Category Archives: Food for Thought

We’ve been blogging about some pretty fantastic artisan and gourmet foods only for a few months, and there are already some real stand-outs that we will be enjoying again and again.  A review of the best of the best is in order before we close out 2012.  In no particular order, here are our faves for the year.

Immaculate Baking Co. Blueberry Scones – A combination of great taste, wholesome ingredients and early morning crunch-time convenience won us over immediately.  Immaculate’s seasonal Gingerbread Spice Cookies also made frequent appearances on dessert plates at our house, and the addition of orange buttercream frosting elevated them to special occasion cookie status.

Orange Frosted Gingerbread Spice Cookies

Mateo’s Gourmet Salsa – Mateo’s has earned a permanent spot in our refrigerator door.  It is our go-to salsa for everything from nachos to recipes.  Their enchilada sauce rocks, too!

Primizie Crispbreads – We fell in love with the thick-cut texture and taste of the Classic Italian Red Chile and Herbs flavor, I’m munching on the Spicy New Mexican Chimayo Chile & Lime crispbreads as I write this post, and there’s a bag of Smoked Dutch Gouda and Garlic flavor in the pantry waiting to be tasted.  Convinced you need to try them yet?

Primizie Crispbreads Spicy New Mexican Chimayo Chile & Lime

Grandad’s Gravy – This pasta sauce is full of flavor and family tradition.  Savory tomatoes and spices untainted by the sugar overload so common in commercial pasta sauces make this a delightful addition to any Italian dish.

Brooke’s Candy Co. Old English Almond Toffee – Brooke and her mom have mastered the art of traditional toffee-making with a perfectly crisp toffee bar smothered in elegantly smooth Belgian chocolate.  We were also super-impressed with ML Dubay’s Toffee Treats White Chocolate Cranberry Pecan Toffee, as well as her commitment to help fellow cancer survivors with a portion of the profits from her sales.

Cherith Valley Gardens Hot ‘n Spicy Corn Relish – Allen has requested that I never make cornbread again without using this delicious relish, and it is equally tasty sitting atop a tortilla chip.  There is always at least one jar at the ready in our pantry.

Hot ‘n Spicy Cornbread

In the “cheese, glorious cheese” category, the Rumiano Cheese Company captured our taste buds with their oh-so-good California Mission Garlic Jack and creamy Organic Monterey Jack.  Henning’s Natural Chipotle Cheddar Cheese with its beautiful veins of spice running through it was voted “best cheese on a burger” at our house.

RoRo’s Cinn-A-Rolls and Dinn-A-Rolls are handmade in small batches and have the homemade taste and texture we love in yeast breads.  They reheat quickly, so warm rolls are an option any day of the week.

Our cookie jar was frequently filled this year with Wackym’s Kitchen delicious treats.  The salted caramel, margarita, and snicker doodles (with a surprising dash of cayenne pepper) carry off sweet & savory combinations in grand style.

Karen received the most thoughtful food gift this year while she was fighting a respiratory virus.  Spoonful of Comfort Chicken Noodle Soup, dinner rolls and cookies were a welcome and comforting meal when she really needed it.

Spoonful of Comfort Chicken Noodle Soup

It was truly challenging to come up with this list, as all of the foods we shared with you this year are wonderful. Even more wonderful are the people behind the food.  It was a unique pleasure to get to know some of them and understand the passion driving their creativity and dedication to their businesses.  We look forward to continuing our quest for sensational foods in 2013.  Happy New Year to all!

Today is Small Business Saturday. If you are shopping for unique and tasty gifts for friends and family, or want to stock your pantry with goodies for the holiday season, today is a great day to support artisan and gourmet food producers. Shop in their online stores or pick up their products in your local market today!

In spite of our best efforts, we haven’t been able to track down much information on Queen Bee Gourmet Marshmallows.  We picked up a package of their Caramel and Sea Salt Marshmallows at Central Market a while back, and they were just awesome!  Combined with Mother Rucker’s Cinnamon Cookie Brittle, they made some fantastic s’mores.  All we know is they are handmade in Katy, Texas.  We were in Central Market today and they had Queen Bee Gourmet Marshmallows in mason jars decorated for holiday gift giving.  How clever!  If anyone knows the story behind these great treats, give us a shout.

Sweet’s Quality Candies offers free shipping on orders over $35 placed on Black Friday.  Don’t miss out on this opportunity to get some of their great Milk Chocolate Orange Sticks.  We loved the dark chocolate orange sticks, too.

Sahale Snacks Soledad Almonds were named one of the 10 best store-bought party appetizers by Real Simple.  You really can’t go wrong serving any of Sahale Snacks great nut mixes to guests.  Just be sure to save some for yourself!

We recently shared Tate’s Bake Shop White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies with you.  Tate’s website has many tempting treats that would be great for holiday gift-giving, and through November 20, use code hb2012 at checkout to save 25% on all gift towers.

We were so sad to hear that Hostess Brands closed their doors. While many lament the loss of twinkies and ding dongs, I will miss my personal favorite, orange cupcakes.

The news this week centered on the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, and our hearts go out to those who have lost their homes, their businesses, and in some cases, loved ones.  It will a long time before life returns to normal for so many people in the New York and New Jersey area.  If you can help, please make a donation to the Salvation Army or Red Cross.

We shared Koppers Milk & Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels with you this week just about the time the hurricane came ashore.  The Koppers facility is located in New York City, so we were concerned about their safety.  Company representatives provided this update via their Facebook page.

If you are trying to contact Koppers by email, our server website and emails are not working due to zero power in lower NY. However Tanya has managed to have calls forwarded to her home which just this evening has power. According to Con Ed the factory should gain power back on Saturday which will mean we will be up and running Monday morning. We have lost a week, but most important our staff is safe, and our facility does not have any damage at all. It might take a day or two to get our machines up and running, and to get our heads around this horrible situation, but again the safety of our staff, our families and our customers and friends are the most important. Thank you for your patience and friendship.

It’s hard to believe the weekend is already here!  In North Texas, we had nearly freezing temperatures this morning, so we finally feel like fall has officially arrived.  At least until next week, when temperatures might pop back up into the 80’s…

We found Sweet’s Dark Chocolate Orange Sticks while shopping this week.  After we had enjoyed their Milk Chocolate Orange Sticks so much, it seemed absolutely mandatory to try the Dark Chocolate variety.  They did not disappoint!  If you are planning an election-day gathering, don’t forget Sweet’s offers red, white and blue candies, which would be perfect on a dessert buffet.

Gluten-free diet products continue to gain in popularity, and we previously shared tasty Sahale Snacks with you.  Hurry to Carol Kicinski’s website which promotes gluten-free foods and recipes, and enter her contest to win Sahale Snacks and a very cool Sahale Snacks messenger bag.  The offer ends October 31.  We love Carol’s approached to gluten-free foods – healthy and delicious!

On the gluten-free topic, Mary’s Gone Crackers takes social responsibility to heart and is working to help celiac disease support groups with a petition drive to standardize gluten-free product labeling.  If you are interested in participating, go to the American Celiac Disease Alliance’s website for more information.

Did you see our rave review of Immaculate Baking Co.’s Gingerbread Spice Cookies?  We extended the love to their Supremes Chocolate Chunk Cookies this week.  Chocolate chunk cookies, fresh and warm from the oven in 15 minutes – what’s not to love?

Angie’s Kettle Corn announced they are launching a new website, and on Tuesday, they are posting a special discount offer for Facebook fans.  Don’t miss it!

We started this week with a visit to the State Fair of Texas, where we found several gourmet foods to share with you soon.

Amy Collins and her team at RoRo’s Cinn-A-Rolls have announced their move to a new baking facility.  We love to hear about artisans expanding their businesses!

Mateo’s Gourmet Salsa was on the menu with a quick and delicious chicken dish.  I can’t remember the source of this recipe, but it’s so easy that I’ve been making it without a written recipe for years.  Just use seasonings to your personal taste.

Roasted Salsa Chicken

Preheat oven to 350°.  Sprinkle desired number of boneless, skinless chicken breasts with chili powder and cumin.  Heat a couple of teaspoons of oil (I used olive oil) in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat.  Brown chicken breasts on both sides until golden.  Spoon about 2 tablespoons of Mateo’s Gourmet Salsa over each chicken breast.  Place skillet in oven for 30-35 minutes, or until chicken is done.  Optional:  Top with grated cheese before serving.

Two foods we have shared with you make fantastic partners.  Mary’s Gone Crackers with Full Quiver Farms Garlic-Basil Cheese Spread made a great appetizer while dinner preparation was underway.  It was the perfect combination of crunchy and creamy, and it will go into our regular appetizer rotation.  We had a note from Michael Sams saying that Full Quiver Farms cheese products are available in all Central Markets and Whole Foods in Dallas and Austin, at the Wheatsville/Austin and Dallas farmers’ markets, and every Saturday and Austin’s Cedar Park and Barton Creek markets.

About a month ago, we told you how much we loved Wackym’s Kitchen Margarita Cookies.  We are pleased to report that Paul Wackym’s salted caramel cookies are just as tasty, if not more so.  They are so good we had to quickly share them before we were tempted to eat the entire package!

Chris and Jennifer Dixon of Tricky Dix Mojo  are teaming up with Lifetime Network’s reality program, The Balancing Act, which features women who juggle their jobs and home cooking.  How exciting is that?