Paczki - Such a Guilty Pleasure!

It's Fat Tuesday, and that means one thing to Metro Detroiters: Paczki!

Each year I cannot wait to sink my teeth into these caloric treats that make plain donuts look downright wimpy, and they are a part of living in Detroit that no Michigan resident or visitor should miss.

A paczki (pronounced: pawnch-kee or poonch-kee) is a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened sphere and filled with a confiture or other sweet filling. Paczki are usually covered with powdered sugar, icing or bits of dried orange zest. A small amount of grain alcohol is added to the dough before frying; as it evaporates, it prevents the absorption of oil deep into the dough.

Although they look like Bismarck's or jelly doughnuts, paczki are made from an especially rich dough containing eggs, fats, sugar and sometimes milk. They feature a variety of fruit and cream fillings and can be glazed, or covered with sugar. Stewed plum jam, prunes or wild rose hip jam are traditional fillings, but many others are used as well, including strawberry, Bavarian cream, blueberry, chocolate, custard, raspberry, lemon, and apple.

Paczki have been known in Poland at least since the Middle Ages. Jędrzej Kitowicz has described that during the reign of August III, under the influence of French cooks who came to Poland, paczki dough was improved, so that paczki became lighter, spongier, and more resilient.

In the Polish community of Hamtramck, Michigan, a small enclave located within the city limits of Detroit, there is an annual Paczki Day Parade, which has gained a devoted following. Many Hamtramck bakeries open as early as 3 AM and have people lining up, as early as the night before, for paczki on Paczki Day. The Paczki Day celebrations are even larger than many celebrations for St. Patrick's Day.

A favorite Hamtramck bakery of mine and one of the more popular places to get your paczki at is "The New Palace Bakery" located at 9833 Joseph Campau Street in Hamtramck.
"A Hamtramck staple, the New Palace Bakery has been peddling paczki for nearly 90 years. Their plum, apple, blueberry and raspberry paczki will tempt you. New palace has a dizzying selection of polish pastries, including babkas, fruit pies, dumplings, danishes and doughnuts. They make their own Moon Pies, and one can't help but stifle a giggle at their chocolate and vanilla "boy cookies," literally shaped like little boys."

Here's a look at the crowds early Tuesday morning as people lined up for hours!

It was even snowing!

The line extended all the way around the block and even more people were approaching to get their place in line!

People braved the cold temps and snow just for these tasty little buggers!

On Paczki day I also make a stop and my absolute favorite Italian bakery for more paczki, but paczki of a different kind! Tringali's Bakery in Warren MI, famous for their Italian Cannoli make their version of a Paczki filled with that rich, creamy and delicious cannoli cream! These are beyond heavenly!

For those who want amazing pie and a paczki-like experience, Michigan's own Achatz Handmade Pie Company , featured many times on The Food Network, has a special pie just for Fat Tuesday. The Paczki Pie features a crispy sugar glazed pastry shell filled with their famous vanilla cream and topped with their signature Michigan 4-Berry pie filling. This pie is just as good as the little packzi themselves!

Another unique Fat Tuesday treat comes from a local BBQ restaurant; Lazybones Smokehouse, has a created a "BBQ Pulled Pork" Paczki for today and are selling them for a $1.00 each. I haven't not tried or seen these, but curiosity may have me visit there today.

Duff Goldman - Meeting The "Ace Of Cakes"

Duff Goldman, owner of Charm City Cakes in Baltimore MD, and star of one of Food Networks biggest hit reality shows, "Ace Of Cakes" made a stop in Ann Arbor, Michigan on his tour promoting his new book, "Ace Of Cakes - Inside The World Of Charm City Cakes", co-written with his brother Willie Goldman.

Having been a cake decorator, on and off, for the last 22 years, I have been a huge fan of this show since it first premiered in August of 2006.

This book is a celebration of the bakery that started it all. This colorful scrapbook is loaded with stories about Duff's early days as a graffiti artist turned young chef, his successes and hilarious disasters, and the amazing team he built step-by-step.

The attendance at the book signing was amazing. Staff of Border's Books said they reached beyond the building capacity. The Borders is two floors, and the book signing was taking place on the 2nd floor. People filled the ground floor and some had to even wait outside. Now, from past experiences I've had with large book signings (i.e: Martha Stewart, Emeril Lagasse, Rachael Ray, etc) the book store usually requires you to purchase the book there at the time of the signing in order for you to even be able to get in line to have your book signed. This was not the case with Duff. Colored wristbands were distributed to people who wished to have their book signed by Duff and his brother Willie. They did, however, enforce that you MUST have a wristband to even go to the 2nd floor.

If you were lucky enough to arrive early, as James and I did, you were allowed to take one of the limited seats in an audience format, on the 2nd floor, for a cake competition of local culinary students from The Art Institute of Michigan, judged by Duff!

There were 4 cake entries in the competition and all were just incredible. The first cake to be judged depicted the journey from Detroit, MI, through Northern Ohio, then on to Pennsylvania and arriving in Baltimore MD, complete with an edible gum paste sculpture of the Charm City Cakes bakery.

The next cake, and my personal favorite because it is my all-time favorite movie, was a tribute to the 70th anniversary of "The Wizard Of Oz". This cake was a complete & edible replica of The Emerald City, and edible "Ruby Slippers" on top that rotated on a platform. At the bottom of the cake was an image of the main characters from The Wizard Of Oz.

Since Ann Arbor is the home of the University Of Michigan, the 3rd cake paid tribute to U of M, football. Eh, not really my thing!

The 4th cake was a very well sculpted fire-breathing dragon, that really emitted smoke (via dry ice effect). Though he thought every cake was simply amazing, Duff chose this dragon as the winner of the competition.

After the competition, Duff gave a discussion on how his career came to be, the show and ultimately this book. He's a very good speaker and extremely funny....

Almost every page in this book was a walk down memory lane for him and he happily shared his life stories with the crowd.

Duff then fielded questions from the audience which were really fun. The audience was great and Duff was more than happy to answer just about anything that was thrown at him.

Duff, as well as his brother Willie, signed several hundred books to end the evening. Unfortunately, there were no personal photo opportunities, so this was as close to a photo with Duff as I could get! Of course I had to wear my official "Charm City Cakes Hoodie" to the event, and even got a compliment from Duff for wearing it!

Generally, larger book signings such as this one, the author signs only their name. At first that was the case, but Duff himself decided that he would "personalize" the book for each fan!

Very fun and enjoyable event! I only wish others from the show came along with Duff such as Mary-Alice and Geof. Perhaps next time!

Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn

Today, James and I found ourselves in Ann Arbor Michigan to attend a food demo & book signing event with Lucinda Scala Quinn, author of a great new cookbook, "Mad Hungry - Feeding Men & Boys".



We arrived in Ann Arbor a few hours early as to catch a quick and informal dinner at Zingerman's Deli! This was my first time visiting this world-famous place and was simply amazed! Not just by the food, but the fresh baked breads, cakes, pies, cookies, etc, hundreds of cheeses from all over the world, freshly made dairy items such as butter & cream cheese. Other than the delicious corned beef sandwich I got, and the Cobb Salad James enjoyed, I bought some French Baguettes, Pure French Butter and some imported cheese for my mother. Can't wait to visit this place again!
Check them out sometime, they even do mail-order!


Lucinda Scala Quinn is the Senior Vice President & Executive Editorial Director of Food & Entertaining at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, as well as co-host of the popular PBS series "Everyday Food", and host of the radio show "Eat/Drink with Lucinda Scala Quinn" on Martha Stewart Living Radio, Sirius 112/XM 157.
Her current book tour stopped off in Ann Arbor, MI. It was held at the Ann Arbor District Library and was a very small and intimate setting.
Lucinda talked about her beginnings in the "food world", how she became interested in cooking, her beginnings with MSLO and how this, her latest book, came about.

She then demonstrated one of the many simple recipes from the book. A Tabbouleh Salad. This was followed with samples for us in the audience, of this delicious and fresh tasting salad, a Q & A session, and then she signed copies of the cookbook!

Lucinda's oldest son, Calder, joining her on this tour, was just as friendly as her. He joined in on the Q & A discussion with the audience and chatted with attendees.

Of course, I had to ask if she would oblige in taking a photo and she most graciously did. So friendly and she seems like someone I could talk with for hours about the subject of cooking!

"Mad Hungry - Feeding Men & Boys" is a cookbook I know I will use over and over. I can't wait to get started this week and will also be blogging all the recipes I make from the book. I told Lucinda about this blog and perhaps she'll check it out one day and comment, and her culinary suggestions would also be welcome!

Please go out and get this book or click on the book cover above to order online! Also, check out Lucinda's blog MadHungryLSQ.

A Day At The Apple Orchard

With the Autumn season upon us, the apple orchards and cider mills are just beginning their busiest time of the year.

Looking for something fun to do on a Sunday afternoon, James & I decided to go apple picking, along with my mother and niece, Gabrielle.

Blake Farms has been in business since 1946 and operates 3 apple orchards and a cider mill. They specialize in an array of the freshest Michigan grown produce, most of which you pick yourself, including U-pick pumpkins and fresh cut Christmas Trees. They're also famous for their freshly pressed apple cider, fresh doughnuts, fudge, jams, jellies, honey and many other tasty treats!!

Here are a couple shots from inside the small market at Blake's Big Apple Orchard.

Some fresh tomatoes, eggplant and garlic! Makes me crave Eggplant Parmesan!

With provided bags in hand, James and I headed out to the apple orchards! The trees were just screaming with apples waiting to be picked!

We picked many varieties such as McIntosh, Early Fugi, Molly Delicious, Gala, Honey Crisp, Cortlands, etc....

As well as some of the most delicious Bartlett Pears!

Oh my, what to do with all these apples??? All in all, I think James and I picked close to 2 bushels of apples and pears!

Pumpkins were almost ready for picking, but I think they needed time to grow much larger!

After apple picking, it was off to the raspberry patch! Picking the raspberries was a bit of a challenge because the bees were EVERYWHERE! Guess that's a good sign, though! We need the bees!

The raspberries were plump and juicy. Snacking while picking was encouraged! Because there were so many bees, though, we only managed to pick about 2 pints.

The orchard offers tractor pulled hay rides for guests. These are especially popular at night during the Halloween season!

Getting ready for the Halloween season, James has made a new friend!

Setting up a "Haunted" attraction for the kids! Halloween is the best time around here as they offer haunted hay-rides, haunted barn attractions and a scary corn maze!

For more information, feel free to check out their website: Blake Farms

Iron Chef Michael Symon in Detroit!

Recently, Detroit's Eastern Market kicked off their "Taste Of Eastern Market" series of cooking demonstrations. Their first demo, on May 2, 2009, featured Food Network Star, Iron Chef & Restaurateur Michael Symon.

Chef Symon recently opened a new restaurant, called "Roast", in the historic Book- Cadillac Hotel in Downtown Detroit. Once known as the crown jewel of Detroit hotels, the 85 year old hotel received a multi-million dollar restoration after being shuttered and left to rot for over 20 years. It is now known as "The Westin Book-Cadillac Hotel".

His demo emphasized on cooking with the bounty of fresh vegetables that are around in the early Spring. I arrived bright and early (at 7 am) to catch the 9 am cooking demo and to secure a good viewing spot, right up front.

Here, Chef Symon is making sure everything is set up to his liking in the demo-kitchen.



Chef Symon is getting all his ingredients together.



Just about ready to begin here!



Chef Symon explaining the importance of seasoning meats BEFORE cooking & not to be afraid of salt!



Chef Symon taking time to answer questions from people in the crowd.



Here, Chef Symon makes a vinaigrette for the Spring Vegetable Salad.



Some final seasoning.



Plating up this quick and simple dish.





Answering some more culinary questions from an audience member.



Grilled Lamb T-bones with Spring Vegetable Salad! This recipe will be available in Chef Symon's forthcoming cookbook, "Live To Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen", due out November 3, 2009.



Of course, Chef Symon was kind enough to pose for photographs with his adoring fans! I am never comfortable with taking photo's for any reason!





You can also check out Chef Symon's blog, Symon Says.

Detroit's Eastern Market

The Detroit Farmer's Market began in downtown Detroit, east of Woodward Ave., in 1841. When it moved to its present location in 1891, it was re-named Eastern Market. Today, in 2009, the historic farmers market and shopping center is 168 years old.

From the days of the horse-drawn carts to present day trucks, farmers have annually hauled thousands of tons of fresh produce to Detroit's Eastern Market area for re-sale to wholesalers, retailers and the general public. The figure is estimated to be over 70,000 tons a year.

On any given Saturday, some 45,000 Detroiters, suburbanites, and out-of-staters can be found shopping elbow to elbow at farmer's stalls or area retail shops for products from Michigan and as near as Ohio and Canadian farms, to as far as the European, Middle East, Asian, and South American farming areas.

Eastern Market is not only known for its luscious, colorful farm fresh fruits and vegetables, but also for the meat products (beef, pork, lamb, poultry, geese, ducks and rabbits.) Also, for the herbs and spices, nuts, candies and a variety of condiments supplied by retailers and wholesalers. A variety of fresh fish and seafood is also available.

The Annual Flower Days held at Eastern Market each year (this year, May 17, 2009), offers bedding plants, flowers, shrubs, evergreens, etc. It is recognized as the world's largest bedding flower market.

Eastern Market is also a people watcher's delight. A melting pot of rich, poor, young and old browse and actually bargain old-world style for what suits their interests, absorbing the sights, sounds, color and excitement of the Eastern Market area. Many people make an entire day out of shopping here, arriving before 7 a.m., having breakfast at one of the area's restaurants, then spending the morning shopping!

Built on the site of an early hay and wood market, Eastern Market area was one of three markets founded in the l850's. The farmers market portion moved to the present Eastern Market area site in 1891 from the old Cadillac Square area.

Although an open-air farmer's market existed prior to the Civil War, the first sales shed was built in l89l in the Vernor, Russell, Gratiot area, amid several other food establishments which had already located in the area. As the market area prospered, additional sheds were constructed in 1922 and 1929. Through the post-Depression era, the Eastern Market area grew, expanding in size and logging record truck-loads of farm products and other items as well. Following World War II, pre-packaged foods and the beginnings of the modern supermarket, shopping was altered for Detroiters and the way they shopped for food. So did Eastern Market, as more wholesalers and processors located in the area. Eastern Market developed into an important hub for the southeastern Michigan food distribution industry. Plans are to make it bigger, better and more efficient for the future.

Eastern Market was declared an historic area in 1977 by the State of Michigan Historical Commission. Many of the original buildings are still in operation today.

One of the many colorful murals painted on buildings throughout the market




Although a staple in the Fall, this vendor provides Michigan made apple cider, fresh donuts and homemade jams & jellies all year round at Eastern Market. They are also famous for their "Mountain Dew" jelly. One of these days I'm going to try it!





You can also get some of the freshest eggs of all kinds here. Every once in a while, vendors will also bring live chickens for sale here!






Grapefruits, Cabbages and Pineapple!






Cauliflower and string beans!






A wide variety of potatoes as well!






Fresh broccoli, squash and zucchini's! I'm thinking amazing stir-fry!




Of course my visit this past weekend was very early in the season, so this was just a sampling of the hundreds of items available in the market.



A local bakery sells a wide variety of "healthy" breads as well.








This small corner shop was home to Rafal Spice Company. A family run business in Eastern Market for well over 48 years. Spices, herbs, coffees, teas and other unique ingredients from around the world lined the walls and shelves of this tiny shop. Just walking towards the store you could smell the aroma of fresh spices. One could get just about any spice or herb known to man here.
Martha Stewart even purchased spices here and has listed Rafal Spice Company in the "Sources" section of many of her cookbooks. In return, Rafal Spice Company ran many ads in the "MarketPlace" section of "Martha Stewart Living" magazine.
Unfortunately, due to Detroit's failing economy, Rafal Spice Company closed it's doors in December, 2008. Anticipating re-opening in March of 2009, the store was still closed during my recent visit in April.






Another favorite store of mine, is R. Hirt jr. Co. This specialty goods store founded in 1887 by Rudolph Hirt jr. makes you feel like you walked into a time machine and came out a century earlier in the middle of a bustling general store. The immediate smell that engulfs you is the smell of over 300 varieties of cheeses they offer!






On Saturdays, a line starts at the front of the counter and continues to find its way right out the front door. With the quality products that R. Hirt jr. sells, the line is understandable. Not only is cheese aplenty, but other products sold are meats, freshly baked loaves of bread, tea, chocolates, sauces, oils, pastas and pickles.





These crates contain a wide assortment of only REAL maple syrup.



These shelves are lined with hundreds of different olive oils and vinegars from around the globe! The top of the shelves offer many glass vessels to store such items as well as unique glass beverage dispensers.

The photo above is a display of the many "Michigan Made" items available at the store.

If you wander towards the back of the store, you'll come to a creaky old wooden staircase. Venture up to the top floor to take in the stores extensive collection of wicker baskets, other wicker related items and hand-made crafts.

Just outside the store they offer a wide variety of garden items such as terra-cotta and painted gardening pots and other garden decor such as these whimsical garden ornaments.



The market also boasts a few nice antique dealers as well. Since most of the shops are small, on warm sunny days such as this was, the shops will display merchandise outside in front of the shops.



This hilarious banner, at another shop that sells garden decor, was advertising "Glass Gazing Balls". I assure you, the sign does get your attention!




They also offered these gigantic flower pots! I would love to have a couple of these out front, but they wouldn't even fit in my Jeep!



After exploring Detroit's Eastern Market you're most likely going to be hungry. If you love good BBQ, check out Bert's MarketPlace for their Saturday outdoor BBQ! Huge lines form to enjoy delicious ribs, burgers, chicken, etc.



Enjoy your food on Bert's large outdoor patio. Often times, there is a DJ playing music, as well as karaoke.

Other great dining options in Eastern Market are:

Vivio's - Home of their famous Bloody Mary's

Roma Cafe Italian Restaurant - Detroit's oldest family run restaurant (119 years old)

Butcher's Inn

Louie's Ham & Corned Beef - 3570 Riopelle Street, Detroit MI 48218


For more information on what's going on in the market, including the many special events being held there weekly, check out their website: Detroit's Eastern Market