Check out this wine-inspired recipe from allrecipes.com, and try something new with your wine!

Ingredients
1 cup red wine
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon paprika
1 cup brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook garlic in oil until tender. Place chicken in the skillet, and cook about 10 minutes on each side, until no longer pink and juices run clear.
2. Drain oil from skillet. Sprinkle chicken with paprika and 1 cup brown sugar. Pour red wine around chicken. Cover, and simmer about 15 to 20 minutes; lightly baste chicken with wine sauce while cooking. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Enjoy!

Remember, you can always find more events on the Post-Gazette’s Event Calendar as well as the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s Calendar.

These are just a few of our favorites!

The Summer Playwriting and Acting Intensive /High School
If you are interested in theater, you won’t want to miss this!
Monday, July 26th 2010 – Friday, August 6th 2010 from 10: 00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
For $250.0, enjoy Playwriting, Directing and Acting Intensive workshop Sponsored by the Ayers Foundation.
Week One, Learn how to create 10-minute plays. Daily playwriting classes will consist of in-class exercises in dialogue, character development, dramatic action, structure, and theatricality.
Week Two Focus on the individual writer’s process, with emphasis on how to give and take feedback, while developing a common language in order to discuss new play development.
Register now by calling 412-471-6079. Click here for more information.

Second Annual Homegrown Event
Join the Art Institute of Pittsburgh on Thursday, July 29th 2010 for the second-annual Homegrown event. It’s part rummage sale, part farmers’ market, part outdoor concert and part educational event.
The public is very much welcome, and invited to hear about local sustainable initiatives that explore “how we eat, how we live, how we buy, and how we can change into a much stronger, more sustainable Pittsburgh.”
The rummage sale begins at 9:00 a.m. and goes until 2:00 p.m. Proceeds will be donated to student scholarships.  In addition, educational workshops and booths hosted by local green businesses and nonprofit organizations, plus the farmers’ market, will be running all day.
A local band will take the stage about 5:00 p.m., along with free food (thanks to the Art Institute’s Culinary Club and Slow Foods chapter) and a free raffle for an “Ecocents” booklet, which is a “guide to everything green” in Pittsburgh.

Harris Theater: Sweetgrass

Come to see Sweetgrass this Friday, July 23rd 2010 – Sunday, July 25th 2010 at the Harris Theater.

For just $7.00, you can experience what Kenneth Turan from LATimes calls, “Unexpectedly intoxicating”

An unsentimental elegy to the American West, Sweetgrass is a riveting portrait of a dying way of life. It follows the last of the modern-day cowboys as they lead their flocks of some 3,000 sheep up into Montana’s breathtaking, dangerous mountains for summer pasture. This astonishingly beautiful yet unsparing film reveals a world in which nature and culture, animals and humans, vulnerability and violence, are all intimately connected. (Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Ilisa Barbash; USA; 2009; 105 min)
More Details are available at Pittsburgh Filmmakers website.

Ever wonder how many grapes it takes to make your favorite wine?

Well, according to  800wine.com,
here is the approximate grape to wine ratio:

1 grape cluster = 1 glass
75 grapes = 1 cluster
4 clusters = 1 bottle
40 clusters = 1 vine
1 vine = 10 bottles
1200 clusters = 1 barrel
1 barrel = 60 gallons
60 gallons = 25 cases
30 vines = 1 barrel
400 vines = 1 acre
1 acre = 5 tons
5 tons = 332 cases

P.S.: If you’re a Pittsburgh native or from western Pennsylvania and make your own wine in September (for the holidays etc.), a great place to get your grapes is from Consumer’s Produce in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. Here’s a great old article about Consumer’s Produce from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Remember, you can always find more events on the Post-Gazette’s Event Calendar as well as the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s Calendar.

These are just a few of our favorites!

Comics and Graphic Storytelling: A How To Toon Camp
Monday, July 19th 2010 – Friday, July 23rd 2010 from 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at The ToonSeum

Have a burgeoning artist in the family? An avid comics reader? A video-game connoisseur? Explore the art of comics and cartooning in this exciting camp, taught by Joe Wos and local professional editorial, comic, and animation artists.
Students will examine the techniques of penciling, character design, and storytelling, and how to combine these elements in the production of their very own zine. The camp is designed to emphasize the unique vision of the individual, regardless of experience and skill level, and engender a deeper appreciation of the diverse world of graphic storytelling.

Hairspray
Come see the musical, Hairspray, on Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 – Sunday, August 1st, 2010 at the Benedum Center
Tickets start at $20.50

It’s 1962. Teenager, Tracy Turnblad, has big hair, a big heart and an even bigger dream – to dance on “The Corny Collins Show.” But when her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity arrives, she’ll need the help of a crazy cast of characters to really shake things up.
Visit the Pittsburgh CLO for details!

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. San Diego Padres
Cheer on the Pirates this Friday, July 23rd 2010 – Saturday, July 24th 2010 at 7:05 p.m. at PNC Park at North Shore
Come and bring friends and family to PNC Park!

This Friday, July 16th, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. join the Cultural District Market for a tour of Pittsburgh art.

This quarterly showcase of art and entertainment at various Cultural District galleries and arts spaces is brought to you by the Trust Education & Community Engagement.

Enjoy the finer things in Pittsburgh, at no cost to you!

Grill-friendly Red Varietals to Consider:
Zinfandels will be able to handle a wide variety of red meats. Great with meaty, smokey flavors! Also, good for barbeque sauce, steak sauce, or salsa!

Merlot compliments grilled pork chops, chicken and garden-variety salads with lighter dressings.
Shiraz/Syrah is delicious with just about any red meat. Offering dynamic, fruit flavors, balanced with more mellow tannins and a softer-fuller body. Goes extremely well to smoked brisket.
Cabernet Sauvignon is made for steaks with a higher fat content and burgers of beef or turkey will pair equally well.
Pinot Noir goes with just about everything, and it is an ideal candidate for grilled fish – especially salmon.
Grill-friendly White Varietals to Consider:
Chardonnay is great with grilled fish (including shellfish), chicken with creamy sauces, and grilled corn on the cob with lots of butter!
Riesling is perfect for brats, shrimp, barbecue chicken, grilled pineapple and a variety of grilled veggies.
Sauvignon Blanc compliments herbs and citrus flavors! Try grilled chicken marinated in Italian dressing or a citrus marinade, grilled fish with dill and lemon, or roasted peppers.
Gewurztraminer is a great choice to go with blackened Mahi Mahi, or grilled Cajun chicken with fresh mango salsa.

Remember, you can always find more events on the Post-Gazette’s Event Calendar as well as the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s Calendar.

These are just a few of our favorites!

JazzLive

Tuesday, July 13th 2010 at Katz Plaza
Admission is Free!
BNY Mellon Jazz Presents JazzLive
JazzLive is a free, year-round live jazz series taking place at The Cabaret at Theater Square, Backstage Bar, and Katz Plaza. Open to the public, this popular Pittsburgh Cultural Trust music series showcases some of the region’s finest jazz musicians every Tuesday from 5pm – 11pm in the heart of the Cultural District.

In the summer, live jazz moves outdoors to Katz Plaza from 5pm – 7pm
Dining and drinks are available at the Backstage Bar.

Market Square Farmers Market
Thursday, July 15th 2010 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. in Market Square
Check out the best market Downtown. With hot pierogies, fresh flowers, berries, baked goods, and over 50 varieties of produce, this market has it all! New this year…Clover Creek Cheese Cellar. The Farmers Market is programmed by Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA), in conjunction with the Thursday lunchtime concert programmed by CBS Radio.

Gallery Crawl in the Cultural District
Friday, July 16th 2010 from 5:30 – 9 pm in the Cultural District Market
Admission is Free for this quarterly showcase of art and entertainment at various Cultural District galleries and arts spaces. Visit Trust Education & Community Engagement Locations throughout the Cultural District

Join the Harris Theater on Fri, July 9th 2010 – Fri, July 16th 2010 for $7 and witness the blackest comedy rather than the bleakest noir. Ray is an unhappily married construction worker when he notices Carla, a pretty hairdresser. Just happens she’s married to a low-level mobster. Ray’s put to the test when Carla presents him with a bag of cash, the proceeds of her husband’s latest crime. But of course, what looks like a clear path takes one dark twist after another in an escalating spiral of blackmail, kickbacks, cover-ups, arson and murder: a nightmare of unforeseen events stemming from their simple plan. (Nash Edgerton; Australia; 2008; 106 min)

The Square is the first feature film from Aussie stuntman-turned-director Nash Edgerton and his brother Joel, who co-wrote and stars in the film. Preceded by Edgerton’s nine-minute film “Spider.” Q+A with director Nash Edgerton is scheduled to follow the July 9 and 10 shows.

Learn more from Pittsburgh Filmmakers

Whip up a pitcher to share with friends on a hot summer day!

Rosé Sangria with Cranberries and Apples

Ingredients
One 750-milliliter bottle Spanish rosé
1/3 cup ruby port
1/3 cup Cointreau
1/3 cup cranberry juice
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 large cinnamon stick
4 allspice berries
3 whole cloves
1 star anise pod
2 cups cranberries
2 Granny Smith apples, diced
14 Ice cubes, for serving

Directions
1. In a saucepan, mix the water, sugar, crushed red pepper, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and star anise. Simmer the syrup over moderately low heat for 15 minutes. Strain into a bowl and add the cranberries and apples. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Strain the fruit, reserving the spiced syrup. In a large pitcher, mix the rosé with the port, Cointreau, cranberry juice, fruit and 3/4 cup of the spiced syrup. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. Serve over ice.

Make Ahead of time. The sangria can be refrigerated for up to 6 hours.