Evelyn's Blog - Taste of Gourmet

Peach Pecan Pepper Preserves....for breakfast?

Why not?  Our sweet fruity Peach Pecan Pepper Preserves, with just the right amount of "heat," is yummy on a bagel with cream cheese or on a simple piece of toast!  You don't even need butter! 

One of my dear friends and neighbor, Bethel Martin, stopped by the plant today to pick up her monthly supply of PPPP (Bethel got me started eating it for breakfast!)  Sometimes she hides the jars from James (he loves it too) and has hidden them from herself!  But she knows where to get more!

We have a challenge with our TOG Consultants going for April!  PPPP is the St. Jude Product of the Month and I want SOMEONE to break the record that Tammy Caruthers set with 56 jars sold in one month - personally!  And we are donating $1.00 to St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis for every jar sold in April! 

Morgan Wood is closest to the record right now, but Deanna Russell, Rhonda Orr, April Savell, Leanne Lawrence...and others are all working hard!  If you want to help your personal Consultant break the record...just call her or you can go on line to order and use her name!  She'll get credit for the sale, you'll enjoy every bite of your PPPP and you'll be helping the children of St. Jude! Now that is a true win-win situation!    

Just for Lemon Lovers!

Tony has always called our Lake Shackleford Lemon Pie - A "lemon lovers pie" because the flavor is sharp and tart!  It's soft and luscious and really refreshing!  One of The Crown's guests today who was sampling our Lemon Almond Cheese Cake Ball at the front door - described that flavor almost the same way!  Tart and sharply lemon! 

She was eating it on a graham cracker stick - so much like a bite of cheese cake it is unbelievable!  I told her that the flavor I was after when I created the Lemon Almond was an appetizer we made in the 80's a lot - called Adrienne's Delight.  It was luscious and lemony too with toasted almonds and we spread it on Saltine crackers.  It always seemed like a shame to use an ordinary Saltine, but that sweet salty flavor was just fabulous! 

That's the same way I enjoy my Lemon Almond Cheese Cake Ball when I serve it at home - with Saltines or with Wheat Thins!  The best part is that it only takes a few bites to satisfy that "sweet tooth" we all get sometime.   And it looks so pretty for a shower or a party - molded into a shape and topped with the toasted almonds that are in the box - sitting on a cake stand with the crackers around the base!  I'm going home to made some right now!

Taste of America in Indianola!

We were on the Travel Channel last night on Taste of America! 

Almost a year ago, Mark DeCarlo from Taste of America was in Indianola to do a story on Catfish, how it was grown and how we like to eat it!  ("Catfish Pate of course!" like Bobby Flay said in Jackson)  But Mark chose my Catfish Allison (everyones favorite dish at The Crown) to feature on the show!  It is truly yummy with that cheesy sauce browned and nutty on our beautiful white catfish fillet! 

It was fun working with Mark that afternoon and with our dear friends  April and Mike Montesi who FRIED catfish for him!  (I almost NEVER fry anything!)  Pictures of Indianola and our B.B. King sign were great!  The Crown looked good! The pictures on the ponds and at the plant really showed what a delicious, clean and healthy catfish we grow in the U.S! And Mark loved all the food!  (I just love the way he describes each bite!) 

Our thanks to Mark for a great show and can't wait to find out when it will air again!  Mark may be back in Indianola in September for the opening of our B.B. King Museum to play his Harmonica for us!   Ya'll all come see us at The Crown and enjoy your bite of my Catfish Allison.

And Eat it too!

Last night, Alton Brown (Good Eats on the Food Channel) was doing a segment on Hamburgers!  I love his show - I always learn something good!  He made the statement that some survey showed that 72% (or so) of all American kitchens had hamburger meat in the refrigerator!  And I am in that 72% too!  I had planned to make my Tuscan Bean Soup with the Pasta Fazool recipe but changed my mind and made it with chunks of sausage instead.

Then I got to thinking how many of my mixes and sauces can be used with hamburger meat (or ground turkey.)  And it's surprising!  Southwest Soup, Black Bean Chili, and Mama's Meatloaf are just obvious!  The Tuscan Bean and Pasta Soup and the White Chili are wonderful too!

I love the Craving Calzone (stuffed bread) recipe - under Bayou Beer Bread on the website!  And dressing up a broiled hamburger steak with Chimmi Sauce or Chipotle Sauce or Berry Bar-B-Que or RazzMaTazz...!
"Playing with Food and Flavors" is the best "JOB" ever!  And many of my Taste of Gourmet Consultants love the "playing" as much as I do!  I just love sharing ideas with them.  Like Morgan Wood telling me she added broccoli and cheese to our Potato Soup!  (Her 3 year old ate 3 bowls!)

Taste of Gourmet is a "JOB" that lets you "have your soup and eat it too!"

Heart Healthy Desserts - it's possible!

Ya'll know I do love butter and use nothing else!  That was Julia Child's advice too!  And the more we know about "margarine" the better butter becomes for us! 

I also realize that MANY people MUST cut their fat intake but I want to cut that fat naturally!  Cheri Bruner gave us some great advice a few months ago on her fat and low sodium substitutions.   Eating more healthy is important to me too!  So, I've just begun to add a Heart Healthy section to all my product recipe pages - only a few finished so far - but I wanted you to know about some of my suggestions for our low fat pie mixes!  And they really are good!  Not low sugar - low and lower fat!

The Mississippi Delta Fudge, Lake Shackleford Lemon and Plantation Pie are my first variations.  Using applesauce instead of butter!  The pies are still creamy - still rich flavored - but cutting the butter out does lower the fat a lot!  More variations will be coming on other desserts and all the main dishes - check out the Corn Chowder and Whili Chili now!
We're having a cold snap so it is Corn Chowder tonight for us!

"It's Research and Development!"

When Consultants join my Taste of Gourmet Family, one of the strong things that I emphasize is: "Cooking Taste of Gourmet goodies for your family to enjoy and eat for supper" is a great way to feed the family AND your Taste of Gourmet Business.  All you do is freeze a portion of whatever you are eating to sample later at your Tastings!  You are filling two needs at one time!  That's one of the very best parts about our home-based business! 

I always enjoy telling people that everything I eat is "Research and Development!"  And that is absolutely true in my case!  I never have a meal that I'm not thinking of what I can do different or change or enhance or turn into a product!  Food makes living and eating so much fun!  I'm not splurging - It's Research and Development!"

Add a little Razzle Dazzle.......

I'll just have to tell you - the blueberries and raspberries and cranberries that flavor our new RazzMaTazz Sauce make it is soooo good!  The color is beautiful and the touch of Chipotle pepper gives your taste buds a "little razzle dazzle" too!   I'm hooked on it!

Sampling some of our sauces at the front door of The Crown (as an appetizer of course) is so tempting for me too!  Our guests love tasting and I love describing the flavors and ways to use them. The trouble is when I start nibbling - I can't seem to stop!  That happened to me yesterday with the RazzMaTazz just poured over cream cheese! 

Course, I remembered the Tuna steak earlier this week that I grilled and drizzled with RazzMaTazz!  And by the time I got through talking about it and eating it with my customers, several jars were being bought! 

Tasting a product is just a culinary adventure - like watching the Food Network and being in the audience TASTING the food!  We have fun at The Crown and at the Tastings that Consultants do all over the country!  Food is Fun!

Gumbo was a Hit!

Monday night at the Taste of Mississippi event for Stewpot was so much fun!  We served our Chicken and Sausage Gumbo to hundreds of people.   The compliments we heard about our Creole File Gumbo mix were just heart-warming and I loved the men who came back for their second (or third) bowl!  That's what our food business is all about!  Making people Happy with the food we create!

April and Clay Savell came to help us dish up those bowls of Gumbo and we were so happy to have them there!  And seeing so many old friends and customers from the Crown and Mistletoe Marketplace was just FUN!
Now I'm trying to decide what to serve NEXT year at this exciting event!