Blog Post
An Afternoon with Season Four Top Chef Winner Stephanie Izard
by shannon riffe
When season four Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard visits the Downtown Library on March 15, 2- 3:30pm, she will put on a cooking demonstration and discuss her time on the show and experience in the Chicago restaurant scene. Stephanie, who is the first woman to win the competition, has always enjoyed cooking, but as a young student thought her career should be business-related. In pursuit of a non-food career, she attended the University of Michigan. Ultimately, she couldn’t deny her interest in food, so she decided that after earning her degree in Sociology she would go forward and attend culinary school. After hearing her speak, maybe you will be inspired to check out our extensive collection of cookbooks and try your own hand at some dishes worthy of Top Chef.
Blog Post
Please Pass The Potato Chips
by darla
Craving a salty snack? Pick up a copy of Crunch!. Dirk Burhans (past publisher of Greasy Spoon magazine) takes readers on a journey from locally made treats to the multimillion dollar empire of today's snack food industry. Fans of pop culture and American trivia will enjoy the wealth of potato chip history found in this book. Being a midwesterner is also helpful, since Burhans' view is obviously influenced by his Ohio roots. Although the writing didn't always hold me glued to the book, I loved the illustrations - full color images of early advertising art, wacky historical photos (check out the 1952 National Potato Chip Institute Convention), and quirky potato chip paraphernalia. Please pass the dip.
Blog Post
Asparagus! Stalking the American Life
by manz
Think Local First presents a screening of Asparagus! Stalking the American Life tonight at 7:15pm at the Michigan Theater. “For 30 years, Oceana County Michigan has been the Asparagus Capital of the World. Now its spear-struck residents and family farms take on the U.S. War on Drugs, Free Trade and a Fast Food Nation, all to save their beloved roots.” Asparagus’ director Kirsten Kelly will be available for a Q & A session after the film. Proceeds from the screening of this multi-award winning film will benefit Think Local First. Planning on having asparagus for dinner before you go? Check out some of AADL's tasty vegetable cook books.
Blog Post
Made in Spain - Cooking an Empanada
by eby
If you're looking for a high energy cooking series look no further than Made in Spain with José Andrés. Here's a clip from the show on making an Empanada.
If this looks like your type of cooking show then AADL has both the 2 DVD set of the Made in Spain series and the cookbook that accompanies the series. Many of the episodes include a visit to regions of Spain and restaurants that make the regional specialties, so if you love Spanish food, pick it up. If Made in Spain doesn't fit your taste then we also have many other Spanish cooking items available.
Blog Post
Sweet gifts, fit for a sugarplum fairy
by Liberry Shortstack
Well, I'm not proud of it, but I'll admit to it: I haven't finished my Christmas shopping. Whew. Now that I've owned up to that, I feel better. But maybe this is because I've been using all my shopping-days-before-[insert desired holiday here] looking for homemade gift ideas. After much thought and since nothing screams "Holiday!" like massive amounts of sugar consumed quickly and often, candy will be my gift of choice for family and friends.
These Chocolate Dipped Pretzels look delicious and sound easy to make--no candy thermometer necessary. This recipe could make a good project for kids home on winter break.
Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food has recipes for basic candies, like caramels, fudge, peanut brittle, and chocolate truffles.
If you need candies for your vegan friends, Vegan Peanut Brittle may just fit the bill.
For all the peppermint patty junkies in your life, try making some from scratch with this recipe. I've always wondered what went into peppermint patties with a little fear and trembling, but when you make your own, you know exactly what goes into them.
If you're feeling nostalgic for classic local candy recipes, check out the Candy section of Ann Arbor Cooks. Ooooh, Sea Foam Candy...
Blog Post
Her Pecan Pie Changed My Life
by darla
A few years ago I had dinner at The Lady & Sons restaurant in Savannah, Georgia. The pecan pie I had became one of the two "so-good-it-changed-my-world-forever" dessert experiences of my life. (The other was in Boston. Perhaps I'll blog about that some time too.) Needless to say, when I stumbled across Paula Deen's The Lady & Sons Just Desserts : more than 120 sweet temptations from Savannah's favorite restaurant, I was very excited. If you seek yummy dessert ideas for the holidays, head to the AADL and grab this book. Not only does it feature a wide variety of fabulous recipes, it also includes cooking hints and tips for those, like myself, who are not kitchen experts. For Paula Deen fans, we also have lots of her other cookbooks including Christmas with Paula Deen : recipes and stories from my favorite holiday.
Blog Post
Are You Clueless in the Kitchen?
by Bertha
No more excuses, check out Sam Stern's Real Food Real Fast. Each section contains recipes that take 5, 15, 20, or 30 minutes to cook. He covers shopping, cooking ahead, or eating on the run. On his website there's a recipe for Fajitas I'd like to try first. If you need a more basic beginning, by Evelyn Raab, lists 'A Guide to Alien Territory' the essentials to get you started cooking. You may just find yourself baking for your friends. At another cool site you put in a food, say chocolate chips, and your search comes back with recipes that include this food. Hungry yet?
Blog Post
Panelists to Discuss Community Agriculture
by annevm
A panel discussion is coming up 6-7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17, on “Community Agriculture, Community Health: Connecting Healthy Eating, Community Gardens, and Access to Lower Cost Produce," presented by Project Healthy Schools. Panelists will be Sharon Sheldon, of the Washtenaw County Public Health Department, who works with the community advisory board of the Downtown Ypsilanti Farmers Market; Amanda Edmonds, founder of Growing Hope; and Deb Lentz and Richard Andres, coordinators of the Community Supported Agriculture program at Tantre Farm near Chelsea. The panel discussion will be in Danto Auditorium in the U-M Health System’s Cardiovascular Center, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive. If you’d like to go, contact Jessica Moorman, tessimo@med.umich.edu, 975-3063.
Blog Post
Nov. 6th is "National Men Make Dinner Day!"
by ecria7
Are you a man who regularly cooks for yourself and others? Then you can pass this holiday without notice. However, if you are of the male species and do NOT normally fix the family meal or make a fast food run on a daily basis, this holiday is for you! (Apron is optional, tool belt with cooking utensils allowed)
This not a holiday for the faint of heart - normally celebrated on the first Thursday of each November, men have 12 rules to follow. Don't worry guys you don't need to be Martha Stewart, just choose a "published" recipe from any source without help. "Getting the recipe from 'her' cookbook is allowed, but man gets bonus points if the recipe isn't already somewhere in the house." And beer CAN count as an ingredient! Need a cookbook suggestion? Check out Extreme barbeque: smokin' rigs and real good recipes by Dan Huntley.
Blog Post
Edible Estates, Community and Sustainability
by eby
[cover_image]9781933045740|b1307772[/cover_image]
(Above: A local Ann Arbor front yard replaced with more diverse vegetation)
Avalon Housing kicks off 5 days of sharing ideas on innovation in sustainability and community building today. Many of the events feature architect and artist Fritz Haeg, who started the project and book called Edible Estates. The series includes a talk and book signing at AADL on Monday Nov, 10th at 7pm with Fritz Haeg.
The Project
The edible estates project consisted of tearing up the manicured front lawns of several households and replacing it with plants that produced edible food. The goal was both to make a statement and to be practical. This is remenicient of Victory Gardens during the World Wars where thanks to Eleanor Roosevelt even the White House lawn had some vegetable production. Similar ideas are also implemented in community gardens, but this project specifically picked the front yard as the area to attack, making the garden front and center. Here's a video of one of the gardens to give you an idea:
Here's a video interview with Fritz Haeg about the project:
The Book
The book consists of the plans for these gardens, homeowner stories, the drive behind the project and a few guides of what you can grow in your zone. What most homeowners were worried about, as can be expected, was what would the neighbors think? However, in most cases there were positive attitudes from the community and even a closer relationship between people in the neighborhood. The front yard was no longer a buffer zone between people but an active center of activity. The book also includes a few tidbits to think about:
- Of 30 commonly used lawn pesticides, 13 are probable carcinogens, 14 are linked with birth defects, 18 with reproductive effects, 20 with liver or kidney damage, 18 with neurotoxicity and 28 are irritants - National Coalition for Pesticide-Free Lawns
- Homeowners use up to 10 times more chemical pesticides per acre on their lawns than farmers use on crops. - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The book also includes a forward by Michael Pollan, close to his article Why Mow? The Case Against Lawns, which is worth reading in full:
"Suits fly against the national lawn-care companies, and interest is kindled in ''organic'' methods of lawn care. But the problem is larger than this. Lawns, I am convinced, are a symptom of, and a metaphor for, our skewed relationship to the land. They teach us that, with the help of petrochemicals and technology, we can bend nature to our will. Lawns stoke our hubris with regard to the land. What is the alternative? To turn them into gardens. I'm not suggesting that there is no place for lawns in these gardens or that gardens by themselves will right our relationship to the land, but the habits of thought they foster can take us some way in that direction.
Gardening, as compared to lawn care, tutors us in nature's ways, fostering an ethic of give and take with respect to the land. Gardens instruct us in the particularities of place. They lessen our dependence on distant sources of energy, technology, food and, for that matter, interest."
So be sure to check out the many events this week including the talk and book signing at AADL on Monday.