Food Gifts
Our people like to eat. This holiday,
give 'em what they really want —
truly scrumptious local goods.
Lynne Konstantin I Contributing Writer
Pete Steffy, a Fulbright Scholar and off-hours chef,
has found his calling in truffles. Using Belgian
We understand why New York pastry chef Dana
chocolate, locally sourced hormone-free dairy, fresh
Loia was drawn to macarons — you can't go wrong
with nut flour, egg whites and sugar, the basic
fruits, nuts, spices and liqueurs, Steffy hand-rolls
his confections, an art he learned while living in
ingredients of the dainty French sandwich cookies.
But she wanted to add a bit of American gusto,
the southern highlands of Mexico. Now living in
and concocted lusciously colorful and often iconic
flavor combinations like Thin Mint (mint-green shell
Detroit, the Royal Oak native's enterprise, Pete's
Chocolate Co., offers his creamy, melt-in-your-
mouth truffles in flavors like Cinnamon Cayenne
filled with dark chocolate ganache), S'mores (choc-
olate and graham shell stuffed with milk-chocolate
ganache and toasted homemade marshmallow fluff)
(shown), Raspberry and Rosemary Sea Salt. $1.50/
single; $6/box of four; $12/box of nine. Look for
Pete's Chocolate Co. on weekends at the Rust
and Red Velvet (cream cheese smothered inside a
lush red shell). Once only available in her New York
Belt Market, Ferndale (rustbeltmarket.com ) or at
City bakery, Henri Bendel and Dylan's Candy Bar,
peteschocolate.com .
Dana's Bakery Macarons can now be picked up
by the 12-pack ($36) and four-pack ($12) at area
Hiller's markets (hillers.com ).
Let them eat cake — and drink it, too. Just Baked,
Michigan's ever-blossoming specialty cupcake and
bakery empire, teamed with another Detroit favor-
ite to create Faygo Cupcakes ($6.99/six-pack).
Originating in Detroit in 1907 as Feigenson Brothers
Bottling Works by Ben and Perry Feigenson, who were
bakers in their native Russia, Faygo has endured as a
local icon — and loans its flavored Redpop, Grape and
Orange-flavored syrups to the jumbo-sized cupcakes.
Area Hiller's and Busch's stores (justbakedshop.com ).
Inspired by the melt-
ing pot of ethnic
Similar to a softer but crunchier version of
biscotti or mandelbread, Cooper Street Cookies'
Birmingham-based mother-sons founders Elaine,
Max and Sam Surnow use a family recipe that's
been handed down for more than 100 years. The
all-natural ingredients, nut- and lactose-free and
no preservatives treats are available in perfect-
for-dunking flavors like Lemon Poppy, Cinnamon
Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, Keylime Coconut
and more. All flavors can be customized into pret-
tily wrapped gift-giving Cookie Towers of four
4-oz. ($19.99) or 9-oz. ($29.99) packages (or
bigger or smaller packages). The best part: Three
cookies are only 100 calories. Available at area
Macy's stores (macys.com ); area Whole Foods
stores (wholefoods.com ); area Plum Market stores
(plummarket.com ); area Bed Bath & Beyond stores;
and area Hiller's stores (hillers.com ). For special
orders: Cooper Street Cookies (248-629-0081;
cooperstreetcookies.com ).
48
groups that call
Detroit home, foodie
and urban planner
Randall Fogelman
launched the Detroit
Spice Company at
the Eastern Market
in 2010. Specializing
in spice blends
(rather than "raw"
spices), DSC hand-
crafts each signa-
ture blend to capture
the essence of the
Detroit community:
Detroit Barbecue
Rub, Detroit Greektown Seasoning, Detroit Steak
Seasoning and more in signature tins emblazoned
with a custom graphic of Detroit classic cars. Get
your heat on with DSC hot sauces, too. Find Detroit
Spice Company Gift Pack Samplers ($14.99) and
individual tins at the Detroit Eastern Market
(detroiteasternmarket.com ) or Detroitspiceco.com .
Just as the name implies, historians are fairly
certain that the invention of fudge was accidental.
Regardless, the happy mistake of combining sugar
and cream has thrilled sweet tooths at least since
1892, when the first mention of fudge is document-
ed. Pick up a box of the enormous, colorful chunks
of Greenfield Village Fudge handcrafted in the
Greenfield Village Store at the Henry Ford, avail-
able in a rainbow of luscious flavors including clas-
sic Chocolate, Rocky Road, Peanut Butter, Vanilla
Chocolate Swirl and Candy Cane ($7.99 by the half
pound/ $7.19 for members). Greenfield Village Store,
Dearborn Museum Store, Dearborn (313-982-6114);
Online Shop (giftshop.thehenryford.org ).
Food Gifts on page 50
November 15 • 2012