Roll up those sleeves and get ready to go over the top—the arm wrestlers are here. The Sarasota Lady Arm Wrestlers (SLAW), a local chapter of CLAWUSA (named after the original Charlottesville Lady Arm Wrestlers, or CLAW), will be hosting its first meeting this coming January 3 to recruit wrestlers, judges, referees and an excited and rowdy audience. Part performance, part competition, part charity fundraiser, it’s all about “freedom of expression and a lot of fun,” says Mistress of SLAW Ceremonies Madame von Drumpfanator. “There are very few rules.”

It’s the WWE meets punk rock meets giving back, with a dash of circus for a circus town. Bouts are called brawls, and participating wrestlers are encouraged to don theatrical and larger-than-life personas to play up in the ring, or, perhaps more accurately, at the table. “There’s no easy answer as to how much is competition and how much is theatrics,” says von Drumpfanator, “because it’s all mixed together.” Referees and celebrity judges ultimately declare the winners, but von Drumpfanator says all remain open to bribery from the audience.

While it may seem odd to encourage bribery, this is where the charitable giving enters the equation. Entry to a SLAW brawl costs only $5 and 100% of that goes to the nonprofit of the night. The cover charge also translates to a certain amount of SLAW Bucks that the holder can use as bribes for the aforementioned judges or referees by passing them to one of the many “ring boys” moving through the audience. Additional SLAW Bucks will be available for purchase at any time for those attempting to hold further sway over the night’s events. At some level or another, everyone from the wrestler to the audience performs in some way.

But while the event is designed as a fun way to blow off steam and get rowdy with friends, “it’s ultimately to provide a platform for freedom of expression, to support women and to support equality,” says von Drumpfanator. Among the few rules that SLAW does abide by, nonprofits benefitted by SLAW events must either serve to support women or issues around equality and inclusion. “This is an opportunity for community-building and for women from all walks of life to be whatever they want to be for that moment and say what they want without fear,” says von Drumpfanator. “Women of all ages, women who identify as women—it’s about inclusion.”

The first meeting of SLAW will take place January 3, where attendees can learn more about the events and how to become a wrestler, ref or judge. In addition, locations for future brawls will be discussed and practice sessions scheduled. All are welcome, but RSVPs are required. To RSVP, email Madame Von Drumpfanator at vonDrumpfanator@gmail.com. 

Beef: it's what's for dinner. Especially if it's contained within the flaky empanada crust rolled and shaped by the Argentinian masterminds at Peperonata Pasta & Empanadas. Spiced with the deep flavors only found in South America and chopped and tossed with egg and raisins, the empanadas from Peperonata often cause a mile-long line to form outside its booth at the Sarasota Farmers Market, even at 9am. For good reason—the steaming hot contents of the traditional savory pastry pockets can't be beat and sell out fast. Luckily, they have a storefront filled daily with fresh empanadas and hand-made pastas to satiate your weekday cravings.   

Peperonata Pasta & Empanadas, 4141 South Tamiami Trl., Sarasota, 941-870-2729.

Don’t forget: Hanukkah is just around the corner—the first candle gets lit tomorrow at sundown. Chef Ignacio at Aviva Senior Living knows a thing or two about preparing latkes, both for small family and mega holiday gatherings. Below is his recipe along with some tips and tricks for a delicious and crispy Hanukkah treat.

Ingredients: 1 lb starchy potatoes (Aviva prefers Yellow Idaho Potatoes); 1 Tbsp. flour; ½ cup chopped onion; 1 large egg, lightly beaten; ½ to 1 tsp. of Kosher seasoning salt; ¼ kosher olive oil or canola oil. Accompaniments: sour cream and applesauce.

Directions: Preheat oven to 250°F. Peel and coarsely grate potatoes and transfer to a large bowl of cold water to soak. Once you have finished grating your potatoes, soak an additional 1–2 minutes. Drain well in a colander. Lightly oil a saucepan and sauté onions. Stir constantly until caramelized. Remove from heat and let the onions rest. Spread grated potatoes in cheesecloth and twist tightly to wring out as much liquid as possible. Gently toss potato with the flour and caramelized onions into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the egg and kosher seasoning salt until well blended. If you feel that your mixture is too thin, mix in an additional tablespoon of flour. Heat ¼ cup oil in a large nonstick skillet over moderately high heat. Aim for “hot” not “smoking hot.” As needed, add more oil to the skillet for every new latke batch. Place two heaping spoonfuls of potato mixture into skillet and form the latke by spreading into 3-inch rounds with the back of the spoon. Reduce heat to medium and cook each side approximately five minutes or until each side of the latke has been browned. Place latkes on paper towels to drain and season with kosher salt to taste. Keep latkes warm in the oven until ready to serve. For best results, set oven to warm and place latkes on a wire rack set in a shallow baking pan. Serve with generous amounts of applesauce and sour cream.

Chef Ignacio’s Tips and Tricks:

- Be bold! Try new flavors in your latkes like curry, smoked salmon, Parmesan, kosher chili-lime seasoning salt or smoked paprika.

- Add a few tablespoons of beet juice as an all-natural (Kosher) food dye that children of all ages can enjoy.

- Latkes can be made up to eight hours in advance. Preheat oven to 350°F and place desired amount of latkes on a rack set over a baking sheet for roughly five minutes.

-Did “Jew” know that soaking your grated potatoes in cold water helps prevent them from browning? Now you do.

To provide latkes for nearly 300 residents at Kobernick, Aviva’s resort-style Independent Living community, Chef Ignacio prepares 58 cups of peeled and shredded potatoes and 87 beaten eggs in his signature latke recipe.

Aviva, A Campus for Senior Life

Designing Daughters of Sarasota, a charitable organization of young professional women dedicated to enhancing the community and cultivating the next generation of philanthropists through strategic granting, recently hosted its first-ever grants ceremony to award over $60,000 to local nonprofits. Roughly 100 attended the ceremony to witness 15 not-for-profit organizations receive grants, ranging from $1,150 to $5,000, from Designing Daughters of Sarasota. This year’s grant recipients included the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County, Children First, Easter Seals of Southwest Florida, Everyday Blessings, Florida Rescue Farm, InStride Therapy, Mark Wandall Foundation, More Too Life, Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, Muscular Dystrophy Association-Southwest Florida, Nate’s Honor Animal Rescue, Neuro Challenge Foundation, Pines of Sarasota, Sarasota Ballet and Take Stock in Children.

Designing Daughters

After a year of collecting donations, dollar by dollar, JMX Brands, a Sarasota-based specialty online retailer, has donated $677 in Christmas gifts to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast. During each company staff meeting, JMX Brands employees honor co-workers who work above and beyond expectations by donating a dollar and a compliment to the “kudos” box. The money collected is matched by the company’s owners and contributed to a local charity each year. In the past, JMX Brands has given to All Faiths Food Bank. Big Brothers Big Sisters was selected for this year’s donation. Local community is very important to the company and donating to a local charity is one way of giving back.

JMX Brands

Richard Miller of executive search firm Brooke Chase Associates, Inc., is pleased to announce the successful placement of Richard Dufford as national sales manager, retail with Eemax, Inc. Dufford will be responsible for managing the sales agencies and building relationships as the corporate contact for the retail division.  He will also be responsible for developing new rollout plans with Home Depot. With an extensive background in commercial sales and channel management at Closetmaid, Dufford was most recently their national account manager, and also held positions as district sales manager and national field service manager with Closetmaid. 

Eemax, Inc.

On February 9 at 5:30pm, SRQ MEDIA will host SRQ SkillSHARE: Mentorship at the Speed of Life powered by the Women in Business Initiative. Made for speed, SkillSHARE is professional mentorship concentrated into mini-sessions that encourage honest interactions and allow for spontaneous connection. Send us your most burning questions about career and personal development. Each participant will be paired with several mentors for 10- to 12-minute sessions curated to address those burning questions. Applications for SkillSHARE are accepted through Friday, January 20, 2017.  

Register for SkillSHARE