Recipes: Cherry Berry Brie - Apple Jalapeno Brie - Broccoli Bacon Slaw - Wild Hibiscus Creamy Lemon Cakes - Hibiscus 1114 Cocktail - Hibiscus Sunrise

This was a crazy busy weekend at the store.  Below are the recipes that I had with my wine tasting. I am  also sharing a couple Wild Hibiscus recipes.  Enjoy! 

At the holidays, aside from customers wanting easy recipes, they seem to want Brie.  Here are two flavorful, easy Brie recipes.  You can either serve at room temperature, warm, in puff pastry, or in a boule (preparation is in my post for Baked Brie Variations).

Cherry Berry Brie
1 round Brie, or wedge
1 jar Stonewall Kitchen 
     Cherry Berry Jam
1/3 c. sliced almonds
1 pkg. TFM French Rounds, 
     or crackers

Place Brie on a serving plate.  Top with desired amount of jam.  Garnish with almonds.  Serve.

Customers enjoyed.  Sold all but a couple jars of Cherry Berry Jam.

Apple Jalapeno Brie
1 round Brie, or wedge
1 jar Stonewall Kitchen 
     Apple Jalapeno Jelly
1/3 c. smoked almonds, coarsely chopped
1 pkg. TFM French Rounds, 
     or crackers

Place Brie on a serving plate.  Top with desired amount of jam.  Garnish with almonds.  Serve.

Between the two Brie, this was the hands down favorite.  I must admit I was shocked.  I prepared this as an alternative to a sweeter topped Brie, but had  no idea this spicy Brie would be the runaway hit that it was.  SOLD OUT of Stonewall Kitchen Apple Jalapeno Jelly.

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Broccoli Bacon Slaw

¾ c. Earth & Vine Honey Pear Vinaigrette

3 Tbl. mayonnaise

2½ Tbl. sour cream

1 pkg. Broccoli Slaw

¼ - 1/3 c. dried cranberries or cranstachio blend

8 oz. can sliced water chestnuts, chopped

2 to 3 Tbl. diced Shallots

4 to 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Pepper to taste

In small bowl whisk together E&V Honey Pear Vinaigrette, mayonnaise and yogurt.  In a large bowl add remaining ingredients and toss with dressing mixture, pepper to taste.  Serves 4.

Quick, easy, tasty side dish.  Nice blend of flavors and crunch.

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Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup.  A great product that keeps flying off the shelf.  These next recipes I am sharing.  I have not prepared them and sampled at the store.

First is a recipe that has been running through my mind.  It's one that I hope to prepare this Saturday for sampling. 

Wild Hibiscus Creamy Lemon Cakes
1 jar Stonewall Kitchen Lemon Curd
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 jar Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup
1 pound cake, sliced (8)

Place lemon curd and cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl.  Mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.  When ready to serve, place pound cake on individual serving plates.  Top with lemon curd mixture.  Drizzle with Hibiscus syrup and garnish with a Hibiscus flower.  OR, cut the flower into petals and garnish with a scattering of petals.

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If there's one wine I enjoy sampling out, especially at the holidays, it's Riondo Prosecco.  I tell all my customers I enjoy (and NO I don't share) a bottle every Thanksgiving and Christmas morning while I am in the kitchen cooking.  Riondo is a great price point for mixing, so I experiment with "a little of this, and a little of that".  Here are two cocktails I prepared for myself this Thanksgiving.

Hibiscus 1114 Cocktail

½ oz. Roses lime juice

½ oz. Hibiscus syrup

1 oz. gin

Prosecco, or sparkling wine

Combine juice, syrup and gin in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake.  Strain into a champagne flute.  Top with Prosecco.  Serve.

Yields: 1 serving

Hibiscus Sunrise

6 Tbl. orange juice

3 Tbl. Hibiscus syrup

2 Tbl. Grand Mariner, Triple Sec, or Cointreau

2 Tbl. brandy

1 bottle Prosecco, or sparkling wine

In a pitcher, combine juice, syrup, Grand Mariner, and brandy.  Chill.  When ready to serve, stir in Prosecco.  Serves 6.

Wine and Food Tasting - December 5th & 6th

I'm taking the weekend off.  I'll be back the following weekend.

Friday, December 5th (3:00 to 6:00 PM)

(Sam will be filling in for me.)

Wines

• Cavit Pinot Grigio
• Mouton Cadet Bordeaux

 Saturday, December 6th (1:00 to 4:00 PM)

(Linda will be filling in for me.)

Wines

• (Will post when I know what is being poured.)

Recipes: Pineapple Nut Cheese Spread - Shrimp with Sriracha Aioli - Wild Hibiscus Flowers with Mascarpone - Dilla-licious Ham Pinwheels - Red Bell Pepper Ancho Chili Jam over Cream Cheese - Wild Hibiscus Santa Hats

It felt like old times this weekend with my wine and food sampling. Customers getting ideas for quick tasty party foods.  Enjoying the wines.  Talking.  I was amazed how many of you were coming in to purchase ingredients for other recipes you sampled from me.  Others lost recipes and needed to know if I had copies to give them.  So much fun.

 I'm going to begin with the FAVORITE recipe of the weekend, and the one I ran out of recipes for - Pineapple Nut Cheese Spread. 
Stonewall Kitchen recipes NEVER fail.  Easy to prepare and delicious.

Pineapple Nut Cheese Spread

16 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 (8.5 oz.) can crushed pineapple, 
     drained
¾ c. cooked, crumbled bacon  

1 tsp. salt

¼ c. finely chopped bell pepper

2 Tbl. finely chopped shallot

1 c. chopped pecans, toasted

1 jar Stonewall Kitchen 
     Apple Cranberry Chutney or

     Apple Jalapeno Jelly

Stonewall Kitchen Down East 
     Sea Salt Crackers

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese.  Add pineapple, bacon, bell pepper, shallot, salt and 1 cup pecans. Mix until well blended.  Transfer to a serving dish, cover and chill one hour until firm.  When ready to serve, top with Stonewall Kitchen Apple Cranberry Chutney or Apple Jalapeno Jelly.  Serve with Down East Sea Salt crackers.

Friday I prepared this using Apple Jalapeno Jelly.  Saturday I used Apple Cranberry Chutney.  Customers enjoyed both versions.  I heard many comments of, "amazing", "awesome" and "delicious".  A definite crowd pleaser.

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I have been wanting to share Stonewall Kitchen's Sriracha Aioli with customers for a long time.  This weekend I finally had the opportunity.  I only prepared the dipping sauce and sampled it with cocktail shrimp.  

Another customer favorite.  Just purchase cocktail shrimp and mix up a little Sriracha and Tamari.  Place the shrimp on a serving dish and the Aioli dip in a bowl and you're good to go.  

Here are two delicious recipes using Sriracha Aioli.  Crispy Srirach Shrimp is Stonewall Kitchen's recipe.  Crispy Sriracha Chicken is my adaptation of their recipe for my fussy family.  

Crispy Sriracha Shrimp

½ c. cornstarch

½ lb. large raw shrimp, 
     peeled and deveined

1 egg, beaten

¼ c. Stonewall Kitchen Sriracha Aioli 

¾ c. panko breadcrumbs

2 Tbl. sesame seeds

2-3 Tbl. shredded coconut

¼ tsp. salt

Canola or peanut oil

For the dipping sauce:

1/3 c. Stonewall Kitchen Sriracha Aioli

2 teaspoons Tamari

Green onion or bell pepper, finely chopped for garnish

Pat shrimp dry with paper towel.

Whisk together egg and ¼ cup aioli.

Combine bread crumbs, sesame seeds, coconut and salt in separate bowl and mix.

Place corn starch in separate bowl.

Dip shrimp in cornstarch. Shake off excess. Dip shrimp in egg wash and then in bread crumb mixture. Place breaded shrimp on a baking sheet or plate. Refrigerate 10-15 minutes.

Combine dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with green onion and red bell.

Fill a straight sided sauté pan ½-inch deep with oil. Heat to 350^o-360^o. Fry shrimp a few at a time until golden brown and crispy on all sides. Serve immediately.

Crispy Sriracha Chicken

1 lb. chicken tenders

¾ c. Stonewall Kitchen Sriracha Aioli

¾ c. panko breadcrumbs

2 Tbl. sesame seeds

¼ tsp. salt

Canola or peanut oil

For the dipping sauce:

1/3 c. Stonewall Kitchen Sriracha Aioli

2 teaspoons Tamari

Green onion or bell pepper, finely 
     chopped for garnish

Combine bread crumbs, sesame seeds, and salt in separate bowl and mix.

Brush chicken tenders with aioli.

Dip in bread crumb mixture. Place breaded chicken on a baking sheet or plate. Refrigerate 10-15 minutes.

Combine dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with green onion and red bell.

Fill a straight sided sauté pan ½-inch deep with oil. Heat to 350^o-360^o. Fry chicken a few at a time until golden brown and crispy on all sides. Serve immediately.

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Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup.  Fun. Unique.  It makes a lovely presentation and is the perfect party food bite.  Hibiscus Flowers with Mascarpone  is simple and easy to prepare.  Other Hibiscus recipes can be found in my RECIPE INDEX.  Also, I did not have recipe brochures available, but did post it - Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup - Recipe Brochure.

I want to share one additional recipe for Wild Hibiscus Flowers that's perfect for this time of year.

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Dillapeno.  Always a hit with customers.   I often sample it over cream cheese.  However, with the holiday football games I decided Dilla-licious Ham Pinwheels would be an enjoyable party bite.  If you like spicy, you'll love these.  When I'm preparing these at the store, I trim the ends off the ham rolls and place them in a dish for my taste testers to nibble on.  The scraps disappear in a flash.

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Last, but not least, a deliciously easy customer favorite - Earth & Vine Red Bell Pepper Ancho Chili Jam.

A favorite again and again and again.

  

Wild Hibiscus Flowers - Recipe Brochure

I did not have Wild Hibiscus Flower brochures for this weekends sampling.  I found one at home and am posting for you to enjoy.

Franciscan Equilibrium

According to TFM's Inspriations magazine, Franciscan's Equilibrium will be coming into the store.  I took the opportunity to go to Franciscan winery to sample it (okay and other wines too).

Franciscan Winery.

Franciscan's tasting room.  Tasting Equilibrium.

Equilbrium was VERY nice.  An estate wine from Napa Valley, its a blend of  Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscast.  Equilibrium is crisp, balanced and refreshing with peach and a hint of floral notes.  For me the PERFECT summer wine (bummer, for me, it's fall).    If this is in TFM when I come back for my tastings on October 24th and 25th I will definitely pour it.  It's a  must try.

On with my day.  Off to taste more wines for you (okay, and me too).

Two GREAT Wineries

So much wine, so little time!

Having been in Napa and Sonoma for six days now, I have to say there is no better wine tasting than a private one.  Bellying on up to the bar falls short on wine appreciation.  

The first GREAT winery is B Cellars.  This was new for us (Dave and I).  We sampled eight wines, and each was phenominal.  Balanced, easy pairing, and great on its own and paired with food.  Dave and I couldn't ask for more.  It was difficult deciding what wines to purchase and in the end bought a case, joined the wine club, PLUS bought futures on six bottles of Pinot Noir (to be released May, 2015).  This was the first wine tasting stop of the day, so you cannot say we purchased all this because we had too much to drink.

The tasting room is less than a year old.  We were in a private tasting room with a beautiful view.  Chris lead our tasting and he was very informative. Our wines were paired with a charcuterie plate.  Talk about wine.  Swirl, sip, savor.  Paired with food.  ... Dave and I didn't want to leave. 

It's Crush and at B Cellars.  We were able to watch them load the grapes into the hopper, go through destemming, with the "bad" grapes being kicked out and remaining grapes going through to the end.  We even sampled some of the grapes from the yellow bins (VERY tasty).

(I don't have my blog photographer with me (miss you Bruce) so I take the pictures unless I can rely on the kindness of strangers. Thank you Chris for the above picture.) 

As we walked through the winery to the tasting room we stopped along the way to sample the new vintage Savignon Blanc from a French cement egg. A tad cloudy, but aroma and flavor ... wonderful!  (I enjoy a wine fermented in French cement eggs.  You can even ask Lori and Joe.)  

The second great winery is Patz & Hall.  This was not new to Dave and I.  We have enjoyed their wines for a couple years now.

Patz & Hall's tasting facility is also new.  Very relaxing.  We sat in the shade with a delightful cool breeze.

Upon arrival, Dave and I were seated outside, relaxing with a glass of sparkling wine.  It's Patz & Hall's first vintage.  Nice bubbles with a hint of fruit and yeast.  

Our tasting was in the private salon.  Heather, one of the owners, lead our tasting.  What more could we ask for, but to have the owner walk us through the tasting?!


Both B Cellars and Patz & Hall are favorites.  In conversations with Chris and Heather, Dave and I realize that both wineries, aside from growing their own grapes, also source from the same vineyards.  I must say, they source from some of the best and most sought after vineyards.  It's no wonder we LOVE the wines from both wineries.

CHEERS!  Off to some of our favorite Sonoma wineries.  

Recipes: Spicy Cheesy Corn Spread - Mediterranean Olive Bruschetta - Red Bell Pepper and Ancho Chili Jam over Cream Cheese

If you know me, or if you've read previous recipe posts, you know I cannot always leave a recipe untouched.  So it goes with the following recipe.  Sable & Rosenfeld's Mediterranean Olive Bruschetta is delicous right out of the jar.  However, I had to add fresh mozzarella (for color) and pine nuts (for texture).

Mediterranean Olive Bruschetta
1 jar Sable & Rosenfeld Mediterranean Olive Bruschetta
6 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes
2 oz. toasted pine nuts
1 pkg. TFM Garlic Parmesan French Rounds

Place all ingredients in a bowl and toss until  thoroughly incorporated.  Transfer to a serving bowl and serving with TFM Garlic Parmesan French Rounds.

Another customer favorite.  I don't know how many told me they LOVE pine nuts.

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This next recipe I prepared based on a recipe I saw in one of my cooking magazines.  It called for fresh corn, but I wanted something that would be easy for my customers (opening a jar can sometimes be more than they want to do so I knew taking corn corn off the cob wasn't going to fly).  Stonewall Kitchen's Spicy Corn Relish was the first thing I thought of.  Of course it's Hatch Chile season so I had to have that as an ingredient as well.

Spicy Cheesy Corn Spread

1 jar Stonewall Kitchen Spicy Corn Relish

2 c. yellow 3 year Cheddar, shredded

1 c. Smoked Gouda, shredded

2 to 3 Hatch chilies, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped

1/3 c. diced red onion

1 bag TFM Tortilla Chips

Preheat oven to 350^o.  Place all ingredients in an oven safe serving dish.  Mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is melted.  Serve with TFM Tortilla Chips.

I'm my own worst critic.  Not 100% convinced this was a WOW recipe, my taste testerd told me to LEAVE IT ALONE.  They enjoye it.  With fingers crossed I put this on my sample table.  WHEW!  Customers enjoyed.  It was commented on as "amazing" a number of times.  I have to tell  you, the men loved it.

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With very few hours to prepare samples this weekend I turned to a deliciously easy customer favorite - Earth & Vine Red Bell Pepper and Ancho Chili Jam over Cream Cheese.  This was the star of the weekend.

Try it.  You'll be glad you did.

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I've debated on this, but have decided I want to share.  I know I've told some of my regular customers the story about a customer eating the garbage off my table (I have no clue what he was thinking).  I've also posted about customers that open product to sample if my sample tray is empty.  I even had customers that sample the food and ask afterwards what they just ate AND these customers have food allergies. Yes, what they sampled they were allergic to. I cannot forget to mention those customers who come to sample and treat it like it's their lunch or dinner buffet.  I can post all this here because these are not my regular customers and are not interested in getting recipe or product ideas.  They would not be reading this.  So, here is the latest story in "what were you thinking?!" ....

Yesterday as I was cleaning up from my tasting I stopped to talk with Lorene who was sampling at the front of the store.  One customer comes to the table and as I look down is dipping a pretzel into the body butter.  Luckily I noticed this as she was about to pop it into her mouth and I stopped her.  I recounted this to my husband, son and daughter at dinner.  They were all VERY disappointed that I stopped her because they (and yes me too!) would have liked to know her reaction if she ate it.  In the end, my son replied, "in her defense it did have butter on the label."

Recipes: Lemon Moravian Cookies, Brie, and Fig & Ginger Jam

Before I get to the only recipe from this weekend, I have to say there was a lot of cheating going on.

I fessed up early on that I would be at Southern Seasons.  But Leslie and Penelope?  MY TFM photographer, Bruce, taking their picture.  And, Pat and Janet .... Didn't think I could be replaced so easily and quickly.  

The following is a recipe from Salem Baking.  Easy, easy, easy.  Customers enjoyed.

         

Lemon Moravian Cookies and Brie with Fig & Ginger Jam
1 box Meyer Lemon Moravian Cookies
8 oz. Brie
1 jar Stonewall Kitchen Fig & Ginger Jam

Place a piece of Brie on a cookie, Top with Ginger Jam.

Recipes: Dilla-licious Ham Pinwheels - Sesame Cream Cheese

Dillapeno is my new addiction.  Since I had time to "play" at the store I grabbed a jar of Dillapeno, hoping to create a quick and delicious treat for everyone to enjoy this Labor Day weekend. (Plus I needed more Dillapeno juice for my Dirty Dillapenos.) Everyone is familiar with Ham rolled with cream cheese and pickles.  Since Dillapeno is delicious mixed into so many things, I decided on Ham rolled with cream cheese and Dillapeno.  

Dilla-licious Ham Pinwheels

8 oz. TFM cream cheese, softened

½ c. Dillapeno, drained

8 slices Virginia ham

Place cream cheese and Dillapeno in a medium bowl.   Blend until thoroughly combined.  Lay a slice of ham on a flat surface.  Spread with cream cheese mixture (to the ends).  Roll ham up tightly.  Place on a dish (or in a container), seam side down.  Repeat for remaining ham slices.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.  Remove from refrigerator.  Trim ends off ham rolls and slice each roll into 4 bite-size pieces.  Place on serving platter.  Serve. 

This was a HUGE hit with my taste testers and customers.  I have to prepare this again for Super Bowl.  

I typically use Mickleberry ham in my recipes, just because it is a customer favorite.  However, Virginia ham was on sale so I used that.  The hint of sweet from the ham and the spicy from Dillapeno was the perfect combination.

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Sesame cream cheese is always a customer favorite.  Please refer to it's previous post of November 3, 2013.

I want to thank Joey from San-J for sending  me basting brushes that I could give to my customers.  Greatly appreciated by all!

Recipes: Over Cream Cheese - Honey Pepper Jam, Ginger Pepper Jam, and Habanero Pepper Jam

To start this post, there's one thing I have to say (and not it's not, "I have no hours to prepare food"), --- "I LOVE my customers!"  It's always fun when my regular customers come to sample.  It's even more fun when I have a number of my regulars at the same time.   Everyone is getting to know everyone and it becomes a happy hour.
Bruce (my blog photographer) took this picture of Pat, Janet and I.  

Had to share.

On to the recipes.  It was an "Over Cream Cheese" weekend.  Quick.  Easy. Delicious.  

As I wander the store shelves looking for products to sample I search for the yellow NEW ITEM tags.  Bermuda Jam Factory caught my eye.  I've wanted to sample this out for the past month and finally had the opportunity.

Honey Pepper Jam over Cream Cheese

8 oz. block TFM cream cheese
1 jar Bermuda Jam Factory Honey Pepper Jam
Smoked Almonds, coarsely chopped
1 box TFM Entertainment Crackers

Place cream cheese on a serving plate.  Top with ½ to ¾ jar Honey Pepper Jam.  Garnish with smoked almonds.  Serve with crackers. 

  

Ginger Pepper Jam over Cream Cheese

8 oz. block TFM cream cheese
1 jar Bermuda Jam Factory Ginger Pepper Jam
1 box TFM Entertainment Crackers

Place cream cheese on a serving plate.  Top with ½ to ¾ jar Ginger Pepper Jam.  Serve with crackers. 

Habanero Pepper Jam over Cream Cheese

8 oz. block TFM cream cheese
1 jar Bermuda Jam Factory Habanero Pepper Jam
1 box TFM Entertainment Crackerssalted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Place cream cheese on a serving plate.  Top with ½ to ¾ jar Habanero Pepper Jam.  Garnish with peanuts.  Serve with crackers. 

Customers often use my "over cream cheese" samplings as party food.  With that in mind, I pondered what additional ingredients I could use to give these texture, flavor, and a bit more pizzazz. Nuts always come to mind so I sampled these jams with a variety of nuts and chose what I thought paired the best.  

There wasn't a nut combination that I liked with the ginger jam.  I considered chopped crystalized ginger, as well as toasted coconut chips, but ran out of time to play and taste.  I'll have to do this again.  

I can't say which of the three recipes was the favorite.  They were all enjoyed and the jams sold VERY well.  In fact, one customer purchased all three jams to make all the appetizers for a party.  Other customers purchased two different jams.  However, if you enjoy spicy food, then Habanero Pepper Jam is for you.  

Recipes: Dillapeno Bloody Mary - Dirty Dillapeno

Yesterday, Tuesday, I sampled Dillapeno over Cream Cheese.  I've sampled this on the weekends, but with different customers shopping on Tuesdays, I had to give them a treat.  As always, sold very well.  But, I digress ...  While preparing the dish, and draining Dillapeno into a container, I pondered, "what can I do with this tasty liquid?"  Bloody Mary!  While sampling Dillapeno and discussing it's many delicious ways to serve I mentioned I was going to try making a Bloody Mary with the reserved juice.  One customer suggested a Dirty Martini.  Fantastic.  When I went home I played.  Here's what I came up with.  I hope you enjoy.

Dillapeno Bloody Mary

¾ c. Vodka
¼ c. Stonewall Kitchen Bloody Mary Mix
4 tsp. Dillapeno juice
Garnishes:

salt

celery stalks

lime wedges

Mix Vodka, bloody mary mix, and Dillapeno juice in a shaker with ice.  Serve in a chilled glass with a salt rim, garnished with a celery stalk and/or lime wedge.  Ice optional.

I did try this with McClures Bloody Mary mix, but Stonewall Kitchen was my preference.  No reason why you can't use your favorite bloody mary mix.  

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Dirty Dillapeno

4 oz. Vodka
2 oz. Dillapeno juice
2 Tbl. Vermouth
Garnish:  pickled jalapeno

Mix Vodka, Vermouth and Dillapeno juice in a shaker with ice.  Serve in a chilled glass.  Garnish with pickled jalapeno.

I'm not a Dirty Martini person, but this I LOVED.

2/2/15 - Smither Family Kitchen has included my Dirty Dillapeno recipe on their website!

Recipes: Spicy Corn Bread Pudding - Southwest Mac 'n Cheese #2 - Hatch Green Chile Bloody Mary - Hatch Red Chile Brownies with Dark Chocolate Chipotle Glaze - Ham Salad Surprise

Saturday was like a huge party at the store.  Hatch Chile Fest had a nice variety of Hatch Chile based items for sampling.  There was a cooking demo.  Also, three tables for sampling wine.  Not to mention my array of food. A good time was had by all.

This first recipe is from Stonewall Kitchen.  I modified it, by adding Hatch Chilies.

Spicy Corn Bread Pudding

16 oz. container sour cream

2 sticks butter, melted

1 jar Stonewall Kitchen 

     Spicy Corn Relish

15 oz. can sweet creamed style corn

2 to 3 roasted Hatch chilies, seeded and chopped

2 eggs, slightly beaten

½ tsp. salt

1 Box Fisher Cornbread Mix

Optional: TFM Red Pepper Jelly

Preheat oven to 350^o.  Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. 

Mix sour cream with melted butter in a large bowl.

Drain Spicy Corn Relish through a fine sieve, just enough to remove any liquid.  Add to bowl.

Stir in creamed corn, hatch chilies, eggs and salt.

Add cornbread mix and mix until combined.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes.  Cool slightly and top with red pepper jelly if desired.

Customers enjoyed.  They especially liked the idea of topping the corn bread pudding with red pepper jelly.  

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Because I had a limited number of hours to prepare food I needed a quick, easy and delicious recipe with Hatch Chilies.  My Southwest Mac 'n Cheese was the perfect answer. Especially since it was a customer favorite last year. However, this is version #2 because TFM no longer sells Instant Gourmet Southwest seasoning which I used in last years recipe.

Southwest Mac ‘n Cheese #2

3 lb. TFM Prepared Mac ‘n Cheese

4 Hatch Chiles, roasted, peeled, stemmed, seeded, and chopped

1 c. TFM Mild Salsa

1/3 c. chopped onion (optional)

1 tsp. Victoria Taylor Smoky Paprika Chipotle Seasoning

Preheat oven to 350^o.

Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Stir until well blended.  Transfer to an oven save bowl and cover with aluminum foil.  Bake until heated through, approximately 35 to 40 minutes.  Serve.

This freezes well.

Additions:  diced onion – black beans, drained – Chorizo or bacon, cooked and crumbled.

Customer favorite this year as well.  

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Hatch Green Chile wine and Hatch Red Chile wine.  My first thought was ... well, I didn't know what to think.  Could be good.  Could be bad.  It was surprisingly ... not bad.  There were recipe ideas on the bottle necks so I had to go for it.

I had to modify the recipe (something I do a lot) on Green Chile wine.  It called for V8 juice, lime juice, Worchestershire, and spices.  I need QUICK and EASY.  I just wanted a bloody mary mix and grabbed a trusty brand - Stonewall Kitchen.  No time for salted rims, so for garnish - Tillen Farms Pickled Crispy Asparagus. 

Hatch Green Chile Bloody Mary

¾ c. Hatch Green Chile Wine
¼ c. Stonewall Kitchen Bloody Mary Mix
Garnishes:

Tillen Farms Pickled Crispy Asparagus Spears

garlic salt

celery stalks

lime wedges

Mix wine and bloody mary mix in a shaker with ice.  Serve in a chilled glass with a garlic salt rim, garnished with an asparagus spear, celery stalk and/or lime wedge.  Ice optional.

Customer's enjoyed.  I must admit I really didn't want to "share" this with customers.  Would have been a nice morning pick-me-up while I prepared my food.  

The recipe on Hatch Red Chile Wine was for brownies.  The topping on the recipe (powdered sugar and sprinkle with red chile powder), for me, was 

B-O-R-I-N-G.  I thought, "nothing like more chocolate".  I saw TFM's Dark Chocolate Sauce on the shelf and gave it a kick with Chipotle seasoning.

Hatch Red Chile Brownies with Dark Chocolate Chipotle Glaze
1 box TFM Chocoholic Brownie mix
Any other ingredients listed to make the brownies 

     (minus water)
Hatch Red Chile Wine

½ c. TFM Dark Chocolate Sauce

1 to 1¼ tsp. Victoria Taylor 

                            Smoky Paprika Chipotle seasoning

Mix fudge brownie mix with other ingredients called for on the box, except substitute water with Hatch Red Chile Wine.  Bake brownies as specified on the box and allow to cool.

Place chocolate sauce in a small microwave safe mixing bowl.  Heat 10 to 12 seconds until sauce is soft.  Add Chipotle seasoning and mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Spread sauce over cooled brownies.  Cut and serve.

Lucky for me, with the help of my trusy taste testers ... SUCCESS.  TFM's  brownie mix has chunks of chocolate.  It baked up rich, chocolatey and chewy. (I used 2 eggs by the way.)  All my taste testers said the chocolate sauce needed more zip, so I increased the amount of Chipotle seasoning. Customers enjoyed and this paired perfectly with the wine. 

In all honesty, the wine did not add anything to the brownies.  It could have been omitted.  In fact, if you do not want to bake brownies, you can use TFM's brownies.  The Bakery sells them without frosting, individually or in packs of four.

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Oy! Now for my last recipe.  Ham Salad Surprise.  I am always trying to sample interesting and delicious products. I enjoy being enthusiastic about whay I'm serving.  My dilema here is to be truthful (or should I say brutally honest), or ... not.  I'm going with the former.

Mark and Judson came to me and asked the question I hate most, "can you do something with this?"  It was three Boat Street Pickle products - pickled apricot, pickled figs and pickled raisins.  My first thought (I have a lot of first thoughts) was, "you've got to be kidding me!"  Verbally, I said, "sure".  Went home and got onto Boat Street's website for recipes.  NONE.  It was all, serve with meats and cheese.  Okay.  So my first thought (yup again), serve it over cream cheese.  

I went into TFM and popped open all three jars.  Pat happend to "wander" in and joined Nicole and I in sampling the three products. If only there was a camera to catch our puckered facial expressions.  All three pickle products were oh, so VINEGARY.  This was not going over cream cheese.  Heck, I wouldn't serve it with meat or cheese.  What to do?

Of the three products Nicole, Pat and I agreed the raisins were the least offensive. Pat suggested it needed something salty, like ham.  Nicole cut us a couple slices. It worked.  With that my ham salad was starting to form in my mind.  Not only that, it needed a name.  Since Pickled Raisins were the "secret ingredient" ... I named it, Ham Salad Surprise.

Ham Salad Surprise

¾ lb. Mickleberry Ham, chopped

1 – 2 stalks celery, diced

¼ red onion, diced

½ Tbl. Dijon mustard

½ c.  mayonnaise

¾ jar Boat Street Pickled Raisins, drained

Add all ingredients to a medium mixing bowl.  Mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Serve on your favorite bread, croissants, or crackers.

Lucky for me (yet again) ... SUCCESS.  This was THE HIT of Tuesday and Friday.  Who knew?

However ... one customer said to me, "Ham Salad Surprise.  What's the surprise?"  Verbally I said, "pickled raisins".  Mentally I was saying, 

     "SURPRISE it's pickled raisins.

     "SURPRISE it's a VERY vinegary product.

     "SURPRISE other than this ham salad I have no clue what you'd

           do with the pickled raisins.

     "SURPRISE it's $9.99!"

If I would have known the pickled products were that price I doubt I would have sampled them.  In fact, I was going to try and use the Pickled Figs in TFM's Rotisserie Chicken Salad, but decided against it.

I tried preparing a vinaigrette with the Pickled Apricots.  A dressing has vinegar and Boat Street pickled products had plenty of that.  Guess what?  Huge flop.  Nothing could save the dressing or the product.  As an aside, the ingredients on the Pickled Apricots stated, "fruits and bits of pits".  Seriously?  Pits?  Well guess what?  Yes, pits.  Nicole and I each bit into one.

Was I too harsh?  I don't recommend Boat Street Pickle products. If you find a use for them, please let me know.  I have plenty of first thoughts but am always willing to change my mind.

I think I'll revisit my Ham Salad Surprise and try it with Dillapeno (a new, delicious and addictive product).  Maybe even some Wickles Pickles (I love that name).  I see some playing in my future.  (If I get the hours.)