Evelyn's Blog - Taste of Gourmet

"The Delta Fudge Pie is to die for!!!"

I just love talking to our customers about the yummy foods we’ve created! Two guests at The Crown today were both bragging to me about how much they love our Gumbo. (We always make it with chunks of chicken breast and smoked sausage.) They didn’t know each other, but found a common love of our good food and our Gumbo in particular! That’s what good food can do! Make friends of strangers and make everyone happy! (And yes, you can make the gumbo at your home that way, too, with our Taste of Gourmet Creole File' Gumbo.)

Bryan Carrubba from Ackerman, Miss. sent me a very happy note today that said simply, “The Delta Fudge Pie is to die for!!!!” Nothing makes me happier than “hearing” that enthusiasm and “hearing” him use as many exclamation points as I do! Obviously, Bryan and I agree on a lot of things – great food and “shouting” about it!!!! Thanks for the compliment and for requesting a catalog, Bryan!

Eat Healthy, Live Healthy

We’ve been busy in Indianola for weeks, planning a first time event - the Delta Sole 5K Run and Walk and Kid’s Fun Run. It’s a joint project of the B.B. King Museum, our Main Street Farmers Market and the Bill Richardson Civic Alliance. Delta Sole has been a great coming together of the community too! 

Since my responsibility is the Health Fair at the Run, I asked our Mississippi Delta Community College's Culinary School to demonstrate Fresh and Healthy cooking techniques and serve a few samples too! You know that “sampling food” is always on my mind!

This week, Tony and I really enjoyed one of our tastiest AND healthiest soups - our Black Bean Chili! I made it without any meat – totally vegetarian – and it was so spicy and good! Really satisfying! I served it with a green salad topped with some Suddenly Salsa and grated cheese instead of dressing and our meal stayed low-calorie and yummy! We’re ready for that 5K Walk – we always eat healthy with Taste of Gourmet meals!

What is an artist?

What is an artist? Tony said today that I was an artist – an artist in the kitchen. I thought that was a sweet and very silly thing to say. Then I looked up the meaning of artist in the dictionary – “someone who does work with skill and good taste.” Maybe Tony was right! (He usually is right about everything, but I hate to admit it.)

When you and I cook supper, we do think about how the food will look when it’s served, what we’ll serve with it, what dishes it will be served on. We care about how the plate looks. We want color on the plate – green beans, tomatoes, squash – the colors that complement the main dish and add variety to the meal! We always want a “pretty plate” as well as delicious food. 

So I guess a “cook” IS also an artist. We “cooks” enjoy preparing our food with skill (either from scratch or “speed scratch” from Taste of Gourmet’s kitchens) and as cooks, what we really want most is “good taste!” That’s a little twist on what the dictionary really meant – but good food with good taste is what will make us all happy!

So, enter your kitchen tonight with pride – not just as the cook, but as an artist! An artist who creates healthy, delicious, edible art! “Art” for the special people who gather around your table filled with food and with love!

Working Together: We welcome Mid-South Delta Leaders & You!

The Crown has just played host to members of the Mid-South Delta Leaders program. Thirty-five people from Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi who are coming together over a 18-month period to “cultivate the art of the possible.” These individuals are working in their own communities and in the greater Delta for the common good – a great group we really enjoyed visiting with!

They had lunch with Viking in Greenwood and then came to us for Dessert! And they LOVED our Dessert Table. I saw lots of guests with small slices of three to five of the pies on their plates – that’s just how I want guests to serve themselves! Sampling the Desserts is one of the highlights at The Crown!

I thought about their group – “being a part of a great team, being a part of something larger than themselves, being connected” as their program said. Our Taste of Gourmet “team” is just like that! Our Consultants are a part of our Family! Consultants care about their customers and how they can enrich the lives of every person they talk to and share ideas with. And we care about our Consultants and their needs! We are truly a Taste of Gourmet Family!

Of course, we want everyone to enjoy the food we produce and purchase our products again and again! Taste of Gourmet is a business for us and for each of our Consultants. And just as importantly, it is also a Family – a Family of people who care about each other and helping others to enjoy what Taste of Gourmet offers. My favorite words are, “I really would love to welcome you into my Taste of Gourmet Family!”

 

Father Paul Canonici's Dinner Menu

Today was wildly busy at The Crown! The Homecoming Court from Deer Creek Academy had lunch with us, and the Boys and Girls Club Staff had lunch to rally support from Delta Mayors and School Superintendents. Not to mention lots of loyal customers from all over the state and a few first time diners were in as well! It was a fun day! I did have time to chat lots of people, including Father Paul Canonici from Jackson - about our Gumbo mix and how fast it is to prepare!

Father Paul is very busy doing book signings at the moment. He has just finished his second book, So Italian. It’s filled with recipes, pages of his original art, and even copied pages from his traveling journal – it’s just a gem of a book and we have it for sale ($45.00) at The Crown, autographed of course!  

But, back to the Gumbo!  He usually orders our Gumbo when he eats with us and just loves it! He has friends coming for dinner tonight and no time to cook! When I explained how quickly (30 minutes) our Creole File’ Gumbo mix cooks, and that he can add the shrimp and catfish he has in his freezer – he was relieved and so pleased! He’s serving the Roasted Onion Garlic Quick Bread too! Taste of Gourmet to the rescue again!  

Father Paul is an incredibly good cook - So Italian is testament to that! But even incredibly good cooks enjoy the incredibly simple and delicious meals that Taste of Gourmet can help everyone prepare! Our mixes are called lots of things: speed scratch, semi-home made and 30 minute meals. And they are all those things. Most importantly our mixes are healthy and delicious!

Creamy Delta Bisque

Creamy Delta Bisque is really high on my menu choices right now! Tony and I were having some friends over for supper Sunday night, so early in the afternoon, I made the Bisque and just added canned clams. That Clam Bisque sat in the fridge so happily till supper that night - the flavors were blending, getting creamier and richer by the minute! Everyone loved the Bisque on Sunday and we really enjoyed the leftovers (sometimes I call it Bonus Bisque) on Tuesday night over pasta! Meals just don’t get any easier! 

A sweet lady wrote me a note the other day about the Creamy Delta Bisque. She said,

“I mixed it with cheese and broccoli and it’s delicious. I live by myself so I’ll enjoy it for several meals.” 

There are just so many ways to enjoy the Bisque!

If you’ve got your own ideas of what to add to the Creamy Delta Bisque, please let me know! It’s just one of my absolute favorite mixes to be “creative” with, and I’d love to try your recipe variation in my kitchen!

The Winning Pantry List

I just can't quit - I love these lists!

So let me give you another important List!

Remember, you don’t have to do a lot of “chopping and shopping” to prepare our Taste of Gourmet mixes! Just keep these few things in the pantry with boxes of our soups, main dishes and desserts! You’ll always be ready to cook a quick supper! You’ll eat well, eat healthy, eat at home, spend more time doing what you want to do and much LESS time in the kitchen! 

1. Chicken Bouillon (Broth) – Buy granules, cubes or ready to pour.

2. Beef Bouillon (Broth) - Buy granules, cubes or ready to pour.

4. Tomato Sauce (15 oz. cans)

5. Tomatoes Diced (14.5 oz cans)

6. Tomatoes Crushed (14.5 oz. cans)

7. Oil – For Apple Cake

8. Mayonnaise –

9. Sprite or beer - For breads (12 oz cans)

10. Eggs

11. Milk

12. Butter

13. Sour Cream

14. Cream Cheese

 
We’ve got a lot of Cookin’ going on here in Indianola so that YOU can enjoy cooking and eating at home!

The Taste of Gourmet Top 15 List

I’ve been hearing a lot about Lists lately. We all make grocery lists, and “to-do” lists, and Christmas lists, and “ways to make your life better” lists. Lists can be really helpful in organizing your mind, your meals and your kitchen!

You already know that Taste of Gourmet foods can make your every-day meals and your entertaining easier and save you lots of time in the kitchen. So now, I want you to share with you Taste of Gourmet’s list of Top Selling 15 Products – the “Must Haves” for your pantry! With these foods in the house, you can handle any cookin’ situation!

1. Sweet      Potato Muffins
2. Peach      Pecan Pepper Preserves
3. Vidalia      Onion Vinaigrette
4. Southwest      Soup
5. Suddenly      Salsa
6. Creamy      Delta Bisque
7. Mama’s      Meatloaf
8. Toffee      Crunch Cheese Cake Ball
9. Mississippi      Delta Fudge Pie
10. Garlic      Herb Dip
11. All-American      Apple Cake
12. Creole      File’ Gumbo
13. Black      Bean Chili
14. Great      Grilling Marinade
15. Chimmi      Sauce 

This is just 15 of the 50 plus delicious foods we’ve created for you! Just the beginning of all the great meals you can enjoy with Taste of Gourmet in your pantry!