Specialties of the house

When Jo Carol Alford put out a call for submissions to “Favorite Recipes from Friends of Edith Patch,” she didn’t know what to expect. The response was overwhelming. Apparently everyone wants to help restore the Patch House on the University of Maine campus, the longtime home of entomologist Edith Patch, who was a pioneer for women in higher education. The long-awaited cookbook has arrived, and it’s huge by community-cookbook standards. It has more than 1,000 recipes, including a submission from Stephen and Tabitha King. The books are available at The Store-Ampersand, Orono Pharmacy, Flowers, The Pretty Woman, Page Farm and Home Museum, the University of Maine Bookstore, and Jane’s Gifts in Orono; The Map Store and Maine River Junction in Old Town; Calico Kitchen in Milford; and Bangor Wine & Cheese Co., Picture This frame shop, and Dr. David Kimler’s office in Bangor; and A Touch of the Past in Brewer. For more information, call Jo Carol Alford at 866-7517.

Hot gifts

This Christmas, give a gift that reflects your fiery disposition. Firegirl.com, a Westbrook-based hot-sauce purveyor, now lets fiery-foods connoisseurs create their own label, such as the one designed last Christmas by the Radio City Music Hall stage crew (pictured). The sauces are available in four varieties: mild jalapeno, mildly hot cayenne, mildly hot garlic, or really hot habanero. The sauces cost about $3.50 each, color label included, with a minimum order of 48 bottles required. For information, visit www.firegirl.com or call (800) 296-9646.

Gingerbread palace

Hansel and Gretel were looking in the wrong place. You won’t find any wicked witches at the 16th annual Christmas festival at the World Trade Center in Boston, but you will find hundreds of intricate gingerbread houses on sale to benefit Starlight Children’s Foundation of New England. Like all Boston real estate, they don’t come cheap: corporations can purchase a house made by one of New England’s top chefs for a donation of $1,000, while individuals can buy a bungalow-size confection for $300 or a mansion-size treat for $600. The event takes place from noon to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2; and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3. For information, call (617) 385-5000 or visit www.christmascraftfestival.com.

Tidbits is hungry for news about local food products and events. Send your Tidbits by mail to: Bangor Daily News, attn: Kristen Andresen, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor ME 04402-1329; by fax to 941-9476; or by e-mail to kandresen@bangordailynews.net.