Kielbasa is Polish for sausage, and some families still make their own for big holidays like Christmas and Easter, grinding pork, adding the right amount of salt and spices, and continuing the debate about whether marjoram is necessary or will ruin everything.

On March 28 at noon, Buffalo kielbasa home cooks will gather for Buffalo’s Best Kielbasa Contest, in Potts Banquet Hall in the Clinton-Rossler Plaza in Cheektowaga. Each year a panel of judges tastes entries of homemade fresh traditional, fresh holiday, smoked traditional, smoked holiday, and non-traditional kielbasa.

The free event is from noon-2:30 p.m. in Potts Banquet Hall, 45 S. Roessler Ave., Cheektowaga.

Winners go home with trophies and prizes, including a bottle of krupnik from Buffalo Distilling Co. The biggie is a gift certificate and prize pack from The Sausage Maker, which offers all the sausage and charcuterie supplies an avid amateur or small commercial producer would need, with a walk-in showroom at 1500 Clinton St., Building 140.

There is no commercial category, so all of the contestants will be amateurs offering their handcrafted links for the love of the kielbasa game. 

Public health regulations prevent event organizers from feeding amateur kielbasa to the public. But Potts Deli will be serving its traditional lineup of Polish-American favorites: kielbasa, pierogi, zrazy beef roulades, pork chops, and more. Drinks will be available for purchase as well, said organizer Tod Knaziuk.

REVIEW: The Dapper Goose still swaggers on Amherst Street, closing in on a decade of weaving its way into the hearts and stomachs of regulars with precise, spirited cooking and a knack for cocktails. Now the restaurant welcomes guests to its second-floor space, a serene oasis of chill apart from the lively clamor of the main first-floor dining arena. Here’s wishing many more years to those charred green beans, Korean chicken, and the swoonful deep-fried bread pudding with caramel sauce. (Later this week, for patrons.)

AMIRA’S KITCHEN 101: Mansaf has its roots in the searing sun of the Arabian Peninsula. 

When Bedouin tribes have too much milk from their goat herds, they can’t throw it in the fridge. They make it into yogurt, add salt, and dry it in the sun. The resulting jameed looks like lumps of chalk. 

When you dissolve it in water and use the broth to braise lamb, you get mansaf, rich with centuries of wisdom about how lactic acid can glorify lamb fat. 

Served with toasted almonds over pilaf and pita bread, mansaf is the national dish of Jordan.

When Amira Khalil fed me my first plate of mansaf, lamb braised in yogurt, I was blown away. Turns out fermented sheep’s milk yogurt and lamb make one of the world’s greatest gravies.

On Thursday, April 2, she’s making mansaf again. It’ll be the star dish in Amira’s Kitchen 101, a Four Bites event dedicated to her Palestinian cuisine at her Cheektowaga restaurant, Amira’s Kitchen. 

In her Cheektowaga dining room, you’ll get to try mansaf, tahini salad, and the beef-and-bulgur fritters called kibbe. Plus Amira’s rice pudding for dessert.

While I fill you in on what you’re eating, how it’s made, and where to find the ingredients to make it at home. 

Tickets are $30, or $37 if you’d also like a copy of my Buffalo eating guide, at half price. Get tickets at fourbites.net/shop.

Amira’s Kitchen 101, 6 p.m. April 2, 1500 Cleveland Drive, Cheektowaga

ASK THE CRITIC

Q: With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, where would you go for Irish soda bread?

– Steve R., via email

A: I was drawing a blank until I attended a lovely pre-parade brunch today by friends who went all out. That’s when I discovered that Butter Block’s Irish soda bread is a stone cold stunner, crusty and buttery, with raisins and hints of caraway. Best served slathered with Kerrygold butter, of course.

More reading from Michael Chelus of Nittany Epicurean:

• Mr. Galarneau told about the delicious things you can find that will make out-of-towners jealous at Café Bar Moriarty [Four Bites]
• Andrew also wrote about how international bakeries like Sahar Bakery, Fresh Arabic Sweets and more have broadened Buffalo’s daily bread choices [Four Bites]
• Newell told us about a new arts-oriented café that opened downtown – Loud Brew Café [Buffalo Rising]
• Newell also wrote about a record shop and bar Grant Street – Black Dot Records & Bar [Buffalo Rising]
• Brian’s Buffalo Beer Buzz told us about two new collaborations for First Line Brewing, Lager Wednesdays at Frequentum Brewing and more [Buffalo Beer League]
• Francesca wrote about the newly opened Beebe’s on the Square [Buffalo News]
• Newell told us about the opening of Hencraft – a fast-casual chicken eatery on Delaware Avenue [Buffalo Rising]
• Brett told us about a new Asian café and blind box boutique in Williamsville – CHÁ Lab [Step Out Buffalo]
• Thin Man Brewery is holding a special tournament to choose the next variant for Minkey Boodle [Buffalo Beer League]
• Jamie wrote about one of my favorite dishes in Buffalo – the Clam Pie from Marble + Rye [Open till Four]
• Amira Khalil is serving mansaf at her restaurant, Amira’s Kitchen, on 4/2 as part of Amira’s Kitchen 101, a Four Bites event dedicated to her Palestinian cuisine [Four Bites]
• Brett also wrote about four underrated fish fry spots in WNY including North End Bar and Grill, The Grill at the Dome and more [Step Out Buffalo]

#30#