Thanksgiving In March – Updated x3

13 03 2009

For most people, cooking a turkey once a year is more than enough.  I’m not quite most people.  Around Christmas time, my mom called and said someone was having a sale and she picked up some meat for me.  Normally, I’d be stocked because that usually means pork loins or ribeyes.  Not this time.  She bought two turkeys and two hams.  What the hell I’m supposed to do with two turkeys and two hams I’m not sure, but I figured eventually I’d cook them.  I cooked one of the hams a few months ago, but I still have two turkeys taking up a lot of space in my deep freezer. 

I’m going to be pretty busy for the next month with work, so I figured today was as good a day as any to finally cook a turkey.

I started three days ago by defrosting in the fridge.  Last night, I put together a brine with vegetable stock, water, black peppercorns, brown sugar, salt, and allspice berries and started that process.  This is what J saw when she got home from work  last night.

Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Michigan

Press Release – Community Garden Project

12 03 2009

From a press release….

Would you like your own vegetable garden but don’t have the space or
the know-how?  The Garden Project is here to help.  We provide gardening
space in community gardens, and home garden tilling for households on a
budget.  We also provide seeds, plants, training and a tool-lending
library for our registered gardeners.  Our monthly newsletter is full of
helpful gardening ideas, and staff is available to answer your gardening
questions.  Our workshops and classes include not only gardening but
food preservation techniques like canning as well.  For more information
contact The Garden Project at (517) 887-4660 or gardenproject@ingham.org
 Our registration is online at www.lansingfoodbank.org  Just click on
The Garden Project.

The Garden Project
A program of the Greater Lansing Food Bank
PO Box 30161
Lansing, MI 48909-7661
Phone: (517)-887-4660
Email: gardenproject@ingham.org


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Categories : Press Releases

Press Release – Old Town Food Sampler and Loft Tours

12 03 2009

From an Old Town Commercial Association Press Releae…

Food Sampler and Loft Tours Highlight

Life in Old Town

­­­­­­­­­­­ Businesses and loft owners offer patrons the chance to Taste & Tour Old Town

OLD TOWN, LANSING, Mich. – The Old Town Commercial Association (OTCA) presents the second annual Taste & Tour of Old Town, a progressive food sampler and loft tours, Sunday, April 5, from Noon-5 p.m., in conjunction with the First Sunday Gallery Walk.

The Taste & Tour of Old Town invites Lansing residents and visitors to sample tasty cuisine from eight Old Town restaurants and gourmet food retailers. Patrons may also view multiple Old Town lofts for an idea of what it’s like to live in Old Town.

The sampler gives visitors a chance to taste a variety of Old Town’s finest fare, all in one afternoon. Participating locations include The Chrome Cat, El Gallo Loco, Golden Harvest, Grand Café Sir Pizza, Hattie’s Kitchen, Mama Bear’s Café, Pablo’s Panaderia and Poppa Leo’s Pizza.

The revamped Taste & Tour of Old Town features loft tours for a second year in a row. The tours offer patrons a chance to view lofts not normally open to the public. After a successful turnout with the loft tours last year, the OTCA has decided to extend the event an additional two hours to Noon-5p.m. Patrons should check in at the OTCA office the day of the event for a map of tour locations, as they will not be announced until the day of the event.

Patrons have the option of sampling food and viewing lofts for $13 if purchased in advance, $15 day of, and loft tours only for $5. Tickets are on sale now and are available at the OTCA office located at 1232 Turner St., Lansing, Mich., and at Grace Boutique located at 115 E. Grand River Ave., Lansing, Mich. Tickets are available the day of at the OTCA office.

The Taste & Tour of Old Town is a fundraiser for the OTCA, which helps to continue its mission of revitalizing the Old Town district. It is also a great opportunity to introduce family and friends, who may be unfamiliar with Old Town, to the thriving businesses, hip living alternatives and delicious restaurants that contribute to Old Town’s growth and development.


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Categories : Food News, Lansing, Michigan, Old Town, Press Releases

Press Release – Michigan Wine Month Celebration

12 03 2009

From a Pioneer Wine Trail press release…

Jackson, MI – Celebrate Michigan Wine Month at the SE Michigan Pioneer Wine Trail’s “Michigan Wine Celebration” on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19!

Tickets are $25 per person for this self-driven tour of the wineries of south-east Michigan.

Each winery along the trail will feature an appetizer or dessert prepared by a local chef and paired with their featured wine. The ticket price also includes one tasting glass. A recipe card with the featured recipe will be given out to ticket holders at each winery.

Some of planned the food and wine pairings include Vegetable Beef Stew served with Pinot Noir at Burgdorf’s Winery, BBQ Chicken Kabobs with Chipotle Cranberry Sauceserved with Summer Breeze (semi-sweet white) at Cherry Creek Cellars (Parma), Roasted Pears with Herbed Goat Cheese served with Rivera Rose’ at Cherry Creek Cellars (Cement City), Chicken Ballotine Stuffed with Proscuitto, Boursin Cheese, and Roasted Red Peppers or Florentine Ravioli with Alfredo Sauce served with Morningstar (dry white) at Pentamere Winery, Decadent Chocolate Brownie with infused Raspberry Topping served with St. Julian Raspberry Spumante at St. Julian’s Dundee location, Sun-Dried Tomato Baskets paired with Braganini Sauvignon Blanc at St. Julian’s Parma location, and Brie with Maple-Glazed Walnuts and Mill Pond Bread served with Sugar Snow (maple dessert wine) at Sandhill Crane Vineyards.

The wineries included in this event are: Burgdorf’s Winery (Hazlett) – Saturday only (until 5:00 pm), Cherry Creek Cellars (Parma & Cement City), Lone Oak Vineyard Estate (Grass Lake), Pentamere Winery (Tecumseh), Sandhill Crane Vineyards (Jackson), and St. Julian Winery (Dundee & Parma).

Ticket holders are welcome to visit each location over the two-day event, or they may choose to limit their visits (as time permits). The Wine Trail encourages ticket holders to bring a designated driver.

Hours of the event are Saturday, April 18 from 11 am to 6 pm and Sunday, April 19 from noon to 6 pm. Tickets are available online at www.PioneerWineTrail.com or from any Pioneer Wine Trail winery. There are a limited number of tickets available, ticket sales will end on Thursday, April 16 at midnight, and ticket will not be available the day of the event.

For more information call (517) 531-3080.


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Categories : Food News, Jackson, Michigan

Aldaco’s Authentic Mexican Restaurant

11 03 2009
  • 6527 S. Cedar Street
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 272-4600
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Aldacos Authentic Mexican Restaurant on South Cedar Street in Lansing.

Aldaco's Authentic Mexican Restaurant on South Cedar Street in Lansing.

Last night, I was really craving tacos.  We were really close to making a Taco Bell run at midnight, but decided it was a bad idea.  The craving never really went away.  When J suggested going out for dinner, I suggested that Mexican place where Cedar meets Pennsylvania that has stared us in the face since we moved here almost a year ago.

Aldaco’s is right on the corner of Cedar Street where it intersect with Pennsylvania Avenue.  It sits between the White Castle the empty end of a strip mall that used to house a Hollywood Video.  The building is small, but the parking lot is always full.  There’s an entrance on both Pennsylvania and Cedar Street.  We were coming from the Pennsylvania side, so we used that entrance then drove around the front to the parking lot.  

Inside we were met by a hostess.  She grabbed a couple menus and asked if we were going to order the buffet or order from the menu.  J said menu and I just went along with it.  After passing the buffet, which is right near the entrance, I should have changed my mind but I didn’t.  The buffet was filled with taco shells, tortillas, and fillings as well as tacquitos, burritos, rice, beans and even some desserts. 

There are two dining rooms in Aldaco’s.  We were taken to the one on the right side of the space which is where most everyone else was.  We were shown to a booth along the inside wall near the bathrooms in the back.  We started looking over the menus.  It wasn’t long before we decided, but we still had not seen a waitress.  There was a man and a woman waitressing.  We think we were actually at the woman’s table, but after quite a while, the man finally came over and took our order.  When the woman came over a minute later, I told her our order had already taken the order.  I heard him say something to the woman about how long she let us sit there, so he took the table.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Lansing, Mexican, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Milk Causes Rush Hour Problems

9 03 2009

I could make a bad joke about crying over spilled milk….

A milk truck’s trailer has overturned on U.S. 131., spilling 5,000 gallons of milk onto the highway.

The crash occurred around 4 p.m. Monday in the southbound lanes, south of the S Curve and near the I-196 interchange near Grand Rapids.

The truck was pulling two trailers and the second trailer overturned.


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Categories : Food News, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Home of Marlboro Bans Smoking

9 03 2009

So the state with the largest cigarette manufacturing factory can ban smoking in most public places but Michigan can’t because of a few casino’s?

The home state of Marlboro and the world’s largest cigarette factory is set to ban most smoking in restaurants and bars.

Gov. Tim Kaine plans to sign legislation on Monday in Virginia Beach that takes effect Dec. 1.

Kaine worked for years for a total ban on smoking in all restaurants. The bill that lawmakers passed last month falls short of that but generally restricts smoking to separate rooms that have their own ventilation.

Virginia has grown tobacco for 400 years. Philip Morris churns out Marlboros and Virginia Slims at the world’s largest cigarette factory in Richmond.


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Categories : Food News, Politics

Marshall Moonraker

9 03 2009
  • 11401 17 Mile Road
  • Marshall, MI 49068
  • (269) 789-0058
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Marshall Moonraker just outside of town on 17 Mile Road

Marshall Moonraker just outside of town on 17 Mile Road

I feel stupid…again.  For months now, J and I have been talking about taking a detour on the way home to stop at the South Side Soda Shop in Goshen, IN.  We have to go about a half hour out of way to do that and the weather has been so bad all winter that we never did.  This past trip home, the weather was nice, so we decided to go for it.  J asked me to check to make sure it was open.  I found the website and saw they were open until 8:00.  What I didn’t look at was to see what days they were open.  Needless to say, we got to Goshen to find the restaurant dark.  We just wasted a trip.  Now, J’s mad/annoyed at me and we were both looking forward to ice cream.  We get back on the Interstate and head toward Michigan.  J starts looking for someplace to eat in her GPS.  She finds a place in Coldwater, but when we get to the address, it’s no longer the business we were looking for, so again, we head north.  Just south of Marshall, we were both getting hungry.  I saw a sign for Moonraker and J found it in her GPS, so that’s where we headed.

The Marshall Moonraker is located a couple miles from the downtown area just outside of town.  It was about 7:00 on a Sunday night when we pulled up. At first, the parking lot looked empty, but it’s a large parking lot and there were cars on the other side of the building, so we decided to go in.

Once inside, it took a long time for our eyes to adjust.  It was dark.  The sun was just beginning to set and there were almost no lights on in the bar.  Moonraker is much bigger than you would imagine.  Right inside is the bar and a dining room area.  There’s a couple huge bay windows in the back of the space and that’s where we went to.  We needed some light.  The waitress came over with menus and I was still wanting to pull a flashlight out of my pocket to read it.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Marshall, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Knockouts Sports & Grill Bar- Matteson, IL

9 03 2009
  • 4800 211th Street
  • Matteson, IL 60443
  • (708 ) 283-9903
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Knockouts Sports & Grill Bar on Lincoln Highway in Matteson, IL

Knockouts Sports & Grill Bar on Lincoln Highway in Matteson, IL

Since we just made a quick trip to Chicago for a birthday party, we really didn’t have time to drive to my parents for any length of time.  I had something I needed to give my brother and my mom had some things for me, so we decided to meet in Matteson, IL for lunch.  Our first choice was Nino’s Pizza, but it was closed.  Then we tried Baker’s Square, but it had gone out of business.  On the way in to town, I noticed a sports bar on Lincoln Highway.  I called my dad and told him to meet us there.  You can never go wrong with a sports bar.

Knockouts is on the corner of 211th (Lincoln Highway) and South Cicero in Matteson just down the street from the Lincoln Mall.  It sits in front of a strip mall, so you actually enter the parking lot down the street and come in behind the building. 

Knockouts is a typical sports bar.  We walked in to find a pretty empty dining room.  There’s a big island bar in the middle.  There’s a couple different dining spaces with different types of tables and chairs.  When you first walk in, there’s a raised area with nice wood chairs and tables.  Along one wall near the bar is a series of pub tables.  Since there was five us, I headed towards a table in the larger area.  There was one table for six near the back, but it was right next to the jukebox…and that jukebox was LOUD.  I walked away from it and pushed two tables together.  The MSU game was a couple TV’s and the NASCAR race was just starting so we had plenty of entertainment. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Illinois, Matteson, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, Sports Bar

Press Release – My Co-Op Video Contest

9 03 2009

From a East Lansing Co-Op Press Release…..

LOVE YOUR CO-OP? SHOW IT! ELFCO JOINS CO-OPS NATIONWIDE FOR
“MY CO-OP ROCKS” VIDEO CONTEST

Co-ops across the nation encourage co-op fans to submit short videos
and compete for nearly $3,500 in prizes

East Lansing, Michigan:
Lights, camera…arugula! This spring in partnership with National
Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA), the East Lansing Food Co-op
(ELFCO) invites shoppers to submit short, up-to-2-minute videos in the My
Co-op Rocks Video Contest, a nationwide contest where co-op fans get to
share the reasons their co-op rocks. Submissions will be accepted online
beginning March 1 at http://www.MyCoopRocks.coop with $3,500 in prizes to be
awarded to the nation’s best videos in “people’s choice” and “judges’
choice” categories.

My Co-op Rocks Video Contest is the first food cooperative contest that
asks shoppers across the country to share their favorite co-op moments,
memories and stories online. ELFCO and NCGA are hosting the contest in
celebration of all the qualities and quirks that make co ops integral
parts of communities. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : East Lansing, Food News, Michigan

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