Just Desserts

As a celebrity food personality (can you believe there's such a thing?), Ted Allen spent years turning Big Mac-scarfing schlubs into fois gras- and pinot-loving metros on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Then, on Food Network's Iron Chef America, Allen demonstrated his discerning palate by critiquing food from elite chefs, proving further that he has impeccable, if not extravagant, taste. So why then is this gay, elitist, Brooklyn-based ultra-foodie writing a book about eating "easy"? Ask him yourself, bubba. Tonight, Allen will be signing copies of The Food You Want to Eat: 100 Smart, Simple Recipes, posing for photos with fans, and answering their many questions. It’s part of Seminole Casino Coconut Creek's food-filled event Sweet Dreams.

Sweet Dreams is an (unholy) union of celeb chef meet-and-greet and decadent, gourmet tasting. You already know who's holding up the celeb end of the bargain — tonight and Saturday it's Allen and his everyman's cookbook, while the following weeks will feature Art "Mr. Food" Ginsburg, Keegan Gerhard, and Jacques Torres. On the consumable front, Nectar will be dishing up more delicious desserts than you can shake a powdered sugar can at: live-action flambé stations, paper-thin crepes willed with all manner of sugared fruits, chocolate dipping fountains, made-while-you-wait ice cream, dozens of varieties of handmade candies and pastries, and, of course, samples from the star chefs themselves. For the sweet-toothed foodie who craves something even more sinful, Nectar's bartenders will be concocting specialty drinks like the candy cane, Christmas cookie, and blue icicle. Admission to the event will run you $35 — not a bad price to eat your cake and meet its maker too — and a portion of that will go to the Ronald McDonald House of Fort Lauderdale. Tonight’s event with Allen takes place at 6 p.m. inside Nectar Ultra Lounge, 5550 NW 40th St. in Coconut Creek. For more info and future dates, call 954-977-6700, or visit seminolecoconutcreekcasino.com. Schedule: nationally syndicated television chef, Mr. Food, Art Ginsberg: Dec.18 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Keegan Gerhard, host of the Food Network series Food Network Challenge: Dec. 20 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.; and Jacques Torres, star of Chocolate with Jacques Torres, also on Food Network: Dec. 27 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Fri., Dec. 12, 6 p.m.; Sat., Dec. 13, 6 p.m.; Thu., Dec. 18, 6 p.m.; Sat., Dec. 20, 6 p.m.; Sat., Dec. 27, 6 p.m., 2008