Evelyn's Blog - Taste of Gourmet

What a great group ate with us today....

They were on a Culinary Tour of the Delta...and we served Catfish of course!  From Smoked Catfish Pate to Catfish Allison - with Catfish Cakes (and our Suddenly Salsa with Peach Jam), Capered Catfish and Great Grilling Catfish in between!  (I do love showing off the Delta's Farm-raised Catfish!)  

Richard Chenoweth from Scranton's Restaurant and Catering in Pascagoula, Mississippi, put the group together and there were caterers with him from all over the country!  (Now I do get really nervous when I serve real food professionals.....but I love every minute of it too!) They are staying at The Alluvian in Greenwood and today have already toured the B.B. King Museum, Heartland Catfish and were on their way to Lauren Farms to try Deloris's Farm-raised Prawns and then to McCarty's Pottery and dinner at Madidi in Clarksdale!  What a day! And I sure wish I was with them every step (and bite) of the way!

I was really impressed with Jason Capps from PA, taking pictures and blogging right from The Crown and couldn't wait to see his website and blog when I got back to the plant - http://jasoncapps.blogspot.com/
I don't think I will ever be that saavy with computers and websites....but I sure am glad such nice people came to eat lunch with us today.....and are experiencing a little of the charm of Indianola and the Delta! 

Lots of Tastings this weekend.....

Is it Spring in the Air that is making people hungry for our good food?  From Pennsylvania to Nebraska, Illinois to South Carolina....people are talking about, tasting and buying food from Taste of Gourmet this weekend!  (Tastings happen all the time, but it so happens that FOUR Tastings are being spotlighted - every ordering guest at these four will be getting an extra FREE gift from me!)  It's part of a special promotion we are having with our Taste of Gourmet Consultants!

I'm calling it an April Gumbo Pot of contests, drawings and bonus items!  Our way to get the Spring and Summer filled with aromas, easy meals and yummy flavors - all over the country!  And some great Half-price items are being offered to our guests at Tastings AND on our website!    

One of the Three Half-Price items you can purchase is our Soup Collection - it includes our Creole File Gumbo!  I just heard from a man in; MA - "That Gumbo is the best meal I've ever eaten!"  Don't you love it?  And YOU can buy the Soup Collection for only $27.50 when you purchase $40.00 of our other wonderful food products!  Six different boxes of Soup (The Delta Bisque even has TWO mixes in it!)

We love giving our Consultants great reasons to sell....and our customers a great reason to buy!  Have a yummy weekend.

Visitors are pouring into the Delta....

....and into The Crown for Lunch and browsing!  We've seen visitors from Boston, Texas, North Carolina, Arkansas, Minnesota and South Africa....just in the past week!  Isn't it wonderful that people are exploring the Delta, coming to the B.B. King Museum, wanting to stay in our Bed and Breakfasts, walking around town to shop and just loving our friendly little town on Indian Bayou!

And almost all of our visitors are taking home jars of Peach Pecan Pepper Preserves...today it was a toss up between the Jezebel Sauce and the Peach Pecan....several people bought BOTH!  I think that's the best idea of all...of course!  I love it when guests tell me they have made The Crown's Salad at home, with our Vidalia Dressing and Crispy Crumbles!  What a nice compliment!

Last night, Tony and I had some cold roast beef sliced thin with caramalized onions on top and Jezebel drizzled over it!  You talk about GOOD!  That sweet, fruity, hot, horseradish flavor in the Jezebel....YUM!  It was wonderful with our ham on Easter too!  We do have good sauces in Taste of Gourmet ....if I do say so myself!  

What are people raving about????

Our Peach Pecan Pepper Preserves....that's what!  It's just so pretty....especially in the very easiest way to serve it.... on top of cream cheese to eat with crackers.
But it is so yummy made into a PPPP Cheese Ball,
or drizzled over a piece of cheese cake,
or spread on toast (or a bagel with cream cheese) for a yummy breakfast treat,
or served with a roasted chicken breast (on top as a sauce)
or "melted" over meatballs,
or served over Brie,
or wrapped to be given as a gift (a guest from Texas did that today at The Crown)
or.......any more ideas? 

I know Peach Pecan is always in my fridge...ready to jazz up supper at my house!    Peach Pecan Pepper Preserves is the St. Jude Product of the Month for April and is our very best seller!  Call your Consultant to order several jars or go on line to order!  You'll be so glad that you "discovered" our PPPPreserves and remember that we donate $1.00 per jar sold to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital!  Here is the recipe for the cheese ball!  Enjoy!

 Peach Pecan Peppered Cheese Ball       Makes 2 cups

            3 Tbsp. Peach Pecan Pepper Preserves

            8 oz cream cheese, softened

            8 oz grated cheddar cheese, room temp

• Mix all ingredients together.
• Chill, then form into ball. Refrigerate until needed.
• When ready to serve, glaze with a little more PPPP

Darcie's Apple Toffee Trifle.....Wow!

Do you ever get hungry and just start reading a recipe book! To tell the truth, I can actually gain weight just reading the recipe and thinking about how the flavors blend...I think my taste buds are tied very closely to my metablolism!   I guess I'm obsessed by food and flavors!  But what a great obsession!

I've been really working this week on new ideas for my All-American Apple Cake and I found Darcie Reed's Trifle recipe from several months ago in my desk - not where it should have been!  But what a great NEW dessert for a special meal....Easter Dinner AND as dessert for my Garden Club meeting on Tuesday!  Thanks so much Darcie!  I need YOUR ideas for my Apple Cake too.....

Darcie's Apple Toffee Trifle
    1 All-American Apple Cake - baked in an 11x15 inch pan
    1 Toffee Crunch Cheese Cake Ball - prepared with butter and cream cheese as directed
    1 8 oz. Whipped Topping
Mix the Whipped Topping into the prepared Cheese Cake Ball.  Cut the cooled cake into pieces and start layering the cake and Cheese Cake Ball mixture in a trifle bowl. ( Add a drizzle of brandy or Kaluah on the cake if you choose)  Refrigerate the Trifle until you are ready to serve!

New Recipe for Suddenly Salsa

Tricia Perkins, one of our Consultants from Alabama shared this simple recipe that can be a Dip for corn chips (as most Salsa's are) or a new way to cook a main dish meal....Yum!

Tricia's Hot Salsa
    8 oz. cream cheese (she uses the 1/3 less fat kind)
    1 cup prepared Suddenly Salsa
    6 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
Cut cream cheese into chunks.  Put all three ingredients in a bowl and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes -stirring halfway through! 
Variations: 
1. Spread mixture on top of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cover and bake for 20 min. until cooked through - juices are great!
2. Use warm mixture as a sandwich spread or quesadilla spread. 
3. Add a Tablespoon of Salsa to a bowl of Positively Smashing Potato Soup for looks AND flavor!

Thanks Tricia for some great suggestions....and they are simple to make and "little people" friendly!  Prescott loved the Chicken Salsa Supper!!