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28 OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. T he fashion directive for this year's House of DIFFA gala has been issued: Come as the most extravagant version of yourself. To that, we'd add: Come dressed to slay. It's the 30th edition of the annual event known for over-the-top production values, Technicolor runway shows, and guests who go to extremes with their black-tie outfits. This year's theme, DIFFA — Extravaganza, pays homage to the 1980s underground ball culture in Harlem, particularly the hallowed House of Xtravaganza. Participants were primarily from the African-American and Latino LGBTQ community, many ostracized by their families in the '70s and '80s. They created their own families, or houses, with a "mother" (often a drag queen who was a surrogate maternal figure) and "legendary children," known for their elaborate outfits and fierce skills on the dance floor. Madonna brought the culture to the mainstream with her 1990 "Vogue" song and video, as did the cult documentary Paris is Burning. Lately, attention has been swinging back to this glamorous world of competitions with Ryan Murphy's FX show, Pose. The Extravaganza gala is a fundraiser for DIFFA Dallas, which works to heighten awareness and fund treatment, services, and advocacy for those impacted by HIV/AIDS in North Texas. Just remember, if you're torn about what to wear to the gala: Let your hands do the talking. Frame the face and shut down any hecklers with a flip of your wrist. DIFFA — Extravaganza, Saturday, May 16, Omni Dallas, diffadallas.org. Billy Fong STRIKE A POSE THE ART OF SOUTHERN COOKING COURTESY THE ARTIST AND CHRONICLE BOOKS House of DIFFA - Extravaganza chairs: Justin Bundick, Clint Bradley, Brittanie Buchanan Oleniczak, Jim DiMarino, and Tim Garippa. O ne of the most unique art volumes this spring doubles as a cookbook. We're smitten with Chronicle Books' new release, A Good Meal Is Hard to Find: Storied Recipes from the Deep South. Co-author Amy C. Evans is a Texas talent who straddles the world of art and food — a nationally collected painter as well as a culinary historian. A Good Meal serves up an ode to the region's tradition of gathering around a home-cooked meal and represents a collaboration between Evans and James Beard Award-winning cook and author Martha Hall Foose, based in Mississippi. Foose crafted the 60 recipes in this book as a call and response to her collaborator's 60 paintings, which were inspired by fictional Southern women and their prowess in the kitchen. Our fave mash-ups of cooking and art: Camille's Bridge Club Egg Salad (Duke's mayonnaise required), Clementine's Crawfish Puppies Dipped in Queso (inspired by Houston's shuttered Felix Mexican Restaurant), and the decadent Dot's Sweet Potato and Bacon Purse Pie. $24.95, at area booksellers. Catherine D. Anspon COURTESY THE ARTIST AND CHRONICLE BOOKS COURTESY THE ARTIST AND CHRONICLE BOOKS Artist Amy C. Evans' first book Clementine prayed over the queso., 2014 Amy C. Evans' Dot was running late, so she threw her breakfast in her purse and headed out the door., 2010, in A Good Meal Is Hard to Find