Wine and Food Tasting - December 30th & 31st

Friday, December 30th (3:00 to 6:00 PM)  
(Fresh Market - Huguenot)

Food

• (I'll decide when I get to the store. Not sure what's on the shelves.)

Wines

• (Don't know what my distributor will have me pour.)

Saturday, December 31st (1:00 to 4:00 PM)  
(Fresh Market - Huguenot)

Food

• (I'll decide when I get to the store. Not sure what's on the shelves.)

Wines

• (Will decide on Friday.)

Wine and Food Tasting - December 23rd & 24th

'Tis the season ... I'll be at TFM Huguenot Friday and Saturday this weekend (and FYI, next weekend).

Friday, December 9th (3:00 to 6:00 PM)  
(Fresh Market - Huguenot)

Food

• Elki
• Basil Black Olive Feta Spread
• Black Olive Tapenade
• Artichoke Bruschetta
• Artichoke Tomato Bruschetta
• Tomato Bruschetta

Wines

• (Will decide when I get to the store. Have to see what's in stock.)

Saturday, December 10th (1:00 to 4:00 PM)  
(Fresh Market - Huguenot)

Food

• Elki
• Basil Black Olive Feta Spread
• Black Olive Tapenade
• Artichoke Bruschetta
• Artichoke Tomato Bruschetta
• Tomato Bruschetta

Wines

• (Will decide on Friday.)

Wine and Food Tasting - December 17th

Saturday, December 17th (1:00 to 4:00 PM)  
(Fresh Market - Huguenot)

Food

• Stonewall Kitchen
• Mango Chutney Cheese Spread
• Farmhouse Chutney Cheddar Cheese Spread
• Apple Cranberry Chutney Horseradish Cheddar Cheese Spread
• Sea Salt Crackers 

Wine and Food Tasting - Dec. 9th & 10th

I'm back.  I NEVER take off at busy season, but this year I took much needed breaks to slow myself down.  In my old age, the hectic pace of busy season is getting to me.

Friday, December 9th (3:00 to 6:00 PM)  
(Fresh Market - Huguenot)

Food

• (Stonewall Kitchen - I'm working on what I will sample and will update when I finalize.)

Wines

• (Stock-up wines)

Saturday, December 10th (12:00 to 4:00 PM)  
(Fresh Market - Commonwealth Pkwy.)

Food

• Stonewall Kitchen (Pat will be sampling  - I'm working on what she will sample and will update when I finalize.)
• Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup (Angel will be sampling)
• Wild Hibiscus flowers filled with goat cheese, black pepper and chive
• Honey goat cheese with Wild Hibiscus flowers, pistachios and citron sea salt

Wines

• (Stock-up wines)

Wine Tasting ROAD TRIP - Dec. 3rd

I will not be at TFM this weekend.  I am headed to Wine Styles in Montclair, VA to do a tasting.  If you're up for a short drive (after Fredericksburg, before Dale City) come sample.  I have a great line-up of wines  (see below) that Dave and I LOVE.

You can make a long day of it.  Stop at some VA wineries on the way.  Have dinner at the restaurant adjoining Wine Styles.  (Dave and I ate there for a wine tasting dinner.  The food was AMAZING.)

Jacuzzi Family Vineyards

Wine Styles - Montclair, VA

5:00 - 9:00 PM

When Dave and I went to California in 2014, our first stop was at Jacuzzi Family Vineyards.  It's the sister winery of Cline.  



Jacuzzi wine sampling

• Pina Asolo Prosecco
• Arneis
• Primitivo
• Rosso Di Sette Fratelli Merlot
• Barbera
• Sagrantino
• Nebbiolo

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.  I'll be back to TFM Huguenot Dec. 10th, 17th and 24th.  Well ... that's the plan.

Wine and Food Tasting - November 5th & 6th

It's that time of year!

I'm working at TFM - Huguenot
Saturday and Sunday.

My wines are posted below.
The food is ... Taste of the Holidays.





Saturday, November 5th (12:00 to 4:00 PM)  

Wines

• La Crema Chardonnay
• Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling
• La Crema Pinot Noir
• Columbia Crest H3 Les Chevaux

Sunday, November 6th (12:00 to 4:00 PM)  
(Fresh Market - Huguenot)

Wines

• Sunday Funday Chardonnay
• Gemma de Luna Moscato
• Coppola Pinot Noir
• Meiomi Pinot Noir

Recipes: Pesto Mascarpone Spread - Bacon Swiss Almond Spread

Posting these recipes (9/18/17) is LONG over due.

Pesto Mascarpone Spread

1 jar (8 oz.) Stonewall Kitchen Basil Pesto

8 oz. Mascarpone

½ c. grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Salt to taste

Garnish: pine  nuts (optional)

Stonewall Kitchen Sea Salt Crackers or TFM French Rounds

Place first 3 ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Stir together until thoroughly incorporated.  Season with salt to taste.  Place in serving bowl.  Garnish with pine nuts if desired.  Serve with favorite crackers.

A customer favorite!  SOLD OUT of Stonewall Kitchen's Basil Pesto.  This would also be good on pasta.

There was a lot of stock for Pine River Swiss Almond Cheese and I was asked to sample it out.  Anyone can sample directly from a container, but I believe there needs to more than that to the cheese.  So, I created the recipe below.  

Bacon Swiss Almond Spread

1 (16 oz.) container Pine River Swiss Almond cheese, softened

3- 4 oz. bacon, cooked and chopped or 1 jar real bacon bits

¼ c. diced scallion

¼ c. mayonnaise

½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

TFM smoked almonds, roughly chopped

Place all ingredients, except almonds in a mixing bowl. Mix until thoroughly blended.  Transfer to a serving bowl.  Garnish with smoked almonds.  Serve with your favorite crackers.

Another customer favorite.  Great for football parties.  Would also be delicious on burgers.

Wine and Food Sampling - October 29th MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Wine and Food Tasting - October 22nd

Saturday, October 22nd (1:00 to 4:00 PM)  
(Fresh Market - Huguenot Rd.)

Food

• Pesto Mascarpone Spread
• Orange, Lime, Ginger Marmalade over Brie
• Pickled Pink Watermelon with goat cheese
• Affine Mustard Dill cheese

Wines

• Chateau Maycott Chardonnay
• Casillero del Diablo Sauvignon Blanc (New Vintage - 2016)
• Bogle Essential Red
• Masciarelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Wine and Food Tasting - October 22nd and 29th

This is busy season for me and I am trying to multitask (quite unsuccessfully I might add).  My schedule at The Fresh Market is:

Saturday, October 22nd

 TFM (Huguenot) 

1:00 to 4:00 PM

Saturday, October 29th 

TFM (Commonwealth Pkwy) 

1:00 to 4:00 PM

I will post the food and wines for each tasting, but it may not be until the night before.

As I plan for these sampling, and those for the holidays, you can picture me going through my cookbooks trying to find new and exciting recipes ...

Cookbooks in my kitchen

Cookbooks in my office. What a mess.

These cookbooks are about 1/2 of what I have.  

Wine and Food Tasting - October 15th

Saturday, October 15th (1:00 to 4:00 PM)  
(Fresh Market - Huguenot Rd.)

Food

• Sun-Dried Tomato Olivada
• Fig, Ginger Blue Cheese Spread
• Bacon Swiss Almond Spread

Wines

• Firesteed Pinot Gris
• Meiomi Pinot Noir
• Bogle Essential Red

Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup

Angel will be at the store sampling Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup from 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM.

• Wild Hibiscus flowers with goat cheese, black pepper and chive.
• Honey goat cheese with Wild Hibiscus flowers, pistachios and citron sea salt.

Wine and Food Tasting - October 1st

I was scheduled to be at the Commonwealth Pkwy store, but my manager asked me to come to Huguenot.  Not sure if he has food planned for me, but I plan to have food if he doesn't.  

Saturday, October 1st (1:00 to 4:00 PM)  
(Fresh Market - Huguenot Rd.)

Food

• (If I get to the store tomorrow (Friday) I'll plan the food; I have to see what is in stock for both cheese and on the shelves.  Otherwise, I'll decide when I get to the store Saturday morning.)

Wines

• (Same - if I get to the store tomorrow, I'll select my wines.  Otherwise, I'll select when I get to the store on Saturday. Either way, it will be fun.)

Wine and Food Sampling - September 17th

I'm on the clock and have been given hours by both Fresh Markets - Huguenot and Commonwealth Center Pkwy.!  Also, I'm coordinating a 1 year anniversary celebration tasting for the Commonwealth Center Pkwy store.  I'll do my best to make it a party.  I'll post more details when I have them.

This Saturday is my first time on the clock at the Commonwealth Center Pkwy. Fresh Market.  Let's show them they didn't make a mistake by giving me hours.  (For my customers who now shop at this store ... Please?)

Saturday, September 17th (1:00 to 4:00 PM)  
(Fresh Market - Commonwealth Center Pkwy.)

Food

• Stonewall Kitchen
• Savory Hot Pepper Spread
• Meatballs with Red Pepper Jelly
• Meatballs with Roasted Garlic Onion Jam
• Apple Jalapeno Jelly over goat cheese
• Hot Pepper Peach Jam over goat cheese
• Sea Salt Crackers

Wines

• A Propos Rose
• HMV Chardonnay
• Tellus Cabernet
• ReVah Pomegranate Wine

Wine and Food Tasting - September 3rd

Saturday, September 3rd (1:00 to 4:00 PM)  
(Fresh Market Huguenot)

Food

• Stonewall Kitchen
• Savory Hot Pepper Spread
• Pepper Jelly with Southwest Dip
• Roasted Garlic Onion Dip
• Meatballs with Apple Jalapeno Jelly
• Sea Salt Crackers

Wines

• (I'm "on the clock" so I'll select my wines when I get to the store.  I don't know what's new at the store.  Will select something fun and hopefully delicious.  May pour stock-up wine (don't know what it is).)

RECIPE INDEX 2016

Recipes have been sampled by my taste testers and have my TFM customer seal of approval.  ENJOY!

2013 RECIPE INDEX
2014 RECIPE INDEX   
2015 RECIPE INDEX

A

B
* Bacon Swiss Almond Spread

C
* Creamy Gooey Grilled Cheese


D
* Dillapeno over Pimento Cheese

E


F


G


H

I


J
* Jalapeno Poppers


K


L


M


N


O

- Over Cream Cheese/Cheese
     * Ham Glaze with Pineapple and Pecans

     

P

* Pesto Mascarpone Spread

Q


R


S


T

U


V


W


X


Y

Z

Recipes: Dillapeno over Pimento Cheese

It was GREAT to be back at TFM!!!  Seeing all my friends (TFM employees and customers) was exciting.  I spoke with Drew this morning and he's giving me back a few hours.  I'm in NY right now (visiting Mom and Dad), but will plan food sampling for September 3rd.  Delicious, fun, food for Labor Day celebrations.  I hear there are a lot of changes going on at the store (ie. Dietz and Watson in Deli).  Let's not forget it's Hatch Chili season! I'll have to incorporate what I can into my samplings.  So much to sample.  So few hours (on the clock).

This past Saturday, having not been sampling food for so long, I needed to do something different.  I took a chance with Dillapeno over Pimento Cheese.  NOTE: Dillapeno wasn't the chance - that's always a delicious hit - pairing it with pimento cheese was what I questioned.  Customers enjoyed the creaminess of the cheese with the sweet spice of Dillapeno.  YUM!

Hope to see you September 3rd!  (P.S.  Read this September 3rd before you head out.  You know how my schedule/plans can change in an instant.)

Wine and Food Tasting - August 19th & 20th

Friday, August 19th (4:00 to 7:00 PM)  
(Total Wine - Robious Rd.)

Wines

• Casillero del Diablo Chardonnay
• Casillero del Diablo Carmenere
• Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet
• Trivento Amado Sur Malbec
• Trivento Golden Reserve Malbec
• Don Melchor Cabernet

Apologies if you went to Total Wine.  When I got there, they told  me I was scheduled for the wrong day.  

Saturday, August 20th (1:00 to 4:00 PM)  
(Fresh Market - Huguenot)

Wines

• Clos du Bois Chardonnay
• Z Alexander Brown Cabernet
• (Hopefully I'll find some more to open.)

Food

• Dillapeno (if it's in stock)
• Original Pretzel Crisps

Wine Tasting - August 5th

For the month of July I was rotated around Kroger and Martin's in West End. Also took a weekend off.  Still not back to TFM, but I am closer.  Friday I'm at Martins by Midlothian HS.  I've missed you all!

Friday, August 5th (3:00 to 6:00 PM)  
(Martin's - Charter Colony Pkwy.)

Wines

• Clos du Bois Pinot Grigio
• Noble Vines 337 Cabernet

Wine Tasting - June 4th

Saturday, June 4th (1:00 to 4:00 PM)  
(Huguenot)

Wines

• Sunday Funday Chardonnay
• Clos du Bois 
• Chardonnay
• Pinot Grigio
• Pinot Noir
• Cabernet
• Gloria Margarita

Hope Floats - JDRF Fundraiser - June 3rd, 4th and 5th

It's time for Fresh Market's annual JDRF fundraiser.

At TFM Huguenot, Kristen and I will be outside manning the table and grill.  Aside from the toppings TFM offers (e.g. ketchup and mustard, whip cream and cherries), I'm lucky to have a few of the brands I enjoy sampling, provide additional toppings and condiments.

Come out and support JDRF.





Hot Dogs

·        Dillapeno

·        Pickled Pink/Simply Pickled 

o   Sweet Gourmet Pickles

o   Sweet Heat Jalapenos

·        Sir Kensington Spicy Brown Mustard

Ice Cream

·        Stonewall Kitchen

o   Dark Chocolate Caramel Sea Salt Sauce

o   Bourbon Brown Caramel Sauce

·        Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup

For a donation – Original Pretzel Crisps snack bags

Wine and Food Tasting - May 27th & 28th

Friday, May 27th (1:00 to 4:00 PM)  
(Commonwealth Pkwy.)

Wines

• Clos du Bois (Sale $8.49)
• Chardonnay
• Pinot Grigio
• Pinot Noir
• Cabernet

Saturday, May 28th (1:00 to 4:00 PM)  
(Huguenot)

Wines

• Clos du Bois (Sale $8.49)
• Chardonnay
• Pinot Grigio
• Pinot Noir
• Cabernet

Wine and Food Tasting - May 21st

How long has it been since I've been at TFM two days in a row?  Looks like it's going to be a lot longer ... 

Friday, May 20th (3:00 to 6:00 PM)  CANCELLED!
(Huguenot Store)

Saturday, May 21st (1:00 to 4:00 PM)  
(Huguenot Store)

The last Customer Appreciation Event was my idea.  I think before, during and after that event I kept telling myself "never again!"  As my Great Grandma would always tell me, "Never say never. When you do it comes back to bite you in the ..."  So, this event is TFM Corporate's request.  I've planned it and hope you enjoy it!

Again?!

Looks like we're appreciating you some more.

Saturday, May 21st

1:00 to 4:00 PM

(Huguenot Store)

I'm working on the menu.  Will post next week as soon as I have a better idea of what I want to do.

Wine Tasting - May 7th and 10th

Saturday, May 7th (1:00 to 4:00 PM)  
(Huguenot)

Wines

• Jean Luc Colombo Cape Bleue Rose
• Impatience Rose
• Charles & Charles Chardonnay
• Charles Smith Boom Boom Syrah
• I am going to pick a wine to pour as a blind tasting.  FUN?

Tuesday, May 10th (3:00 to 6:00 PM)  
(Huguenot)

Wines

• Stella Rosa Pink 
• Stella Rosa Rosso

Chef Sherry will be doing a cooking demo.

THANK YOU!!!

This is a bit late, but a HUGE thank you to all my customer-regular-friends for coming to Fresh Market's Customer Appreciation Event AND for supporting me.  I only wish I could have done more than wave hello as I raced around that day. Chit-chatting would have been so nice.

Lorene, me, Penelope, Pat and Jenny

 I think Pat, Penelope and I have finally recovered from the hectic pace.





I really wanted to take pictures during the event, but had no clue we'd be as busy as we were.  So all I have are pictures as we brought samples to the table.

Welcome Table

Didn't Sherry make a beautful arrangement for the event?

Table #1 - Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup

This is always my favorite part of the Wild Hibiscus display.

Table #2 - Romanoff Caviar

 

Table #3 - Wines and Stonewall Kitchen

Table #4 - Wines and Take-and-Bake Brie

Table #5 - Wines and Stonewall Kitchen

Table #6 - Dillapeno (and Harvey was outside grilling, using Dillapeno as a condiement)

Table #7 - Wines, DeLallo recipe booklet and Greek Orzo Feta Salad

Customer Appreciation Event - April 30th

It's our way of saying THANK YOU!  

Come enjoy sampling wine and food.

Shop for Mother's Day, Graduations, Birthdays, Showers, 
Grilling Season ...

Saturday, April 30th (1:00 to 4:00 PM)  

(Huguenot Store)

Food 

• Harvey will be grilling outside
• Dillapeno
• Condiment
• over Cream Cheese with Original Pretzel Crisps
• Stonewall Kitchen
• Raspberry Peach Champagne Jam over Goat Cheese
• Lemon Tartlets with Wild Maine Blueberry Jam
• Peach Amaretto Cream Cheese Spread
• Sea Salt Crackers
• Wild Hibiscus Flowers
• Flowers filled with Goat Cheese
• Royal Hibiscus Lemon Cookies
• Blueberry Hibiscus Sampler
• Cheese
• Cheddar
• Belavitano
• Greek Feta, Olive and Orzo Salad
• Peppadews stuffed with Southwest Spread
• Romanoff Caviar with ... (I haven't decided what recipe yet)
• Sushi with Gusto
• Jerry's Barbecue
• I'll have a few fun little take-aways.

Wines

• Maschio Prosecco
• Impatience Rose (new vintage)
• North by Northwest
• Chardonnay
• Red Blend
• Lost Angel (because this was so popular I had it brought in for this event - we will not be carrying it after this)
• Chardonnay
• Pinot Noir
• Red Blend
• Trivento
• Chardonnay
• Amado Sur Malbec
• Golden Malbec
• Killka 
• Torrontes
• Red Blend Malbec
• Leap of Faith Red Blend
• Trapiche Malbec
• Girl and Dragon
• Red Blend
• Cabernet

RECIPE INDEX

Click on the recipe you're interested in and the recipe post will open in a new window.  

An asterisk (*) in front of a recipe denotes recipes that were customer favorites.  A diamond (s) in front of a recipe is a recipe I've shared.

Recipes have been sampled by my taste testers and have my TFM customer seal of approval.  ENJOY!

2013 RECIPE INDEX
2014 RECIPE INDEX   
2015 RECIPE INDEX

A

B


C
* Creamy Gooey Grilled Cheese


D


E


F


G


H

I


J
* Jalapeno Poppers


K


L


M


N


O

- Over Cream Cheese/Cheese
     * Ham Glaze with Pineapple and Pecans

     

P

Q  


R


S


T

U


V


W


X


Y

Z

Wine and Food Tasting - April 14th

Thursday, April 14th (3:00 to 6:00 PM)  
(Huguenot)

Food

• Applewood Maple Flavored Flat Chicken
• Meal Deal (not sure what flavors I'm being given)
• Burger
• Potato/Macaroni Salad
• Pie

Wines

• (I'll pick wine when I get to the store.)