Photo by Leslie KellyThe star of this vegetarian thali at Poppy was the chard-stuffed pasta.Last weekend, I was invited to have dinner with Anne Burrell, star of Secrets of A Restaurant Chef and Worst Cooks in America.If you haven’t seen those shows, maybe you’d recognize Anne as Mario Batali’s go-to-sous on Iron Chef America. Mario’s father, Armandino Batali, invited Anne to demo on the chef stage at the annual Festa Italiana at the Seattle Cener.

While most people at our table went for meals featuring meat or fish, I ordered the veggie variation because the chard-stuffed pasta sounded so good. It didn’t disappoint, the savory stuffing wrapped in tender pasta was like a salty, sage-y homage to fall. Big fan of Poppy’s naan, too. During dinner, the perfectly pleasant TV star told us how her cooking fires were lit when she was just 3, telling her Mom her best friend was Julia Child. We also learned she abhors under-salted food, she’s not crazy about salmon, she likes ice cubes in her white wine, loves pickled veggies and is writing a book called Cook Like A Rock Star.She’s also got an adventurous spirit. While she was here, she got the royal treatment at Salumi (of course!), but also took herself out to dinner at Lark, had a drink at Peso’s, Tavern Law, Zig Zag and Palace Kitchen. We met back up for brunch on Sunday at Spring Hill, where diners were trying not to stare while she tucked into a Croque Madame. I do believe Anne Burrell left Seattle full of tasty memories.