Sustainable Farmer and Entrepreneur Joel Salatin to Visit Ann Arbor

Wed, 03/21/2012 - 8:44pm by prlhw

Joel Salatin, the well-known organic farmer, will be coming to Ann Arbor's Michigan Theater on Tuesday, April 24th by way of the People's Food Co-op of Ann Arbor (PFC), to "share how his farm serves as a prototype to the way local food can lead to our agricultural, environmental, and nutritional salvation. Noting that our food system now faces challenges in biosecurity, food safety, energy, integrity, and humane animal husbandry, he will explain how local production, processing, distribution, and patrons in the Ann Arbor area can reshape our food future."

Salatin's ideas and progress in the world of sustainable farming have been featured in Michael Pollan’s bestselling book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, in the documentary films Food, Inc. and Fresh, and also in his very own books, Folks, this Ain't Normal and Holy Cows and Hog Heaven. "Since his cutting-edge sustainable farm, Polyface Inc., began inspiring people throughout the world, his charismatic nature and ability to produce provocative and poignant proclamations about the unfortunate state of our food system have made him one of the most influential voices in the sustainable food movement today."

The event will take place at the Michigan Theater in Downtown Ann Arbor on Tuesday, April 24th, 2012 from 8pm to 10pm. Tickets are $15 for the General Public, and $13 for Students & PFC Members. Available at ticketmaster.com or surcharge-free at the People's Food Co-op of Ann Arbor.

Gourmand Awards

Tue, 03/20/2012 - 12:32pm by lucroe

The Gourmand Awards are given to notable books in a variety of food and drink categories as well as magazines. They are judged by culinary arts professionals from around the world. It is free and open to anyone to enter: authors, publishers or even readers. Over 150 countries had entries for this year’s competition. This year also included best culinary app which went to America’s own Dorie Greenspan’s Cooking with Dorie. Her books have won numerous awards and she is a pioneer in developing a cooking app. Here is a sampling of other Gourmand award winners from our collection:

See mix drink: Gourmand award winner for best cocktail book
Food lover's guide to wine: Best book for Matching Food and Drink
Lucky Peach: Best cooking magazine
Eleven Madison Park Cookbook: 3rd place best authors and chef
Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook: Book of the Year Finalist
Food of Spain:Best World Cuisine cookbook
How Italian Food Conquered the World: 4th place Best Italian cookbook
How to Cook Indian: 3rd place Best Asian cookbook
Extra Virginity: the sublime and scandalous world of olive oil:Winner in the Sustainable category
Fundamental Techniques of Classic Bread Making:3rd Place for cookbooks about bread making
Loukoumi Celebrity Cookbook: 2nd place for Fundraising, Charity, &Community cookbooks and 3rd place went to the free (with donation going to Relief for Japan fund) online cookbook from Microsoft .Net gurus, Net Gurus can Cook

Got The Facts On Milk?

Sat, 03/10/2012 - 9:58am by manz

Got The Facts On Milk, known as “ the milk documentary” takes a look at milk. Where does it come from, why do we drink it, why do we need it, do we need it at at all? The filmmakers talk to researchers, scientists, milk drinkers, moms, children, farmers, doctors, lobbyists, and more. Some of those interviewed and offering information are family doctor and nutritionist Joel Fuhrman, and T. Colin Campbell, author of the popular book, The China Study: The most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted and the startling implications for diet, weight loss and long-term health.

The film delves into product marketing, propaganda, brainwashing, government, and industry, and how these factors relate to milk production and consumption.

The film is utter-ly entertaining, as the documentarians make their way across the country, talking about milk, to reach their final destination: the USDA. Their adventure is filled with truths, lies, and everything in between. It also features a grocery store dance routine, and an amusing soundtrack.

Whether you agree or disagree with the findings, or love or hate milk, I recommended this if you’re into behind the scenes looks at food and food consumption and the science behind it, particularly if you don't mind a humorous look at serious issues.

Chef Brian Polcyn Of Birmingham's Forest Grill And Milford's Cinco Lagos

Sun, 02/19/2012 - 11:20am by hillary dorwart

Sunday February 19, 2012: 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Consider yourself a foodie? Or just love a good meal? Don't miss a visit with award-winning chef Brian Polcyn! Chef Polcyn is nationally recognized for his creativity and culinary talents and is the visionary behind some of Detroit's most acclaimed restaurants - including Birmingham's Forest Grill and Milford's Cinco Lagos. Brian is also the author of two books: "Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing" (nominated for a James Beard award) and the upcoming "Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing."

Join us as he prepares an incredibly delicious sample dish and discusses his life and his books. This event, cosponsored by the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor, includes a book signing and books will be on sale.

An Intro To Artisan Cheese!

Wed, 02/15/2012 - 10:21am by TimG

Cheese was born about 4000 years ago - and now there are multitudes of delicious varieties. But, which one to choose? What is the difference?

Find out more when Simone Jenkins from Morgan & York Fine Wines & Specialty Foods describes traditional hand-made cheeses from around the world. Tastes will be included! Bring your favorite cheese quote from a story to enter in a drawing for a $25 gift card from Morgan & York!

This event, for adults and teens, will be at Malletts Creek Branch on Wednesday, Feb. 15 from 7 - 8:30 pm. Don't miss it!

Corner of Main and Liberty to Lose A Landmark

Tue, 01/24/2012 - 4:55pm by amy

Several local restaurants have recently joined the ever-expanding list of Ann Arbor's Lost Eateries. Champion House closed suddenly last week, as did Old Country Buffet over the weekend. But I was particularly saddened to hear that the Parthenon Restaurant, which has stood on the corner of Main and Liberty Streets since John and Steve Gavas opened in 1975, will be closing its doors. Later this year Cafe Habana, formerly located on East Washington, will be moving into 226 North Main.

The Parthenon has command of possibly the best-known intersection in town, located on the same corner as Cunningham's Drugs and Mack & Co. a generation earlier.

We found some articles, a photo, and restaurant reviews on the Parthenon in our Ann Arbor News clipping file and have digitized them here for you to savor. While you're at it, you can also read about the Flim Flam Restaurant, which recently closed its doors after 30 years in business. Don't miss the Flim Flam's recipe for their famous eclair!

Find a Recipe on Ann Arbor Cooks

Mon, 01/09/2012 - 10:38am by Caser

Looking for ways to expand your culinary experience? Check out Ann Arbor Cooks, an online collection of heirloom recipes and cookbooks from Ann Arbor area community organizations, churches, and businesses. Browse or search recipes, or view cookbooks in their entirety. The robust database includes access to Repast, the acclaimed culinary history magazine.

This neophyte cook particularly enjoyed Mother's Roast Chicken recipe, a simple yet delightful dish from the fully searchable and browsable cookbook, Like Mama Used to Make. Or, if you want to try something quite out of the ordinary, check out these beverage recipes from the The Every-Day Cook-Book and Encyclopedia of Practical Recipes for Family Use.

To access the Ann Arbor Cooks database, you can always go to the research page and select the Ann Arbor Cooks from the Ann Arbor category.

At Elizabeth David's Table: Classic Recipes and Timeless Kitchen Wisdom

Sat, 12/31/2011 - 9:08am by ballybeg

Elizabeth David, the British food writer and cookery expert, awakened the food tastes of post-war Britain, in much the same way that Julia Child did for American cooks and eaters: through extoling the foods and traditions of France and Italy, and bringing the light and warmth of Mediterranean cooking to an audience ready to be charmed and won over by new ingredients and delectable and daring food experiences. She never achieved the international celebrity status of Julia, with no TV show or cookbook ‘bible’ to her credit, but her food columns and cookbooks, published from the 1940s to the 1980s, were immensely popular on the other side of the pond and deserve a much wider appreciation here.

Raised in Britain between the world wars, in the kind of traditional, upper-class home where the cook planned and prepared the meals, the butler served them and the scullery maid cleaned them up, her early memories of eating were grim, especially in school. When she was 16, she lived with a family in France and studied at the Sorbonne. Her experience of food and eating was so dramatically transformed that she spent the rest of her life on the trail of adventures with food. Living in France, Italy, Greece, Egypt and India, she absorbed the foodways of multiple cultures and wrote vivid, tantalizing and slightly acerbic essays about them for publications back in Britain, where they were eagerly received. There followed numerous cookbooks and a cookery shop in London.

At Elizabeth David’s Table is an extremely tasteful sampling of recipes from her previous books, as well as some of her essays from various food magazines, all presented in a handsome new format with beautiful photographs. The title of the book says it all - it is classic and timeless and highly recommended. With a saucepan in one hand and a pen in the other, she loved nothing better than experimenting with recipes, enertaining her friends with simple but excellent meals and wine, and writing tales - at her kitchen table - of her many adventures abroad. She went beyond being a flawless cook and memorable writer. Her mastery of 'the good life’ shines through all her work.

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #302

Sat, 12/10/2011 - 4:27pm by muffy

Just about now - as the days get shorter and the temperature dips below freezing, my reading drifts toward the upbeat and heartwarming, and I am glad to have found Angelina's Bachelors : a novel, with food * .

Angelina D'Angelo's Frangelico Chocolate Dream Cake (recipe included) is to die for and unfortunately her husband Frank did just that. Grieving and listless, she turns to her one passion - cooking. To make ends meet, she gathers the hungry bachelors in the neighborhood and offers to feed them. Apart from the out-of-this-world meals she painstakingly prepared daily, each of them comes to find community and riches far beyond his/her expectations.

Angelina marks the fiction debut for cookbook author and TV cooking-show producer Brian O'Reilly whose "keen ear for the neighborhood (South Philly) swells lends a charming, timeless quality to the tale."

And the recipes by Virginia O'Reilly... they are fabulous. The O'Reillys are no strangers when it comes to food and cooking. Between them, they have published two cookbooks (Mission: Cook!: My Life, My Recipes, and Making the Impossible Easy, and Impossible to Easy: 111 Delicious Recipes to Help You Put Great Meals on the Table Every Day), with Robert Irvine, the star of the Foodnetwork television program they produced, called Dinner Impossible.

Unlike recipes in other novels, these are neither cute nor cheeky. They are gourmand-serious and kitchen-tested. I have ordered my own copy of the book so I could try out the Stracotto (Italian Pot Roast) this holiday season.

* = starred review

Small Dishes With Chef Brendan McCall of Mani Osteria

Thu, 12/08/2011 - 6:20am by Debbie G.

Join Chef Brendan McCall of Ann Arbor's Mani Osteria on Thursday, December 8, 2011, 7:00 pm ~ 8:30 pm at the Traverwood Branch and learn the secrets of small dishes that pack big flavor and flair. Whether you're preparing for a holiday crowd or an intimate dinner, Chef Brendan's recipes are designed to make cooking fun and flexible with local, seasonal ingredients. Some of the restaurant's most popular dishes are sure to be showcased.

Mani Osteria is independently owned and family friendly, specializing in artisanal pizzas and other creative Italian dishes prepared in wood-burning ovens. The restaurant shares a passion for keeping things simple...using high quality, often locally sourced ingredients.

The name MANI, means 'hands' or 'hand-made' in Italian. An Osteria is an Italian eatery much like a tavern that emphasizes local ingredients, small production wines, and hospitality.

This event is presented in conjunction with Ann Arbor Cooks (cooks.aadl.org) Ann Arbor District Library's online collection of heirloom recipes and cookbooks from Ann Arbor area organizations.