Recipe: Quinoa, Cucumber, Kale Salad

Earth & Vine prepared this recipe at the grand opening of Fresh Market, Commonwealth Pkwy.  The following day, customers were calling the store asking for the recipe, it was so delicious they wanted to prepare it.  For the customers at the grand opening, here's the recipe.  For my customers at Fresh Market, Huguenot, I think we need to give this a try.

Quinoa, Cucumber, Kale Salad 

(Earth & Vine Provisions)

2 c. cooked (and cooled) Quinoa 

1 medium cucumber, seeded and cut into ¼-inch dice 

1/3 c. diced red bell pepper

1/3 c. diced yellow bell pepper

1 c. shelled Edamame

1 - 1½  c. finely chopped Kale

1/3 c. match stick carrots, chopped

1/3 c. diced red onion

1 bottle Earth & Vine Vinaigrette: Honey Pear Vinaigrette, 

          Raspberry Shallot, or Blackberry Balsalmic 

Add all ingredients, except vinaigrette, to a large bowl.  Gently toss.  Add vinaigrette to taste.  Toss until well blended.  Serve.

Wine and Food Sampling - October 28th, 29th, 30th & 31st

This post is for the NEW TFM on Commonwealth Parkway off 288 and Hull St. (old Barnes & Noble).  I am not at the Midlothian - Huguenot store this weekend.  

The Fresh Market 

Grand Opening Celebration 

4 days of sampling 

10:00 AM to 7:00 PM  

(Saturday until 6:00 PM)

My team and I (Bite Size Presentations) will be samping every day with either food or wine. 

There will be other vendors (e.g. Stonewall Kitchen, Earth & Vine, Republic of Tea) sampling as well.  Also, Chef Sherry will have cooking demos.

Come join the fun!

Wednesday, October 28th (11:00 AM to 3:00 PM)  

Food

• Dillapeno over Cream Cheese (Anita)

Wine department in Fresh Market - Commonwealth Pkwy, Midlothian, VA

Thursday, October 29th 

Wines   (11:00 AM to 2:00 PM - Anita)

• Liberty School - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet

Food  

• 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM (Anita)
• Stonewall Kitchen Roasted Garlic Onion Jam over Goat Cheese with Smoked Almonds

• 2:00 to 5:00 PM
• Dillapeno over Cream Cheese (Anita)

Friday, October 30th  

Wines   (11:00 to 2:00 PM - Anita)

• Soliel Mimosa - Orange and Pomegranite

Food  

• 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM (Anita)
• Stonewall Kitchen Orange Cranberry Marmalade over Brie with Pecans

• 4:00 to 7:00 PM
• Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup (Lori)
• Hibiscus Flowers with Goat Cheese, Black Pepper and Chive
• Brie with Hibiscus Flowers, Ginger and Almonds

• Simply Pickled (Pat) 
• Sweet Gourmet Pickles with Pimento Cheese
• Sweet Heat Jalapeno Cheese Spread
• Brie with Watermelon Pickles

Saturday, October 31st

Food

• 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM  (Lorene)
• Effie's Homemade Nutcakes and Oatcakes

• 12:00 to 4:00 PM (Jenna)
• Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup
• Hibiscus Flowers with Goat Cheese, Black Pepper and Chive
• Brie with Hibiscus Flowers, Ginger and Almonds

Wines   (11:00 AM to 2:00 PM - Anita)

• The Seeker 
• Chardonnay
• Pinot Grigio
• Pinot Noir
• Cabernet

Stock-Up Saturday Sale wine

The Seeker
Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Cabernet, Malbec and Red Blend
Sale Price - 2/$14

Wine Tasting Tuesday - October 27th

We're celebrating Halloween today since I won't be at the store Oct, 31st.  (I'll be at the new store - Commonwealth Pkwy, off 288 and Hull St. - the old Barnes & Noble.)



Tuesday, October 27th (3:00 to 6:00 PM)  

Food

• Brie with Stonewall Kitchen Apple Jalapeno Jelly and Smoked Almonds
• Roasted Garlic Onion Cheese Ball
• Savory Hot Pepper Spread

Wines

• Black Cat Riesling
• Bogle Essential Red
• Bogle Phantom
• (I may have more.)

Recipes: Dillapeno Cheese Spread - Peach Amaretto Cream Cheese Spread - Pesto Peppadew Cheese Spread - Roasted Garlic Onion Almond Dip - Hibiscus Michaledas

Let's just get to it ...

Dillapeno. What can I say.  It's a favorite of mine.  It's also a customer favorite.  Truth be told, my recipe Sweet Heat Jalapeno Cheese Spread, was originally for Dillapeno.  I couldn't get it out of my  head and had to do what I originally intended to.  The following recipe appeared to be the customer favorite this weekend - sold out of Dillapeno.  When you first  taste it, it's creamy and a tad sweet, but on the finish ... the spiciness sneaks up on you.

Dillapeno Cheese Spread

8 oz. TFM cream cheese, softened

10.5 oz. goat cheese, softened

½ lb. New York Cheddar, shredded

½ c. mayonnaise

1/3 c. diced red onion

1 jar Dillapeno, drained + 2 Tbl Dillapeno juice

Place all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Mix until thoroughly blended.  Place in a serving bowl. Serve with your favorite crackers or Original Pretzel Crisps.  

Adjust heat/spice level by increasing or decreasing the amount of Dillapeno juice.

*****

Customers also enjoyed the following Stonewall Kitchen recipe.  I sampled this out with gluten free graham crackers (sorry, didn't write down the brand).  This was a nice pairing and makes a great snack.

Peach Amaretto Cream Cheese Spread

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/3 c. Stonewall Kitchen Peach Amaretto Jam

¼ tsp. ground ginger

Beat all ingredients together on low speed until well blended.   Serve with assorted fruit, warm toasted bagels or scones, or any breakfast bread.

*****

Last weekend, some customers commented they didn't want to stuff Peppadews.  Thought I'd play and see if I could get the same flavor with chopping Peppadews and adding it to the goat cheese pesto.  It fell a bit short on flavor so I added grated Parmesan Reggiano.  That did the trick and customers liked the flavor. Personally, Stuffed Peppadews have more flavor and look so festive.

Pesto Peppadew Cheese Spread 

(adapted from Teatime - Holidays, 2015 - Stuffed Peppadew)

24 Peppadews, drained and chopped

8 oz. goat cheese, softened

¼ c. prepared pesto

2 Tbl. heavy whipping cream

1 c. grated Parmesan Reggiano

TFM Garlic Parmesan French Rounds

Add all ingredients (except French Rounds) to a medium mixing bow.  Beat at medium speed with a mixer until smooth.  Serve with French Rounds.

*****

For me, this next recipe doesn't make me jump up and down; it's sweet.  But, customers enjoyed it and product sold, so that's all that matters.

Roasted Garlic Onion Almond Dip

1 jar Stonewall Kitchen Roasted Garlic Onion Jam

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 oz. goat cheese, softened

2/3 c. smoked almonds, chopped (more or less to taste)

Stonewall Kitchen Sea Salt Crackers

Place first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl and mix until well blended.  Add almonds to taste.  Mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Serve with Stonewall Kitchen Sea Salt Crackers.

*****

This last recipe Wild Hibiscus emailed to me.  I have a number of Wild Hibiscus samplings for this holiday season and I wanted to get customer feedback on a Hibiscus beer cocktail - Michaelada.  I sampled out three Micheladas each with a different beer - one with Mexican lager (Dos XX Lager), a second with Crabbies Ginger beer, and the third with Crabbies Orange Spice beer.  Customer comments were all over with who liked what.  No clear favorite/winner.

Personally, I found drinking Dos XX lager on it's own was not for me.  However, I did enjoy the Michelada that I prepared with it.  In fact, it was my favorite Michelada.  Using Crabbies Ginger beer ... it tasted like Crabbies Ginger beer.  Not much change in flavor by adding lime juice and hibiscus syrup.  However, Crabbies Orange Spice did have a subtle change in flavor and was enjoyable.

Hibiscus Michelada  

¾ oz. Wild Hibiscus syrup

1 Tbl. fresh lime juice

8 oz. Mexican lager beer

1 (edible) Wild Hibiscus flower

Fill ¾ glass with ice. Add Hibiscus syrup and juice of ½ a lime (1 tablespoon) to bottom of glass.  Carefully top with your favorite Mexican lager beer.  Garnish with Wild Hibiscus flower.

Hibiscus Ginger Michelada  

Use Crabbies Ginger Beer instead of Mexican lager.

Hibiscus Orange Spice Michelada  

Use Crabbies Orange Spice Beer instead of Mexican lager.

Make a Chelada: dip rim of  glass in Wild Hibiscus syrup and then in salt.

Wine and Food Tasting - October 23rd & 24th

Friday, October 23rd (3:00 to 6:00 PM)  

Food

• Goat Cheese Pesto with Peppadew
• Dillapeno Cheese Spread 
• Roasted Garlic Onion Bacon Dip

Cocktail

• Hibiscus Michelada
• Hibiscus Ginger Michelada

Wines

• Tilia Chardonnay
• Alan Scott Sauvignon Blanc
• Four Vines Maverick Zinfandel
• Zafado Cabernet

Saturday, October 24th (1:00 to 4:00 PM)

Food

• Salem Baking Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies
• Dillapeno Cheese Spread
• (I'll prepare a Stonewall Kitchen recipe, but won't know which one until I get to TFM and see what products are in stock.)

Cocktail

• Hibiscus Michelada
• Hibiscus Orange Spice Michelada

Wines

• Rodney Strong Chardonnay
• Rodney Strong Sauvignon Blanc
• Rodney Strong Pinot Noir
• Cupcake Zinfandel
• Cupcake Cabernet
• Trapiche Malbec
• Cupcake Moscato

Stock-Up Saturday Sale wine

Castle Rock
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
Sale Price - 2/$12

Wine Tasting Tuesday - October 20th

Tuesday, October 20th (3:00 to 6:00 PM)  

Food

• Salem Baking Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wines

• Mark West Chardonnay
• Starborough Sauvignon Blanc
• La Joya Carmenere
• Ventura Cabernet

Recipes: Sweet Heat Jalapeno Cheese Spread - Peppadews Stuffed with Goat Cheese Pesto - Orange Cranberry Marmelade over Brie

I am always looking for a WOW recipe.  If it can't be WOW, then it has to be delicious and eye appealing.  Recipes that fall into neither of those categories never make it to my table, but quickly make it to the trash.  Last weekend, Sweet Heat Jalapeno Cheese Ball, was a customer favorite recipe; it was delicious and eye appealing.  I posted, I'm also thinking instead of a hard goat cheese (Drunkin Goat), use a soft goat cheese.  I'll post the recipe, with the customer consensus, when I sample the new version/spread at the new TFM Grand Opening at the end of the month. Well, I couldn't get the new recipe out of my head and waiting for TFM's Grand Opening ... that was impossible.  So here is the new and improved recipe with customer concensus.

Sweet Heat Jalapeno Cheese Spread

8 oz. TFM cream cheese, softened

10.5 oz. goat cheese, softened

1/3 lb. Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar, shredded

½ c. mayonnaise

½ c. Simply Pickled Sweet Heat Jalapenos, drained and chopped,

            plus extra for garnish

Place all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Mix until thoroughly blended.  Place in a serving bowl. Garnish with 3 Sweet Heat Jalapenos.  Serve with your favorite crackers.

This new version of Sweet Heat Jalapeno Cheese Ball wasn't just WOW.  It was WOW, WOW, WOW.  So many customers enjoyed this. I was thrilled.  All the recipes I had on the table were taken. Comments ranged from "delicious" and "amazing" to "devine".  A few customers wanted to know if we sold it in the store.  It went so far, that when I was not at my table, I was paged to the wine department because the customer had to have the recipe right then and there.  I love it when I play and a recipe comes together.

Oh, and I tried this with smoked almonds and it did nothing to enhance the flavor.  

*****

I found the following recipe in Teatime magazine, Holiday 2015 issue.  This is my version (I changed it to make my preparing it in the store easier).

Peppadews Stuffed with Goat Cheese Pesto

30 Peppadews, drained

10.5 oz. goat cheese, softened  

¼ c. CIBO prepared pesto

2 Tbl. half & half  

In medium  mixing bowl, combine goat cheese, pesto and half and half.  Beat at medium speed with a mixer until smooth.

Fill peppers with goat cheese mixture.  

Customers enjoyed this and my samples were gone within 1½ hours.  Many customers commented how delicious these were.  I will be doing this again for the holidays, using Stonewall Kitchen's Basil Pesto. Will I change the recipe?  (Hint: I'm thinking about making this a spread.)

Here is Teatime's original recipe:

Stuffed Peppadews 

24 Peppadews, drained

8 oz. goat cheese, softened

¼ c. prepared pesto

2 Tbl. heavy whipping cream

Garnish: fresh basil leaves

In medium  mixing bowl, combine goat cheese, pesto and cream.  Beat at medium speed with a mixer until smooth.

Fill peppers with goat cheese mixture.  Garnish with basil leaves, if desired.

*****

Last, but not least, my "over cheese" offering.  Face it, when you are preparing food, for a crowd, you need a few delicious, quick, no-fuss recipes.  This one fits the bill perfectly.

Orange Cranberry Marmalade over Brie
1 small wheel or wedge of Brie
1 jar Stonewall Kitchen Orange Cranberry Marmalade
¼ c. sliced almonds

Place Brie on serving plate.  Top with Orange Cranberry Marmalade to taste.  Garnish with almonds.

Customers were enjoying as well.  A lot of "delicious" comments. This is a perfect "go to" recipe.

Wine and Food Tasting - October 16th & 17th

Friday, October 16th 

No wine tasting today.  

I've been shuffled off to 

Kroger at Willow Lawn.

Saturday, October 17th (1:00 to 4:00 PM)

Food

• Brie with Stonewall Kitchen Orange Cranberry Marmalade and Almonds
• Stuffed Peppadews
• Sweet Heat Jalapeno Cheese Spread

Wines

• Cambria Chardonnay
• Mercer Canyon Riesling
• Cambria Pinot Noir
• Mercer Canyon Red Blend
• Bogle Essential Red
• Bogle Phantom

Stock-Up Saturday Sale wine

Gravelly Ford
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Zinfandel
Sale Price - 2/$12

Wine Tasting Tuesday - October 13th

Tuesday, October 13th (3:00 to 6:00 PM)  

Food

• Stonewall Kitchen Apple Cranberry Chutney over Cream Cheese

Wines

• Astoria Pinot Grigio
• Armida Sauvignon Blanc
• Jacobs Creek Merlot
• Ventura Carmenere

Recipes: Sweet Heat Jalapeno Cheese Ball - Crowd Pleasin' Chutney Spread

Friday's tasting was so relaxing and enjoyable.  A nice little "welcome to my playground" gathering with great conversation, delicious food and nice wines.  

Left to Right:  Stonewall Kitchen Roasted Garlic Onion Jam over Cream Cheese - Crowd Pleasin' Chutney Spread -
Sweet Heat Jalapeno Cheese Ball.

Saturday's Pumpkin Fest was busy in spurts, but towards the end ... it was my Exorcist moment.  You know, deer in the headlights look with my head spinning.  But I managed to  make it through and spent most of today recuperating.  I can now focus on this recipe post.

First the hands down favorite, which I have sampled at the store many times.  It's always been a  hit and doesn't get any easier than this.

Roasted Garlic Onion Jam over Cream Cheese
1 jar Stonewall Kitchen Roasted Garlic Onion Jam
8 oz. TFM Cream Cheese

Place cream cheese on serving dish.  Top with ½ a jar (or to taste) jam.  Serve with Stonewall Kitchen Sea Salt Crackers.

I can't believe how many customers were amazed that with just two ingredients you had a delicious appetizer.  SOLD out of  Roasted Garlic Onion Jam.

Typically I garnish this with chopped smoked almonds; not just for a layer of flavor, but also texture.  However, since there were nuts on Crowd Pleasn' Chutney Spread I omitted the nuts here.  If anyone had nut allergies I didn't want them not to be able to sample.

*****

The next two recipes were also customer favorites.  A little more than two ingredients, but oh so tasty.

Crowd Pleasin' Chutney Spread

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

3 Tbl. curry powder

1 tsp. salt

1 jar Stonewall Kitchen Old Farmhouse Chutney

¼ c. scallions, sliced

10 strips bacon, cooked well, drained and crumbled

¼ c. finely chopped smoked almonds or sesame seeds

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, curry powder and salt.

Spread the cheese mixture on the bottom of a 10-inch quiche dish.

Puree the Old Farmhouse Chutney in a blender or food processor. Spread chutney on top of the cheese mixture.

Spread the scallions evenly over chutney layer. Sprinkle the bacon and almonds on top.

Serve with Melba toast or wheat crackers.

(May be prepared a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator.)

If you enjoy curry this recipe is for you.  Customers commented on how pretty it looked (you always want food to look appetizing) and the flavors.

Notes:

• Instead of strips of bacon, I used ½ a jar Hormel Real Bacon Bits.  
• I used a shallow bowl for serving, instead of a quiche dish.
• My immersion blender did a quick job of pureeing with a lot less clean-up.

*****

The last, flavorful recipe is ...

Sweet Heat Jalapeno Cheese Ball

8 oz. TFM cream cheese, softened

½ lb. Drunken Goat, shredded

1/3 lb. PreMoo, shredded

½ c. Simply Pickled Sweet Heat 

     Jalapenos, drained and chopped

Place all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Mix until thoroughly blended.  Place in a serving bowl.  Serve with your favorite crackers or Original Pretzel Crisps.

If you enjoy spicy food ... yup, this one's for you.  If you don't like spicy food, just use less Sweet Heat Jalapenos in the recipe.

I would have rolled this in chopped smoked almonds, but again, didn't want to have nuts on everything for those who have nut allergies.  20-20 hindsight - I should have sprinkled this with a bit of Paprika for color.

Hormel Real Bacon Bits were open so I tried them with this.  The spice overpowered the bacon flavor.

Since I enjoy playing with my food, I tried adding mayonnaise to this.  I not only wanted to see flavor, but wanted the consistency to me more of a spread than a cheese ball.  Tasted pretty darn delicious.  Would have been yummy on a burger.  I'm also thinking instead of a hard goat cheese (Drunkin Goat), use a soft goat cheese.  I'll post the recipe, with the customer consensus, when I sample the new version/spread at the new TFM Grand Opening at the end of the month.  10/19/15 - I couldn't wait for the grand opening.  I prepared Sweet Heat Jalapeno Cheese spread, on Oct. 17, 2015.  It was so much better than the cheese ball.

Lastly, for those of you who heard my black cat story (I was pouring Black Cat Riesling) I solved my dilema.  I now have a withces hat on my kitty!  Thank you to the wonderful, unknown, customer that made the suggestion.

Wine and Food Tasting - October 9th & 10th

Friday, October 9th (3:00 to 6:00 PM)  

Food

• I'm going to "play"
• Stonewall Kitchen Jam (not sure what's in stock) over cream cheese
• Goat Cheese Jalapeno Spread?  Cheeseball? 

Wines

• Sofia Rose
• Bontera Viognier
• Sofia Riesling
• Bontera Zinfandel
• (If the store is busy, I may open an Italian red from the 90/20 display.)

Saturday, October 10th (11:00 AM to 6:00 PM)

Food

• Pumpkin 
• Nut Bread
• Coffee Cake
• Butter
• Salsa
• Pie Almonds
• Spice Yogurt Pretzels
• Ice Cream

Wines 
This gets tricky.  I'll be swapping hats today - I'm both a TFM employee and wine distributor. 

• 11:00 AM to 12:45 PM (TFM)
• Dark Horse Chardonnay
• Dark Horse Cabernet
• Dark Horse Merlot
• Dark Horse Red Blend

• 1:00 to 4:00 PM (Distributor)
• Halloween Wines
• Black Cat Riesling
• Bogle Essential Red
• Ravenswood Besieged 
• Casillero del Diablo Cabernet
• Bogle Phantom

• 4:00 to 6:00 PM (TFM)
• Some combination of the above. (I'm so confused. I'll need some wine.)

Stock-Up Saturday Sale wine

Dark Horse
Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot and Red Blend
Sale Price - 2/$14

Anoupies Photo

Forgot to post a wine tasting group picture from 

Saturday, October 3rd.  Notice a familiar face?

Wine Tasting Tuesday - October 6th

Tuesday, October 6th (3:00 to 6:00 PM)  

Food

• Salem Baking Chocolate Oatmeal Chip Cookies

Wines

• Shannon Ridge Chardonnay
• Banfi San Angelo Pinot Grigio
• Girl and Dragon Cabernet
• Ventura Malbec

Wine and Food Sampling - Oct. 2nd & 3rd

I was surprised that the only new wines into the store were the Halloween wines.  So disappointing. Let's just call it a Happy Hurricane tasting so we can stock up and hunker down for the wind and rain.

Friday, October 2nd (3:00 to 6:00 PM)  

Food

• Something over Cream Cheese
• Cheese 

Wines

• J Lohr Chardonnay
• Firesteed Pinot Grigio
• Besieged 
• Chateau St. Jean Cabernet

Saturday, October 3rd (1:00 to 4:00 PM)

Food

• Something over Cream Cheese
• Cheese

Wines

• Halloween Wines
• Black Cat Riesling
• Hob Nob Wicked Red
• Bogle Phantom
• Sale Wines
• Astoria Pinot Grigio
• Astoria Pinot Noir
• Astoria Red Blend

Stock-Up Saturday Sale wine

Astoria
Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir and Red Blend
Sale Price - 2/$14