LOCAL BITES

Idle Hands
Idle Hands nano-brewers in Everett, profiled earlier on PRK, is throwing its official launch party on Nov. 7, 6-8pm, at Atwood’s Tavern in Cambridge. Come support this local brewery and try for yourself their carefully-crafted beers.

A Slice of Heaven
Get a head start on the Thanksgiving menu this year as Community Servings kicks off its annual “Pie in the Sky” fundraiser, dishing out 13,000 homemade pies for $25 apiece. The money from each purchased pie feed one needy client for an entire week. Grab your own slice of pie here.

Tailgating
Leave your Nerf at home and support Lovin’ Spoonfuls food rescue efforts by coming out to their “Ultimate Tailgate Party,” Nov. 13, 5-8pm. The day will be filled with exceptional food from some of Boston’s top chefs, including a pig roast prepared by chef Jamie Bissonnette of Coppa and Toro, specialty cocktails and oysters from Island Creek Oyster Bar, as well as a silent auction. Tickets can be ordered here.

Holiday Farmers Market
Berkshire Grows will soon host their annual Holiday Farmers Markets. The Great Barrington Market will be held on Nov. 19 and Dec. 17, and the Williamstown Farmers Market on Nov. 20 and Dec. 17. More information, as well as a full list of vendors, can be found here.

Hospital Food
Food produced in hospitals is often thought of as a negligible step down from airplane food – canned fruits and veggies, unidentifiable meats — you know the drill. Apparently, however, the tides have turned. Judges of the Massachusetts Health Council’s “Best Chef of the Healthcare Industry Awards” recently chose the very best in Massachusetts’s hospital food. Rachel Zimmerman of WBUR’s “CommonHealth” blog reported on the winners.

NATIONAL TREATS

Do It Yourself?
You would think that the convenience of those self-checkout lanes at the supermarket are really enticing. Maybe not. This week “Here & Now” reported that self-checkout sales have decreased, and some major stores have actually begun to eliminate them altogether. Listen to the full report to hear why sales have declined, and what this portends.

Leftovers
Swimming in Halloween candy? Put it to good use! HuffPost Food has compiled a list of interesting and unique recipes inspired by everyone’s favorite candies.

Easy as Not-Quite-Pie
Domenica Marchetti has contributed a wonderful post to NPR’s “Kitchen Window” blog this week, writing about her happy memories and current successes in making that rustic Italian version-of-a-pie, the jam-filled crostata.

GLOBAL TASTINGS

Reading Between the Lines
Combatting the idea that cookbooks are simply lists of instructions, Clifford A. Wright of Zester Daily has composed this fascinating article suggesting that cookbooks actually invite and encourage creativity and innovation.