SMORGASBORD: Cereal serialism . . . Laugh it up . . . Bake-Off bonanza

Cereal serialism

Ask Marty Gitlin to name his favorite cereal, and rest assured the answer he provides comes from years of thorough research that began when he just 8.

His passion for breakfast cereal goes back nearly 50 years.

Gitlin decided as a kid that it was imperative for him to try at least one bowl of every new breakfast cereal that hit the market. And with the help of his permissive mother, he was able to do just that.

“I told my mother and she was cool about it. She just did it. I was a goofy 8-year-old kid,” Gitlin recalls.

Now, the 55-year-old North Olmsted, Ohio, resident has his mother to thank for the book he has written, “The Great American Cereal Book: How Breakfast Got Its Crunch” ($19.95 hardcover, Abrams Image).

The book provides a colorful trip to the past when the likes of King Vitamin, Kaboom and Super Sugar Crisp ruled our breakfast tables. Each page is a kitschy slice of American history as told through our breakfast cereal.

Laugh it up

The Laughing Cow, one of the leading brands of portion-controlled snack, has a new line of products — Smooth Sensations Cream Cheese Spread.

The new product line joins The Laughing Cow’s portfolio of individually wrapped cheeses that include Cheese Wedges and Mini Babybel Cheeses, both favored snacks among health-and weight-conscious consumers.

The Smooth Sensations Cream Cheese Spread is available in five varieties: Classic Cream 1/3 Less Fat, Strawberries & Cream 1/3 Less Fat, Garden Vegetable 1/3 Less Fat, Cinnamon Cream 1/3 Less Fat and Classic Cream. All flavors are packaged in individually portioned wedges. The four varieties with one-third less fat than regular cream cheese contain 45 calories per wedge. The Classic Cream flavor has 55 calories per wedge.

A packet of the wedges retails for about $2.70 and will be in stores this month.

Bake-Off bonanza

Pumpkin Ravioli with Salted Caramel Whipped Cream is the winning dish of the 2012 Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest.

Christina Verrelli, of Devon, Pa., won $1 million and $10,000 worth of GE kitchen appliances for her creation.

Made with Pillsbury Crescent dough sheets, the recipe can be found on Pillsbury’s website, pillsbury.com, along with all the other finalists. All entries in the contest were required to include at least one eligible Pillsbury product.

Three category winners each receive $5,000 cash and $3,000 in appliances.

Those dishes are Sausage-Pomodoro Brunch Bake by Maria Vasseur, of Valencia, Calif.; Asparagus, Artichoke and Red Pepper Pizza by Terri Sherman, of Palos Heights, Ill.; and Chicken Empanada Cones and Donna Wolfe, of Hamilton, N.J.

Tags: life, updates, food, smorgasbord