Food and Wine Tasting - January 25th & 26th

The week got away from me.  Forgot to post.

YES.  I am working this weekend.  12:00 to 3:30 PM.  I'll see what's in stock and take it from there.  We shall all be surprised together.

Wine and Food Tasting - January 18th & 19th

Weekend #2

I'm ready to get the party started with more delicious recipes.

Corporate has me sampling, everyone's favorite, Spicy Southwest Dip.  Along with 
     - Blue Moose Asiago Dip
     - TFM Original French Rounds
     - Celery Sticks
     - Carrot Sticks

As for Me ...
     - Unexpected Company Seafood Spread
     - Sesame Cream Cheese
     - Summer Sausage 
     - WINE!

Recipes: (Instant Pot) Beer Brats - Jarlsberg-Bacon Spread - Kumquats and Ricottta with Mike's Hot Honey

Okay.  Let me clarify - best weekend ever for 2020.  Aside from recipes being a hit with everyone, I did sell a lot of product.  I'm always going for delicious, but also easy to prepare.  

This was my first weekend sampling for Super Bowl party ideas.  We have 3 more weekends to go, to build your party.  Here are the recipes for this weekend ...

INSTANT POT!  One of my favorite and most used tools in my kitchen.  Sooooo many of you told me you received one for Christmas, but still have it in the box.  Let me say, "TAKE IT OUT OF THE BOX!"  Use it once and you'll be hooked.  

(Instant Pot) Beer Brats

6 Brats

2 onions, sliced

2 Tbl. vegetable/canola/olive oil

2 bottles beer - Lager

½ stick butter

6 pretzel buns

1 jar Freak Flag Organics Smokey Red Mustard

Heat Instant Pot to SAUTÉ/NORMAL.  When HOT add oil and begin browning brats. When browned, remove from pot.  Do not drain any of that goodness from the pot.

To Instant Pot, add onion.  Sauté until translucent.  CANCEL cooking.  

Place brats on top of onions.  Dot with butter. Pour beer over brats. 

Place lid on pot and make sure pressure valve is closed. Set Instant Pot to PRESSURE (LOW/NORMAL) and WARM is off. 

Cook time is 7 minutes. 10 minutes natural release, then open pressure valve to release any remaining steam/pressure. When red pin drops, remove the lid.

Serve with or without buns and Freak Flag Organics Smoky Red Mustard.

When I saw Freak Flag on the shelf, I thought, "Let's play and introduce customers to this."  Brats and Super Bowl came to mind.  To switch it up, put it on a pretzel bun!   Sold a lot of brats, pretzel buns, and Freak Flag Red Mustard.

Saturday I prepared this recipe with Yuengling Lager.  Sunday I used Blue Mountain's Lager.  Blue Mountain had a mild flavor; did not add any character/flavor to the recipe.  I personally prefered Yuengling as did Gene (you know Gene - Deli, sings a lot, spouts off food recipes and ideas all the time).

Sunday, I sampled Red Dragon English Cheddar with Whole Grain Mustard.  HUGE hit.  It also paired nicely with the Beer Brats.

*****

The following recipe, is from 2014 (back when I worked at TFM Huguenot).  It was a hit then and a hit this past weekend.  The seasoning I used in 2014, TFM no longer sells, so I changed it to my "jump up and down" seasoning (which is new into the store) Spanish Chorizo Seasoning.  The first recipe I used it in was (Instant Pot) Spanish Chorizo Shredded Pork.

Jarlsberg-Bacon Spread

½ lb. Jarlsberg cheese, shredded

6 slices TFM Market Style bacon, cooked and crumbled OR

     1 pkg. Epic uncured bacon bits

1/3 to ½  c. finely chopped red onion

¾ to 1 c. mayonnaise

1 tsp. TFM Spanish Chorizo Seasoning

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Refrigerate overnight to let flavors blend.   Serve with Original Pretzel Crisps, Pretzel buns, TFM French Rounds, or your favorite crackers.

I did use TFM's Market Style bacon.  Cooked it, removed the fat, and chopped it.  I'll take fresh bacon over bacon bits any day.

FYI - if you need the Jarlsberg cheese shredded, just ask the cheese specialist or anyone in the Deli, and they will be happy to do it for you.  

*****

This last recipe was TFM Corporate's required sampling.  A "who knew" kind of recipe.  No one thought about the combination of Ricotta, kumquats and hot honey.  Creamy.  Hint of sweet.  Hint of spice.  Crunch. FYI - the more Mike's Hot Honey you put on, the hotter it will be.  

Kumquats and Ricotta with Mike’s Hot Honey

1 pint kumquats

1 (16 oz.) container whole milk ricotta cheese

1 sourdough baguette, sliced

1 (12 oz.) bottle Mike’s Hot Honey

½ c. caramelized walnuts, roughly chopped

Slice kumquats into thin round pieces.  No need to peel.  Remove any large seeds.  Set aside.

Preheat broiler.  Place bread slices on sheet pan.  Broil until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes.

Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons ricotta tablespoon ricotta on top of each bread round.  Add 4 to 5 slices of kumquat on top.

Drizzle with desired amount of honey and garnish with walnuts.

FYI - I used TFM's Original French Rounds.  It was easier for Bakery and for me.  However, I think sourdough would be a nice flavor addition.

Off to plan next weekends sampling.  I already know what Corporate wants.  Now to figure out some delicious party food for what I want.

Wine and Food Tasting - January 11th & 12th

YES!  I am working this weekend.

With the craziness of the holidays past, I will try and post the weekends I am working.  However, I'm back on the kick of, "they don't pay me to work at home".  You know - planning, printing recipes, updating a blog.

With that "rant" over ...

Corporate has me sampling a 'kumquat, ricotta, hot honey' appetizer.  One dish isn't enough (for me) for sampling. I'm going to try and focus on food for Super Bowl parties.  This weekend will be beer brats in the Instant Pot. Of course, wine. 

Come sample and shop!  Remember, DON'T MAKE THE WINE LADY MAD!

2019 RECIPE INDEX

* Represents, TFM co-worker and customer favorite recipes.
** Recipes I'm sharing.

2013 RECIPE INDEX
2014 RECIPE INDEX   
2015 RECIPE INDEX
2016 RECIPE INDEX
2017 RECIPE INDEX
2018 RECIPE INDEX

A
* Aji Amarillo Sauce (Shrimp or Rotisserie Chicken)
** (Anita's) Mussels and Pasta
** (Anita's) Pumpkin Ravioli with Brown Butter Sage and Pumpkin Salsa
** (Anita's) Runamok Candied Bacon
* Avocado Halves with Marcona Almonds, Spanish EVOO, and Spices


B
* Bada Bing-gria


C
* Calabrian-Style Shirmp Scampi
- (Chicken) Shrimp and Chorizo Skillet
** Country Christmas Tea
-  Couscous and Sauce (Les Moulins Mahjoub) with Shrimp/Chicken 
* Cuban Pot Roast


D
* Deviled Egg Salad

E


F
* Fermented Honey Sauce (Organic Red Onion) with Goat Cheese
- Fermented Hone Sauce (Organic Garlic) with Shrimp
* Five Bean Salad


G
* Garlic Jalapeno Spread
* Gnar Gnar Guac

H

- Habanero Roasted Almonds with Habanero Salt
* Hatch Chile Cream Sauce
* Hatch Fire Roasted Salsa

I
* Instant Pot
-  Instant Pot
     * Baby Back Ribs
     * Corned Beef
     * Hard Boiled Eggs
     - Pork with Sauerkraut
     * Spanish Chorizo Pork
J


K


L


M
* Matiz Pippara Peppers


N
- New Age wine and Margarita Cotton Candy


O
* Open Face Ruben Sandwich
- Over Cream Cheese
     * Chile Crunch


P
* Panetone Bread Pudding
* Perfect Bloody Mary
- Pineapple Sage Sangria
- Preserved Lemon and Dill with Salmon



Q

     

R

* Roasted Red Pepper Tapa
* Roasted Tomato Grilled Cheese


S
* Shoyu Steak Marinade
* Shrimp and Chorizo Skillet
* Slow Cooked Meatballs (Stonewall Kitchen)
* Smoked Gouda Spread
* Sofrito Mussels and Roasted Garlic Aioli
* Southern Potatoes and Green Beans (Instant Pot)
* Sweet N Tangy Mustard Seed


T
- Thousand Island Dressing
* Tomahawk Steak

U


V


W
* Water Chestnut Dip
* Wild Hibiscus Flowers with Cranberry Goat Cheese


X


Y

Z

Recipes: Panettone Bread Pudding - Wild Hibisucs Flowers with Cranberry Goat Cheese - Instant Pot Pork with Sauerkraut - Country Christmas Tea

These are recipes I have not had time to post.  All were delicious - customers and my fellow TFM food lovers, enjoyed.

Panettone Bread Pudding
1 500 g box of TFM Panettone
1 c. heavy cream
1 c. milk
3 large eggs
¼ c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 Tbl. butter
Preheat oven to 350^o.  

Grease a 9x9-inch pan with cooking spray or butter.

In a large bowl, whisk together cream, milk, eggs, sugar, orange zest, vanilla extract, and salt.  Set aside.

Cut Panettone into 1-inch cubes.  Add to mixture in bowl.  Toss to ensure all of the liquid is incorporated into the bread.  Soak for 5 to 10 minutes.

Transfer mixture to prepared pan.  Dot with butter.  Bake for 60 minutes.  Allow to cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with Runamok Cinnamon-Vanilla Maple Syrup.



Above is the recipe I prepared.  To the left, is the recipe on TFM's box of Panettone.

Customers, and my TFM tasters, commented how delicious this was.  Runamok Cinnamon-Vanilla Maple Syrup was the perfect compliment.

*****

Fresh Market sells goat cheese balls in the cheese case.  They have some a bit of cranberry on them, which is a great compliment to Wild Hibiscus Flowers. Perfect for filling Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup.

Wild Hibiscus Flowers with Goat Cheese, Black Pepper and Chive
1 jar Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup
1 container of Raimage Goat Cheese Pearls with Cranberrry
l clam shell chives, cut into 1-inch pieces
black pepper

Drain Hibiscus Flowers, reserving liquid (you can use the liquid over ice cream or in cocktails).

Sprinkle goat cheese pearls with black pepper.  Place pearl inside flower and place on serving plate.  Garnish with a piece of chive.

*****

Instant Pot Pork with Sauerkraut

3 lb. pork shoulder

Salt and pepper

½ Tbl. Vegetable Oil

16 oz. Cleveland Kraut Caraway or Garlic, drained of extra liquid

1 c. chicken stock or beer

1 Onion, sliced thin

Remove any large pieces of fat from the outer portion of the pork.  Cut pork into 2-inch cubes.  Season with salt and pepper on all sides.

Heat Instant Pot to SAUTÉ.  When HOT add oil and begin browning pork, several pieces at a time, being careful not to overcrowd. When all the pork has been browned and removed from pot, CANCEL cooking.  Do not drain any of that goodness from the pot.

To Instant Pot, add chicken broth/beer, sauerkraut, onion, and browned pork.  Cook PRESSURE/LOW, KEEP WARM off, with steam vent closed, for 40 minutes.  When done, natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release.  Remove pork to baking tray and let cool 10 to 15 minutes.  Shred. 

Serve with a side salad, or over mashed potatoes.

Caraway Kraut is what I used in the recipe.  I tasted both flavors before cooking and Caraway was my preference. 

*****

I want to share the following recipe with you.  It's become a Christmas game night tradition to have this.  I especially enjoy it after everyone goes home and I can enjoy it with peace and quiet.

Country Christmas Tea

(Food Network Magazine – December, 2012)

16 cups boiling water

32 Bigelow Spiced Chai tea bags

1 c. spiced rum

1 c. vanilla vodka

8 to 10 cinnamon sticks

3 cans sweetened condensed milk, or to taste

Cinnamon sticks for garnish (optional)

Boil water in your Instant Pot, or pour boiling water into a slow cooker.  Add tea bags (I hold them together with a binder clip).  Steep 10 minutes.

Remove tea bags (do not squeeze).   Stir in rum and vodka.  Add cinnamon sticks.  Cover and cook on LOW for 2 hours.  Stir in condensed milk.  Switch Instant Pot/slow cooker to WARM setting.  Serve in mugs.  Garnish with cinnamon sticks if desired.

Yields:  20 servings

This year, I thought this was too sweet. Guess my taste buds are changing.  I suggest you add the sweetend condensed milk a little at a time until you reach the desired level of sweetness.  Enjoy!