My next thank you is to my customers. I was sure feeling the love Saturday. THANKS! It was great to have validation for what I'm doing at the store. I know you all enjoy the sampling. But some of you thought the recipe booklet was written by me. That was so flattering to know that some of you think I could write a recipe booklet. Also, I never realized so many appreciate my wine recommendations. THANKS! I knew I was drinking all the wine I did for a reason. I drink for you.
Now for this weekend's recipes. Beginning with the two from Parmigiano-Reggiano's recipe booklet. Although the recipe booklet is not brand specific (except for Parmigiano-Reggiano), I have included the brands I used in the recipes as many customers ask me what I use.
Parmigiano-Reggiano, Mushroom and Celery Salad
2 Tbl. lemon juice
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. TFM Dijon mustard
¼ c. TFM Novello extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. minced shallot
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. fresh baby bella mushrooms, cleaned
6 oz. celery hearts
2 Tbl. chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbl. chopped fresh mint
4 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano
6 lettuce leaves
Whisk together lemon juice, salt and mustard until salt dissolves. Add oil in a very thin stream, whisking constantly. Stir in shallots and ground pepper.
Thinly slice mushrooms, through cap and stem. Slice celery thinly on an angle. Combine mushrooms, celery, parsley and mint in a large bowl. Add 2 oz. shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano. (Can be made ahead to this point and chilled.)
Just before serving, place lettuce leaves on 6 plates. Toss salad with dressing and mound on each plate. With a vegetable peeler, sliver the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano over each portion. Serve.
Yields: 6 servings
What can I say? Easy. Flavorful. Customers were commenting how delicious it was. A must try recipe.
What can I say? Easy. Flavorful. Customers were commenting how delicious it was. A must try recipe.
Portabello
Mushroom Sandwich
3
large yellow peppers
6
large Portabello mushroom caps, brushed clean, stems removed
TFM Extra
Virgin olive oil
TFM Aged
balsamic vinegar
4
oz. mixed field salad, cleaned
6
4” squares of focaccia, sliced in halve
24
whole basil leaves
1
recipe Savory Parmigiano-Reggiano Spread (follows)
Broil
peppers until their skins blacken and blister, about 4 to 5 minutes on each
side. Place peppers in a brown bag and
let set 10 minutes to steam skins loose.
Remove skins and seeds, cut peppers into halves.
Brush
mushrooms with olive oil and grill over high heat. Turn as necessary, grilling until tender.
Sprinkle
with a bit of balsamic vinegar.
Place
a small handful of greens on the bottom half of each piece of focaccia. Top with mushroom and half a roasted
pepper. Add 4 basil leaves to each
sandwich. Smear a dollop of Savory Parmigiano-Reggiano Spread on the top slice
of focaccia and press sandwich together.
Yields: 6 servings
Savory Parmigiano-Reggiano Spread
13 ¾ oz. jar of Cento artichoke hearts, drained
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Drain artichoke hearts and chop into small pieces. In a small bowl stir together artichokes, mayonnaise and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Yields: 3 cups
This was the first time the food I sampled out was commented on (several times I might add) as "a work of art". The bakery did not have Focaccia for me and they gave me Ciabatta. Ahhh ... yes the sandwich samples looked beautiful. The flavor was great. But ... Ciabatta is a crustier, harder bread and Foccacia is softer and not as thick. Foccacia would have been the better choice. In any case, the flavor was there and enjoyed by all. When I was finished with my tasting I had one small platter of sandwich samples remaining and some scraps behind the cheese wall. When I went back there half the platter was eaten and all the scraps were gone. My taste testers all munch when my back is turned. A sure sign the recipe is a hit.
Oh, as an aside - the Savory Parmigiano-Reggiano Spread was great on it own. My taste testers and I sampled it on TFM French Rounds (garlic and original). Yummy. Not only do I drink for you, but eat for you as well.
Oh, as an aside - the Savory Parmigiano-Reggiano Spread was great on it own. My taste testers and I sampled it on TFM French Rounds (garlic and original). Yummy. Not only do I drink for you, but eat for you as well.
*****************
This weekend was decisions, decisions for me as Nicole had another nice selection of cheese for Fromage Fort (which by the way I am renaming "Fromage du Jour" starting next weekend).
 |
| Cute jar. Great flavor. |
Parrano/Champignon with Mushrooms
9½
oz. Fol Epi, rind removed and grated
9
oz. Parrano, rind removed and grated
6¾
oz. Champignon with Mushrooms,
cut in pieces
cut in pieces
¼
c. Lucini Roasted Garlic
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Wildly
Delicious Roasted Garlic Sea Salt,
to taste
to taste
TFM
Original French Rounds
Place
cheeses and olive oil in the bowl of a food
processor and process until blended and smooth. If you feel the mixture is too dry, add more TFM Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Refrigerate to let
flavors blend (5 to 24 hours). Place
cheese in a serving bowl and garnish with sea salt. Serve with TFM Original French Rounds.
Customers did enjoy this, but I will say you have to like garlic. The Lucini Roasted Garlic EVOO is very tasty and there's no mistaking the garlic flavor. In fact, I stopped adding the olive oil after ¼ cup as the flavor was getting to bold. Not adding more olive oil made the consistency on the thicker side. If I would have been thinking I would have continued to add olive oil, but would have switched to TFM's EVOO. That is the reason for the blue line in the directions above. I added TFM's EVOO to the remaining spread after my tasting. The spread was amazing.
*****************
9.7
oz. jar Apetina Feta in oil
with herbs and spices
with herbs and spices
8
oz. Fol Epi, rind removed and grated
7
oz. Saint Andre, cut in wedges
TFM
Original French Rounds
Place
cheeses (including Apetina’s oil, herbs and spices) in the bowl of a food processor and process until blended and
smooth. Refrigerate to let flavors blend
(5 to 24 hours). Serve with TFM Original
French Rounds.
All I can say about this was HANDS DOWN FAVORITE Fromage Fort (1 through 11) EVER. The cheeses for this were flying off the shelf. I will have to do this again at the holidays. I enjoy using Apetina because there's no measuring of EVOO and I don't have to think of spices (let alone measure and chop. Sheez! I'm starting to sound like some of my customers.)
*****************
Fromage Fort 10 - Apetina/Fontina/Champignon with Mushrooms
9.7
oz. jar Apetina Feta in oil with herbs and spices
7½
oz. Fontina, rind removed and grated
5½
oz. Champignon with Mushrooms, cut in pieces
TFM
Original French Rounds
Place
cheeses (including oil, herbs and spices) in the bowl of a food processor and process until blended and
smooth. Refrigerate to let flavors blend
(5 to 24 hours). Serve with TFM Original
French Rounds.
Fromage Fort 11 - Burrata/Piave
8
oz. BelGioioso Burrata, drained
5¼
oz. Piave, rind removed
and grated
and grated
2
Tbl. TFM Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2
Tbl. Delallo Piquillo Peppers,
drained and diced
drained and diced
Stacy’s
Bake Shop
Herbed Baguette Bakery Crisps
Herbed Baguette Bakery Crisps
Place
cheeses and oil in the bowl of a food processor and process until blended and
smooth. Mix in peppers. Refrigerate to
let flavors blend (5 to 24 hours). Serve
with Stacy’s Herbed Baguette Bakery Crisps.
Not much on these two. No negative comments, Some customers said they enjoyed. As for my taste testers ... they liked them, but nothing could compare to #9.
I've reached the end. Time to cube my cheese for today's Australian wine tasting. Then sample the cheese with the wine to make sure it's perfect. Hope you're able to come sample. If not, just know I'll be sampling for you!
No comments:
Post a Comment