Giada, Meatballs, Buitoni, and the New York City Wine & Food Festival

Giada De Laurentiis / Image Credit: Food Network

Buitoni will be providing me with tickets to attend the three aforementioned events at the 2011 Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival. They are also providing the prize for this giveaway. I did not accept monetary compensation for this opportunity. All opinions expressed are my own.

It's finally time to reveal my big news! I posted a recipe for Poached Pears in Honey, Ginger and Cinnamon Syrup by Giada De Laurentiis a couple of days ago, along with a hint as to what my next big opportunity as a food blogger is. I loved reading your responses (and your emails and text messages and comments on Facebook!). Of course, what fun would this be if I gave you the biggest hint right off the bat?

For those of you who guess that it had something to do with Food Network and/or Giada, congratulations! You were the closest. But... I did not land a writing gig with the network or its beautiful star.

Let me give you another hint.

Mouthwatering Meatballs / Image Credit: Gilt City

Are the wheels spinning in your head? First, I tell you to think about Giada De Laurentiis. Now I'm making you think about meatballs. Cruel, I know.

How about another hint to take your mind off the meatballs that you must have now that you've seen that picture?

New York City Wine & Food Festival Logo / Credit: NYCWFF

Is it coming together now? Let me help.

Giada De Laurentiis will be hosting San Pellegrino's Meatball Madness event at the New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by Buitoni.

And... I will be there!

Buitoni, the official pasta sponsor of the New York City Wine & Food Festival (September 29 - October 2, 2011), approached me several weeks ago about establishing a partnership. In exchange for sponsoring me to attend the opening night Meatball Madness party and each of the Grand Tastings on Saturday and Sunday (presented by ShopRite with KitchenAid culinary demonstrations presented by Buitoni), I will be on-site, operating as their eyes and ears at those three events.

Expect me to be tweeting about everything I see, hear, and taste in real time (ooh...) and to be writing a handful of in-depth follow-up blog posts about the incorporation of Buitoni products in the dishes being prepared and shared by the chefs. You can also expect to see the content that I curate featured on Buitoni's website and Facebook page, as well as in their Twitter feed. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to be partnering with Buitoni!

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I just wanted to encourage you to KEEP READING!

Buitoni Logo - Courtesy of Buitoni

As an incredible bonus, Buitoni is also sponsoring an epic giveaway just for Taste As You Go readers! ONE reader will win TWO complimentary tickets to the opening Meatball Madness event with Giada De Laurentiis on Thursday, September 29, 2011. And, if you want, you can look for me there.

At $200 a pop, tickets for this event sold out in record time, so if you were dying to find out how many meatballs you can eat in one evening, while surrounded by a room full of celebrity chefs, now's your chance!

To enter, you must:

1. Leave a comment on this post and tell me how you use Buitoni products in your kitchen

For bonus entries (optional):

1. Follow @tasteasyougo on Twitter and tweet the following: "Entered to win 2 FREE tickets to NYC Wine & Food Festival Meatball Madness event courtesy of @tasteasyougo & @buitoni!" along with a link to this post. Then come back here and leave an additional comment with your Twitter name.
2. Become a fan of Taste As You Go on Facebook and share the link to this post on your profile. Then come back here and leave an additional comment.

This giveaway is open to all readers; however, the prize only includes the tickets to the event and does not include the cost of travel or accommodations. If you do not live in the New York City area, you are responsible for making those arrangements yourself.

The deadline to enter is 11:59pm EST on Friday, September 23, 2011. The winner will be chosen at random and then announced on Saturday, September 24, 2011. Entries must include a valid email address.

Good luck!

If you liked this post, consider subscribing to Taste As You Go’s RSS feed or subscribing via email so you don’t miss a thing!