Talk, Meal Have New World Flavor

It’s hard to argue when native foods expert Lina Austin says that crops brought back to Europe from the New World had far more impact than the gold. After all, before Columbus, Italians made their lasagna with beet sauce.

Austin will address the influence of native foods on Old World history, present-day diets and potential for their reintroduction in a talk Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana.

John Sharpe, executive chef at the museum’s Cafe Topaz, has designed a dinner using native ingredients to follow the lecture at 5 p.m. Updated, stylized dishes include squash blossoms with sweet corn and chilies, braised rabbit, roast buffalo with wild mushrooms, wild rice with pine nuts and wild berries on blue corn bread with maple chocolate sauce.

Wine and coffee will accompany the meal, and reservations are required. The cost for lecture and dinner is $60 per person, of which half can be considered a donation for tax purposes. For reservations, call (714) 567-3693.