Accompanying

Winter is officially still 10 days away, but state health officials say four Marylanders have already died from cold-related causes. Two of the dead were drowning victims, officials said. But the other two were more typical hypothermia cases involving both cold and underlying medical factors. "You don't have to have an underlying medical condition" to be vulnerable to hypothermia and death, said Dr. Clifford S. Mitchell, assistant director for environmental health at the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Pam Kelleman of Phoenix was looking for a recipe for a layer cake that was served at the now-closed Pimlico Hotel restaurant in Baltimore. She was hoping a reader would have the "original" recipe for the cake. Unfortunately, I did not receive any responses, but I happened to notice that Atwater's bakery at Belvedere Square makes a version of this hometown favorite. Ned Atwater was kind enough to modify his Pimlico cake recipe for the home baker. I tested his cake, and it was just as Kelleman described the original: a yellow chiffon layer cake filled with Bavarian custard and iced with a rich chocolate frosting.

Taking refuge in Harborplace's Light Street Pavilion from a sudden downpour yesterday evening, Mayor Martin O'Malley and others officially welcomed the Volvo Ocean Race to Baltimore. A three-piece band led a procession of the eight racing teams around the pavilion's food court before race officials, businessmen and local dignitaries took to the podium before a crowd of onlookers to thank those who had brought the international sailing race to Maryland once again. The rain storm caused some booths at the accompanying Baltimore Waterfront Festival to shut down and visitors to flee.

Steve Fox and Martha Todd, owners of Towson's Bread and Circuses Bistro, know how to get things done — and that bodes well for their restaurant. Right now, the food at Bread and Circuses is on the safe side and the service needs fine-tuning. But Fox and Todd already have some plans in the works for the menu, and with their can-do attitude, the petite bistro has the potential to be something special. Fox and Todd have been hustling since 2009 when they opened French Press Cafe, a small coffee shop in downtown Towson.

At Maggie's Farm, on a late December night, the small, square Harford Road dining room was full, with couples and foursomes along the edges, and in the middle, two separate large parties, of 12 and 18, celebrating birthdays. We were concerned about our own good time. Are these people going to get loud? Can I get my order in before they do? There was no need to worry, not at Maggie's Farm, which serves up big flavors with a mellow attitude and makes the hard work of preparing and serving good food feel effortless.

Laura Bryna, a graduate of Glenelg High School and a budding country music artist, will open a concert tomorrow evening at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in a fundraising event for the United Cerebral Palsy of Central Maryland. Bryna - a stage name taken from a grandmother - says that she is living a dream that is difficult for her to comprehend. She remembers over a plate of hard-shell crabs years ago asking her stepfather, Thomas Mulitz of Mount Airy, what he fantasized as a child of becoming.

Paula King of Pikesville was looking for a recipe she lost track of for a sherry cake that she made many years ago. Dottie Hill of Holiday Island, Ark., sent in a recipe that she says she has had for more than 30 years. The foundation of this delicious cake is a box of yellow cake mix. Eggs, oil, instant vanilla pudding and sherry are added to the basic mix and the finished cake tastes nothing like an ordinary cake from a mix. A glaze made from sherry and confectioners' sugar is poured over the cake when it is removed from the oven.

Drug-coated stents, the coil-like metal devices that prop open blocked arteries, appear to be superior to older bare-metal stents for treating heart attacks, according to a new study. The finding is the first randomized trial showing a clear benefit with drug-coated stents in an emergency setting, although some doctors already have been using the revolutionary devices to treat heart attacks. "Our study extends previous knowledge showing that ... drug-eluting stents are more effective and probably are as safe as bare-metal stents," said lead author Marco Valgimigli, chairman of cardiology at the University of Ferrara, Cardiovascular Institute in Ferrara, Italy.

Maryland first lady Frances Hughes Glendening, who is living apart from Gov. Parris N. Glendening, will not attend the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles next week, a spokeswoman said last night. It marks the first time Mrs. Glendening has chosen to skip a major event since late last month when the couple began living separately. The first lady would not elaborate on her reasons for not attending the four-day convention, spokeswoman Susan Casey said. Mrs. Glendening, who is a staff attorney for the nonpartisan Federal Election Commission, was not expected to have an official role at any of the political events taking place at the convention.

Prudential HealthCare expects to lay off 32 employees next month as the result of its decision to leave the Maryland Medicare market.The 32 employees all were in sales and marketing positions for the HMO's program for Medicare patients, said Kevin Heine, a Prudential spokesman.The HMO is leaving the Medicare market here because, it says, the costs of providing the coverage were higher than the premiums it collected.Prudential said it would not offer Medicare HMO coverage after Jan. 1 in Maryland, the District of Columbia, California, New York, New Jersey and parts of Florida.