1. Mathoo's Eggrolls- Place on cookie sheet or for a crispier roll directly on the oven rack then into a pre-heated oven at 350 for 30 minutes (We cannot make this easier or tastier!).

2. Tuscan Olive Oil Bread Dipping - Shake Salt Sisters Tuscan Farmhouse blend mix into a dish with Olive Oil and season to taste. Then serve with French baguette bites. If you want to get crazy warm up the bread!

3. Buffalo Blue Cheese dip or Artichoke Garlic & Parmesan - Mix these pre-made dips with an 8 oz pack of shredded cheese (Cheddar for the Buffalo and Parmesan for the latter) For an added challenge add a cooked and shredded chicken breast to the buffalo Blue cheese.  Mix thoroughly and place in baking dish. Place on middle rack of oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until browning on top occurs.  After you serve this, everyone will be coming to your house to party!

4. Savory Jelly with Cream Cheese - Simply let cream cheese soften and then top with your favorite savory jam. My personal favorites are Apple Jalapeno Jelly and Hot Pepper Peach but our current top seller is the ever reliable but boring Hot Pepper Jelly.
    *Creative Cut- Slice cream cheese diagonally, then create a Christmas tree with the 2 identical pieces. On 1 piece of cream cheese put apple jalapeno and on the other put hot pepper jelly. Now you have a delicious appetizer that is also a red and green tree!

5. Feridies 5 O'Clock Trail mix- put in bowl. Serve.

Stay Tuned for the next round of appetizers. We figured everyone needs quick and easy appetizers for the stressful Holiday Season, but next time we promise to step up the level of difficulty.

Cheers and Happy Holidays!

Italian Wedding Soup

This Italian Wedding Soup recipe is Italian comfort food at it's best. You can easily freeze half of the recipe for a quick reheat meal the following week.

Italian Wedding Soup

(image credit: fabfriday.com)

Ingredients: 

1 lb Ground Turkey
4 oz Diced Prosciutto
1 cup Bread crumbs
1/3 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ tablespoon of Salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 Egg

½ stick butter
¾ large onion, finely chopped
2-3 Tbps flour
14 cups of chicken broth
Parmesan Reggiano rind (optional)
½ a package of orzo.
1 head of kale, torn into pieces
1 head of spinach (or one package of frozen spinach), 
3 carrots (or twelve baby carrots), diced


Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Mix 1/3 cup of milk with 1 cup of bread crumbs and let sit. Add together ground turkey, prosciutto, oregano, salt, pepper, egg and bread crumb mixture. Lightly mix together and roll into one inch meatballs. Brush with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes on a lined baking sheet. (Note: for extra richness, or use in a pasta rather than soup, add two links of Italian sausage)


Melt ½ stick of butter in a large stock pan. Add chopped onion and cook until softened (about 6 minutes). Slowly whisk in flour to make roux and continually whisk (about 5 minutes). Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add parmesan rind.* Add Kale and carrots and cook 4 minutes. Add orzo and cook according to package instructions (usually 12 minutes or so) with 4 minutes left, add spinach and cooked meatballs.

Serve topped with grated parmesan cheese. It is a treat in our house!



* When you can’t grate a parmesan cheese any longer bag and freeze the rind to add to soups such as Italian Wedding and Minestrone. It adds a surprising boost of flavor!

Sage and Thyme Stuffin' Muffins

Stuffin' Muffins are the best of all things stuffing. When you bake your stuffing in little muffin forms everyone gets a moist center and a crunchy crispy top. Plus, it makes for an interesting presentation compared to the standard stuffing baked in a pan.

 Stuffing is something that is very easy to make but it's important to get quality ingredients to start with to get a delicious outcome.

 Sage and Thyme Stuffin' Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots, diced
• 3-4 celery stalks, diced
• 1 small leek, diced
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 3 Tbps unsalted butter
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp rubbed sage
• 1/2 tsp ground thyme 
• 3 cups low sodium chicken stock (veggie stock can be used)
• 3 eggs
• Approx 16 cups of bread cubes (I used fresh baked whole wheat and semolina), air dried overnight or baked in oven for 10 minutes on 350 to dry them out.

1). Add butter and garlic to preheated pan. Saute carrots, celery, onion, and leeks until soft over medium heat. Add salt, pepper, sage, thyme and stir. Remove from heat.

2). In a bowl whisk the eggs and chicken stock. Combine this mixture with the vegetables.

3). In a large bowl, add bread and pour wet mixture over bread crumbs. Be sure to evenly coat all the bread. Let it set for 5 minutes for the bread to absorb the mixture.

4). Spray muffin tins with all natural Extra Virgin Olive Oil and scoop mixture into tins.

5). Bake, uncovered at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Or until set and crispy on top.

NOTE: Makes 12 large or 18 small muffins. It's important to take the time to dice the vegetables. They blend better into the mixture when they are diced small and take less time to saute to soft. Or blend in the Vitamix (or other high speed blender). 

Top 10 Tasteful Times Wines for 2014

The results are in .....

 Here are the top five whites and top five reds of 2014 from Tasteful Times.  You can't go wrong with any of these wines for dinner parties to holiday gifts. Give them a try. Cheers!

  


RED

1: 19 Crimes

2:  Lone Wolf by Grey Wolf

3:  Cosentino Cabernet

4:  Las Moras Black Label Malbec

5:  Michael Pozzan Cabernet

WHITE

1:  Concannon Chardonnay

2:  J. Pinot Gris

3:  Fire Road Sauvignon Blanc

4:  De Loach Chardonnay

5:  Orin Swift Mannequin

Bowtie Lasagna

This recipe gives you the comfort of lasagna without all the hassle. I am featuring three products we carry in the store that are fantastic. Rao's Tri-Colored Farfalle Pasta, Local Folks Tomato and Herb Marinara and Trader's Point Grass-fed Beef.

Bowtie Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Trader's Point Grass-fed ground beef
• 1 bag of Rao's Tri-Colored Farfalle (Bowtie) Pasta
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 jar of Local Folks Tomato and Herb Marinara
• 1 can/box (appox 24 ounces) of chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese (and more for topping)
• 1/2 cup Ricotta cheese

Directions:

1) Boil pasta until al dente.

2) In a large skillet brown and crumble ground beef until fully cooked, drain, and return to skillet.

3) Add in salt and Italian Seasoning and stir.

4) Add in marinara and tomatoes and stir.

5) Add in cheeses and stir until cheese has melted over low heat.

6) Add in pasta and gently stir.

7) Serve and top with more cheese if desired.

NOTE: This recipe is lighter on the cheese than most so please feel free to add more if you see fit. Also, I am a big fan of all Rao's sauces. Give them a try too!

5th Annual Alzheimer's Dinner

Our 5th Annual Alzheimer's Dinner was hosted on October 9th at Harry & Izzy's to support the Alzheimer's Association.  Tickets were $100, which included a 5 course meal and wine pairings accompanying each course. We had over 60 people attend this amazing event. Ten percent of all wine sales sold that night was donated to the Alzheimer's Association.

The Tasteful Times Crew

Among some of the items served were Seared Scallops with Citrus Butter and Risotto paired with Stag's Leap Karia Chardonnay - a deliciously elegant Chardonnay that was a perfect match with this dish.

Also served was Spinalis, an extremely rare cut of beef from the Ribeye cap, with a Truffle Duxelle sauce. It was paired with a Napa Valley Cabernet, Antica Townsend, that retails for $79.99 a bottle. A very special treat!

Finishing the meal was Chocolate Ganache, Gorgonzola and Pear that went great with Louis Martini Cabernet.  Layers of flavor from the dessert paired perfectly with this smooth Cabernet. 

We would like to say a BIG thank you to everyone that came out to support the Alzheimer's Association and Tasteful Times. We were able to raise over $3,500 for the Alzheimer's Association. We are already looking forward to next year's event!

Slow Cooker: Chipotle Chicken Chili

A chill is in the air, and with it comes "soup season" at my house to stay warm. If you are looking for a super simple Fall recipe...look no further.

This delicious chili has an unique smoky and sweet flavor that will impress you and your friends thanks to the "secret" ingredient: Stonewall Kitchen's Maple Chipotle Grille Sauce.  You can purchase this sauce at Tasteful Times. 

Slow Cooker: Chipotle Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

• 1-1 1/2 lbs of boneless chicken breasts
• 1 small sweet onion, diced
• 1 red or green pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cans/boxes of your favorite beans (I used the tri-bean blend of kidney, pinto, and black)
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 Tbps cumin
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 bottle of Stonewall Kitchen's Maple Chipotle Grille Sauce

Directions:

1) Add everything to a slow cooker except the chicken and stir until incorporated.

2) Place chicken breasts into slow cooker and make sure they are completely covered in sauce.

3) Cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 6-8 hours or until chicken is super tender and pulls apart easily.

4) Shred chicken with two forks while in the slow cooker or you can carefully remove it and shred in a separate bowl if you find that easier.

5) Enjoy!

TIP: If you like it spicy try adding some cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce. You could easily make this vegetarian too. Omit the chicken and stock completely and use water in place of stock and add in chopped carrots and any other of your favorite veggies in place of the chicken.

Wine Tasting

I attended my first Tasteful Times Wine Tasting this month, and I wanted to share this great experience with you.

If you love wine and you haven’t been to a wine tasting  before you should give it a try. It’s a great way to sample a variety of wines and see what fits your palate.  What’s even better about this event is supporting a locally owned store featuring many locally made products.  That’s a win win in my book.

The wines are grouped at tables, and each is hosted by a winery representative that can assist you with any questions about the wine. Upon entering you are given a sheet with names and prices of all the wines you’ll have the opportunity to sample and purchase, this is very important because you’ll  want to make notes as you go or you will forget, trust me!

There was a variety of people there which I really liked. You had your couples that were treating this as a date night and went out for dinner afterwards, there were many girls night out groups and even neighborhood friends.  

We had an assortment of cheeses, crackers and dips prepared to sample that are sold in the store.

Tasteful Times is open during the entire event so you could easily check it out in more detail (and get more samples there too!) and snag some of the wines you fell in love with. Nothing is worse than buying a wine  that doesn’t fit your palate. With 50 + wines to taste at this event, I assure you that you’ll  find a wine you love.  I should also note that this wine event costs only $10 per person. Wow!

Next Tasteful Times

Wine Tastings:

October 18

November  22

December 13

I had a fabulous time meeting so many new faces in Fishers that share my love affair with wine and good food.  It was a pleasure meeting those that I had the chance to meet. 

Until next time, Cheers!

Angie

Pineapple Ginger Chicken

Pineapple Ginger Chicken

This recipe is very simple to make and has fantastic flavor.  It features locally made Wilks & Wilson Pineapple Gomme elixir which adds wonderful sweetness to the dish while the Bluegrass Soy Sauce adds the savory.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup Wilks & Wilson Pineapple Gomme
• 2 Tbps Bluegrass Soy Sauce
• 1 Tbps freshly grated ginger (or 1/2 tsp ground ginger)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3-4 skinless chicken breast
• 2 scallions thinly sliced (optional)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375

2) Whisk together the Pineapple Gomme, soy sauce, ginger and garlic.

3) Add the chicken to a baking dish just large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer and pour the sauce over the chicken.

4) Bake the chicken until cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.

5) Remove the baking dish from the oven and transfer the chicken to a holding plate while pouring the juices into a medium skillet. Make sure to cover the chicken so it will stay warm during this process.

6) Bring the juices to a boil over medium high heat and reduce until syrupy, about 5 minutes. Let it set 2-4 minutes to thicken.

7) Serve the chicken with the sauce spooned over the chicken. Top with scallions.

TIPS: If you have a meat tenderizer I recommend pounding the chicken thin if you wish to slice it and serve it over rice or salad. Plus, it cuts down on the cooking time the thinner the meat.

Welcome to our new Blog!

Welcome to the NEW Tasteful Times blog.

Why the new blog?

Our previous blog was on our website and therefore had an age restriction. With that being said, we were afraid many of you were missing out on local eats and recipes we posted.  In the store we have a variety of local meats from Smoking Goose, a great selection of local food items and many locally made sweets! 

We hope you enjoy following along as we share our favorite wines, beers, recipes and local eats with all of you.

Cheers!