Wine & Chocolate Stroll 2015 • Thursday, May 7th • 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Enjoy a fun-filled evening of wine tasting, decadent chocolates and shopping during Danville's Spring Wine & Chocolate Stroll. Select businesses will stay open late to host some of our area’s finest wines, which will accompanied by gourmet chocolate samples. 

Stroll throughout downtown Danville and enjoy the sounds of jazz music throughout the evening. Be sure to stop in at your favorite stores to see their latest spring offerings.

Tickets are $35 per person and can be redeemed for wine glasses at the corner of Hartz & Prospect Avenues from 5:30-7:00pm the night of the event. Any remaining wine glasses will be available for sale starting at 6:30 pm. 

For more details and to buy tickets click here!

Happy National Nougat Day!

Every March 26th it's the same thing, yes, it's National Nougat Day. While that may not sound all that important nougat history is important and it's very international.  Here you thought nougat was just the filling on your 3 Musketeer or Milky Way bars. Why not take a gander over here at the Honey Traveler blog for more history on nougats through time, and in different geography.

Candy bar with nougat from The
How Stuff Works Website.
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/nougat2.htm

True Grits

If you need proof that Southern food is rising again, take a look at the region’s most iconic dish, grits. Not only has its menu penetration doubled in the last decade, grits have busted out of their cozy breakfast nook right on through to dinner hour, growing a phenomenal 84% since just 2011. To channel waitress Flo from the ‘70s hit TV show Alice, it may well be time to not just “kiss my grits” but give them the full Southern-fried treatment…grits sticks?  You betcha!

           

Before you take grits from breakfast bowl to appetizer plate, start with the basics and learn how to cook grits like a Southerner. We’re taking a leaf from the pages of the Heritage cookbook by legendary Southern chef Sean Brock, who advises soaking the grits for at least six hours, preferably overnight, skimming off any chaff and hulls, and then cooking in a big pot (grits expand) as quickly as possible for maximum corn flavor. Use the soaking water, not milk to cook, and stir like crazy to keep the grits moving until the water comes to a boil. Take off the heat for 10 minutes after boiling, put a lid on top to hold in the steam, and the flavor, and then cook for an hour over low heat. “Stir, stir, stir… the rule in my kitchen is if you walk past grits cooking, give them a stir,” says Brock, who also cautions chefs to make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot and keep the sides of the pot clean so the uncooked grits that will stick there don’t find their way into the finished product. When the grits are soft and tender, they’re done and ready to be eaten as is with a little salt, hot sauce, lemon juice and butter…or use as the base for a variety of dishes from classic shrimp and grits to post-modern grits and bits pancakes.  Grits sticks, dubbed “Georgia French fries” by author Diane Pfeifer in her Gone with the Grits gourmet cookbook, were simple but trendsetting, made by putting firm slices of cooked grits in the deep fryer.

As Southern Living recognized back in 2012, “this favorite Southern food isn't just for breakfast.” Their popular recipe for Pepper Jack Poppers proves the point, using cooked grits, freshly shredded pepper Jack cheese and Parmesan cheese, chopped fresh cilantro, a garlic clove and sweet mini bell peppers broiled to a golden crisp to create a distinctly different appetizer for the happy hour crowd. Deep South also noted grits’ higher profile among the region’s innovative chefs, with stone-ground the new go-to grit at upscale restaurants all along the “Grit Belt.” From Charleston, SC to Birmingham, Ala to Savannah, GA, the new face of grits is evident, with dishes like skillet-seared yellow grits with gravy, smothered crawfish on fried grits, grits and fried chicken combos, fried salmon, leek and grits appetizers, stuffed and rolled grits and spinach canapés. The movement of grits from quirky Southern breakfast to gourmet delight couldn’t have happened without Bill Neal’s 1982 game-changing recipe for shrimp and grits at Crook’s Corner restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His grits fused with cheddar and parmesan and topped off with jumbo shrimp, mushrooms and bacon so pleased NY Times food critic Craig Claiborne that he published the recipe in 1985, elevating the humble dish to fine dining status.

           

Nowhere, however, are more grits eaten than in the small town of St. George, SC, home to the Worlds Grits Festival since 1986. Along with fried fish and grits dinners, grits-filled balloon tosses and the choosing of the Grits Queen, the Grits Cook-Off yields a never-ending array of innovation each year. We leave you with a winning recipe from the Food Network at the 2007 Festival:

Hush Puppy Grits

1-beaten egg

½-cup buttermilk

1-cup grits

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2-teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Shortening or cooking oil for frying

Freshly ground black pepper

In a bowl stir together the egg and buttermilk. In another bowl combine the grits, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Add the egg mixture to the grits mixture. Stir just until moist. Heat the shortening to 375 degrees F. Drop the batter by tablespoon into the deep hot fat. Fry about 3 minutes or until golden brown, turning once. Drain the hush puppies on paper towels and season with pepper to taste.

A Little Bite of History. Chef’s Line Grit Stix -- Pimento Cheese and Grits; two Southern favorites. 

Metro Deli All Natural Fire Smoked Ham -Sooo.... gooood!

The Beer Necessities

Stunning in its simple pleasure, beer battered foods hold us in their thrall with their golden shell of tangy, yeasty bliss. Cod and onion rings, chicken strips and calamari, fish tacos and mushrooms, are irresistibly coated with equal finesse. Why has this timeless classic evolved into hot new trendsetter? And even more important, can you really get drunk from eating beer-battered fish?  Pour a nice cold one, and we’ll tell all.

Blame it on the bubbles. One of the best plays beer brings to its batter partner is the leavening effect. Getting air into the batter via beer’s carbon dioxide bubbles makes the batter expand, giving it the light, crispy texture that’s caused many a craving.

An art in the motherland. No country has a deeper affection for the twin pleasures of deeply fried cod or Pollock and crispy fries than England, so we went to the country’s leading newspaper, The Guardian for some tips. Food writer Felicity Cloake embraces her proud heritage, writing: “Proper fried fish is a British art form and needs little in the way of embellishments. Beer and raising agents, and good hot fat are all you need for pure, unadulterated happiness. And a piece of fresh fish, of course.” She advises us to chill--refrigerate the beer and freeze the flour for 15 minutes before using to achieve an almost ethereally light result. The batter has to be “seriously cold so that when it hits the fat, the reaction happens.”

Jamie Oliver a friend of US. Foods goes traditional, seasoning the fish fillets on both sides to remove any excess water and make the fish really meaty, and for the batter, whisking flour, beer and baking powder together until shiny. Another leading British chef, Tony Fleming, lets his flour, yeast, beer, sugar and salt mixture stand for two hours in a warm environment to let the yeast ferment before whisking into a smooth batter. And if you’re going to be a true Anglophile, don’t forget the mushy peas!

A science in the States. Across the pond, the chemistry behind the taste has proven particularly intriguing to culinarians. ChefSteps, a high tech cooking company led by Chris Young, award-winning food writer and founding chef of Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck Experimental Kitchen, reveals the two secret ingredients that raise their beer batter above the pack: low-gluten cake flour for a lighter, more delicate crust and a small amount of vodka. Vodka too? It’s added, he explains, because alcohol evaporates far more easily than water, which helps the beer batter cook much faster in the fryer. “This means that you get a crisp batter-coating before the fish inside has been overcooked. If you try it side-by-side with non-vodka batter, there is no mistaking the difference,” assures Young. 

Meanwhile, Smithsonian Magazine was doing some deep dives into its own deep fryer, testing the difference between beer-battered fried foods and those fried in water-based batter with a team from USDA's Southern Regional Research Center. Armed with quantities of wheat flour, long-grain rice flour, pre-gelatinized rice flour, canola oil, Vidalia onions, tilapia filets and beer, they whipped up six equal batches of batter: three with beer and each of the flours, and three with water and each of the flours. With an article titled “beer batter is better, science says so,” you’d be correct in assuming that beer pounded the competition: a 9 to 18 percent greater oil uptake was recorded for beer batters, with softer, crispier tilapia and onion strips the happy result.

So it’s not surprising that Americans love to batter up, with deliciously crispy morsels in every possible permutation: fish fries, chicken strips, onion rings, jalapeno strips, pickles, mushrooms, avocados, tofu, grilled cheese sandwiches, even fritters and doughnuts. It’s even mainstreamed into the fast food world, with Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s February rollout of beer-battered fish sandwiches and tacos made with Redhook ESB (Extra Special Bitter) ale. Capitalizing on the popularity of craft beers and the observation of Lent was the impetus, but it still is an unusual move for a fast-food restaurant to serve alcohol-tinged foods. Not a problem, assures Brad Haley, chief marketing officer at Carl’s and Hardee’s. “There's no actual alcohol remaining in the sandwich or tacos after it's cooked, so anyone can eat or order it. But you can certainly taste the beer flavor in it,” he told USA Today. Taking a menu item that’s trending in casual and fine dining elevates the chains to beyond fast food, according to industry experts, and many sense a hit in the making.

Harbor Banks® Seafood aligned with Alaska’s long-term fishery management and sustainability practices are virtually unparalleled, and when you combine this wild-caught cod with a batter made with Alaskan-brewed white ale, you have a compelling story and a tremendous fish to go with chips, appetizers and more.

Happy Ravioli Day!

March 20th is National Ravioli Day.

Ravioli are a traditional type of Italian filled pasta, made up of a filling, sealed between two layers of thin egg pasta dough, and are usually served in either a broth or with a pasta sauce. The fillings can vary, per recipe, and may include meat, cheese, vegetables or seafood. Ravioli can be savory or sweet.

Five Food Finds about Ravioli

◦The first mentions of Ravioli was in the 14th century Venus.

◦The word ravioli is from an old Italian word riavvolgere (“to wrap”)

◦Canned ravioli was pioneered by Chef Boyardee in the 1930’s

◦“Fresh” packed ravioli lasts up for several week while fresh made lasts for just a few days.

◦ Italian tradition is to serve vegetarian ravioli, particularly on Fridays. Meats is served as a side or later in the meal.

Servings: 6

INGREDIENTS

1 c Roseli® Italian sausage

2 oz Hilltop Hearth® flour

36 oz Glenview Farms® milk

18 oz Chef's Line™ pumpkin ravioli

12 oz Roseli® Gorgonzola cheese

tt salt and pepper

PREPARATION
In a sauté pan, heat sausage until it starts to slightly brown. Add flour to soak up oil. Stir in milk and mix completely. Bring to a simmer.
Blanch ravioli in hot water for three minutes. Remove and add to sauce. Add cheese and fold until cheese is fully melted. Season to taste.

Pat LaFrieda on Hamburgerization

Taste the difference

In the meat business, Pat LaFrieda is legendary. Any New York carnivore will tell you that his company, Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors, supplies the best meat products hands down – cutting steaks for the most discriminating clients and creating custom beef blends for many of the best hotels and restaurants in Manhattan. Now, all of America can finally taste his exceptional beef – with the most flavorful, savory burgers that we have ever found.

Features/Benefits 

•Made with Distinction: USDA Choice Angus chopped beef from whole, boneless primal or subprimal cuts; whole muscle, not trim 

• Performance: chopped in small batches from the best and most flavorful meats to yield the finest burgers 

• Cost Savings: fresh-refrigerated burgers with a shelf life of 28 days 

• Labor Savings: preblended varieties of short rib and chuck save you hours of prep 

Pat LaFrieda Angus Beef Burger, only available from US Foods

Kohlrabi: Superfood’s New Best Seller

Fresh  Harvested Kohlrabi

It’s not a cabbage or a broccoli, or a radish or an onion, or for that matter, a bird or a plane (although some say it does resemble a hot air balloon), but kohlrabi is a true superfood, and now a super seller. What has pushed this odd-looking, knobby purple or green vegetable with the even odder name to the top of the culinary A-list, racking up a 200% increase in menu penetration last year? This week, a crash course in all things kohlrabi.

Part of the cabbage family (its name means ‘cabbage turnip’ in German), kohlrabi goes way back, first mentioned by Apicius in his oldest known cookbook from imperial Rome, and beloved by Charlemagne, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 800 AD, who ordered kohlrabi to be grown in the lands under his reign, according to Vegetarians in Paradise. Consistently grown in Europe by the 1500s and Northern India in the 1600s where the Hindus considered it an important staple, kohlrabi came to America in the 1800s, but never took on the mass appeal of other vegetables…until now.

Part of this not-so-newcomer’s appeal is what Martha Stewart Living food editor Sarah Carey calls “a delightful combination of familiar tastes…the texture of a radish and the sweetness of jicama, with a slight hint of broccoli. The edible leaves are like a milder version of collards."

It may not be easy on the eyes, but kohlrabi is easy on the prep. A vegetable peeler is all you need to eliminate the outermost layer of the bulb. “Be aggressive in your peeling,” advises Greens + Grains cookbook author Molly Watson, “for the skin is rough and heavy and forbidding, all the better to keep the only mildly curious away from the supremely crunchy, sweet and tender vegetable underneath.”  Now, it’s good to go in a variety of ways, according to kitchn.com:

Raw: Toss them in a salad (it absorbs the flavor of salad dressing well), grate for a super slaw, or eat them plain with just a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkling of sea salt.

Pureed: Make it up in a creamy pureed soup of its own with some savory spices, or add to cream of potato, mushroom or broccoli soups.

Fried: Kohlrabi fritters are easy, just shred, mix with an egg and a few tablespoons of flour or breadcrumbs, drop small mounts onto a greased skillet, flatten slightly with the back of a spatula, fry until both sides are crispy. Even the kids will eat it, as long as you don’t tell them what’s inside. 

Roasted: The outside caramelizes and the flavor sweetens, making a great addition to a roasted veggie platter or paired with potatoes or squash for a satisfying side. Or slice unpeeled kohlrabi very thinly, toss with olive oil and coarse salt, and bake for an hour until crisp and golden.

Barbecued: Slice or chop kohlrabi and toss with a little extra virgin olive oil, a dash of salt, wrap in aluminum foil and grill for 10 minutes.

Steamed: The versatile kohlrabi hits it stride steamed; use in frittatas, stir-fries, pasta dishes, empanadas, calzones…no limits here!

But don’t stop here, “Recipes for Health” columnist Martha Rose Shulman suggests spicy pickles a la kimchi, Kohlrabi and Celery Root Puree (like buttery mashed potatoes only healthier), Greek-Style Kohlrabi Pie (sub in for spinach), Vegetarian Spring Rolls with Shredded Kohlrabi, Kohlrabi Home Fries (cut into matchsticks, fry up with a little oil and some bold seasonings), and a completely outstanding Kohlrabi Risotto.

And of course, kohlrabi doesn’t wear its superfood designation lightly, but packs in the vitamins C, A and potassium, boasts antioxidants galore and is no slouch in the fiber department either…and does it all for 19 calories a half cup.  Kohlrabi, your time has come.

Cross Valley Farms® Superfood Slaw Only availabe from US Foods – Super foods are foods that are naturally full of nutrients, antioxidants and the things that are shown to improve well-being and longevity. So we packed six of them into this matchstick slaw. It’ll bring a fresh, crisp, colorful crunch to any dish, hot or cold.

Happy National Pound Cake Day!

2015: Year of the DIY Chef

Roll up those sleeves and put the squeeze bottles on the shelf…this year, scratch made extends its reach to virtually everything on the plate. We’re talking bbq sauce, mayonnaise, mustard, aioli, even ketchup. A way to flaunt culinary creativity, the house-made condiment is “a cross between building a better product and an attempt to set a restaurant apart from the competition,” as the Denver Post reports. Here’s a quick look at some who have pulled away from the pack with condiments that are in the house and on the cutting edge, but never over the top.

Mayo that beats the spread. At Atlanta’s fast-casual Fresh To Order, that includes the mayonnaise, made more like aioli, with olive oil, lots of garlic, less salt, more pepper and a little more lemon. Used as a base for the chain’s popular sandwiches, variations include horseradish mayonnaise, tarragon mayonnaise, chile-avocado mayonnaise, and mustard mayonnaise. “Part of the appeal is that the condiments are still recognizable as mayonnaise, but better,” COO Jesse Gideon told Nation’s Restaurant News. “It’s definitely a secret to our success.”

The must-try mustard. We’ve moved well past honey mustard and yellow mustard to whole-grain, chile-spiced and Oriental varieties that bring a different kind of heat. Chef David J Alvarez, winner of Chef Hunter told me he would "never buy another premade mustard again" after he began makin his own. According to Flavor & the Menu, at Miami Beach’s Tongue & Cheek, housemade pretzels are paired with purple mustard (port wine, red wine and dried cherries cooked down with onion and Dijon), and the restaurant’s baked chicken skins are served with Japanese mustard (Colman’s mustard, seaweed, rice wine vinegar, sugar and lime juice). Portland’s Urban Farmer chef Matt Christianson pickles his mustard seeds until they’re plump, then tops braised mustard greens, kale, Swiss chard and collard greens with a mustard seed-onion relish; and uses the pickled seeds as a garnish to smoked salmon and vegetarian beet terrine. Chef James Rigato at Michigan’s The Root is equally creative, drawing attention for his Red Chile-Spiced Michigan Pork with coffee-and-cherry mustard, made with dried Michigan cherries, mustard seeds, Michigan beet sugar, coffee liquid, salt and water. “They are flavors that are familiar, but presented in a new way,” he told Flavor & the Menu. “The mustard cuts the rich flavors in the pork really nicely and adds a brightness to the dish.” Also on his mustard menu: béarnaise-style plum, green chile and tart cherry mustards, made with dry mustard powder, vinegar, sugar, spices and egg. At Vie Restaurant in Illinois, Chef Paul Virant calls his housemade mayonnaise a great little sauce, a savory complement to grilled chicken, pork or asparagus, according to Food and Wine. For added punch, Virant suggests adding a quarter cup of finely grated fresh horseradish and up to a half tablespoon of Sriracha chile-garlic sauce to the processor before adding the oil.

Ketchup catches up. Rigato also dabbles in housemade chipotle ketchup, which he serves with his ‘80s throwback dish, Wall Street Fries (as the menu says, “they mean business”). He sweats onions with chipotle and jalapeño peppers, adds sugar, vinegar and San Marzano tomatoes, simmers the mixture for about half an hour, then purées it, according to NRN. At  Restaurant Marché in Washington, Chef Greg Atkinson makes all condiments in house, including the “justifiably legendary” ketchup and aioli, reports Eat Seattle. The ketchup is a closely held recipe, using red wine vinegar with a proprietary pickling spice blend, organic sugar, kosher salt and tomato paste, baked in a combi oven. At Hard Rock Café, Thai and honey chipotle ketchups are rocking the house; a housemade ketchup puts the right finish on Craigie on Main’s grass-fed patty on a housemade bun; at CharBar Co. in South Carolina, chef Charles Pejeau makes his own ketchup from the restaurant’s tomato scraps and a mix of ingredients that includes cloves, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce; at Plan Check Kitchen + Bar in Los Angeles, Chef Ernesto Uchimura is getting buzz with his housemade ketchup leather, dehydrated squares that sit freshly on burgers, with no sogginess; and back at Vie Restaurant, Chef Paul keeps ample supplies of his premium ketchup on hand, made with freshly canned tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, light brown sugar and smoked paprika.

For the heat seekers. Ethnic sauces, from Middle Eastern zhoug, a falafel stand staple, and skordalia, a Greek garlic sauce, get the housemade treatment from James Beard Award-winning chef Ana Sortun at Boston’s Oleana restaurant. Her zhoug features pumpkin seeds to thicken it and deepen the flavor, and her skordalia is made traditionally, with fluffy baking potatoes, blanched almonds and plenty of olive oil, and blended to achieve the desired silky consistency, according to Food and Wine. For zest American-style, there’s no more iconic barbecue sauce than Arthur Bryant’s Original and Rich & Spicy sauces, served at his KC joints since 1930. Back in the day, Arthur used to mix and store his sauce in big five-gallon glass jars, and the thick, pepper and garlic-intense flavor with no noticeable sweetness has won new legions of fans each decade, from President Harry Truman to Jack Nicholson, Wilt Chamberlain and Steven Spielberg. How good is it? Amazing Ribs shares this story: Mike was driving from KC and saw an elderly man walking on the side of the road. He asked if he would like a ride. With a silent nod of thanks, the elder got into the car. Mike tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with the man who just sat silently until he noticed a brown bag on the seat. "What’s in the bag?" asked the old man. Mike said, "It's a bottle of barbecue sauce from Arthur Bryant's. I got it for my wife." The old timer was silent for another moment or two. Then speaking with quiet wisdom, he said: "Good trade.”

Americana...Always Starts with Food

Chef Rodney Worth's Certified Angus
Beef Burger is Freshly Ground and
Served On An Organic Bun. ~The Peasant
and The Pear Danville

Even the culinary disinclined would agree that one of the best ways to really appreciate a country’s culture is to understand its food. Entire chapters of a nation’s history are writ large at the table and its soul revealed on every plate. Today’s obsession with authenticity, ethnicity, sustainability, health, and the occasional indulgence will become America’s edible legacy for future generations. 

In the coming weeks, we’ll explore the taste of a nation, looking at current crazes, beloved classics and regional legends that have gone beyond mere sustenance to become an actual slice of “Americana.” We begin with a salute to a couple of B’s steeped in red, white and blue tradition: burgers and bbq sauces.

While the origins of the hamburger are still hotly debated today—1826 at NY’s Delmonico’s Restaurant, 1885 at a Wisconsin county fair, that same year at a Hamburg, NY county fair—or Louis’ Lunch in 1900, they are inarguably a distinctly American phenomenon. We still can’t get enough of this juicy delight, as evidenced by the proliferation of restaurants in the 00’s featuring ‘better burgers’ made with premium grade meat and locally sourced ingredients. Today’s offerings have raised the innovation bar even further, moving away from traditional beef to a slew of alternative offerings. Some headline makers include:

Veggie burgers: At Seattle’s Plum Bistro, the Portobello burger is huge and hearty,  deep-fried, panko-coated, topped with Buffalo hot sauce, ranch, grilled onions, cucumber, and mixed greens with a side of russet fries; the brown rice & mushroom sliders topped with spicy mayo at Chicago’s Mana Food Bar, reports Thrillist.

Turkey burgers: Everyone from Martha Stewart to Wolfgang Puck has tried their hand at raising the profile of these popular meat subs, with the most successful recipes going heavy on the mushroom for an umami taste. Puck uses a mushroom puree and a chunky tomato salsa compote, Stewart adds button mushrooms and Swiss cheese, NY Times food writer and cookbook author Martha Rose Shulman ups the ante with a base of cremini mushrooms and mushroom powder seasoned with baharat, a Middle Eastern spice blend.

Belly Burgers: a first in the foodservice market from US Foods, made with a delectable combo of beef and smoked pork belly. On the cutting edge of the trend: Tom Pizzica, host of Food Network’s Outrageous Food, who opened his own Big Chef Tom’s Belly Burgers in 2010,  slinging 100% pork belly burgers onsite at Silicon Valley household names like Pinterest, Spotify, StubHub and Craig’s List, and opening a sit-down restaurant in San Francisco. Also on his progressive menu are burgers made of fresh ground chicken thighs and a veggie smash up of roasted eggplant, fried onions, chick peas and shredded carrots.

Regional preferences rule the barbecue sauce market, and while Kansas City proudly pours the molasses, the Carolinas go tart with a vinegar base. Stirring up the sauces big-time…

Kansas City sauce: Going for the sweet, the best Kansas City sauces incorporate multiple sources, such as brown sugar, molasses, honey, and onion, along with tartness (vinegar, lemon juice, hot sauce, and steak sauce), and heat (American chili powder, black pepper, mustard, and hot sauce), according to Amazing Ribs. There’s the legendary Arthur Bryant’s sauce; Gates Gates Bar-B-Q Sauce, a KC classic for 60 years, based on a family recipe; Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que, named by Anthony Bourdain as “One of Thirteen Places to Eat Before You Die;” and Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue, raved about by Maxim as “the greatest piece of Kansas City barbecue that  ever, ever.”

Texas style sauce often uses meat drippings as a base, spiking it up with a range of ingredients like ancho, chipotle, garlic, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce. Barbecue icons in the heart of Texas include Franklin Barbecue and the Salt Lick, both in Austin, Killen’s Barbecue in Pearland, “merely the single greatest piece of barbecue of my entire life, or was it the most magnificent piece of beef ever cooked at any time in history,” raves a hyperbolic GQ writer; and in the small town of Lockhart, designated as the barbecue capital of Texas, five top picks include Kreuz Market, one of Texas’s oldest, opened in 1900, Black’s Barbecue, Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Q, Smitty’s Market, and one of the newest, two-year-old Mad Jack’s BBQ Shack.

Carolina-style vinegar sauce is best served with whole hog and pork shoulder, with the sweetness and smokiness of pork complemented by vinegar's acidic tang. USA Today ranks the South’s best as: Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Ala. and N.C.; Dreamland BBQ, first opened in Tuscaloosa, Ala. in 1958, when the University of Alabama Paul "Bear" Bryant started coaching, and still famous for its popular secret recipe sauce; and Marion Pit Barbecue in KY, where pork shoulders are smoked over a hickory-fired pit for 16 hours and covered in the restaurant’s trademark sauce.

Americana – Profitable, Innovative and Delicious

Grades Of Crabmeat

Colossal and jumbo lump are perceived as the "Rolls Royce’s" and "Bentleys" of crab meat, though they are the most commonly misused grades of crabmeat. While the lumps are large and the meat is white, colossal and jumbo lump are best used in upscale cocktail presentations or in sautés.
Colossal consists of the extra large lumps of unbroken meat, while jumbo lump consists of the two largest muscles from the swimming fins of the crab.  Many users have the impression that the flavor of colossal and jumbo lump is better than other grades of crab meat. This is not necessarily true. The size of the lump is the only thing that really distinguishes these grades from other white meat grades. If a chef breaks up the lumps for a recipe, he could easily use another grade of meat.

Backfin meat is ideal for upscale operations that feature crab dishes. Backfin is a blend of broken pieces of lump and special grade crab meat. It is perfect for crab cakes, sautés, crab toppings or cold salads. Backfin makes a beautiful presentation when stuffing fish, chicken, vegetables or seafood.

Special grade crab meat is often the most versatile grade for most recipes and quite profitable. It consists of the smaller flakes of white meat from the body of the crab—perfect for crab cakes, salads, quesadillas, wraps, stuffed mushroom caps and crab balls. It is individual pieces from the body cavities of the crab, but it carries the same bright white color and flavor as backfin and jumbo lump with an appropriate price tag for casual dining or quick service.

Claw meat is from the swimming fins of the crab. It is brown meat with a stronger flavor profile which makes claw meat ideal for dishes with heavy sauces or in dips and soups. It is also ideal for price sensitive menu items. Crab cakes can be made with claw meat. Try a Thai crabmeat salad, a crab fritter, or crab spring rolls.

Claw fingers are not a grade of crab meat. They are the pinchers or tips of the claws and they make unique hors d'oeuvres or garnishes. Wrap a claw finger with a crab stuffing mixture or serve them in a cocktail dish. They, too, are an inexpensive way to add crab meat to menus.

Crab meat is available fresh, frozen or pasteurized. With pasteurization, fresh crabs are cooked and then allowed to cool. The meat is then hand-picked, graded and placed in cans, then hermetically sealed and pasteurized. Pasteurization destroys natural pathogenic microorganisms to extend shelf life without adding artificial preservatives. Once pasteurized, the product has a shelf life of 12 months in cans or refrigerated in plastic containers.

FOODSERVICE ADVANTAGE CLUB™

This membership program is offered exclusively to customers of US Foodservice™. It is designed to help independent and multi-unit operators with the business side of their operations by saving significant dollars on non-food related services, saving time with online management tools, and providing tools to help increase traffic. There are currently thousands of Foodservice Advantage Club™ members saving countless dollars through the program.

BENEFITS TO CUSTOMERS
• No fees or dues to join
• Save thousands with national pricing from over 25 non-food service providers that provide significant discounts for members only
• Traffic building programs to help build revenue
• Access to online management tools that save time and help manage day to day business
• Special deals and offers from service providers throughout the year and at food shows
• Quarterly newsletter featuring foodservice trends, special offers, and a customized savings statement from the Foodservice Advantage Club™

Brian Isaeff's Top 10 Reason For You To Buy Portion Control Stock Yards Steaks

1) Portion cut steaks offer consistency in size. When you order a 10 ounce center cut New York strip steak – you are delivered a 10 ounce center cut New York strip steak.

2) Portion cut steaks can be custom cut to your desired specifications. If your customer wants a bone in New York but don’t have a band saw to cut them – our Stock Yards fresh cut steak program can cut them consistently – every time!

3) Portion cut steaks thru our Stock Yards program are aged to perfection. Most sub-primal cuts are brought to distribution facilities with very minimal aging (3-7 days after slaughter) and are quickly sold to the end user. This does not give the beef sufficient time to age (break down the enzymes in the meat to make it more tender). Chefs and consumers alike will notice the distinct taste of a properly aged steak over a commodity cut steak.

4) Portion cut steaks deliver value. When you cut a Filet Mignon out of a tenderloin, what do you do with all the fat off of the side muscle? By the time a steak is ready to cook and put on the plate after trimming, it is conceivable they could lose up to 40% in trim. Stock Yards portion controlled steaks deliver ready to use product with 100% yield.

5) Portion controlled steaks offer an exact plate cost. When ordering a portion cut steak, you know the exact price per portion. This can help you gauge menu price to your customer for maximum and consistent profitability and plate costing.

6) Portion controlled steaks offer inventory control. When a customer orders a case of 20 x 8 ounce fillets, they will always receive 20 steaks per case. This helps to maintain inventory control over waste or theft.

7) Portion controlled steaks are offered in small box format. You no longer have to order a 60 lb case of New York’s to cut steaks from. Portion cut steaks can significantly reduce the possibility of lifting injuries.

8) Portion cut steaks take the knife out of the cook’s hand. Reduce the possibility of injury due to cutting the steaks yourself. Why give more money to workmen’s compensation insurance?

9) Portioned controlled steaks reduce labor. Whether doing large banquets for 200 people or serving dinner for 20 people, having a professional meat cutter portion the steaks for you can cut down on labor costs.

10) Portion cut steaks offer a variety of grades to choose from. Stock Yards Upper 2/3 Reserve, Stock Yards Choice, 1893 Select, and N/R brands all offer the quality and consistency within their respective grade tiers that our customers have come to expect from a premium meat company.

All About Beef Short Ribs

The beef carcass has 13 pairs of ribs, but not all of the ribs are included in the rib primal cut. The first 5 ribs are part of the chuck cut in the front of the animal. The 13th rib is part of the loin. The rib primal contains ribs 6 through 12.

A short rib refers to a small piece that has been trimmed from the main portion of a rib when the rib cage is trimmed into smaller cuts. Short ribs are cut from the chuck and plate primals and back ribs are from the rib primal. Short ribs cut parallel to the bone are known as English style short ribs. They may include a bit of the bone or may be sold boneless. Short ribs that are cut across the rib bones are known as flanken.

Ribs 1 through 5 are located in the chuck primal. They have plenty of meat and have less fat than short ribs from the plate.

English style short ribs are cut parallel to the bone and flanken style short ribs are cut across the bone.

The ends of the 6th through the 12th ribs are contained within the plate primal cut. The plate short ribs are usually taken from the flat ends of ribs 6 through 9 and are cut only a few inches long. The ends of ribs 10 through 12 have more fat than meat.


Back ribs are the portion remaining after a rib roast is boned. The full back ribs are long and do not have a lot of meat, but they are tender and tasty when grilled.


Stockyards Meat Packing Company of Chicago

Beef Short Rib Flanken Style 4-5oz 1” Thick
Beef Short Rib English cut “1- Bone”14-16oz
Beef Short Rib English Frenched 1-Bone 14-16oz
Beef Back Rib Choice Bone in Extra Meaty 60/lb


For More Information about Stockyard Meat Packing Company, or US Foodservice please call Brian Isaeff, at 925-588-3279

Stock Yards The World's Finest Steaks and Chops

Chicago’s World Fair of 1893 was an event credited with introducing such culinary innovations as the Hamburger, Hot Dogs on buns, Aunt Jemima syrup, and Juicy Fruit gum.

Just a few miles northwest of the fairgrounds, within view of the vast Union Stockyards that once made Chicago “hog butcher to the world”, the family owned meat packing company Stock Yards Packing Company was opening their doors.

Stock Yards Packing Company was built on commitment to service, savings, satisfaction and selection. More than 119 years later, that commitment still shines- and descendants of the founding Pollack family still manage the Chicago operation.

Here dedication to the customer is rivaled only by the depth of knowledge and experience of the associates, many of whom have been with the company for 20 years or more. From the Butchers to the Sales Managers to the selectors who pack the Angus Certified USDA Prime and USDA Choice aged beef for shipment to customers; everyone shares a meaty passion for excellence.

Today, Stock Yards Meat Packing Company is a unit of U.S. Foodservice Specialty Operations. “The center of the plate is the center of the restaurateur’s world, and of ours,” says Southeast Region Stock Yards President John Bush, part of the sixteen packing plants positioned from coast to coast.

He is referring to the fact that COP offerings represent the restaurant buyer’s single most significant cost. With famous white-cloth customers like Morton’s of Chicago, Gibson’s Steak House, Lawry’s Prime Rib restaurant, and the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in LA- along with scores of other elegant venues across the country.

The Power Of Referrals

Parsnips, Turnips, Rutabagas…Rooting for You!

Don’t pity the poor root vegetable…terms like ‘ugly’ just roll right off their gnarled, misshapen backs. More important is they’re no longer being overlooked, and in 2015, show every sign of rising to the top of the veggie plate. Celery roots and kohlrabi are the new kale, but even better, because these humble vegetables can replace the equally humble potatoes, with lots more flavor, in a fat-free, low-sodium, high-fiber, vitamin and mineral-rich way. This makes them beloved by restaurateurs, foodies and nutritionists alike, the culinary version of a hat trick. Mashed parsnips and beet chips are just the beginning, here’s a look at how creative chefs are digging into this trend…

Roast. Basic, but arguably the best way to enjoy the root. America’s Test Kitchen recommends a mix of carrots and parsnips, whose flavors are concentrated and caramelized in the heat of the oven. To speed up the cooking process, the vegetables are microwaved and then placed on a preheated baking sheet for browning. Also consider Maple Roasted Parsnips, made with pure maple syrup that pairs well with the veggie’s slight spiciness, Balsamic-Roasted Beets to counter the sweetness, and Orange-Glazed Carrots.

Praise the braise. Award-winning cookbook author Molly Stevens found that braising root veggies was even tastier than classic meat-based braises like pot roast and pork belly. The age-old technique of cooking ingredients gently with a little bit of liquid in a covered pot can “coax even the humblest plants into memorable dishes, releasing their essences into the seasoned liquid, emerging infused with flavor and bathed in a savory sauce.” The more rugged the veggie, the better, so bring it on: carrots, onions, turnips, rutabagas, fennel, leeks, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Jerusalem artichokes, endive, parsnips, salsify, escarole, mustard greens, collards and daikon radishes. For liquid, the choices are equally abundant: water, broth, wine, cider, beer, fruit juice, canned tomato, coconut milk, cream, and used sparingly, vinegar, soy sauce or fish sauce. Seasonings can range from the simple salt and pepper to aromatic herbs and spices, perhaps sautéed in a bit of oil before adding to the vegetables and liquid. Even bolder, fry up bacon, sausage or pancetta and use it to flavor the dish…a technique that’s catching fire in 2015.  Stevens suggests a braise-and-glaze finish--remove the baking pan lid at the very end and turn up the heat to evaporate any remaining liquid into a glaze that coats the vegetables, and allow it to caramelize slightly for a natural sweetness.

Puree. Root veggies, simmered, processed and smooth, earn their keep in top kitchens, such as Charleston’s James Beard-award-nominee The Ordinary, where Chef Mike Lata whips up an extraordinary Root-Vegetable Pasta Carbonara. Using a “luscious purée of parsnip and celery root both lightens up and boosts the flavor; the vegetables stretch the sauce so it completely cloaks the noodles,” reports “Slow Food Fast” columnist Kitty Greenwald in the Wall Street Journal. “The flavor is more complex, parsnips are very sweet, and celery root has an aromatic quality that adds savoriness.”

Grill/sauté. Beets are positively transformed by the grill, which brings out an earthy sweetness and adds a deep smoky flavor; their sugars become almost candied and charred, according to OneGreenPlanet.org. Prep is easy, peel, slice, brush with oil, season with salt and pepper and cook for 30 minutes. Radishes thinly sliced and pan fried until caramelized also make a deliciously non-decadent side.

Bake. The mysterious-sounding kohlrabi, tasting like a cross between cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli stems, cooks ups into great, healthy fries. Cut into French fry-shaped sticks, toss with olive oil and spices and bake until crisp.

Mash. As a stand in for potatoes, call in the rutabagas, also known as a Swedish turnip. Peel, chop, boil and mash them up, add milk, butter, salt and pepper, and you have a completely low-cal and Vitamin-C rich alternative to the spud.