children Learn How to Swim and Recognize a Champion

All proceeds from the event go towards the Stew Leonard III Children’s Charities to promote the safe and responsible growth and development in kids through nutritional awareness and water safety. Specifically, the foundation helps underprivileged children in Westchester and Fairfield County learn how to swim, and funds the donation of children’s books on water safety and nutrition to schools and hospitals. For more information, please visit www.stewietheduck.com.

At the event, the first-ever Stew Leonard III Children’s Charities Champion award will be given to Yonkers resident Shantell Jackson. At age 14, she was one of the first recipients of a swimming scholarship from the foundation, and learned how to swim at the Yonkers YMCA. Now, five years later, through continued support from Stew Leonard III Children’s Charities, she has earned her certification as a lifeguard and is getting her Water Safety Instruction license from the National Red Cross so she can train other lifeguards to teach children how to swim. Shantell is currently running the aquatics program at the Yonkers YMCA and is also a coach on the swim team.

For More Information and To Request Tickets

Please contact Meghan Flynn at 203.750.6106 or email her at mflynn@stewleonards.com with your name and address so an invitation can be mailed to you. Tickets are $250.00, of which $150.00 is tax deductible. The event is limited to 300 attendees. Event sponsors include Southern Wine and Spirits of New York, American Express and Bank of America.