INGREDIENTS

1 can hearts of palm, drained and chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 cup chopped leek
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise

 DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a glass pie plate.
In a medium bowl, mix together the hearts of palm, mozzarella cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, leek, sour cream and mayonnaise. Spread into the greased pie plate.
Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until light brown and bubbly. Serve with Jacob’s Cream Crackers or Australian Water Wheels.

How Specialty Foods can make our lives easier

We all appreciate ideas and shortcuts that save us time when entertaining. Here is a variation on the classic Italian arugula salad, topped with slices of Prosciutto di Parma and shaved Parmigian Reggiano Cheese. By giving the ingredients, seasoning, spices etc in a recipe a slight twist, you have a new dish that seems at once “classic” in it’s feel, but new in flavor.

In this case, standing in for the Prosciutto is Alpen Schinken, a dry cured and smoked ham of German origins. Unlike it’s Italian counterpart, it is smoked over hardwoods, the husky smokiness pairing nicely with the rich texture.

Like prosciutto is is also sliced thin to allow the flavors to open up more fully on the palate.

The Gruyere cheese further reinforces the alpine theme and flavors of the dish.

This is also an example of how a few well chosen specialty food items can make our lives easier when entertaining, giving us something new and tasty with very little work or prep time. 

I served this dish at an all red-wine dinner at Russian Hill Estate Winery in Sonoma County. Pairing red wine(or many wines  with salad) is truly a challenge, but the smoky richness of the ham, along with the dense creamy Gruyere tames the effect of tannins. The drizzle of the aged (and therefore not overly acidic) balsamic actually helped to tie the dish to the wine.

But a crisp white or even beer will match nicely with this fall season fist course.

Salad Of Bitter Greens with Alpen Schinken and Gruyere

A New Take on an Italian Classic

Serves 4

6 cups washed salad greens ( Arugula,  or a mix of arugula and endive, chicory, raddichio and escarole hearts)

8 slices Alpen Schinken

1/2 lb Gruyere ( other hard mountain types such as Abondance, Beaufort, Hoch Ybrig, Jura Montagne will work nicely also)

1/4 cup of Dijon Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Salt and Fresh ground black pepper

Best Quality Balsamic Vinegar (the most aged you can afford) optional

In a large bowl toss salad greens with vinaigrette. Divide salad on to 4 plates. Drape two slices of ham over each serving, and using a cheese plane, shave thin slices of the Gruyere over the salad, letting them fall where they may.
Drizzle with aged balsamic, if using.

What’s easier than that!!

Dijon Vinaigrette

6 Tbsp. red wine or champagne vinegar

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Salt and Pepper

1/4 cup Olive or Canola Oil

In a small bowl with a whisk, combine first 3 ingredients well. Drizzle in oil while whisking to emulisy dressing.

This post was written by our newest addition Patrick Ambrosio

Patrick Ambrosio served as the cheesemonger for Dean and Deluca in Napa Valley CA. Returning to his home town of Long Island NY worked for many years as the cheese department manger for Bernard’s Market and Cafe, twice featured in the New York Times. Prior to working in cheese, Patrick was a professional chef for many years, including Executive Chef at both Tyler Hill Farm Country Inn, as well as Russian Hill Estate Winery in Sonoma County, CA.Welcome Patrick!

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:
Stir together the avocado and lemon juice in a serving bowl; add the green onion and cilantro; mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or store covered in refrigerator with avocado pits in the bowl to keep from browning.

Organic California Hass Avocados

These premium Organic California Hass Avocados are harvested daily from over 7,000 available acres. This ensures our customers get the freshest available avocados year around. Notice the difference in flavor between the supermarket-bought avocados that are kept in deep refrigeration for 2-3 weeks and our fresh avocados. Your order is not fulfilled until you place it. Once ordered the supplier will harvest your product directly from their orchards in sunny California. Why have refrigerated avocados stored for sometimes over a month, when you can have fresh, succulent, grove stand quality avocados straight from the source. The growers are of the highest caliber, enforcing strict guidelines and abiding by all federal and state regulatory agencies. These gift boxes contain 10 large, organic California Hass avocados. The shipments are carefully controlled throughout their journey to ensure maximum freshness at the point of delivery. Enjoy these in guacamole, salads, sandwiches, wraps, or just straight out of the box with salt and pepper.

Olivado Infused Avocado Oils

Olivado Extra Virgin Avocado Oil is quite simply the pressed juice of New Zealand’s finest quality ripe avocados. Olivado can call it Extra Virgin because its pressed at temperatures below 55F and contains an acid content of just 0.2%, far below the 1% required for the Extra Virgin designation. In addition, no heat or solvents are ever used to extract the oil from the fruit. Due to its high chlorophyll content, Avocado oil is very unstable and can degrade very quickly, so after extraction the Olivado subjects the oil to a unique and natural process that completely stabilizes it, retaining the goodness for up to 2 years in an uponened bottle. Among the healthiest infused oils, it has a high smoke point of 500F. Try their infused Extra Virgin Avocado Oils. Olivado’s special, deep infusion method creates intense flavor profiles. (Varieties sold separately.)

Olivado Chili Infused Avocado Oil

Taste buds awaken with this most passionate of oils. Glowing pepper spice without the burn; great with stir frys and pasta. Voted Best Chili Oil at 2003 Australian Fiery Foods Awards.

Olivado Basil Infused Avocado Oil

Illuminated delicate flavor and aroma of fresh, hand picked basil. Wonderful when used with pasta, seafood and chicken or simple bread dipping, or create your own, personal culinary masterpiece! Explore the endless possibilities.

Olivado Lemon Infused Avocado Oil

A light and zesty balance of elegant citrus flavors. Wonderful with salads, fish, chicken and baked goods or create your own, personal culinary masterpiece!

Olivado Rosemary Infused Avocado Oil

Earthy aromas create the perfect accent for red meats, salmon, potatoes, crusty sour dough, or create your own, personal culinary masterpiece!

I love mexican food, I love black beans and I especially love goat cheese so I had to try this recipe. I substituted our Spicy Jalapeno Goat Cheese for regular goat cheese and it gave this recipe a nice “kick” The recipe is time consuming but well worth it. Serves 6

From Gourmet Magazine 2002

INGREDIENTS:

For chiles
12 medium to large fresh poblano chiles (2 1/4 lb)

For tomato sauce
1 (14- to 16-oz) can whole tomatoes including juice
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

For goat cheese sauce
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons dried epazote* (optional)
8 oz soft mild goat cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

For spinach filling
4 (3/4-lb) bunches spinach, coarse stems discarded
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

To assemble dish
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 (6-inch) corn tortillas, halved
1 cup cooked black beans, rinsed and drained if canned

Special equipment: a 2- to 2 1/2-quart shallow flameproof casserole dish (about 2 inches deep; not glass)
Garnish with toasted pine nuts

Prepare chiles:
Lay 4 chiles on their sides on racks of gas burners and turn flames on high. Roast chiles, turning with tongs, until skins are blackened and chiles are tender, 4 to 6 minutes. (Or broil all 12 chiles on rack of a broiler pan about 2 inches from heat, turning, until skins are blackened, 8 to 10 minutes.) Transfer immediately to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Roast remaining 8 chiles in same manner, then let stand 20 minutes.

When cool enough to handle, peel chiles, then open flat and discard seeds and stems, wiping with paper towels or dunking in a bowl of water briefly, if necessary, to remove seeds. If chiles taste very spicy, cut out ribs with scissors to make them milder.

Make tomato sauce:
Purée tomatoes with juice, garlic, cilantro, sugar, and salt in a blender. Heat oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then add sauce (be careful of splattering) and simmer, stirring, until thickened and reduced to about 1 cup, about 6 minutes.

Make goat cheese sauce:
Gently simmer cream, with epazote if using, in a small heavy saucepan, covered, 10 minutes. If using epazote, pour cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on and discarding epazote. Return cream to pan. Whisk in goat cheese and salt and heat over low heat, whisking until smooth.

Make spinach filling:
Blanch spinach in batches in a large pot of boiling salted water 1 minute, transferring with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of cold water to cool. Drain in a colander, pressing on spinach with back of a spoon to remove excess water, then coarsely chop.

Heat oil in cleaned nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté spinach and raisins, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in salt and transfer filling to a plate.

Fry tortillas and assemble dish:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Heat oil in cleaned nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then fry tortillas 2 halves at a time, turning over once, until just crisp, about 1 minute total. Transfer tortillas to paper towels to drain.

Spread 1/4 cup tomato sauce over bottom of casserole dish. Arrange half of tortillas on top, then spread another 1/4 cup tomato sauce on top and sprinkle evenly with black beans. Arrange 4 poblanos flat over black beans to cover, then spread half of spinach filling evenly over chiles and drizzle with 1/4 cup goat cheese sauce. Make another layer with 4 chiles, remaining spinach filling, and another 1/4 cup of goat cheese sauce, then cover with remaining 4 chiles.

Cover chiles with remaining tomato sauce, spreading evenly, then top with remaining tortillas. Cover tortillas with remaining goat cheese sauce, spreading evenly.

Bake lasagne, covered with foil, in middle of oven until bubbling and heated through, 25 to 30 minutes.

Preheat broiler. Remove foil and broil about 3 inches from heat until top is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 2 minutes.

Cooks’ notes:
• Chiles can be roasted and peeled 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
• Tomato sauce, goat cheese sauce, and spinach filling can be made 1 day ahead and chilled separately, covered. Reheat goat cheese sauce before proceeding.
• Lasagne can be assembled (but not baked) 1 hour ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 6 to 8
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 chicken (about 3 pounds), cut into 8 pieces
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon saffron threads
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
2 tablespoons finely diced preserved lemon
1 cup pitted black Kalamata olives
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS: 

1. In a Dutch oven or a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil and butter over high heat. Add the chicken pieces and lightly brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate and reduce heat to a medium-low.

2. Add the ginger, turmeric, allspice, paprika, and saffron to the skillet and cook for 30 seconds stirring constantly. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes more stirring occasionally.

3. Return to the chicken skillet. Add the stock and preserved lemon; stir well. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

4. Turn off heat, add the olives, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir, replace cover and let rest fro 5 minutes.

Pine Nuts are the kernels of the stone pine (Pinus pinea), a native of the Mediterranean area. They grow in other parts of the world also, including the American Southwest, where they are a native staple crop of the Pueblo Indians. China and Portugal are the largest exporters. Pine Nuts have a rich but delicate flavor; delicious in dishes as varied as stuffings, fruit salads, and pesto sauce. They may also be ground into a flour suitable for desserts. Eat them raw or roast them lightly in a dry skillet or oven to bring out their flavor.
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

PESTO RECIPE 

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Olive Oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts
3 garlic cloves, finely minced

Place basil leaves in small batches in food processor and whip until well chopped (do about 3/4 cup at a time). Add about 1/3 the nuts and garlic, blend again.
Add about 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese; blend while slowly adding about 1/3 of the olive oil, stopping to scrape down sides of container.
Process basil pesto it forms a thick smooth paste. Repeat until all ingredients are used, mix all batches together well. Serve over pasta. Basil pesto keeps in refrigerator one week, or freeze for a few months.

Everyone loves Cheesecake. Here at igourmet.com we have dozens of Cheescakes to choose from. Some of our varieties include; Cookies and cream, Very berry, Pumpkin, Irish cream, Lemon Biscotti, Caramel Apple Crumb, Turtle, Orange-Mango, Key lime, Grand Marnier and Peanut butter cup. Be sure to visit the store to browse our other sweet and savory flavors. Perhaps your looking to Bake your own cheesecake, click the link for some decadent recipes.

July 27th is National Crème Brûlée Day! French for “burnt creme”, Crème Brûlée is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hard caramel, created by burning sugar under a grill or with a blowtorch or other intense heat source. It is usually served cold in individual ramikins.The custard base is normally flavoured with just vanilla but it can be enhanced with chocolate, a liquor or fruit etc. Sometimes the hardened sugar on top will be given a Maillard reaction, by igniting a thin layer of liqueur sprinkled over the top

How to make Creme Brulee from scratch.

Crème Brûlée French Toast Recipe

Kuhnhenn Crème Brûlée Java Stout

Ingredients:

8 oz mild goat cheese, sliced
4 Large Portabello caps

For the Sauce -

4 TBSP garlic-infused olive oil
Pinch of Sea Salt and Fresh ground black pepper
1/3 cup rinsed baby spinach
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1 tsp fresh thyme
3 tsp fig balsamic vinegar
1 tsp capers
2 cloves roasted garlic

Optional - pine nuts or pine nut oil, dried chilli-pepper flakes, a little truffle oil

Directions:

Blend all sauce ingredients together while grill is heating. Brush mushrooms with sauce and grill for 4-5 minutes (underside down). Brush mushroom caps with additional sauce before turning over, grilling for 3-4 minutes. Add sliced goat cheese and any remaining sauce to mushrooms (underside up) and close grill cover for 2-3 minutes, or until cheese melts. Serve immediatly with Risotto, polenta or simple salad.