Recipes: Charcuterie and Cheese Board - Vegan Nuttiness with Shrimp or Apple Chips - Apricot with Basil Mascarpone and Marcona Almonds - Ricotta, Strawberries and Hibiscus Flowers - Slow Cooker Ravioli

A FANTASTIC Saturday sampling.  5 nice Rosé wines and an assortment of easy to prepare tidbits.  PLUS so many of my regular customers.  PLUS some of my regular customers from the Hull St. TFM came to see me too.  PARTY!  Which was what this sampling was about.  Party for Mother's Day.  Party for relaxing on the deck with friends and family.  Party for enjoying the nice weather.

Charcuterie and wine is one of my favorites for relaxing.  Sip. Chat. Nibble.  Relax. Repeat.  Should you want to create your own Charcuterie board here are some guidelines:

Charcuterie and Cheese Board

It’s important to have variety and balance in taste, texture, color and shape. Try to have a range of savory, sweet, tart, and spicy offerings. Balance out the flavors of the meats with soft cheeses, sweet fruit, and crackers, bread or nuts.

Charcuterie-cheese board suggestions:

·  Salami, Prosciutto, Chorizo, Sopresatta, Capicola – 

     estimate 2 oz. meat per person

·  Goat cheese, Feta, Parmesan, blue cheese, Manchego, Gouda, Taleggio, smoked cheese

·  Pâtés

·  Cornichons, marinated artichokes, olives, sundried tomatoes

·  Dried fruit (e.g. apricots, apples, cherries, figs)

·  Fresh fruit (e.g.  pear, apple, figs, dates, grapes)

·  Nuts: Marcona almonds, walnuts, pistachios, pecans

·  Quince paste, honey, mustard (whole grain, Dijon, or herbed), chutney or jam

·  Rustic bread or artisanal crackers - crostini, crackers, bread sticks, sliced bread

Allow the offerings on your charcuterie/cheese board to come to room temperature before serving.  CHEERS!

*****

New into the store is Vegan Nuttiness by Cindy's Kitchen.  Sam, our Produce Manager, asked me to sample it on April 15th.  

April 15th I sampled this with TFM's Apple Crisps.  Customers thought it was DELICIOUS!  Sold all but one container.  A great snack.

This past sampling, I sampled it again. Only this time with shrimp (quite the contradiction to Vegan).  Again, DELICIOUS and sold like crazy. One customer purchased Tuna to have with it for dinner and was going to sprinkle sesame seeds on it.  Another customer was going to put it on pasta.

This has a nice Chipotle smokiness to it.  For all you non-Vegan's, don't let the word Vegan scare you off.  This is a must try!

*****

"Everything old is new again."  Now that I'm at the Commonwealth Pkwy. TFM, I can sample the customer favorite recipes from when I was at the Hull St. store.  This next recipe is just that, and is nice for Charcuterie - dried fruit, cheese, and nuts.

Apricots with Basil Mascarpone and Marcona Almonds

8 oz. Mascarpone, room temperature

¼ c. chopped fresh basil

40 dried apricots

40 Marcona almonds

Honey

Mix together Mascarpone and basil.  Spread ¼ to ½  teaspoon cheese on each apricot and top with an almond.  Place on a serving dish.  Drizzle, or dot, with honey.

A customer favorite.  Easy to prepare.  

*****

For me, strawberries pair nicely with Rosé.  I noticed TFM now sells Ricotta.  What would be more perfect than Ricotta with strawberries?  Since Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup was also being sampled ... I had to add a couple of Hibiscus petals to top it off.  A nice layer of flavor and color.

Strawberries, Ricotta and Hibiscus

1 clam shell strawberries, sliced

1 small container Ricotta

1 jar Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup

Cracker or bread of choice

Tear, or cut, Hibiscus flowers into petals.  Set aside.

On top of cracker/bread, spread some Ricotta.  Top with a slice of strawberry and two Hibiscus flower petals.  Place on serving platter.  

Customers thought this was light, refreshing and delicious.  A perfect pairing for Rosé.

*****

This last recipe is from April 15th TFM Corporate sampling.  I forgot to post it.  

Slow Cooked Ravioli

1 pkg. frozen ravioli

1 jar pasta sauce

Mix pasta sauce with ¼ cup water.  

In bottom of slow cooker, pour sauce to have a thin cover on the bottom.  Add a layer of ravioli; it's okay if it overlaps.   Top with sauce.  Add ravioli.  Repeat layering until all the ravioli is in the slow cooker and you end with sauce on the top.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 1½ hours.  

Dinner is served.

Before I could sample this at the store, I had to make a believer out of myself.  Dinner in the slow cooker, in that short a period of time? Plus, I wouldn't be me, if I didn't add my own twist to it. In my layers I added shredded mozzarella.  Nothing better than cheesy gooeyness. 

Recipe called for cooking 2 hours.  That was a tad too long.  

In the end, my family and I loved it!

This was a customer favorite because of how quick and easy it is for a delicious family meal.