Compiled by Polly Campbell
Required reading
Why would anyone want to follow the recipes in Even More Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur (Plume; $13)? Why would you want to go to the trouble to spend scratch-cooking time creating mass-produced food items like Girl Scout Thin Mints, Kraft Thousand Island Dressing or Heinz 57 Sauce?
Why not just go to KFC for your Extra-Crispy Chicken and spend your time cooking something a little more homemade?
It seems like a crazy confusion of priorities, despite the book's arguments that you can save money, re-create discontinued items or have seasonal items, such as Cadbury CrËme Eggs, out of season. But that's the wrong way to think about it: The brand-name re-creation cooking phenomenon (this is Wilbur's seventh book) is just a fun cooking hobby that can be serious, but has a kitschy appeal, too.
Have a party; amaze your friends by serving ersatz Cheese Nips and Drake's Devil Dogs. Most of the recipes are simple, and often are based on commercial products such as cake mixes.
We tried it
One recipe that appealed to me and my teenage daughter in Even More Top Secret Recipes was for Auntie Anne's pretzels, those pretzel-like snacks whose baking aroma drives you crazy at the mall, and whose price can turn a simple mall-strolling trip into an expensive proposition.
We tried the recipe, which was fun to do and not especially difficult. The yeast dough rises once and is nice and sturdy, so you can stretch it into long ropes and then form it into pretzels just like they do at the mall. You bathe the dough in a solution of baking soda and water before baking, and either sprinkle the pretzels with kosher salt, or wait until they're done and coat in butter and cinnamon sugar.
They came out smelling and tasting remarkably like the real thing (which is not much like "real" hot pretzels). The powdered sugar in the dough made it soft and sweet and the baking soda created just a hint of tangy pretzel flavor. Once the pretzels cooled, the resemblance paled.
See you there
Celebrate the arrival of rich and hearty bock beer at BockFest in Over-the-Rhine Friday and Saturday. BockFest parades step off in front of Arnold's Bar & Grill (210 E. Eighth St.) at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Avril-Bley sausages will be featured at Sausage Fest at Grammer's Restaurant on Walnut Street in Over-the-Rhine beginning 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Most Over-the-Rhine bars and restaurants will serve bock beer and German food throughout the weekend. Beer tastings, lectures and tours also will be held. More information: 421-2337. BockFest schedule at www.barrelhouse.com.
