autism awareness

Crunch a pretzel for a cause.

That's what The Bachman Company, the Reading, Pa.-based producer of numerous pretzel and chip snacks, hopes you'll do with their latest offering, the Puzzle Pretzel.

The pretzels are shaped like jigsaw puzzle pieces, the symbol of Autism Speaks. The shape represents the missing piece of the puzzle in the search for answers about autism.

The Bachman Company, which adopted the cause in part because company president Scott Carpenter has a daughter with autism, will donate 5 percent of the proceeds from sales of the pretzels to Autism Speaks.

Chili and macoroni and cheese?

Until now mankind has had to make do with 10 kinds of Hormel chili in 15-ounce cans and a few of those varieties in microwaveable tubs. Now Hormel brings the waiting world three kinds of ... wait for it ... Chili Meals: Chili'n Penne (chili, no beans, with penne pasta), Chili'n Mac (macaroni, beans and beef in tomato sauce) and, oddly, Chili'n Spuds (chili, no beans, with diced potatoes). All are in 10-ounce microwaveable trays, "ready in 90 seconds." At one store Chili Meals cost 51 percent more per ounce than 15-ounce microwaveable tubs of Hormel no-beans chili and 80 percent more than Hormel no-beans chili in cans.

White anchovies

hit the grocery aisle

With its sexy silver skin and herring-like plushness, white anchovies are a considerably more elegant cousin to the briny brown fillets sold in those flat metal tins.

White anchovies are sold boneless, the flesh neatly filleted into two pieces. The fish are packed in an oil and vinegar marinade. The vinegar gives a certain snap to the anchovies.

White anchovies have an assertive flavor that needs to be showcased. The cost alone demands they get a starring role.

Use them as a final fillip on salade Nicoise. Arrange them over just-fried veal scallops along with a sprinkling of capers and a spritz of lemon. Coil them loosely on a slice of olive oil-glossed garlic bread for a tapas-like nibble, or create a lattice-like grid of the fish over a piping hot white pizza adorned with tiny Nicoise olives and a thyme sprig or two.

- Staff and wire reports