WFAE is raking you over the coals

I've always said Mike Collins is smokin' hot: Out of all the subjects "Charlotte Talks" has covered, the 30th anniversary show, which airs Aug. 22, is on grilling and smoking. They're looking for grilling stories and techniques to read during the show and post online afterward. The show also will be taped during a special open house Aug. 19. Get a link to submitting your questions and stories and get a chance at a ticket to the open house on their food blog, WFAEATS.

A toast to Mike Collins

Whenever I've been on WFAE's "Charlotte Talks," there is always that moment when the "on air" light turns on, the music cues up through my headphones, host Mike Collins starts his patter - and I give a big gulp. Here comes a chance to make a fool of myself while thousands of people are listening.

It's enough to make a girl wish she had a good cocktail at 9 in the morning. Not that I would indulge so early, but still.

So when a new cocktail book, "The Ultimate Cocktail Book," by Bill Reveall and Neil Mersh landed on my desk the other day, guess what caught my eye? The Mike Collins.

Yes, there is a Mike Collins cocktail. Sadly, it doesn't have anything to do with our longtime talk-radio host. It's a variation in the large Collins family, iced cocktails that always include lemon juice and soda water. Tom Collins is the best known, made with gin, but there are collinses. I've dallied on occasion with the John Collins, made with bourbon or rye. There's the Juan Collins, with tequila, the Pierre Collins, with brandy, and the Comrade Collins, with vodka. There's even a nonalcoholic version called a Phil Collins. And apparently, there's a Mike Collins, made with Irish whiskey.

Still, knowing there's a Mike Collins is a good excuse to raise a glass to our own Mike Collins. Mike, here's to you. And your mic.

Mike Collins From "The Ultimate Cocktail Book" ($17.95, Hamlyn).

5 to 6 ice cubes
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon simple syrup (see note)
3 ounces Irish whiskey
1 orange slice
1 maraschino cherry
Club soda or seltzer
Orange rind spiral

Put the ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Pour the lemon juice, sugar syrup and whiskey over the ice and shake until a frost forms. Pour, without straining, into a tumbler or Collins glass and add the orange slice and cherry speared on a cocktail stick. Top with soda water, stir lightly and serve decorated with an orange rind spiral.

Feeding your calendar: 'Cake Love' and more

• Has the economy forced you to branch out -- or are you thinking about jumping into the entreprenurial pool? Warren Brown, founder of CakeLove in Washington, D.C., and media star (he was host of "Sugar Rush" on Food Network and has been on "Oprah" and "Today") will bring his motivation to Johnson & Wales from 7 to 10 a.m. Aug. 11 for the speaker series Accelerating Your Business. Brown's appearance is sponsored by the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. It's free AND breakfast is included, but you have to register for a spot. To do that, go to http://www.charlottechamber.com/ and search on "Warren Brown."




• Remember the 10% Local Challenge I wrote about here last week? There's a Charlotte-area kickoff from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Aug. 17 at Atherton Market at Atherton Mill, 2104 South Blvd. Expect chefs demos, food tastings, shopping tips and dietary and nutrition advice, all to help you reach that goal of spending 10% of your food dollars on local food. To learn more, go here.




• "Southern Cooking: Then & Now" is the subject of the next WFAE Public Conversation, 7-8:30 p.m. Aug. 19 at the charlotte Museum of History. Moderated by Johnson & Wales University chef Peter Reinhart, panelists will be Heidi Billotto, Penny Craver of the restaurant Dish (love your sweet potato pie, Penny!), and soul food cooking teacher Denise Hairston. And if my own experiences with the Public Conversation format is any indication, audiences get to do a lot of participating.