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| Supporting Family-Owned Artisan Producers of Hard-to-Find Ingredients since 1999 |
| New stuff and a few back-in-stock |
Chateau Virant - gelefine
 A very pure, smooth, winey jelly. The color of the jelly is reminiscent to the amber stone you find prehistoric animals in, or at least how it is depicted in the movies, but without the animal after taste. The texture is smoooooth with nooooothing more than a wine flavor, in a translucent, gelatinous "liquid" that it is soooo smoooooth. Yumm!
Chateau Virant's wine jelly is made from mulled wine that is reduced until all the alcohol has evaporated, and then sugar and pectin are added. The taste is of a wonderful wine with a sweetness that is oh so special. It went great with Brie, though I expect it will go much better with a semi-hard cheese, like the Pecorinu.
I also tried it on Effie's Corncakes, and that was good too. What a treat! Serve it with white meat, fowl, cheese and even toast! Or do as I do, just eat it with a spoon.
(A last minute report: it is really, really good on Pecorinu. I gave my Dad five pieces of Pecorinu with gelefine, and he inhaled them while playing chess with my son.)
New flat-rate shipping options
Now you can ship up to 20 pounds for $17.99 (East Coast) or $14.99 (West Coast). |
Pecorinu
Cheese with wine jelly. Still great, this sheep cheese is medium hard with a wonderful distinct flavor. While supplies last.
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Effie's Homemade Oatcakes
Plain Jane or with a nice soft cheese! Not too sweet. Just right.
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Sel Gris with North African Spices!
Grey salt from the Guerande mixed with coriander, cinnamon, fenugreek, mustard, curcuma (turmeric), ginger, cumin and cloves. WOW! A blend which smells like a slice of spice! The wonderful nose notwithstanding, it tastes great and adds everything you might want when traveling to North Africa in your own kitchen. And, with an excellent salt as the base the finish is, of course, perfect.
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Bozzano Toscano Blend Olive Oil
Didn't see an olive oil that tickled your fancy last week? Here's one from California where the man who blends it is a true artisan. I have taste tested his oils for three years now, and it has remained consistent in its general flavor profile and yet swayed nicely with the winds of change that revolve around what we call weather. The peppery kick can come quickly with a mouthful, racing to the front of the flavor, while dissipating quickly to the back of the throat before you know what happened. At first you taste the olive and the oil, but soon it disappears into a nice cloud of fullness, followed by a nice punch. This oil is so nice that I have now had four teaspoons full as I try to describe the emotional moment that is this oil. And I have no fear of having more. Still not convinced? Try it with the Salt with North African Spice on a spoon! Yumm!
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Sel Gris aux Herbes!
It's back and is as good as ever! Bay, rosemary, basil and thyme blended with unprocessed salt from one of the finest salt beds in the world. Worth having in your cupboard, on your counter, in your larder, in your pantry, and in your tackle box! A great salt to mix and match with many a dish!
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Mustard in Old Fashioned Crocks
KL Keller's mustards now come in very cool mustard-colored crock. If you haven't tried her Dijon or her Banyuls, this isn't a bad way to start. For some reason mustard always seems to taste better when it arrives to the table in a very cool ceramic crock. A Classic taste in a classic pot. Kitty makes these for her own consumption, but shares them with us. Proof that sometimes it is better to make the taste that you remember than rely on others to satisfy your palette! Enjoy these wonderful mustards.
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This Week's Recipes
Mireille Guiliano's new cookbook, "The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook" (Atria Books, 2010) showed up last week - and perfect timing it was. I was just contemplating this period of "transition" between winter and spring - that time when the winter crops are available in abundance and the weather is getting warmer but still not quite warm, but the days are getting longer and Spring is coming - along with the anticipation of the summer crops to come. I was excited to find that Mareille's cookbook is full of great pasta ideas, winter salads, as well as some French classics.
Chris, from Colline di Santa Cruz, surprised us with a visit to our store yesterday and when she saw the cookbook let us know that she loved Mireille's book, "French Women Don't Get Fat". We love Mireille's cooking philosophy. Simple recipes that require little time to prepare, balanced ingredients, and always three colors on the plate. Here are a few recipes to sample.... Look for her new cookbook at your local independent bookseller - the perfect cookbook for the Spring.
Farfelle with Yogurt-Basil Sauce
You don't usually think of pasta as French cuisine, but I guess the French like pasta as much as the next guy.... Although this recipe calls for a "Greek-style" whole cow's milk yogurt, I have become partial to goat-milk yogurt, especially as my husband is sensitive to cow's milk (not that he would admit that...)
Italian-Style Fennel and Apple Salad
A great way to use some of that luscious Pecorinu Cheese - not to mention some of the fennel and apples that keep coming in your weekly veggie box this time of year.
Lentil, Fennel and Orange Salad
No doubt about it, lentils are a great food - so high in protein and so quick and easy to make. But many of our customers, even if they want to eat lentils, don't know how to prepare them. I recommend the French Green Le Puy lentils for this recipe.
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