So I try not to make this a commercial – but sometimes the temptation is overwhelming! We just came back from national conference where we got to introduce the new line up of Two Sisters Gourmet products! I’ve been holding back on this information, but now I get to brag! We have got some phenomenal new items. If the reaction of the Consultants is anything to go by, the items we samples are winners!
Perfect Pumpkin Gingerbread Mix (does take a can of pumpkin puree)
Brazen Buffalo Blue Cheese Seasoning Mix – start with a dip and go wild!
Great Caesar’s Ghost Seasoning Mix – have a little Caesar on everything, it’s not just for salad!
Incredible Creamy Caramel Sauce – so decadent they haven’t invented a word for it yet!
Dreamy Dark Chocoate Sauce – for those who know that chocolate is good for you!
Artisanal Rosemary Wheat Bread – treat yourself to a rosemary heavan!
Hoppin’ Jalapeno Mustard – add a little zip to turkey, and everything!
Head to our Recipe Box and find your Consultant today and don’t miss a moment of enjoyment!
My son has a sign in his room – Garlic is the 5th food group! And in our family that’s true. There are very few things that can’t be improved with Garlic. Growing up in California, garlic is a staple. Gilroy is the garlic capital of the world and its festival is world famous.
The Amazing History of Garlic
Garlic is one of the oldest seasonings available too! It was used and worshipped by the Egyptians, making it’s way to King Tut’s tomb, as well as the Greeks and Romans. Both cultures used it as food an medicine. It can even keep away vampires and other evil spirits in many cultures! At least in the old mythology – and it can certainly keep away undesirable advances on occasions. Although other cultures claim it is an aphrodisiac.
Garlic is also now proven to be good for you. Isn’t it amazing how many “old folk remedies” really have real benefits (like grandma’s chicken soup). Garlic is supposed to help lower blood pressure and while that is debatable, Louis Pasture found that it has great antibacterial properties. Garlic was even used as an antiseptic in WWI.
Great Garlic Ideas
I suppose that’s why Two Sisters Gourmet Outrageously Garlic is consistently one of the top three products in the line. It has great garlic flavor. My daughter takes a jar to school every semester and she doesn’t even really have a kitchen – you can use it a thousand ways. Most easily it makes an addictive dip with either sour cream or a combination of sour cream and mayonnaise. You can also let it soak in some olive oil for a great bread dip (add a little parmesan cheese and pepper and WOW!). You can always sprinkle it on fresh vegetables or French fries for some extra zest. Last night I added it to creamed spinach and had flavor at a whole new level.
Four Easy Recipes
Here are links to four of our easy recipes for Outrageously Garlic:
The Basic Skills of Cooking: It’s Simple but Follow Directions
Last week I was humbled by a toaster oven!. I think of myself as a pretty good cook, but every now and then we all need a “comeuppance” as my Grandma would say!
It all started when I needed to show our SRVP’s how versatile Beer Bread really can be. We just had a meeting where I handed out the “21 Ways to Make Beer Bread” sheet, and now I really wanted to prove that no one should leave a party with just one box.
So I went to the store and bought ingredients to make 5 different varieties –sweet and savory. I happened to be in the Hampton Inn where they generously let me their convection oven in the kitchen so I could make them all at once. Well, convection ovens cook differently, of course. Faster, but not quite so thoroughly, and I was making so many at once……
After rotating them around, I finally got them the crust looking toasty brown, but they still looked a little wobbly and didn’t sound right. So I figured I bake a fresh one in a small aluminum pan at work the next morning in the toaster oven. I whipped it up (Yummy with chocolate chips) and went to do a few things. I just about burned the building down!.
My bread was in too small a pan, so it rose into the coils and burned! And SMELLLED! And looked AWFUL! Then I went to cut the loaves from the night before – the crust was like leather and the inside was still a little soggy. So I salvaged what I could and ….
This week I got a new large size toaster/convection oven. I have some new bread samples to try on my desk so I got to work. I am now on the 5th loaf
the first was a small aluminum pan that rose, but looked like pudding in the middle
the second was on convection and was almost as burned as the one that rose into the coils (and I accidentally left it on for hours!)
the third was a slight dark brown with a crust that tasted like more leather
So I bought a real loaf pan….
left it on convection, turned down the temperature and it was edible (in fact Chris Johnson, our meeting planner ate almost the whole loaf!)
I’m on number 5 now – and I ‘ll photograph it shortly.
The moral of the story:
1. Read the instructions – they were actually tested
2. Use the right equipment – if it says 9×5 metal pan, they mean it
3. Never leave your oven untended
4. Learn how your own oven works, some tend hot or cold
5. Expect Disasters – they are part of cooking and make you better
Tired of Winter, Want to have a fun party that brings to mind a warm summer day in the vineyard? Why not have a Sonoma Style dinner party with friends. Here are 10 easy tips for success from our recipe specialist Rita Held.
Ten Tips for a Sonoma-Style Dinner Party
1. Getting It Together
Several weeks ahead, invite the guests; select and print out the recipes (visit the TSG Recipe Box); and order specialty food products. Wine can be ordered online too (if your state allows it). Create to-do lists, and the day of the party follow a timetable so the casserole gets into the oven and the wines get chilled on schedule.
2. What Can I Bring?
Guests today want to bring something—a great help in these busy and uncertain times. For a more cohesive menu, assign each guest a recipe to prepare and deliver in a serving dish. Simply send them the recipe link or specify a type of dish. Ask some guests to bring wine—specify the varietal, wine region, and maximum price.
3. Sonoma-Style Dinner
While good wines come from around the world, focusing on one wine region is fun. Sonoma, one of the world’s great wine regions, is a good place to start. The wines are exceptional and prices are often lower than comparable wines from Napa. White varietals include chardonnay, gewürztraminer, sauvignon blanc, and pinot gris; reds include cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, merlot, syrah, and zinfandel. Sonoma also produces excellent sparkling wines.
4. What Wines to Serve?
Believe it or not, choosing wine is the easiest part of menu planning. Simply serve what you like—and forget outdated wine rules. If you adore chardonnay, drink it with everything. To serve a variety of wines, select light whites or reds for light dishes, and choose full-bodied whites and reds for hearty dishes. Here are some suggested pairings with Two Sisters Gourmet recipes:
Plan on at least 2 glasses of wine per person for a daytime affair. For a long party, allow up to a bottle per guest.
6. Sonoma Wine and Food Pairing
Choose at least half dozen wine varietals to serve. The goal is to find the best wine for each dish on the menu. Taste one dish with all of the wines, and then repeat until each wine has been compared to each dish. Start with the mildest dish and the lightest wine. Here’s what to do: 1) Swirl the wine in the glass and immediately take a sip—think about how the wine tastes and feels. 2) Take a bite of food. 3) Swirl and sip the wine again. Did the food alter the taste of the wine? If each sip of wine tasted similar—and you liked the flavor after tasting the food—it is a good match. Discuss what combinations you liked best and why; which ones weren’t as good and why.
7. Wine Temperatures
For wine to taste best, it must be at the right temperature. Whites should be chilled but not ice-cold. To quick-chill whites, submerge the bottle in ice water for 15 minutes, or refrigerate about 2 hours. Red wine bottles should feel cool to the touch. If the bottle is warm, refrigerate it about 1/2 hour; if too cold, leave at room temperature 1/2 hour.
8. Setting the Table for Wine
Put the water glass on the far right, above the knife. Arrange the wine glasses to the left of the water, above the plate. One glass for each wine (or one for red and one for white) is ideal. If a single glass is used, rinse it between wines. Clear, long-stemmed wine glasses that curve in slightly at the top and hold at least 12-ounces are ideal.
A wine glass should be filled no more than 1/3 full—that allows space for swirling the wine to release aromas and aerate the wine. It is easier to swirl the glass without spilling if the base of the glass is on the table—hold the glass by the stem and quickly move the glass in a circular motion.
10. Have Fun and Trust Yourself
It’s fun to talk about wine—what flavors you taste and aromas you smell. But don’t be surprised if everyone disagrees—even the experts do. Just as people have different opinions about food, the wine palate is very personal. Trust your own opinion.
Hmm! Cold gray day! No one home! Too much travel! A good book is calling!
Sounds like a day for comfort food. Mac and Cheese or Chili! Grilled Cheese or Butternut Squash soup! These are some of the things that come to mind immediately.
Comfort food by definition is a simple food, usually home made, that has an emotion significant to a person, frequently tied to childhood memories. They are also usually creamy, hot, and frequently fattening! So who cares- you can’t deprive yourself all the time!
So I sent an email out to family and friend to see how we mirror the rest of the nation. In the US, peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese sandwiches, mac and cheese and meatloaf are right at the top of the list. ( Top 25 comfort foods) In our family, we did have a lot of votes for mac and cheese, but then we had some other for hot dogs and beans, pepperoni pizza and We also had our share of outliers like raclette (melted cheese and potatoes from Switzerland, Nasi Goreng (see Scoop and Nuke night post) – but those will have to wait for other posts.
OK – my personal favorite is mac and cheese. It’s hard to make a change when the family gold standard is a 99 cent blue box. But with age, improvements can be made! For starters, you can just add Outrageously Garlic to the finished product. If you want to get fancy, though, my family has now voted Mac and Two Cheese with caramelized shallots as top of the heap.
What are some TSG versions of the American Classics
Want comfort food, but don’t want to pay the consequences for all that good stuff – figure out how to take some of the calories out of your regular favorite. Substitute some of the key ingredients, like milk for cream, or low fat versions of sour cream, lean meats. Roast that skinless chicken instead of fry. If that doesn’t work, look here for some low fat comfort foods.
Remember though – comfort is the operative word. You can indulge, just occasionally.
Personally, I love a culture where the proper greeting is “Have you eaten yet?”
Whew! We just finished our New Years and it’s time for Chinese New Years – 2010 the Year of the Tiger! For us New Year is just a day or a weekend,but in China it means that everything shuts down for two weeks! Wouldn’t we just love a holiday like that?
Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar, so this year it occurs on Valentines Day, February 14. It was a real dilemma when it came to blog writing! This year is the Year of the Tiger – part of the Chinese Zodiac (think our astrological signs)
As it turns out, most of the country really only quiets for a week, but there is truly a different celebration for almost every day from the first, Family Reunion Dinner , to the Seventh (Everybody’s Birthday) to the final Lantern Festival.
Much of the celebrations and customs have to do with tradition and superstition. Many foods are considered lucky because the name sounds likes other words in Chinese for good fortune, prosperity and long life. Gifts of oranges and tangerines abound as representations of gold and good fortune. Decorating colors are also red and gold. This link will take you to a great overview of the holiday season.
On the eve of the first day, Family Reunion dinner, the main dish served is typically a whole carp, not fully eaten so there will be prosperity for the New Year, with enough left over to carry you through. Traditionally, the first day itself is vegetarian, and everything needs to be prepared in advanced – no cutting allowed in case you cut short the good luck for the New Year.
To make a symbolic dish that everyone will love, I go back to our family favorite – longevity noodles (long noodle-long life).
Longevity Noodles
This is so simple you don’t really need a recipe. Take your favorite vegetables and blanch or stir fry them (be sure to include those golden carrots). Then take and soak a package of rice noodles in boiling water(takes 5 minutes or less) and toss with a dressing that includes rice vinegar, a tiny bit of sesame oil, vegetable oil, garlic and fresh ginger. This is one night when noodle slurping is definitely allowed, no noodle cutting allowed!
If you want to add an American flair, then try the TSG version of a dipping sauce for pot stickers and spring rolls;
Two Sisters Gourmet Dipping Sauce Recipe
2 Tbsp Sweet and Spicy Pepper Jelly
1/2 cup Island Ponzu Sauce
1 green onion thinly sliced
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)
Mix ingredients in small bowl and serve with pot stickers or spring rolls
The Chinese know about family relations too! The third day of the New Year, everyone stays home. It’s known as the Day of Squabbles! Even in the West we know that family relations get strained on the third day. This is a great time to learn about some of the great and varied dishes that people use to celebrate. If you live in a city with a Chintown, go down to a local bakery and try some of their sweets – sticky rice balls for dessert or rice candy for the perpetual Tray of Abundance (sweets kept out for everyone to snack on during the holiday – not unlike the Italian tray with 12 tastes for the Twelve Days of Christmas).
Tray of Abundance
Bring them home for the Seventh Day Feast – Everyone’s Birthday! Traditionally in China, individual birthdays were not celebrated, and everyone turned a year older on the same day. This is a day for much feasting and festivals. What a great tradition!
Then there is that other part – exercise- Uggghh! I know, I imagine all of those young, fit women wearing spandex clothes, working out and smiling at the gym with their makeup perfect. And I am not one of those!
Them! Me
Even I Exercise Regularly
Now in all fairness, that used to be my response, but over the past 10 years, I have gotten to the place where I exercise at least 30 minutes, 5 days a week and I really do feel better. There are two crystallizing factors – I don’t want to be like many grandmothers and aunts whose falls in older age can be the precursor to their demise. We’ve learned enough to know that exercise keeps bones strong.
Then, our health plan started giving a discount for healthy learning. The measure was 10,000 steps a day. Do you know how much that really is? That’s about 5 miles a day. While I know running up and down the stairs with laundry feels like that, it really isn’t.
Start Walking
It turns out that for me to take 10,000 steps a day on a relatively regular basis, I have to do 5,000 steps on the elliptical in 35 minutes in the morning.
Also, I learned I can cope with stress and everything else better thanks to exercise – plus I’m helping the old heart muscle. My attitude now is “have sneakers, will exercise” (but I still hate running). I travel a lot, but exercise clothes are always in my carry on – believe me, it makes me a nicer, happier person to work with.
Find what you like to do and what works best for you. Walking starts with a single step, and it’s a great way to keep up with friends. I have some who make it a habit to go walking with their friends after the bus stop or around the parking lot at lunch. If you actively try to move, you will find a way. But there are other options – classes, swimming, kayaking, nature walks with your children– why not make it a family event?
Exercise at any age!
And you know the energy part? Doctors are right! You get more when you exercise. And it’s never too late – my mom is 88 years old and started going to the gym last week so she could move better and be more stable. She’s noticing a difference! You’ll be interested to know that studies have shown that with exercise, older people (even starting at age 85) can improve their muscle tone significantly in only six weeks. Of course, everyone should check with their physician before starting a rigorous exercise program.
I know I’m personally dieted, exercised and stretched to the point of exhaustion on a bad day. But in my heart of hearts, I know the answer is very simple. Move it or lose it!
We’ve made it through Christmas and New Year’s is upon us. We celebrate and vow to do things better in the New Year. We get to start with a clean slate!
New Year’s Celebrations Around the World
When we were living in different countries, one thing I learned is that New Year’s isn’t always on January 1. In one year as we moved from Europe to Asia, we were able to experience at least 7 different New Year celebrations – we started with ours in January, with our favorite bubbly and good cheer. Then there was Chinese New Year in the beginning of February with its fireworks, gifts and dragon dances. Nyepi in primarily Hindu Bali where noisy celebrations scare away the evil spirits followed by a day of silence. Songkran in Thailand where we were soundly doused with water to wash away the past. Hari Raya in Malaysia, although not technically the Islamic New Year is a great time of celebration at the end of Ramadan. Rosh Hashana with good friends in many countries. Deepavali (Diwali)Festival of Lights. Each had it’s own sights, sounds, traditions and foods. Yum! We had a lot of fresh starts that year!
Dragon Dancers for Chinese New Year
In fact, that is one of the great lessons learned from our travels – whatever our celebrations, we are much the same. Whether it involves new clothes, cleaning house – sweeping away the old – new year’s is much the same. Everyone gets a chance for a clean slate and to start anew.
Granted my history with resolutions isn’t very good. I make them (usually to lose weight, see Diet and Exercise (next week)) and then need to start over again a few months later. Instead of feeling guilty about making and breaking New Year’s resolutions, I prefer to think that I start every day with a resolution
At least I know this is a universal trait of all people – we are just human. You don’t need six new years celebrations to get it right. Resolve to make each day a little better than the last.. Make everyday New Year’s Day – embrace the future and start to make it a little better.
Be prepared for unexpected holiday guests, have some extra snacks!
Well, it’s official, we are again in the holiday season. Lights are up and expectations are high to be jolly, happy or oozing with extra good cheer – it’s enough to make you crazy. As a Mom, you feel like the happiness of everyone around you is dependent on what you do! But give yourself a break – if you are not happy, neither will anyone else be.
There are now three days before we leave to visit my mother for the holidays. I’m a little stressed. So I will do what I always do – make lists. If I can take a big task and break it down into little ones, I feel much more successful and things will get done. I will make Christmas lists, and hit the internet. I will make shopping lists and store them on my phone. I will make packing lists, so that I can keep things in one suitcase – and I will put them all on the calendar so that as I get closer to THE DAY, the list will shrink instead of grow and I will feel better not worse.
But more importantly, I need to realize it is not my job to make everyone happy. True, it’s easier now that the children are grown and I can realize that much of the struggle we had during those teenage years was as much my problem as theirs. They were trying to show me they were responsible for themselves, and I had to learn to let them be responsible.
This year my family is beginning to scatter around the U.S. as we become part of other people’s families and celebrations. They each have a desire and responsibility to contribute to everyone’s happiness – and they want to. The joy of making others happy is now the gift they have to share - that and a few recipes from home. Let me know how you and your family share the holidays.
Still there is that central role you have to play – so make it easy for yourself, at least on the food front.
5 Steps to Making Holiday Cooking Easier
1. Put out a plate of fresh, ready to eat fruit for the day. Let them help themselves. In many European countries it’s a tradition that they put out a plate of food for the 12 Days of Christmas – one for each day. It includes dried fruit (like apricots), cheese, nuts, fresh fruit (like clementines and grapes) and some wrapped candy.
2. Prepared food is good food. – Make a pot of soup – only twice what you would normally prepare – freeze half for the day so that you’re ready for guests coming at odd hours or those running late. If you don’t have the extra time now, a roast chicken from the grocery store is a great, warm dinner.
3. Keep It Simple – As much as I love to cook, I am always humbled by the fact that the family seems to love easy comfort food as much if not more than things I slave over. We had a week full of delicious dishes – but my son, Scott was happiest with the easy mac he made for himself. It was inexpensive and easy, and reminded him of being a kid again.
4. Let People Help!! - I’m always guilty of this one. I invite people over, they say “what can I bring?” and I say “Just Yourself!” What was I thinking? I am learning to say, “Thank you, yes” and everyone feels better.
5. Keep some “extras” on hand! – The one thing I have trained the family to do, is put something on the grocery list when they use up the last one. Particularly around the holidays, there should be some no thought food around. For a late night meal, I take a can of tomato soup, add a can of minced clams and a little milk and I have a wholesome meal. When people drop by, I have some mini-bagels, frozen pigs in a blanket, TSG Cheeseballs or a jar of Sweet and Spicy Pepper Jelly over cream cheese – and everyone is happy!
If you are relaxed and happy, so will be those around you. Give up control and enjoy the holidays.
So I try not to make this a commercial – but sometimes the temptation is overwhelming! We just came back from national conference where we got to introduce the new line up of Two Sisters Gourmet products! I’ve been holding back on this information, but now I get to brag! We have got some phenomenal new items. If the reaction of the Consultants is anything to go by, the items we samples are winners!
We’ve made it through Christmas and New Year’s is upon us. We celebrate and vow to do things better in the New Year. We get to start with a clean slate!
