Kate Lawson on Food

Category: Events

Posted by Kate Lawson (The Detroit News) on Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 3:36 PM

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.

Category: Events

Posted by Kate Lawson (The Detroit News) on Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 2:17 PM

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.

Category: Events

Posted by Kate Lawson (The Detroit News) on Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 11:31 AM

Stop by a Jimmy John's and Dairy Queen to help yourself and others

Jimmy John's Sandwich Shops is celebrating its Detroit presence by throwing a Customer Appreciation Day at all local stores.

During the events, Jimmy John's will be selling their sandwiches for only $1!

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13 stop in at any Jimmy John's in Metro Detroit and choose from sandwiches 1-6 on the menu.

But don't get greedy, only one sandwich per customer please. And don't be late, the event only lasts 4 hours.

Then after you've saved yourself some dough head over the nearest Dairy Queen which is hosting North American Miracle Treat Day.

Thursday is when $1 or more from every Blizzard sold will be donated to Children's Miracle Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children's hospitals.

Last year on Miracle Treat Day, Dairy Queen raised more than $4.5 million for 170 Children's Miracle Network hospitals.

Dairy Queen has also brought back the Girl Scouts Thin Mint Cookie Blizzard as the featured Blizzard of the Month for August, just in time to celebrate Miracle Treat Day.

Category: Events

Posted by Kate Lawson (The Detroit News) on Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 9:48 AM

Channel your inner Child and learn to cook

Sorry I've been away since Slurpee's big birthday last month. I guess summer got the best of me and turned me into a lazy slob when I wasn't fly fishing with my sister or traveling the state with an old friend.

Tuesday night the Detroit News hosted a special screening of "Julie & Julia" at the Birmingham Palladium (the movie opens Aug. 7) and it was such fun being in a room full of people who truly love to cook and eat -- and appreciate good films.

We all laughed at the same spots and licked our lips as we watched Meryl Streep as Julia Child smear a chicken with a pound of butter. We could feel the tears as she chopped a mountain of onions and truly winced when she slew a lobster with her mighty chef's knife.

I learned a lot of valuable cooking secrets from the guests who attended the reception but what I walked away with was that no matter whether we know how to bone a duck or poach an egg or whip up a chocolate ganache, cooking is what unites us, calms us, and feeds our bodies as well as our minds.

Sure, it's fine to order a pizza every now and then but to be a cook, all you really need to know is how to read and cookbooks are a great read. Instructions are there for the following and pretty soon you'll be confident to add your own special touch to a recipe.

If you don't want to start with a bang as did Julie Powell, who cooked every recipe from Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," then start with something a little less ambitious.

So go the farmer's market, choose fresh ingredients, make cake from scratch instead of from a box and use real butter.

Oh yes, and never apologize about making mistakes, remember you're always alone in the kitchen.

Category: Events

Posted by Kate Lawson (The Detroit News) on Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 11:28 AM

Learn how to cope with Celiac disease

If you're a Celiac sufferer or know someone who is, you understand the severity of this chronic diease of the immune system that affects the small intestine, and know the only treatment is lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet.

To learn more about this disease and how to better cope with, Life Smart Foods in Utica is sponsoring a four-day special health seminar on Celiac on March 20-24.

This natural and organic market has the Midwest's largest selection of gluten-free products. Representatives from gluten-free food suppliers will also be hand and there will be food sampling of gluten-free products.

Life Smart Foods features more than 1,500 gluten-free products from fresh baked goods made on premises, to frozen entrees, snacks, pastas, lunch meats, soups and candy. It also offers an organic juice bar, more than 24 varieties of organic coffee, 500 organic teas, nitrate- and hormone-free lunch meats, a complete selection of organic groceries and dairy products, gluten-free cosmetics, as well as books, and a complete selection of supplements.

What: Life Smart Foods Health Expo/Seminar
When: March 20-21 & 23: 8 a.m.- 8 p.m.; March 22: 11 a.m.- 6 p.m.
Where: Life Smart Foods
45200 Northpointe Blvd.
Utica, MI 48315
Contact: Frank Leonardi
phone: (586)685-1061 / fax: (586)-685-1066
e-mail: lifesmartfoods@yahoo.com

Category: Events

Posted by Kate Lawson (The Detroit News) on Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 5:13 PM

Celebrate Thanksgiving at HFCC

Get an early start on the holiday feasting and at a delicious deal, too.

The annual Henry Ford Community College Holiday Buffet will be held Wed. Nov. 12 in the Student and Culinary Arts Center located on HFCC's main campus at 5101 Evergreen Rd. in Dearborn.

The buffet will include a lunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. and a dinner buffet from 6-8 p.m. Featured items will be wild mushroom soup, roast turkey with bread dressing and pan gravy, baked glazed ham with brandied cherry sauce, carved top round of beef au jus, mashed potatoes, sweet yam potatoes, baked acorn squash, fresh vegetable medley, cole slaw, cranberry gelatin salad, marinated beet salad, garden green salad and relishes, pickled vegetables, assorted salads with house-made dressings, pumpkin pie and an assortment of pastries.

Cost is $14 per person and reservations are recommended.

To make reservations, call (313) 206-5101.

HFCC offers both associate degree and certificate programs in Hospitality Studies. HFCC's Culinary Arts program is nationally accredited through the American Culinary Federation. In addition, HFCC's Hospitality Studies programs are accredited by the Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant Association.

For more information about HFCC's Hospitality Studies program, call Dennis Konarski at (313) 845-6390. For more information about HFCC, log on to www.hfcc.edu.

Category: Events

Posted by Kate Lawson (The Detroit News) on Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 2:20 PM

Cooking sisters coming to town

One of my favorite things to do is cook with my sister. We were born on the same day, three years apart and while we don't always agree on matters such as child rearing, economics and most of all, politics, all that goes by the wayside when we're in the kitchen together.

We love to share our mother's and grandmother's recipes and talk about our favorite food memories while we make everything from jam to peanut butter fudge to paella. Even when the recipe doesn't turn out exactly as planned we still have fun with the process. I was thinking about her the other day when I learned that Shelia and Marilynn Brass, sisters who are home cooks and acclaimed authors of "Heirloom Baking," are coming to the Ann Arbor Public Library on Nov. 13.

The Massachusetts sisters are coming to promote their new book, "Heirloom Cooking with the Brass Sisters" (Black Dog and Leventhal, $29.95)." They will also help celebrate the first anniversary of AADL's online database of cookbooks and recipes, Ann Arbor Cooks. A book signing will follow the event and books will be for sale. I'm told that the last time they were in Ann Arbor they were a huge hit.

Meanwhile, their book is a fun read and I've already bookmarked several recipes (Wisconsin Beer-Baked Beans with Short Ribs, Mrs. Naka's Lemon Angel Pie and Enormous Popovers are just a few that spring to mind) that I think would be perfect for my sister and I to prepare the next time she's in town.

I'm going to fix Glazed Corned Beef from Michigan this weekend and open a nice big red to wash it down. The weatherman tells me it's going to be cold and bleak for the next few days and I think this the perfect antidote. You can fix it in minutes and let the great smells fill the house as it cooks.

Glazed Corned Beef from Michigan

3-4 pounds corned beef brisket

1 orange, sliced

2 large onions, quartered

3 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cloves garlic, quartered

1 teaspoon dill seeds

3 sprigs fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried

6 whole cloves

1 bay leaf

3-inch stick cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze:

3/4 cup maple syrup

3 tablespoons prepared mustard

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Coat an ovenproof baking dish with vegetable spray. Rinse corned beef under cold running water and pat dry. Place corned beef in a large heavy pot. Add cold water to cover. Add orange slices, onion, celery, garlic, herbs and spices.

Add cold water to cover. Stir until spices are evenly distributed. Cover pot and bring to simmer over medium heat; do not boil. Simmer, covered stirring occasionally until a fork penetrates meat easily, approximately 3-4 hours (about an hour per pound).

Remove beef from pot and place fatty side up on prepared baking dish. Set aside.

To make glaze: Combine ingredients in heavy saucepan and whisk to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until glaze comes to a boil. Reduce heat, continue stirring until glaze reduces and thickens, about 3 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush half of glaze over fatty side of corned beef, bake 8 minutes. Turn corned beef over, brush with remaining glaze and bake another 8 minutes. Remove to serving platter and let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Cut against the grain to prevent slices from falling apart.

Serves eight.

About the Event

What: Cooking Experts Marilyn & Sheila Brass Return to Ann Arbor District Library to discuss their new book "Heirloom Cooking with The Brass Sisters."

When: 7-8:30 p.m. Nov. 13

Where: Ann Arbor District Library Multi-Purpose Room, 3243 S. Fifth Ave. Ann Arbor

Information: Tim Grimes, (734) 327-4265 or grimest@aadl.org.

Category: Events

Posted by Kate Lawson (The Detroit News) on Tue, Sep 23, 2008 at 12:43 PM

Schoolcraft's Culinary Extravaganza is good taste for a good cause

Schoolcraft College's annual Culinary Extravaganza will be held from 2-5 p.m. Sun., Sept. 28 at the college's VisTaTech Center, located on Haggerty Road between Six and Seven Mile Roads, in Livonia.

This incredible event is a unique opportunity for guests to sample the finest culinary delicacies from nearly 50 of the area's most notable restaurants, pastry shops and beverage vendors. Some of the participants include Bacco Ristorante in Southfield, The Farm Restaurant in Port Austin, Five Lakes Grill, Milford, Forest Grill, Birmingham, Steve & Rocky's, Novi, The Pastry Palace in Wixom, Zingerman's Bakehouse in Ann Arbor and The Henry Ford in Dearborn as well as Wines of Distinction/J&J Importers in Troy.

This year's event will include a wine tasting seminar, silent auction and the opportunity to tour the college's culinary arts program's state-of-the-art kitchens.

Tickets for Culinary Extravaganza are $50 per person and are available by calling (734)462-4518 or by visiting Schoolcraft College where a complete list of participating restaurants, pastry shops and beverage vendors can be found.

All proceeds from Culinary Extravaganza benefit the Schoolcraft College Foundation, providing scholarships for students, including those in the college's renowned culinary arts program.

Category: Events

Posted by Kate Lawson (The Detroit News) on Tue, Sep 16, 2008 at 1:55 PM

Come to the Capitol to celebrate Select Michigan Day

It's official: last week the Michigan House of Representatives passed a resolution proclaiming Sept. 18, 2008 as the fourth annual "Buy Fresh, Buy Local - Select Michigan Day," and to celebrate, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. there will be a special "Select Michigan Day" farmers market on the east lawn of our State Capitol.

More than 50 local farmers and specialty food producers from across Michigan are gathering at the Capitol to offer their locally grown, processed and manufactured products for sale. You'll be able to experience the bounty of Michigan's agricultural harvest and get fruits and vegetables picked fresh from the field and orchard, eggs, honey, wool products, grains, cheeses, beans, jams, jellies, baked goods, lamb, Lake Superior whitefish, flowers, plants and specialty foods.

Sponsored by the Michigan Food & Farming Systems (MIFFS) and the Michigan Dept. of Agriculture other market supporters include the Michigan Farmers Market Association (MIFMA) and the Food Bank Council of Michigan (FBCM), which is kicking off its Michigan Harvest Gathering that morning at the market. Vendors and buyers are invited to donate fresh produce at the FBCM booth, where it will go to food banks serving those in need. Everyone should have access to fresh, healthy local food, and this is your opportunity to help make sure that happens.

In fact, if every Michigan household spent just $10 per week on Michigan-produced food, it would generate nearly $40 million each and every week. And shopping at farmers markets means connecting with the farmers who produced your food in your own community.

For more information about this event or local food, contact MIFFS at (517) 432-0712 or miffs@msu.edu.

Category: Events

Posted by Kate Lawson (The Detroit News) on Tue, Aug 12, 2008 at 10:28 AM

Slow BBQ, Blues and Brews come to the Village

The weather has been delightful and it's the perfect opportunity to spend a most delicious evening at Greenfield Village celebrating locally-sourced foods.

Come to the Village from 6:30-9 p.m. Thursday for the Blues, Brews and Slow Food BBQ featuring a large assortment of high-quality, and locally-sourced foods and locally-brewed beer.

The barbeque will consist of a large variety of foods from baked maple custard to fire charred free range chicken directly from the local farmers and purveyors including:

Heritage Pulled Pork: Hardwood roasted heritage pork with Detroit honey barbeque sauce, stone ground organic corn bread and bread and butter pickled cucumber and onions.

Tomato Tastings: Heirloom tomato panzanella, Farmer John's tomatoes and heritage bacon BLT and fried green tomatoes with smoked hock and sauce verte.

Braised Goat Tacos: Local tortilla, red tomato salsa, cilantro sour cream, Ann Arbor goat cheese and roasted pepper salad.

Corn Boil: Boiled local sweet corn with Calder's butter bath and an assortment of sea salts.

Copious Local Squash Pizza: Squash, zucchini, tomato and basil with a ricotta cheese made at the Village

Michigan Blueberry Betty featuring plump Michigan berries for dessert.

Along with dinner will be a Bell's Beer Tasting, followed by The Front Street Blues Band, the 2007 Overall Band Champions of the Detroit Blues Society's Blues Challenge, to make it a great summer evening event.

The fun begins with an open cash bar and dinner will follow at 7 p.m. Dress is casual and tickets are $65 which includes tax, gratuity, entertainment and beer tasting. Call (313)982-6001 to reserve your tickets. For more information visit www.thehenryford.org.

Greenfield Village is located at 20900 Oakwood Blvd., in Dearborn.