Kate Lawson on Food

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Little Debbie does Detroit

If you happen to see one of those cute little Smart cars buzzing around the city Sunday, take a second look. Those are darling Little Debbie cars and as part of the Share-a-Thon mobile tour Little Debbie Cupcake Cars are driving cross-country to share new Little Debbie Chocolate Cupcakes with America.

A Little Debbie truck, van and four Smart cupcake cars will make several stops around town, so you'll have plenty of chances to check out the sweet rides and try the new treat.

Each Little Debbie Cupcake car is equipped with a device that communicates with Google Maps, so anyone with an Internet connection can track the cars' locations in real-time!

On Sunday the cars will be traveling around town but on Monday, you can check them out up close as they'll be on display at Hart Plaza from noon to 2 p.m.

Other stops include: 3-6 p.m. at Busch's, 2240 South Main St., Ann Arbor, and the same time at Busch's, 37083 Six Mile, Livonia

You can also win a Smart cupcake car - like the car pictured above, GPS devices, a year's supply of free cupcakes, collector's edition cupcake cars and more.

Category: Events

Helping Detroiters bundle up is as easy as pie

The Achatz brothers, David and Steve, have long been respected for their local food businesses, Achatz Handmade Pie Co. and Achatz Soup from Skratzch, respectively and now they're teaming up with the Detroit Lions to Comfort the Cold.

Because Achatz rhymes with "jackets" this promotion seems custom tailored for them as they collect new and gently used coats with the intent of filling a 32-foot Lions fan bus for the Salvation Army.

From now until Nov. 24, collection bins will be at each of the six Achatz Handmade Pie Co. retail locations - Armada, Chesterfield, Shelby Township, Oxford, Sterling Heights and Troy. A bin will also be available at Achatz Soup from Skratzch in Casco Township. All collections will be delivered in the Lions fan bus to Ford Field on Thanksgiving for the Salvation Army to distribute.

As a special thanks from David and Steve, anyone who donates to this great cause will receive a free slice of pie from the pie shop or pint of soup from the soup store.

While you are there, order your pies for Thanksgiving. Call (586) 749-2882 for store locations or to place order.

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Category: Events

Celebrate autumn at Michigan Harvest Beer Festival

The Michigan Brewers Guild is helping to sponsor the Michigan Harvest Beer Festiva, 1-6 p.m. Oct. 24 at Eastern Market (in the Eastern Market parking area, north of shed #5, with ample parking in the surrounding market area).

Hoping for a sellout crowd of 2,500 for the inaugural event the festival sponsors will promote local Detroit food, Detroit brewing history, and of course, Michigan craft beer. The festival is the culmination of the inaugural "Detroit Beer Week," which runs Oct. 16-24.

More than 40 Michigan microbreweries and brewpubs are expected to participate, with nearly 200 different beers available to sample.

In addition to the vast selection of beers, a variety of harvest foods will be prepared and sold by local restaurants including Detroit Beer Co., Foran's Grand Trunk Pub and Russell Street Deli, with Traffic Jam & Snug deli / brewery serving up their popular house-made cheese. Live entertainment will also be provided throughout the afternoon by two well-known local bands, the Grand Nationals and Orbitsuns.

The cost to enter the festival is $35 in advance and $40 at the gate. That includes 15 drink tokens, each valid for one 3-ounce beer sample.

Admission tickets are available for purchase online at www.michiganbrewersguild.org.

Check out the MASH page of the Guild's website, along with the list of participating breweries and beers to be served.

Festival attendees must be 21 years of age or older and have ID to enter. Designated Drivers are encouraged and DD tickets will be available on line and at the gate for $5 each.

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Category: Contests

Go Home for the Holidays with the help of Folgers

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee on a brisk winter morning can stir up a sense of nostalgia and a yearning to be home with family during the holidays.

This year, Folgers is making that happen for five lucky families. Entries are now being accepted for the Folgers "Home for the Holidays" Contest.

From now until November 7, 2009, you can visit www.folgers.com for a chance to win a trip home to celebrate with family. Five winners will receive a seven day, six night trip in December 2009 for themselves and up to three other guests to travel to their hometown destination within the 48 contiguous United States.

To enter, visitors to the site will be asked to describe what they think is the best part of wakin' up at home during the holidays. Winners will be announced on or about November 11, 2009. Each trip includes round trip airfare, hotel accommodations, a rental car, $1,000 spending money and a Folgers gift basket.

Category: In the news

Gourmet cooked its own goose

My first inkling that Gourmet magazine had lost touch with its readers began when I spied the 10 color photos of a Tuscan-inspired meal in the May edition.

I'm sure this concept of running large photos of food is nothing new but a story titled "Cucina Paradiso" kicked off with a double page photo of a boy in a sleeveless undershirt and cap holding a big plate of fettuccine and crabmeat (I had to read the cutline to discern the dish). What followed were eight pages of photos, some on facing pages of grilled squid, celery leaves and mushrooms, crostini topped with fava beans and cornmeal cookies. A woman wearing a green polka-dot dress sat with a fedora festooned male model and they looked like they were having a gay old time. Recipes followed. No story. I thought for a minute I was looking at the fashion edition of Vanity Fair.

The very next article, "East L.A. Story," featured a close up shot of an Asian chef sipping liquid from a ladle, a close up of a cleaver and dumplings and a double page photo of duck roasting on a spit. The only recipe featured was for stir-fried egg and tomato.

A similar feature followed on Peruvian cooking and more big photos (a women's hand showed a very cool ring) and then there was a tiny walnut tart perched on some weathered boards and well, you get the idea.

Don't get me wrong, I love to read about food and even more, I love to cook it. But I don't need another coffee table magazine and I won't be looking for a recipe for Finnish meatballs with allspice, sour cream and lingonberries any time soon.

A friend and former food writer would often remark that Gourmet, which has been around since 1940, just wasn't connecting with us any more. I couldn't agree more even though the editor, Ruth Reichl, is powerful in the food world, having written three best-selling memoirs and receiving four James Beard awards for restaurant criticism and journalism.

Although I've used countless recipes and adapted them for my Simply the Best column, investing in a subscription to see well-dressed models tiptoeing through a stream dangling a picnic basket from a bejeweled hand just wasn't going to happen for me.

So I was slightly saddened but really not surprised, that Monday Conde Nast Publications announced that it is shuttering the magazine.

During this incredibly difficult year we've seen newspapers close, banks fail and the unemployment line growing increasingly longer. I guess we think that some things are immune.

Apparently, the cuts come at the conclusion of a three-month study by McKinsey & Co., which conducted analysis of Condé Nast's costs, and told several magazines to cut about 25 percent from their budgets. These are the first closings announced by the company since the McKinsey study.

Now, Conde Nast said, Gourmet's brand will live on in books and TV programming.

In addition to Gourmet, Condé Nast plans to announce it will also close Cookie, a parents magazine, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride.

That doesn't mean that home chefs don't care about gourmet cooking (or getting married or having children). We're just putting practicality on the front burner.

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Kroger cookbook supports National Breast Cancer Awareness

Kroger's new cookbook, "Recipes for Hope," to support breast cancer is full of recipes from Kroger customers, Clear Channel listeners and WXYZ-TV viewers.

The limited-edition cookbooks are on sale for $9.99 at all Metro Detroit Kroger locations during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which extends through October. All of the proceeds from the cookbook will benefit breast cancer research at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit.

Kroger partnered with Clear Channel Radio, WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) and Diet Pepsi to develop the cookbook, which offers more than 200 tasty recipes. This is the first year Kroger is offering the "Recipes for Hope" cookbook and customers will also be offered the opportunity to donate at the cash registers.

"Recipes for Hope" and the coin collection boxes are part of Kroger's Giving Hope a Hand annual program to support breast cancer awareness, treatment and research.

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Category: Easy recipes

Beer makes bacon even better

The makers of Samuel Adams Boston Lager recently shared this recipe with me. I'm passing it along as it's so good and perfect to serve anytime of year but for a fall brunch or tailgate party it's ideal.

You don't need to be a beer lover to enjoy it, but then, why aren't you a beer lover?

Maple Pepper Bacon Strips with Boston Lager Glaze

16 slices thick cut bacon
1 cup honey
2 tablespoon grain Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 cup maple syrup
2 cups Samuel Adams Boston Lager

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lay bacon on sheet pan on parchment paper. Cover with one more sheet of parchment paper. Bake at 300 degrees for 14 to 15 minutes. Bring honey and maple syrup mixture to a boil. Caramelize. Add beer and reduce by half. Then add mustard. Take top sheet of parchment paper off bacon. Baste in honey mixture. Return bacon to oven and turn temperature to 275 degrees until bacon is crispy.

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Here's a peach of a pie deal

Just the other day a colleague was bemoaning that there were no peach pies to be found.

Now in perfect peach serendipity comes this offer from Achatz Handmade Pies.

As part of their Michigan Peach Pie Celebration, for 3 days (Friday, Sunday and Monday, they are closed Saturdays) over the Labor Day weekend, Achatz will be offering peach pies at any of their six locations for only $10 each.

Achatz Handmade Pie Co. predominantly uses locally grown, all natural Michigan ingredients, such as unbleached pastry flour, beet sugar, fruits, hormone-free milk and butter and the pies contain no preservatives nor hydrogenated oils.So you'll be supporting local businesses and the economy as well as getting a peachy deal on pie.

In addition to the $10 Michigan Peach Pie Sale you will also receive an additional 20 percent off on a purchase of an 8-inch cake (choose from apple spice, chocolate fudge or carrot).

Achatz Handmade Pie Co. has been selling pies since 1993. Here is where the pie shops are located:

Armada

75700 North Ave.

(586) 784-4743

Shelby Township

46575 Hayes Rd.

(586) 566-8863

Troy

1063 E Long Lake Rd.

(248) 457-1372

Sterling Heights

35736 Van Dyke Ave.

(586) 977-0008

Oxford

40 N. Washington

(248) 628-4010

Chesterfield

30301 Commerce Blvd.

(586) 749-2882

Sweet treat in store for Sanders lovers

A longtime Detroit-area favorite, Sanders, opened the doors of their new flagship store at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi this morning at 9 a.m.

Located on the lower level of the Nordstrom Wing, the new Twelve Oaks store not only offers its signature Sanders treats (candies, fudge toppings, baked goods as well as those fabulous hot fudge cream puffs and ice cream sodas), but also is the first Sanders location to bring back by popular demand Sanders' vintage sandwiches, soups and light morning fare.

The location may be new but the decor is a direct throwback to the Sanders parlors of old (Sanders first opened in 1875) offering a parlor counter where customers can enjoy their treats while relaxing in the comfort of the store.

It's a great place to meet friends, take the kids or simply sneak away and sip a soda and think back to the good old days.

Twelve Oaks is located in Novi, Michigan at I-96 and Novi Road.

Category: Events & fundraisers

Gleaners Iron Chef a great event

I don't know the official tally of how many dollars were raised Thursday evening at the fifth Gleaners Food Bank Iron Chef competition to help stock the Gleaners food pantry in Livingston County, but I do know it was big fun.

Once again, Corey Bordine and the Bordine family of Bordine's Nursery in Brighton graciously opened their doors to welcome the hundreds of people who attended and turned one of their greenhouses (which they had to completely clear of stock) into a kitchen stadium.

Attendees were treated to delicious food and some terrific auction items as well as the exciting Iron Chef competition. As they left the building each guest received a gorgeous potted flowering petunia. How cool.

I had the pleasure of judging the Iron Chef competition for the third year and each year it gets more intense and delicious.

I was also quite impressed with this year's wine offerings provided by Howells' Main Street Winery & Tasting Room, which offers 30 different varieties of white and red as well as dessert wines. The white was nice and crisp and quite refreshing and the red paired perfectly with the lamb and pork dishes.

Congratulations to this year's winner, Executive Chef Steve Pilon of Oak Pointe Country Club, who took home the title and iron skillet after narrowly defeating Executive Chef Steven Grostick of the Hotel Baronette in Novi.

I'm still dreaming of those fabulous lamb chops and marjoram fingerling potatoes. I loved that fellow judge Rob Hindley of TW and Friends in Howell actually picked up the bones to nibble all the tender goodness. I subtly tried to follow suit but it's hard to be discreet when you're on a stage with bright lights in your eyes. Finally I just couldn't help myself and dug in.

In spite of all the fun and good food, everyone in attendance is painfully aware there are families out there who are hungry and can't afford a meal. That's why helping Gleaners is so important. What Gleaners can do with a dollar to help feed hungry people is a near miracle. And because there are more people who need the assistance every day, those of us who can afford to prepare a meal and enjoy a dinner really have the obligation to help our fellow man.

So, thanks to all you who helped make another successful event to help in that endeavor. If you couldn't attend, you can still help. Contact Gleaners Community Food Bank to make a donation (no matter how small or large) and that steak you're having for dinner will taste so much better.

About Gleaners: Every dollar you donate provides three meals to a hungry person. Ninety-five percent of every dollar donated is spent on food distribution or food programs, and only 5 percent is spent on overhead. Donate online or call 866-GLEANER to make a gift by credit card over the phone.

To donate food: Visit the Donate Food page.

To see where Gleaners' food comes from, go to the Where We Get Our Food page.

Again, many thanks to all who have helped and continue to help.