All the Ingredients

What's New: Tervis Tumblers

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a Tervis Tumbler to try. I had never heard of Tervis before, but in 1946, the founders of this company, engineers Frank Cotter and G. Howlett Davis (Ter + vis = Tervis), created the first double-walled tumbler that insulated beverages with air trapped inside. This year the company celebrates 65 of making quality custom tumblers. I was thrilled to get a clear tumbler with the Foodbuzz Tastemakers logo on it.

I always start the day off with a glass of ice water. This tumbler is amazing because it keeps cold drinks cold for a long time. Really cold.

In honor of Halloween, I decided to make an iced Pumpkin Spice Au Lait with some of my Godiva Pumpkin Spice Coffee. I brewed the coffee double-strength, adding about 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon for a little extra kick, and chilled it. I put ice in my Tervis Tumbler and added half a cup of milk. Then I poured on the Godiva Pumpkin Spice coffee, topping it with whipped cream and a few sugar ghosts. A ghoulishly delicious drink!

The tumbler works really well with hot beverages too. I drink a lot of tea, hot and cold, and I was able to pour hot water straight into the tumbler for brewing a tea bag. The tea stayed hot for a long time. I have a ceramic double-walled coffee tumbler from a major coffee chain that does not keep my hot drinks hot as long as my Foodbuzz Tastemakers tumbler from Tervis does.

There's just one problem with my Tervis Tumbler. It didn't come with a lid. Which did not make my beverages safe from Sunny.

Who is Sunny? you ask.

Sunny is my cat, my boon companion. He gets up with me--even at 3:30 a.m.--and keeps me company while I get ready for work. He greets me at the door when I come home in the evening. He purrs me to sleep at night. And he is addicted to liquids. He loves sink water, tub water, and in an unguarded moment will try toilet water. If you leave your glass, mug, cup, or Tervis Tumbler unprotected, Sunny will drink your coffee (he likes foamed milk more than whipped cream), tea, diet Mountain Dew, Kool-Aid, and water. First he samples your drink with his paw, and tastes it. Right taste, right temperature? Then, he sticks his head in and drinks.

Sunny loves hanging out on the counter while I get ready to make coffee every morning. If I don't shut the back of the coffee-maker quickly enough, Sunny samples the water first. He never knocks beverages over, but you know he's been there by the wet paw prints leading away from your cup. Argh! Time to get a fresh glass--or tumbler--full.

The only thing that would make my Tervis Tumbler better is a lid. So I visited their web page, http://www.tervis.com/Main.aspx , and ordered a purple lid to match the Foodbuzz logo. Tervis has all sorts of tumblers on their web page that you can order customized for your business or organization. They have cool St. Louis Cardinals World Series Tumblers.

I will love my Tervis Tumbler even more when it has a lid!

 

 

 

What's New: Godiva Caramel Pecan Bark Coffee

There are coffee purists out there (you know who you are) who think that coffees should not have flavoring added to the beans. I used to be one of them. In a past life, I worked as a barista for a company that sold only different "roasts" of coffees--nothing flavored. But then when I was no making coffee for anyone other than myself, I began to shop around other coffee houses, and try brews that were flavored. Usually what I drink at home is a combination of one part plain roast to three parts flavored roast. I tend not to like quite as much flavoring in my coffee as other folks.

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received two bags of Godiva's Coffee latest seasonal flavors--Pumpkin Spice, and Caramel Pecan Bark. Every coffee house is featuring a pumpkin coffee drink right now, so I decided to experiment with the Caramel Pecan Bark. 

Brewed by itself at full strength, this medium roast coffee is a delight. The packaging describes it as "Rich, smooth caramel and toasted pecans with a creamy Godiva milk chocolate finish." Mixed with steamed milk, it is a perfect way to start the day. The caramel aroma floated out of my cup, and as I sipped the coffee, I noticed the slight hint of chocolate. I decided to enhance the caramel and the chocolate notes of this coffee.

Besides Godiva coffee, I am seriously addicted right now to Godiva tablet chocolate bars. My favorite is the Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel. I have a secret stash of them at home. Every day in my lunch, I pack one square. I can't have two squares or the whole bar lying around because I will sit down and eat it all. This tablet is a thin piece of Godiva milk chocolate with flecks of crisp caramel throughout and a dash of salt along the way. Salted caramel is a very trendy flavor right now in everything from cupcakes to hot drinks. I think the Godiva Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel tablet is the best of them all. So I decided that this tablet and this coffee needed to be blended.

First, I brewed the Godiva Pecan Bark Coffee. Then for a single cup of decadence, I chopped up a square of the Godiva Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel Bar. I put half of it in the bottom of the cup, and added the hot coffee. Then I quickly swirled on whipped cream and Smucker's Caramel Sauce, topping it all off with the rest of the square of chopped caramel bar. This drink was fabulous! And the best part of the gooey bits of caramel from the chocolate tablet at the bottom of the cup.

This is an easy drink to make. The Godiva Pecan Bark Coffee will make your kitchen smell wonderful, and will be a great start to your day. Mix it with the Salted Caramel Bar for a match made, well, in Godiva Heaven. Try it!

What's New: Marzetti Simply Dressed: Simply the Best!

My mother gave me her love of tea. My brother Michael gave me his love of peanut butter. And my sister Stephanie gave me her love of salad dressing.

Every time we went out to eat when I was a kid, my big sister would get french fries. And with her french fries, she always had to have a side order of blue cheese dressing. That was what she dipped fries in instead of ketchup. I didn't like blue cheese dressing at that point, and thought she was crazy. It was a habit she kept up all of her life.

But then along came Ranch Dressing to change my mind about salad dressings as condiments. I grew up in the fifties along side the packets of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing. In those days, if you wanted salad dressing, you mixed it up yourself. For Ranch, you had to buy the packet of Hidden Valley seasoning, and add it to mayonnaise and buttermilk. It was my job to set the table for dinner every night, and my job to make the dressing for whatever salad we were having. My mother saved old mayonnaise jars so that I could mix up the ranch dressing. Every night that we used it, we had to stir it all together again. It was rich and creamy.

Gradually, I followed in my sister's footsteps, and started using Ranch as my condiment of choice. I like Ranch Dressing on pizza, wings, burgers, fries--all sorts of foods that really don't need the extra fat calories, but are improved by the flavor. (Try sprinkling some Ranch Dressing powder on your potatoes before you roast them.) I have always remained true to the Hidden Valley brand. I don't think anyone else's Ranch tastes as good. 

And if I am going to spend those calories on dressing, I want it to taste good. I hate fat-free dressings. They have a weird viscosity that always reminds me of a science experiment gone wrong. I won't eat anyone's fat-free Ranch, but I do like the light version that Hidden Valley makes.

Today when you wander down the salad dressing aisle of your local grocery store, there are hundreds of salad dressings to chose from, already made up for you in an amazing assortments of flavors. There are also the bottled dressings that contain ingredients that are not shelf-stable, and that are sold in the produce section in a refrigerated case.

And that's where you find the Marzetti. I have been crazy about Marzetti Honey Dijon dressing for decades. My favorite dip for sweet potato fries or onion rings is that dressing with some Ranch swirled into it--heaven! I like the Marzetti Blue Cheese dressing as well (Stephanie was right all those years ago)--and both the lighter versions of these two are very good. Marzetti makes lots of different dressings, and periodically I like to bring something new home to try. Want a killer combo for your next tossed salad? Try mixing the Marzetti Ranch half and half with their Blue Cheese. 

So I was thrilled when as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker's Program, I received a coupon for a free bottle of the new Marzetti line: Simply Dressed. These salad dressings are different from others on the market because they don't contain polysorbate 60 or propylene glycol alginate or anything else you need a chemistry degree to understand. The Simply Dressed Ranch contains ingredients like canola oil, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, spices, and buttermilk. I also got the Simply Dressed Champagne made with extra virgin olive oil, olive oil, sea salt, spices, and champagne and white wine vinegar. These dressings are full fat, so you need to use them modestly. However, the Simply Dressed ranch contains 2 grams less fat per serving than Hidden Valley Ranch.

So how did these dressings taste? 

For the Simply Dressed Champagne, I made a salad out of fresh garden veggies (soon to come to an end with a hard frost predicted this week): tomatoes, bell pepper, and cucumbers. To them I added celery, mushrooms, carrots, and romaine lettuce. And I threw in some Marzetti Whole Grain Croutons that I found in the produce section as well. I poured on a couple of tablespoons the dressing and tossed it all together. I thought the salad was very flavorful--the dried herbs in the dressing really helped jazz up the vegetables. My mother used to take flat
champagne left over after parties, and make champagne dressing with it. Her dressing had an alcoholic kick to it. The Marzetti version is much smoother in taste, and won't get you pulled over for eating a salad  and driving. My husband's verdict after eating the salad: "Not bad." (This is HIGH praise from him for a salad, believe me!) Next, I'd like to try this dressing as a marinade for chicken.

For the Simply Dressed Ranch, I tried it three ways. First, I dipped a carrot stick in it. Ranch dressing is my go-to dip to dress up raw veggies. It was wonderful. I like the flavor o buttermilk that the background. Next I put it on some deep dish pizza I had made. A lot of people eat
Ranch dressing on pizza. I've been doing it for a long time. Think about it. Most of the time I eat veggie pizza, no meat. So it's kinda like eating hot salad on a crust with some tomato sauce and cheese added. Ranch seems like a natural addition. Sometimes I even put cold lettuce on top of hot pizza with Ranch dressing. It works for me. The Simply Dressed Ranch on pizza is a winner. Finally, I also tried the Ranch on plain lettuce, the most simple salad. A little dressing went a long way,  and made the lettuce zesty.

I have a confession. I have been eating Hidden Valley Dressing for most of my life. The Marzetti Simply Dressed Ranch is better. Way better. I think that because it is made with buttermilk and other natural ingredients, it tastes fresher. Like you made it yourself instead of getting it out of a bottle. Marzetti Simply Dressed salad dressings are made with all natural ingredients, have to be kept refrigerated, and are more expensive than the others on the shelf in the salad dressing aisle, or in the refrigerated section of the produce section. They are worth it.

I think even my sister Stephanie would agree.

What's New: Planter's Peanut Butter

I can never remember NOT eating peanut butter. Peanut butter and jelly toast for breakfast. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. Peanut butter on Saltines for snack. My mother allowed us to put peanut butter on whatever bread we had at dinner, but we were not allowed to actually put the jar on the dining room table. That would have been tacky. My brother Michael kept it on the floor by his chair, in easy reach for sharing. Even when I was forced to eat cafeteria food in college, I kept peanut butter, grape jelly, and Club Crackers in my cupboard as my favorite snack while studying. When I used to travel for the company I work for, I often kept a jar of peanut butter and a spoon on the passenger seat next to me, company for the long stretches of road where there was nowhere to stop, and nothing to eat. I eat peanut butter almost every day, at least once.

Mr. Peanut has been a member of my household for as long as I can remember. My parents always had a big can of Planters Mixed Salted Nuts on hand for cocktails parties--it was my job to refill the nut dish when it got low. Personally, I have always preferred Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts to any other nuts out there, although lately I have come to prefer the lightly salted version. And my husband always has to have Planters Cashews in the house as his go-to snack.

So I was happy to hear that at long last, Planters is making its own peanut butter! I had often wished Planters made peanut butter. Whirring up Planter Dry Roasted Peanuts in the blender provided an unsatisfactory option. As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program, I received two jars of Planter's Peanut butter to try.

Although I refer to my son by the moniker of Bacon Boy, it would be much more accurate to call him Peanut Butter and Grape Jelly Sandwich Boy. He turned twenty this summer, and for at least eighteen of those years, peanut butter and grape jelly on white bread sandwiches have been a mainstay of his diet. Though grade school and junior high, every day for lunch (unless it was pizza day in the cafeteria), he took a pb&j sandwich, Pringles, and apple slices for lunch. EVERY day. The lunch room ladies probably thought I was the most boring mother, making her son the exact same lunch every day, but it was what he wanted. Now when people see Bacon Boy, over six feet tall and over 200 pounds of pure muscle, they say to me, "How did he get so big?" And I always answer, "Peanut butter!"

So when the jars of Planter's Peanut Butter arrived from the National Peanut Board, the first taste test went to my son who happened to be home visiting from college. I have to explain. For eighteen years the only peanut butter he has eaten has been Skippy. Yes, I know all about the wonders of natural, organic, free-range peanut butter, but when you are buying it in gallon drums because your growing boy eats up to five or six sandwiches a day of the stuff (during high school it was not only lunch but pre-dinner snack), natural peanut butter is just too expensive. And the one time I tried to feed my son generic peanut butter, he acted like I had tried to give him a pb&j made from grape jelly and sawdust--he knew it wasn't Skippy. I had to feed the rest of that generic jar it to the birds.

So he happily let me make him a post-lunch snack of half a sandwich made with his friend Skippy, and half a sandwich made with the new Planter's Peanut Butter. He devoured the Skippy half, and then thoughtfully ate his way through the Planter's half. "It's different," he said, "but I like it." High praise!

Since I am the only one in the house who eats peanut butter straight off a spoon, I sampled the creamy Skippy and the creamy Planter's that way. I liked the Planters better. It had more of a roasted peanut flavor. Also in comparison, the Planter's had one less gram fat, one more gram protein, and the same amount of sodium and sugar as Skippy. The Planter's also packed more of powerful peanut aroma when I opened the jar--even after the jar had been open and in use for a week.

For my final test of flavor, I made peanut butter cookies using a recipe out of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook--the same recipe I have been using for decades:

• 1 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup flour

First, cream the butter and the peanut butter together. Then beat in both the sugars, until smooth, and add the egg and vanilla. Mix together the salt, baking soda, and the flour, and stir it into the first mixture until thoroughly combined. Scoop the dough out in balls (I use my smallest cookie scoop that holds a teaspoon), and roll the balls in sugar. Flatten the balls on a cookie sheet with the bottom of a glass, and bake 10-12 minutes in a 350 degree oven. To decorate this batch, I pressed a piece of candy corn into the top of each cookie as soon as they came out of the oven.

My husband and I though the cookies were great--very peanuty--and even my daughter, Picky Girl, ate one and wanted more. Planter's Peanut Butter has become our new family peanut butter! 

What's New: Bauducco Panettone

In the late 1960s, my mother had a subscription to the Time-Life Foods of the World cookbooks. Every couple of months, another volume would arrive, and we would spend the next few weeks cooking our way through the chosen country or region. One of the first volumes to arrive to arrive was The Cooking of Italy. We learned to make our own egg noodles, using my mother's newly purchased pasta machine, and made our own cannelloni. One of our favorites was Gnocchi Verdi--wonderful spinach dumplings that my mother served searingly hot with flank steak. We made Cenci--strips of sweet pastry tied into loose knots and fried--and we made Panettone, an egg-yellow cake studded with raisins and dried fruit.

I hadn't thought about panettone in years. It's not something one finds in an Iowa grocery store, so when I received two Bauducco Panettone as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker's program, I was thrilled. Panettone is a cake usually eaten in Italy at Christmastime, but the two cakes I received were made in Brazil by the Bauducco Company, founded almost 50 years ago by an Italian immigrant, and now one of the leading exporters of these fabulous cakes. I received the traditional panettone made with candied fruits and raisins, and one made with chocolate chips.

When I unpacked the panettone, my husband commented that they looked like giant cupcakes. Indeed they had been baked and shipped in tall, round cooking papers, and the cake crested above each in a golden dome. (The chocolate one had gotten a little squashed in its box and was more of a loaf than a round.) My mother and I had baked our panettone in a coffee can to achieve the desired shape. Included with the panettone were several recipes. I was intrigued by the idea of using the panettone to make French toast, a dish that is popular in our house.

Usually when I make French toast, I use a stiff bread like a French or Italian loaf that is leftover from another meal. The panettone was a moist, rich cake, with a soft texture. It had not occurred to me to preslice the loaves, and let the cakes firm up by drying out so the slices would be easier to handle. I was afraid that as soon as put the French toast into my egg batter, they would disassemble. So I decided to make stuffed French toast.

With the slices of the traditional panettone made with candied fruit I raisins, I spread one side of the bread with apricot jam. This glued the first slice to the second slice, making a more stable bread to handle. I glued together the chocolate chip bread slices with raspberry jam and a few more chocolate chips. Then I made a batter of half-and-half and eggs, with a little cinnamon sprinkled in, to coat the slices. Once I had cooked the French toast on a griddle, I dusted the slices with powdered sugar.

The Bauducco Panettone made fabulous French toast! The cake had absorbed the eggy batter and puffed up nicely. Because of the jams used as filling, the slices needed no syrup. My husband declared it the best "upscale French toast" he had ever eaten--worthy to be on the room service menu of a fancy hotel. I thought it would be perfect to serve as Christmas breakfast.

For my second use of the panettones, I made a simple, whats-in-my-cupboards trifle. First, I made up a 4-serving box of vanilla instant pudding mixed with equal parts milk and half-and-half. Then I cut cubes out of the panettones. I layered cake cubes, a drizzle of chocolate sauce, and pudding into small dessert glasses--two layers of each--and put them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Then I served them with a swirl of whipped cream on the top--yummy!

One of the other recipes on the sheet enclosed with the Bauducco Panettones was for stuffing. This is the time of year I start collecting bits of loaves of specialty breads that I buy to become part of the Thanksgiving bread stuffing for my turkey. I will make sure that part of the panettone with dried fruit and raisins goes into that bag in the freezer. It will be a welcome addition to the stuffing. The chocolate chip panettone is already starting to disappear all on its own. Be sure and find a retailer near you that carries these wonderful cakes, and enjoy some yourself: http://www.bauducco.com/en/where-to-find-us/.

 

Cooking from the Books: 300 Under 300

The fame of Hungry Girl, a.k.a Lisa Lillien, is spreading throughout the diet food universe. I have watched her show on the food channels (this season it bounced from one to the other), and there is much to recommend. Hungry Girl cooks meals herself, mostly from scratch, but does so in a way that makes her recipes easily adaptable to cooking for one or six people. She takes common ingredients, such as toaster waffles, and makes them into turkey bacon and egg waffle sandwiches, or a low-cal take on chicken and waffles. Hungry Girl uses lots of fresh fruit and veggies, and is not afraid of new and unusual ingredients. Would you know a shiritaki noodle if you met one? I didn't until Hungry Girl introduced me to them.

I finally took the plunge and bought 300 Under 300: 300 Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Dishes under 300 Calories because I prepare breakfast for just myself six days a week. Tired of all the old stand-bys, I decided to give Hungry Girl a try. The first 123 pages of this book's 542 pages are about breakfast alone--lots of ideas for me to try. And I fell in love with Hungry Girl's Egg Mugs. The basic recipe for any Egg Mug is easy. You take a large mug (low, wide-mouthed ones work well), microwave your veggies and other add-ins, pour in the eggs, and microwave in stages until done. 

For my first attempt, I took diced some onions and peppers and microwaved them in my mug for few minutes until they had sweated and were starting to get soft. Then I blotted them dry with a paper towel (Hungry Girl recommends this so you don't get runny eggs from the extra moisture), and then added some leftover, cooked turkey breakfast sausage that I had. Then I poured in half a cup of liquid eggs (you could scramble your own), and added some shakes of my favorite egg seasoning, Mrs. Dash's Table Blend. I microwaved the mixture for one minute. The egg was starting to set up around the edges of the mug, so I stirred it well, and microwaved for another minute. I repeated this process until the egg was cooked through and looking scrambly. Then I added some cheddar cheese on top, and gave a last 15 seconds in the microwave to melt. 

With this one cooking technique, you have endless possibilities. Any combination of your favorite veggies and pre-cooked meats will work. I tried these out one Sunday morning on my husband, who didn't care that his veggie-laden, cheese-topped scrambled eggs had not come out of a skillet. The only thing you have to remember is to soak your eggy mug as soon as you are done eating, or the microwaves hiding in the mug will permanently bind the egg bits to the surface, making sand-blasting necessary.

Next I am off to work my way through the Oatmeal Parfait recipes. Give Hungry Girl a go!

 

Easy to Please with Sargento Cheese

When I was in kindergarten, I remember coming home at noon after school, and having my mom make lunch just for me. One of my favorites was a plateful of cheese and crackers and apples. I loved the saltiness of the saltines mixed with the sharp yellow cheese and the sweet crunch of the apple. It's a combination that has always been a favorite.

When I was growing up, my mother--a cheese fiend if there ever was one--liked good cheeses. She bought sharp cheddar in a column covered with red wax. I loved getting to peel the red wax rind off each slice. She loved Camembert, Gouda, and Maytag Blue Cheese. Decades later, when she was driving me to graduate school in Iowa City, we passed the Maytag experimental dairy farms off of Interstate-80 where the blue cheese is made. I asked my mom how she, in Phoenix, knew about Iowa-made Maytag blue cheese. She told me how she had bought the first Maytag washing machine sold in Atlanta, and that when it was delivered, it came with a round of the Maytag Blue Cheese in a wooden box. She mail-ordered it almost ever Christmas afterwards. She loved to crumble it into a green salad with walnuts, dressed with a zesty vinaigrette made with garlic. I liked every cheese she brought home with the exception of Norwegian Gjetost goat cheese. It resembled firm peanut butter (smooth, not chunky), and did not have an especially cheesy taste. 

We never had American Cheese in our house when I was growing up. (Really what is more American than a good Vermont cheddar?) I was jealous of my friends who had the slick orange slices between white bread in their lunches only because it was foreign to me. And my mom only bought Velveeta once a year for one recipe that specifically called for it. Everything else from grilled cheese sandwiches to macaroni and cheese was made with sharp cheddar. We had slices of cheddar with apple pie (always considered a good breakfast in my house), and on sandwiches. And, of course, it was always what we used as the basis for pimento cheese spread.

Then I married a man from the midwest who ate boxed macaroni and cheese, and whose mother had always made grilled cheese using American cheese slices. I ate boxed macaroni and cheese when my kids were little, but the novelty of the lurid orange pasta wore off quickly. And I will eat a grilled cheese sandwich made with American slices, but it's not my preference. So when I received an American Express card for Sargento cheeses as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I was thrilled to set up a cheese tasting party for my husband and me. 

To sample the four types of cheeses I bought, I also bought several types of crackers and some little smoked sausages. Those I cooked all afternoon in the baby slow cooker with the last of the KC Masterpiece Southern Style Barbecue Sauce (delicious). Then I made a grown-up version of my childhood platter of cheese and crackers and apples: freshly picked Macintosh apples, four kinds of crackers--one wheat, three butter-style, and a plate of the Sargento cheeses. The flavors I picked were Colby Jack, Aged Swiss, Extra Sharp Cheddar, and Chipotle Cheddar. The cheeses I had to compare them with were American singles, and some of the popular spreadable cheese wedges that now come in a chipotle version.

When my kids were little, they loved going to the cheese house in a nearby Amish community. There we would watch through windows as whole milk from local cows was poured into huge long troughs, the rennet added, and long silver spider-like attachments hung from the ceiling worked their way up and down the trough, churning the milk in to large curds. Once the curds were completely formed, the tanks were drained and the curds were taken out my people in white protective coveralls and long immaculate silver shovels. My kids loved going into the cheese house shop and buying a tub of the curds to take home and eat. They didn't want the finished version where the curds are packed in blocks. Curds were more fun--and finger-food sized. I assume that, with the variations that come with large-scale production, this is roughly how Sargento makes its cheeses.

The American slices, labelled, "pasteurized prepared cheese product," are made by heating cheese with additional additives and emulsifiers so that it can be steamrolled into plastic wrappers as flat slices, or formed into foil-wrapped wedges. Although there is not a lot of caloric difference between a slice of processed American cheese and a slice of Sargento Extra Sharp Cheddar, the American has almost twice the salt. There is also a huge difference in texture. American slices and the spreadable wedges are shiny and feel slick on your tongue, kinda like patent leather. They melt easily, although the American fat-free slices don't melt at all. They just get hot. The Sargento cheeses are not shiny, and break raggedly unlike the American slices which fold over in a neat line. And the Sargento cheeses taste wonderful!

My husband and I sampled all of the cheeses with all the crackers and the little smoked sausages. They all tasted good with the accompaniments--and I had a nice glass of red wine with mine. The Extra Sharp Cheddar was perfect with the apples--it had a smooth cheese taste, and would be perfect on top of a slice of apple pie. The Colby Jack was a creamy blend of Colby and Jack. This is not a cheese I usually buy, but Sargento's has a smooth flavor. The Swiss was my husband's favorite--the best Swiss he's ever eaten. It will be perfect on one of our favorites--grilled pastrami & Swiss on rye bread.

My favorite was the Chipotle Cheddar. I liked the zing of the chipotle peppers. I am not a fan of string cheese--a lot of work to eat a cheese that doesn't have much flavor. But the Chipotle Cheddar reminded me of the only other Sargento cheese I had tried before: the Pepper Jack sticks that look like string cheese but aren't. I like these peppered cheeses as an afternoon snack (with crackers and apple, of course) because they wake up the taste buds, and the protein gets me through the rest of the afternoon. That was another thing to like about the natural Sargento Cheeses--they have double the protein of the processed cheeses and more staying power. And they all taste great! With the leftover cheeses, we will now have to make grilled cheese sandwiches....

What's New: KC Masterpiece Southern-Style Barbecue Sauce

Like most people, I collect things. As a foodie, I tend to collect food things. Like tins of tea. Jars of marmalade. And bottles of barbecue sauce. I LOVE barbecue sauce, as do most of the rest of my immediate family. There are certain brands of sauce that have become staples, used in our house for specific recipes. Making my famous wings? Gotta have Famous Dave's Sweet & Zesty Sauce. Grilling the first chicken of the season outside? Gotta have Bone Suckin' Sauce. At any one time, there are at least six open bottles and jars of different sauces in my refrigerator.

Which is why I was excited when,as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a bottle of the new KC Masterpiece Southern Style Barbecue Sauce. I had Labor Day off, and the bottle arrived just in time to become part of that day's menu.

KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce was originally created in 1978 by Dr. Rich Davis in Kansas City. The KC line has increased in number over the years, and with the addition of  the Southern-Style, there are now eight flavors. The Southern Style Sauce is a thin, vinegar-based sauce, with a slight pepper kick to it's sweet tang. First, I wanted to try it in burgers. On the Labor Day menu: Mushroom and Cheese Stuffed BLT Burgers. 

With a thinner sauce like this one, I find that they don't stick well to burger patties on the grill. So I decided to mix the KC Masterpiece directly into the meat before I shaped the patties. Each burger was constructed of two thin patties with sauce in the meat, sandwiched together around a heaping spoonful  of diced, cooked mushrooms and cheese--shredded mozzarella for my husband, blue cheese crumbles for me. I left about half an inch of meat clear around the filling to seal the patties together. The sauce in the meat made them easier to seal. Then I carefully placed the patties on the grill, directly over the hot coals. To keep stuffed burgers made form two patties like this from separating, you need to sear both sides quickly so the meat seals and keeps the filling inside. As the burgers cooked, I painted each side with  little more ot the Southern Style Sauce.

Once the burgers were cooked, I constructed the finished sandwich. The bottom of the fluffy onion bun was coated with a layer of mayonnaise to try and seal the bread from the burger juice (It didn't work,  but was a nice effort!). Next was a layer of lettuce and sliced tomato. Then the burgers were topped with some crispy bacon I had saved from breakfast the day before, and some diced, cooked onions and peppers. I drizzled a little more sauce on top, and finished with the top of the bun. The burgers were thick, juicy, and a total mess to eat. I like the fact that because the sauce was in the meat before the burgers were grilled--the flavor went through and through. My husband said that they were the best burgers I have made in a long time.  

The bottle of the KC Masterpiece Southern Style Barbecue Sauce said that the sauce is good on chicken or  pork, on the grill or in the slow-cooker. So for my second recipe, I made my slow-cooker pulled pork. I had made four enormous crock pots full of this meat for Bacon Boy's high school graduation two years ago. We had so much left over, and ate it from the freezer for so long, I think I have only made it twice since then. Definitely time to give the pork another go.

I bought two pork loins, and layered them in my medium-sized crock pot on top of sliced onions. Then I poured the barbecue sauce on top, added a little broth, and went out the door to work. When I came back nine hours later, the house smelled wonderfully of roasted pork and saucy goodness. The pork fell  into tender shreds as I went to heap it up on the buns. The KC sauce made the meat slightly pink, and it tasted fabulous. The onions had almost completely disintegrated into the meat, and on the fluffy onion buns, the sandwiches were fabulous--especially with a tart dill pickle on the side.

If you need a new barbecue sauce for the last cookouts of the season, the KC Masterpiece webpage has a store locator--type in your zipcode and go get some sauce!

Quinoa & Oats Berry Bowls

 

After the comments I received on my last quinoa post about mixing oatmeal and quinoa, I began to think about combining the two. I went back to my original source, Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood, and there was a recipe blending these two ingredients. It starts by cooking the quinoa first, and then adding quick-cook oats halfway through the process. I don't have any quick-cook oats in my kitchen since I use old fashioned oats for baking, and steel-cut oats for eating. Steel-cut oats aren't much bigger than quinoa grains, so I decided to just combine the two.

Here's what you'll need: 

• 2 cups water
• 9 tablespoons quinoa (I used black quinoa since it takes longer to cook than the red or white)
• 6 tablespoons steel-cut oats
• 3 teaspoons ground flax seed
• 1 2/3 cups frozen mixed berries (or fresh, if you have them)
• 5 teaspoons each raspberry and blueberry jams, preferably sugar-free

Put the quinoa and oats in a pan with the water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cover, stirring occasionally. I like my oats and quinoa wetter, so I added another cup of water as they simmered. Then, when they are done--about 40 minutes later--divide them out into five bowls. Dot the top of each with a teaspoon of each jam, and pour on 1/3 cup of the frozen mixed berries. You can use any jam and berry combination you like.

I put four of my servings straight into Gladware bowls, added the toppings, and put them in the freezer. When I go to eat one, I will heat a container in the microwave for three minutes, or until hot all the way through, and then stir in the toppings and enjoy. These are generous portions--you could easily make six servings. I love any breakfast that I can make ahead, and then grab on the way out the door to heat up in the microwave when I get to work. And since no one else in my house likes quinoa, I get to eat it all!

What's New: Birds Eye Steamfresh Chef's Favorites Helps Make Spinach Artichoke Dip

If you have walked through the frozen foods section of your grocery store lately, you have noticed a change in what's on the shelves in the veggie section. Besides the growth of single-serving frozen vegetable packets that I have mentioned before, there has been a rapid growth in packages of quick and easy, meal-ready blends of items. Gone are the days of potatoes displayed only as pucks, fries, and tots. Now you can buy bags of roasted potatoes mixed with carrots and herbs, ready to microwave and serve as a side-dish to pork chops or beef tenderloins. Or if you are of a veggie mindset, you can eat the bagged blend as your main dish.

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program, I was lucky enough to receive a sample of the new Birds Eye Steamfresh Chef's Favorites. The first one out of the box was the Lightly Sauced Creamed Spinach. As a child, I hated spinach--especially straight out of the can, Popeye-style. But as an adult, I have learned the joys of spinach. I love it fresh in salads or on sandwiches, and I love fresh spinach cooked. But what to do with an entire bag of Creamed Spinach? Then it hit me--I would reinvent my Thanksgiving Day artichoke dip to include spinach.

My Thanksgiving Day menu doesn't vary. It did for the first few years we were married as my husband and I decided what dishes we like best. But then the menu became set in stone: roast turkey stuffed with cornbread dressing (yes, I know I am not supposed to stuff the turkey with the dressing anymore, but in twenty-six years no one has died, or even gotten sick as a result of my cornbread stuffing and it just tastes better that way), cranberry orange relish, sweet potato rolls, mashed potatoes with sour cream, Brussels sprouts with walnuts and orange, pickled beets, balsamic carrot salad with currants, and pecan and pumpkin pies with real whipped cream. And the appetizers are almost always bacon-wrapped dates and breadsticks, and artichoke dip. What if I added the creamed spinach to the artichoke dip?

I dug around in the cupboard and found the 9-inch casserole that I always make the Thanksgiving artichoke dip in, and got started:

• 1 can artichokes, in brine, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, diced small
• 2 wedges Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss (or 2 tablespoons cream cheese)
• 1 package Birds Eye Steamfresh Chef's Favorite Creamed Spinach, partially defrosted
• 2/3 oz grated parmesan cheese

I chopped the artichokes, diced the garlic, and stirred in the Laughing Cow Cheese. I like Laughing Cow in recipes like this because it is creamy already, and mixes into other ingredients much easier than cream cheese. I added half the grated parmesan cheese, and layered it into my casserole.

Next I put the Creamed Spinach in its pouch in the microwave. The package was supposed to cook completely in 5 minutes, so I cooked it for 2 1/2 minutes. That partially defrosted the creamed spinach, but didn't cook it all the way. Then I opened the package and topped the artichoke mixture with the spinach and cream mixture. I stirred it together with the artichoke layer, and topped the dip with the rest of the grated parmesan cheese. I baked it for about 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. It smelled wonderfully cheesy and garlicky.

For dinner that night, I had bought and cooked lovely pork chops, and had baked two large potatoes. I served the Spinach Artichoke Dip on top of the baked potatoes. It was wonderful! I also sampled some on crackers just to make sure it will be  perfect for Thanksgiving. It was so good, it was hard to stop eating the dip on the crackers. 

I also got a sample of the Birds Eye Steamfresh Chef's Favorites Roasted Red Potatoes & Green Beans which were delicious with my grilled pork back ribs, and a sample of the Mushroom and Green Bean Risotto which I steamed in the microwave, and then added to a skillet of chorizo suasages that I had  cooked and sliced. My husband, who is not a big fan of rice, thought this was delicious. All of these veggies and sauces are on the light side--the creamed spinach had the most fat with 5 grams a serving. These aren't available in your grocery until September, but from what I could guess, based on the other packages of like-minded items in the freezer section, they should be less than $3 a package.

So next month, when you are trolling through the frozen foods aisle dreaming up dinners, make sure you grab a couple of the happy blue Birds Eye Stemfresh Chef's Favorites to try!