Everyone wins with the 13th annual car raffle benefitting ProStart

Let’s talk prizes first and foremost. When you purchase a ticket you are entered to win a 2012 Infiniti G25 from J.B.A. Infiniti of Ellicott City or $25,000 cash. You also could win the second prize of $7,500 or third place prize of $5,000. There is even more, NEW, this year, an early bird drawing, if you have purchased your raffle ticket by noon, November 5th you are entered to win $2,500.

Watch the video and read more HERE

Fifty Shades of Chicken arrived bound

I cackled when I found the cookbook parody of Fifty Shade of Grey, Fifty Shades of Chicken in my mailbox. The author’s name F. L. Fowler is a pseudonym so whoever is behind writing this chicken seduction cookbook is laughing all the way to the hen house.

The characters in Fifty Shades of Chicken are Miss Hen and Mr. Blades owner of 50 blades..READ MORE and watch the video

A Vienna cafe's project allows men a peek into the ladies bathroom

An Austrian café has installed a one way mirror in the ladies restroom as part of an art project. The artist, Alexander Riegler, told the local paper that the one way mirror is a way to stir a discussion on voyeurism and surveillance.

Read the full story and watch the video HERE

A gallon of BBQ sauce sells for $10,000

What’s in your kitchen cupboard? Could there be a hidden condiment worth $10,000?

Mort Bank just sold the twenty year old gallon of Michael Jordan’s burger promotional McJordan’s sauce on E-Bay for a sum just shy of $10,000. From the KFYR/CNN report, Bank, a former Mc Donald's franchisee saved the sauce after the Michael Jordan burger promotion back in 1992.

Read the full story and watch the video HERE

Cookbook Corner: Simply Sensational Cookies by Nancy Baggett

Holiday cookie exchanges are just around the corner. I want ooohs and aaahs on my cookies. I am a cookie spotlight hog! If you are anything like me and want the adoration of friends and family for your cookies then the just released Simply Sensational Cookies by the “Queen of Cookies” Nancy Baggett is a must have.

 Read the full story, link to recipes and enjoy the video HERE

The Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten is coming to Baltimore: It's foolproof

The Food Network star and cookbook author Ina Garten is coming to Baltimore kicking off her cookbook tour for Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust which hits the shelves on October 30.

Get all the details of her visit, recipe link and video HERE

Marlin & Ray's brining seafood to Bel Air: Can you say steamers?

Marlin & Ray’s Seafood & Sunsets has been open for about three weeks in Bel Air, Maryland. It is pretty ballsy to bring seafood to a seafood state and on a number of levels they are successful. 

It was only a couple weeks ago that I wrote about this small restaurant chain opening in Bel Air on Business Route 1.  They appreciated the write up and invited me to come up for dinner. Not knowing how the dinner would proceed, I had the planned to order one of the Steamer dinners. Little did I know it was going to turn into a scene from Barry Levinson’s Diner* where we were served what I believe was half the menu.   

Read the full review, slideshow and video HERE

Langermann’s Hoppin’ John’s Lowcountry dinner and book signing

Langermann’s has established itself in Baltimore as a southern inspired restaurant sharing the joys of the South Carolina Lowcountry cuisine. Chef Neal Langermann is a long standing friend of culinary historian and writer John Martin Taylor, author of numerous award winning cookbooks. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Taylor’s Hoppin John’s Lowcountry Cooking and in honor of the occasion the book has been reissued with a new preface plus the original 250 Lowcountry recipes.

Get the details on the this exclusive evening's festivities and menu HERE

Olive Garden: Dine out and dine in

I’m always on the lookout for a good dining deal for my readers, one that is cost effective and bountiful

My chain restaurant pick is Olive Garden’s Dinner Today & Dinner Tomorrow promotion for $12.95*. Choose from three new entrees and two existing entrées for dinner at the Olive Garden along with the unlimited homemade soup or garden fresh salad and breadsticks.

Check out the selection and the promotion HERE

Stoney River Legendary Steaks: Sonoma Wine Tour Sweepstakes

There are contest and then there are contest. Stoney River Legendary Steaks has put together a pretty nifty sweepstakes with multiple ways to enter. The sweepstakes is promoting their customized wine flights at their restaurants. The grand prize is a chance to win a 3-night Sonoma County tasting tour for four – your own personal “Sideways” tour.

It is simple to enter, and there are 50 additional prizes beyond the grand prize - Get full details HERE

Haussner’s Restaurant: A look back to 1961 in video

With all the posts I could write at the moment of restaurants opening, chefs moving and my freezer full of chicken stock, I wanted to share a video.

Sonya Marshall, a lovely acquaintance, posted the video of the former landmark restaurant Haussner’s Restaurant on her Facebook page. The video is from The Port that Built the City circa 1961.

Read the full story, enjoy the video  HERE

The 13th Floor refreshed, remodeled and reopened: lucky you

The black cat on the gold colored invitation to the sneak peek of newly remodeled 13th Floor in the Belvedere seemed apropos for Halloween month but it is far from spooky or ominous – it is sophisticated and posh.

The 13th Floor in the historic Belvedere Hotel, known for its outstanding views of Baltimore city- read the full story and check out the slideshow HERE.