| Chili Day | | Posted Wednesday, February 07, 2007 3:08:39 PM by Blog57 Team | | The white chili from Minerva's Bar and Restaurant won its 10th People's Choice Award as temperatures outside dipped below freezing, and more than 1,200 people attended the 13th Annual Downtown Chili Cook-Off Saturday at the Park Place Dome in Traverse City. There were 18 entries from 12 restaurants in the seven categories this year. Most restaurants brought between about 15 and 25 gallons of each chili they entered, and most of it was gone by the end of the day. Proceeds help fund community events in downtown Traverse City such as Friday Night Live and the Halloween Walk. The white chili from Minerva's at the Park Place Hotel is the secret of executive chef Marc Pritchard, who says he keeps the recipe, along with his recipes for seafood and no-bean chili, in his head.... | |
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| | | Feast for a day | | Posted Wednesday, December 27, 2006 3:10:06 PM by Blog57 Team | | DID YOU KNOW the average person will gain five to seven pounds over the holidays? Yep. And even if you try your best to get back to healthier eating and drop most of that extra weight in the new year, studies show most people will hang on to an average of one pound from indulging in all those rich hors doeuvres, sugary cocktails and decadent desserts. "That might not sound so bad, but over time a pound here and a pound there all adds up, so over 10 years, 20 years, youre many pounds heavier than you once were," says healthy eating expert and cookbook author Rose Reisman. "We need to remember that this is a holi-day, not a holi-month," Reisman says of the explosion of cookies, rich appetizers and candies that start popping up everywhere you look from late November until New Years.... | |
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| | | Healthy Holidays | | Posted Wednesday, December 13, 2006 1:20:55 PM by Blog57 Team | | There are many wonderful aspects of the holiday season: quality time with family and friends, gift giving, Christmas carols and twinkling lights, to name a few. But perhaps one of the best parts of the holidays is all of the delicious food. A lot of these holiday foods, especially those tasty leftovers, find their way into our refrigerators during this time of the year. But is our refrigerator ready to keep those foods safe for us to eat? And when is it time to say goodbye to that precious last helping of turkey, filling and gravy? It is a serious thing to think about, considering millions of people are sickened, 325,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die each year from food poisoning, according to the American Dietetic Association. The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (www.fsis.usda.gov) and the ADA (www.homefoodsafety.org) recommend several tips to make the food in the refrigerator, especially the delicious foods we have in them during this time of the year, as safe as possible.... | |
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| | | Holidays for the Mouse | | Posted Monday, November 13, 2006 7:29:47 AM by Blog57 Team | | I am currently two books into a three-book publishing deal with Hyperion Books. Hyperion is based in New York and is a division of ABC, and ultimately the Walt Disney Company. I, too, now work for the mouse. The first book in my Hyperion deal was "Deep South Staples." The second book in the contract, which was just released a few weeks ago, is "Deep South Parties." Both books are filled with everyday recipes for family dinners and entertaining, but they are also filled with recipes that can be used for the holidays. Two days after I signed the book deal, the editors asked my thoughts on the next book in the series. My first response was "Deep South Holidays." I love this time of year. The weather is cool, the air is crisp, attitudes are festive, food tastes better, family is closer and the excitement that I experienced as a kid always returns at Christmas.... | |
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| | | Sweet on Thanksgiving | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 7:25:28 PM by Blog57 Team | | Forget Halloween. For novice cooks and notorious postponers, Thanksgiving can be one scary holiday. But if you plan ahead, whether you're cooking a meal from scratch or calling on your friendly restaurant, market or bake shop, the biggest food holiday of the season can be almost effortless and certainly more enjoyable. Wendy Achatz, owner of Achatz Handmade Pie Company, knows full well the advantage of planning ahead. Thanksgiving is the busiest time of year for Achatz, who has five pie shops in Metro Detroit. Over the past several years, she and her staff have produced tens of thousands of pumpkin, fruit and cream pies for the holiday table. As you get started thinking about your holiday dinner, we suggest you plan the pies first because whether you're a baker or a buyer, it's not too early to start baking or ordering that Thanksgiving pie.... | |
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| | | GHOULISH Treats | | Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 7:15:54 AM by Blog57 Team | | Ghoulish treats were prepared by Rau students for a Halloween party last Friday. Staff chose recipes or thought up ways to decorate the common store-bought cookies. Featured at the party were decorated Nutter Butters, homemade peanut butter and sugar cookies, and some cupcakes and muffins designed as ghosts. Tiny mice prepared from maraschino cherries with stems, chocolate Hershey Kisses, slivered almonds and icing for the eyes were some of the scary treats.The students took their cues very well as the teachers gave instructions on each treat. Students from the following classes at Rau School were the bakers in charge of the treats.Here are the recipes for the Rau students ghoulish treats! .... | |
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| | | These Halloween recipes are spook-tacular | | Posted Tuesday, November 07, 2006 1:28:38 PM by Blog57 Team | | Whether you're making treats for your preschooler's class party or planning a Halloween get-together for grown-ups, these recipes should do the trick. EDIBLE EYEBALLS • Ingredients: 1 tube each red and green frosting gel; 6 powdered-sugar mini doughnuts; 3 red and 3 green ring-shaped hard candies; 6 semi-sweet chocolate chips. • Instructions: Use red frosting gel to draw 4 or 5 lines from center of each doughnut to outer edges to resemble blood shot eyes. Center a hard candy over each hole, using frosting gel of the same color as glue. Place a chocolate chip on top of candy to resemble the eye's pupil, again using frosting gel as glue. Makes 6 servings. (Source: Hostess.) YUMMY MUMMY DOGS • Ingredients: 12 frozen dinner rolls, thawed but still cold; 12 hot dogs; mustard.... | |
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| | | Ex-mayor still keeps community tabs Mack takes on newest passion: bookwriting | | Posted Friday, November 03, 2006 3:40:34 PM by Blog57 Team | | SAN MATEO ? On Halloween night, like so many, former Mayor Claire Mack stood at her front door greeting the parade of trick-or-treaters with enthusiasm. "Look at that costume!" she said to one. "Isn't that beautiful." "Oh, you're an island girl," Mack, 70, said to another. "You get some good candy." Her husband, Eddie, who is a few years older, glanced toward his wife, whose costume consisted of a white fire helmet that read "Mayor Mack #1." "She's got so much more energy than I have," he said with a sigh. Mack has always had a lot of energy. Before serving 13 years on San Mateo's City Council from the early 1990s through 2003, she spent nearly a decade on the City's Parks and Recreation Commission. And before that, she was a citizen activist ? fighting City Hall on issues like school segregation, community development and zoning issues.... | |
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| | | Recipes for the jack-o'-lantern | | Posted Wednesday, November 01, 2006 3:13:17 AM by Blog57 Team | | Use the pumpkin (and seeds) from your jack-o'-lantern carvings to stir up some Halloween treats. Fresh pumpkin tastes terrific in pies and cakes and is easy to use if you have a blender or food processor. Make sure the pumpkin is free of seeds and stringy pulp, then puree it until smooth (or use a food processor). Once the pulp is smooth, cook it, stirring often, over low heat until the moisture in it is almost evaporated and the color has darkened (1 cup of pumpkin will take about 30 minutes to cook). For the seeds, remove them from the pulp as much as possible, then place in a colander and rinse until the remaining pulp loosens and can be discarded. Spread the seeds on a towel or parchment paper and let them dry (about an hour, or overnight if desired). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.... | |
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| | | Halloween Pops are Perfect for a Party | | Posted Thursday, October 26, 2006 7:07:26 PM by Blog57 Team | | (Family Features) - Scare up some frightfully fun foods for your Halloween party by treating guests to bewitching Halloween Marshmallow Pops. They make a wicked centerpiece for a sweets table or a goblin' good gift for the host of your neighborhood costume party. These spooky goodies are a snap to make and the kids will want to join in the fun of dipping and decorating. By inserting lollipop sticks into the marshmallows first, there is less mess in dipping and more fun in eating. The real trick to this treat is using creamy Candy Melts for the coating. They melt like a dream and set quickly to create a super smooth shell.Finish with a fiendish sprinkle of colored sugar or add a haunting icing decoration before the coating sets. If you don't have a spare witch's cauldron handy, fill a bucket or jar with small candies (such as candy-coated chocolate pieces or candy corn) and stand the pops upright to display them.... | |
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