Meals on Wheels benefit features Cat Cora
By Lisa Abraham
Beacon Journal food writer
Published on Wednesday, Sep 10, 2008
Celebrity chef Cat Cora is coming to town this weekend for a benefit to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Meals on Wheels of Stark and Wayne Counties.
Cora stars on several Food Network shows, including
Iron Chef America, and will be preparing a meal onstage for Meals on Wheels.
The Saturday event begins with a reception at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 at the Kent State Stark Professional Conference and Education Center. Tickets are $150, and can be purchased by calling 330-832-7220 or visiting
http://mow-starkwayne.org.
There's another chance to see Cora at 6 p.m. Friday, when she will be signing copies of her new book,
Cooking From the Hip, at Borders Books & Music, 6751 Strip Ave., Jackson Township.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase. She'll also sign copies of her previous book,
Cat Cora's Kitchen, or personal items customers bring.
West Point cookbook
While we're on the subject of cookbooks,
The West Point Market Cookbook, from the Akron fine-food icon, is due out soon.
The book was written by market owner Russ Vernon, and is expected to be for sale at the market by Nov. 1, just in time for holiday gift giving.
Meanwhile, the market's executive chef, Tom Lordich, will demonstrate how to make crepes at the store from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday and again on Sept. 20.
Visitors will be able to sample sweet and savory crepes created by Lordich.
The crepes will go on sale at the market's Beside the Point Cafe beginning Sept. 21, along with champagne cocktails — perfect for brunching.
Oktoberfest downtown
The Ohio Brewing Co./Damon's Grill and the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition have teamed up to host an Oktoberfest at Lock 3 Park in Akron this weekend.
The event is 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and 1 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. There will be live music, games and other activities.
Bratwurst, German sausage, and Wiener schnitzel will be on the menu, along with burgers, ribs, mussels and other items. Ohio Brewing Co. will introduce a new beer, Lock 3 Lager, just for the Oktoberfest.
On Saturday, there will be a cornhole tournament at 1 p.m. At 8 p.m., the Ohio State vs. USC football game will be shown on large-screen televisions.
A portion of the proceeds will go to the Canalway Coalition's efforts to develop the Towpath Trail. Ohio Brewing Co./Damon's Grill is at 222 S. Main St.
Carving veggies
Chef James Parker of Veggy Art, reigning champion of the Food Network's
Fantasy Fruit Sculpture Rematch, will be at the Beacon Farmers Market Saturday at Lock 3 Park, to judge the Elegant Ice Creations Fruit and Vegetable Carving Competition.
Nearly two dozen amateurs and professionals are expected to compete for cash prizes in two categories. The carving will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The fruits and vegetables are being provided by the West Point Market.
Garden wine dinner
The Regency Wine Store and personal chef Tamara Mitchell of Dine-in-Diva have teamed up for a wine dinner to be held in a secret garden location in West Akron on Saturday beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The dinner will take place in a private garden — a Keep Akron Beautiful Award winner whose location will be revealed only to those with paid reservations.
Mitchell has put together a menu featuring fresh local foods, while Regency owner Larry Knopf has paired each of the five courses with wine or beer.
Dinner includes chilled cucumber soup, heirloom tomato salad, smoky corn and sweet potato risotto and pork tenderloin with figs and blue cheese polenta.
The dinner is $75. Designated driver tickets may be purchased for $50. Seating is limited, so call Knopf at the Regency Wine Store, 330-836-3447, for reservations.
Aurora Wine Fest
If you are heading to Portage County this weekend, the Aurora Chamber of Commerce will host its WineFest 2008 from 3 to 9 p.m. Saturday.
The festival is being held at ThornCreek Winery and Gardens, 155 Treat Road, Aurora, and will feature wine from a dozen Northeast Ohio wineries, including Ferrante Winery, Debonne Vineyards, Maize Valley Winery, Mastropietro Winery and Troutman Vineyards.
In addition to wine sampling, there will be seminars on wine, cooking demonstrations, and a variety of artisan items, from foods to crafts, for sale.
Tickets are $25 at the door or $20 in advance. Designated driver tickets are $10 and include unlimited soft drinks. For information or to buy tickets, visit
http://www.aurorawinefest.com
Grapes and Gourmets
Sarah's Vineyard will be the site of a benefit for GriefCare Place from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Guests can enjoy wine from Sarah's while sampling foods prepared by ''gourmet guys'' — amateur chefs whose food will be judged and awarded prizes.
Tickets are $50, and can be purchased by calling 330-929-8057. Sarah's Vineyard is at 1240 W. Steels Corners Road, Cuyahoga Falls. GriefCare Place provides support for those dealing with the death of a loved one.
Check your cupboards
There are two new food allergy recalls to warn you about.
• The T. Marzetti Co. in Columbus is recalling a limited number of 12-oz. bottles of Girard's Honey Dijon Peppercorn salad dressing because they might be incorrectly labeled and do not indicate that the dressing contains eggs.
The dressing is fine, but could pose a risk to anyone who is allergic to eggs. The bottles were marked with the item number 58105 and with a date code of ''Best By 06-11-09M.'' The bottles are labeled with Girard's Honey Dijon Peppercorn on the front, but the back of the bottle may be labeled ''Girard's French Dressing, item 58015, with the date code of ''Best By 06-11-09M.''
Consumers who may have purchased bottles with an incorrect back label are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. For questions, call Marzetti's consumer response department at 614-846-2232.
• The Hershey Co. announced the recall of 7.25-ounce plastic bottles of Hershey's Chocolate Shell Topping because it contains almonds, which aren't listed on the bottle.
The topping could pose a health risk for people who are allergic to almonds, but is otherwise safe.
The affected bottles of topping have the code 69N printed on the back below the UPC symbol
. The UPC bar code is 346000.
Anyone who purchased the topping is asked to call Hershey Consumer Relations at 800-468-1714.
Lisa A. Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or
labraham@thebeaconjournal.com.
Celebrity chef Cat Cora is coming to town this weekend for a benefit to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Meals on Wheels of Stark and Wayne Counties.
Cora stars on several Food Network shows, including
Iron Chef America, and will be preparing a meal onstage for Meals on Wheels.
The Saturday event begins with a reception at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 at the Kent State Stark Professional Conference and Education Center. Tickets are $150, and can be purchased by calling 330-832-7220 or visiting
http://mow-starkwayne.org.
There's another chance to see Cora at 6 p.m. Friday, when she will be signing copies of her new book,
Cooking From the Hip, at Borders Books & Music, 6751 Strip Ave., Jackson Township.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase. She'll also sign copies of her previous book,
Cat Cora's Kitchen, or personal items customers bring.
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