Dominique Sachse gets engaged in Rome, Donne di Domani cooks up a book & Mosaic throws a bark fest

It's official: KPRC Ch. 2 news anchor Dominique Sachse and international businessman Nick Florescu, a steady duo for more than a year, are engaged. Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome popped the question to the native Houston beauty last week on the last night of a holiday in Rome.

The ask was made during dinner at the swank Ristorante Dal Bolognese in the Piazza del Popolo. It wasn't a complete surprise to her as a few days earlier, at a large family gathering in Prague, Nick introduced Dominique as "unofficially, the soon-to-be newest member of the Florescu family." 

"Now, the corny part," she emailed. "We're thinking of having a small mural of the Piazza del Popolo painted on our kitchen wall."

Congrats to matchmaker Monsour Taghdisi, who introduced the two.

No exact date is yet set but Dominique says only half joking that it will probably have to be planned around sweeps and hurricane season, which means March, April or early June of next year. The crux is to convince KPRC management to let Dominique's co-anchor Bill Balleza and meteorologist Frank Billingsley and herself all be off at the same time. 

Bets are that it will be a destination wedding and Rome is at the top of the happy couple's list.

Texans take Manhattan

The Texas accent was unmistakable at Sotheby's in New York Monday night when a handful of Houston notables were in the mix for the New York Academy of Art's annual "Take Home a Nude" fundraiser. 

Gordon Bethune, an academy trustee recruited by the academy's founder and friend Eileen Guggenheim, sipped and shopped the many pieces with his lady love Jessica Rossman. As high bidder in the auction, she went home with a Cynthia Rowley oil on canvas, a nude with flowers.

Representing H-Town were Joanne King Herring, Edward Sanchez, Shelly Ann Marks and Andrews Kurth partner Mark Young. Jessica reports that the place was crawling with national celebs including Mary Kate Olsen, Padma Lakshmi, Andre Balaz, Angela Bassett and Rowley. 

The event raised more than $750,000 for the art academy.

Cooking with Donne di Domani 

If you love their marinara sauce that sells out every year at the Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market, you're going to equally adore the cookbook, La Cucina Delle Donne, with homestyle recipes compiled from members of Donne di Domani (Women of Tomorrow). This group of women of Italian heritage formed in 1985 to preserve their culture and raise funds for charity.

They began small with their famed marinara sauce and, since inception of that tasty cottage industry, the ladies have raised some $1.5 million for local charities. Among those donning aprons and stirring the sauce over the decades have been Mary Ann Carrabba, Rose Cullen, Lorraine Dinerstein, Grace Ison, Roz Pactor and Rosalie Gusemano.

One caveat in the recipe book, which will be sold at the Nutcracker Market along with the Donne di Domani marinara, recipes were submitted by members and friends and were not tested. Shall we say, "Cook at your own risk." But who could resist the recipe for Dolores Aleo Genitempo's Italian sausage rigatoni or Annette DeWalch Strake's manicotti with venison or elk? How about Rosalie Spiro Lucci's hunter's chicken cacciatore or Mary Lou Cenatiempo's limoncello cake?

The book came in response to requests from those who love the sauce and it's a sure bet that it, along with the sauce, will be sold out long before the Nutcraker Market ends.

Painting goes to the dogs

And it was all in good fun when supporters of Ronald McDonald House gathered at Mosiac on Hermann Park, that swank twin-towered high-rise, to paint dog bowls for a very special event. Decorative doggie bowls, painted by both Ronald McDonald House residents and partygoers, will line the route of the second annual Trafigura Home Run that takes place at Sam Houston Park on Dec. 3. The 10K-run and 2K-family walk will benefit the non-profit located in the Texas Medical Center.

The recent painting session doubled as a cocktail kickoff for the event that will welcome pooches to the race course. After all, the Ronald McDonald House resident canine, Mogie, will lead the way. Thus, the artistic dog bowls will line the route and once the race is over, the plastic doggie dishes will be sold ($10 minimum donation) at an after-party open to families and canines.

You can view the "Bowls That Benefit" in a retail space at Mosiac, where they will be on display through Dec. 1.

Welcoming guests to the party were Jim Dow, senior vice president of ST Residential which owns Mosiac, and Ronald McDonald board president Philip Tenenbaum. Joining the party were Abigail and Daniel Ciscomani, Thais Cuffy, Leigh and Howard Levine, Leslie Bourne, Mary Reynolds, Annie Foley, Marlene Harrison and Wendy Pekar.

Sight 'ems

Patsy and Greg Fourticq having dinner in the bar at Tony's where friends welcomed them home after their long summer in Colorado Springs. Toasting the homecoming were their son, Gregory Fourticq; PaperCity's Holly Moore; interior designer Randy Powers and businessman Bill Caudell . . .

Kathi and Bill Rovere also dining in the bar at Tony's.