DATE: Sunday, August 17, 1997               TAG: 9708140060

SECTION: FLAVOR                  PAGE: F3   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: Morsels 

SOURCE: Ruth Fantasia 

                                            LENGTH:   61 lines

AT SIGNING, AUTHORS WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO MIX A SMOOOOTH ONE

THE cold, refreshing taste of a smoothie has become the hottest thing on tables this summer. Smoothies are milk shake-like creations made from pureed frozen fruit mixed with juice, yogurt or sorbet. According to an article in the New York Times, smoothie bars are cropping up all over California.

This week the trend comes to Virginia Beach.

Twins Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening, owners of Thymes Two Catering in San Francisco and authors of the recently published ``Smoothies: 50 Recipes for High Energy Refreshment,'' will have a book signing and demonstration Wednesdayfrom 3 to 4 p.m. at Cuisine & Company Too.

This event isn't happenstance. The sisters Corpening began their culinary careers working for Cuisine & Company owner Louise Nagourney a decade or so ago.

It's a rather funny story, says Louise's husband, Ed Nagourney, who has been ``helping out'' with the business since he retired.

The girls were going to school in North Carolina when they mentioned to their aunt (Sally Smith of Virginia Beach) that they wanted to go into food service, Ed says.

Trying to convince the girls that food service was not for them, Smith called on her friend Louise Nagourney to give the pair a hands-on lesson in that difficult and demanding career.

Instead of retreating, the sisters learned much and created a successful business of their own.

Copies of the book ($15.95) and samples will be available at the signing on Wednesday. Cuisine & Company Too is located in the Freckled Fox, 21st Street and Cypress Avenue, Virginia Beach. Call 428-6700.Buy restaurant-quality Buy restaurant-quality

If you've ever been frustrated by not being able to find items in the grocery stores that you can order at a restaurant, Kokoamo Island Bar, Grill and Yacht Club has a solution.

Partners Gale Levine and Barry Davis have created a ``Wholesale'' Price Sharing Menu. It allows customers to buy items such as USDA prime grade cuts of beef, exclusive wines and other items available to the industry through the restaurant. Customers are responsible for 4 1/2 percent sales tax and Kokoamos charges a 15 percent handling fee.

There's a set menu of wines, meat and seafood including items such as 16- to 20-count shrimp for $8.50 per pound, 12-ounce N.Y. strip steaks for $6.36 each, and '85 Piper Heidseick Brut Champagne for $41.16.

Buying these products, however, takes a bit of planning. You can pick up your orders only on Thursdays or Saturdays from 1 to 7 p.m. And Kokoamos needs at least 24 hours' notice to place an order. Visa, MasterCard and Discover accepted. For a copy of the menu, call 481-3781. MEMO: For more information on the wholesale menu at Kokoamos, watch

Pilot-13 News on LNC (Cox cable channel 4 in most cities, 8 in

Chesapeake) today beginning at 8 a.m. ILLUSTRATION: Photo of cover

``Smoothies'' authors Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening will

have a book signing on Wednesday at Cuisine & Company Too in

Virginia Beach.

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