 
To Brine or not to
Brine...
how are you cooking
your Thanksgiving turkey ?
The
November issue of Bon Appetit magazine features two recipes
for brining your holiday turkey. Save yourself several steps
and select one of our ready-to-use Brining Blends. We
are well stocked on these flavorful spice mixes, which have
really been flying off the shelf this past year. Personally, I
have dunked a chicken in the Traditional Brining Blend
and used the Spicy Brining Blend to tenderize
double-thick pork chops. I found each mixture of salt, herbs
and spices to be flavorful and aromatic, and the results
yielded tender, juicy meat. For Thanksgiving, I am leaning
towards the Smoky Brining Blend for my bird - perhaps
the Asian Brining Blend would be just the right touch
for you to try. Start a new family tradition for your holiday
bird !
Asian Brining
Blend
Smoky Brining Blend
Spicy Brining
Blend
Traditional BriningBlend
recipes and use-sheets
available !
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new !
FAGIOLI
The Bean Cuisine of Italy
by Judith Barrett
From soups and stews to salads and side dishes flanking
lamb, grilled rabbit and roast chicken, Italian cuisine
hails beans as a tasty and delicious cornerstone of
everyday cooking. In her new book, the first one to
concentrate exclusively on this subject, Judith takes us
on a culinary journey that celebrates the savory delights
of traditional Italian bean cookery. Her book features
both classic and contemporary recipes.
Just in time to compliment Judith’s new book, we have
added two new Italian bean varieties to our collection:
Corona beans - Abruzzo, Italy
Immense, ivory-colored kidney-shaped beans that typify the
phrase ‘poor mans’s meat.’ Ideal for vegetarian dishes
that can support and benefit from this hearty, meaty bean.
Borlotti Saluggini beans - Piedmont, Italy
A local variety of this small, classic Italian bean.
Borlotti beans are tan and splotched with streaks of
maroon-to-black. Borlotti beans are excellent added to
pasta salads and tuna salads, or mixed with lemon, garlic
and parsley and served as a mashed-bean appetizer drizzled
with olive, salt and freshly ground pepper.
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Celebrate
the cooking and entertaining season....
new items to help you ‘gild the lily.’
• Livio Pesle Wine Jellies
Livio Pesle makes these jellies from top-quality wines,
pressed from his own grapes in the Rosazzo hills of
northeastern Friuli, Italy. Their pointed flavors and
aroma come from rapidly boiling his wines down to a
sweetened concentrate, and adding only natural ingredients
for the other flavors. Use these jewel-like jellies as
condiments, for flavor and pizzazz, not as breakfast fare.
Verduzzo White Wine Jelly is light amber in color
and made from the Verduzzo grape, which produces a lovely
dessert wine. Pair with strong or aged cheeses such as
Gorgonzola or Montasio and dry, salted ham such as
Prosciutto or Serrano. Serve a dollop alongside grilled
duck breasts, roast game, or baked ham.
Refosco del Penduncolo Rosso ‘Hippocraticum’
is a red wine jelly infused with hot pepper, cinnamon and
spices. It is an excellent glaze for game, roast lamb, or
served with desserts such as Jean-George’s molten
chocolate cake or your best New England hot apple pie.
• Casina Rossa
Mushroom spread with Truffles
forest and champignon mushrooms, black truffles and
essence of white truffles combine to create a flavorful
and pungent new ingredient for your cooking arsenal. Add
to melted butter and drizzle over warm polenta, mashed
potatoes or scrambled eggs.
Olive spread with Truffles
black olives, extra virgin olive oil and black truffles
combine forces to create a magical topping for instant
crostini or a simple pasta toss.
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From
turkey dressing to Christmas cookies,
ring in the holidays with favorite family dishes and
seasonal sweet treats !
spices
cocoa powder
citrus zest oils
crystallized ginger
pure baking extracts
lemon and orange peel
colorful, dazzling sugars
citron and dried cherries
chestnuts: whole or puree
Valrhona baking chocolate
soft marzipan and almond paste
cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger
Demerara, Muscovado and Castor sugar
chestnut, hazelnut and almond nut flours
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Buzz, Buzz....what’s the
Buzz ?
HONEY
In Greek mythology honey was a gift from Aristaeus, the
Beekeeper. This fragrant, celestial nectar was valued as a gift
of divine ambrosia from the Gods. Today as then, honey is
revered throughout the Mediterranean for its patchwork of
distinctive flavors, unctuous texture, perfumed fragrances, and
healthful properties. Our selection has never been more
bountiful or diverse. We support small, traditional beekeepers
who transport their bees from place to place in order to follow
the blossoms throughout the spring and summer seasons, thus
capturing the pure essence of each honey. Here’s the buzz .....
Ancient Nectars
wild thyme honey
Apicoltura Dr. Pescia
chestnut, Mediterranean Heather
Badia a Coltibuono,Tuscany
chestnut, thousand flower honey
Baudat, Provence
brambleberry, linden honey
Goccia Umbra, Umbria
chestnut, wildflower honey
Giuseppe Coniglio, Sicily
sulla (honeysuckle), lemon
Giuseppe Follino, Tuscany
orange blosson, thousand flower honey
Heather Hills, Scotland
Scottish Blossom, Scottish Heather honey
Hugel, Provence
flowers of the mountain, lavender
L. Lanier, Wewahitchka, Florida
tupelo honey
La Mas des Abeilles, Provence
lavender
Italian Farro,
Polenta and Sfarrata
Cold
winter days require hearty stick-to-your-ribs fare.
Farro is an ancient form of wheat, grown in the
Garfagnana region of Tuscany. Originally planted in
northern Italy by the Etruscans, farro is used in soups,
stews and risotto. Ladle a rich meat ragu over our new
artisan Polenta from Piedmont, made from
local varieties of ‘red corn.’ Sfarrata is a
blend of farro, garbanzo beans, lentils and barley.
Wonderful for making a delicious and satisfying rustic
country soup.
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NEW ARRIVALS
• Latini Pasta
did I hear
pasta ? Latini pasta ? Years ago on our first trip to Italy,
Faith Willinger stuffed some boxes of this pasta into our hands
and said ‘ Take this home and cook it, then find it and sell it.
Let me know how you like it.‘ Well, if you know Faith, you know
that there is no discussion here, this is an imperical command.
But, she speaks from experience, and she is always right. We had
Latini pasta for a time after that, but unfortunately the
importer sold his business soon after, and the Latini
disappeared. It has taken us 8 years to get Latini Pasta back
into our store, and we are so pleased. All of this is to say
that this is one incredibly good pasta and we think that you
should ‘Buy some, take it home and cook it.’ Tell us what you
think of it -we’ll pass you feedback along to Faith.
• Primopan Whole Grain Cookies
I have longed
for these cookies ever since I first tasted them some ten years
ago. Made in the mountain village of Battifollo in the Ligurian
Alps from top-quality, plain, country-proud ingredients, these
wholesome cookies reflect the traditional tastes of this area.
Choose from Foglie di Mais ( corn flour cookies ) or Lune de
Maggio ( multigrain cookies made from 5 different stone-ground
flours ). Each pairs well with red or white wine or a hot,
robust cup of espresso.
• Bruco Chocolate
Bruna Lenci, a
country doctor in the Marches region of eastern Italy, brought
her home-made chocolate bars with her on rounds to cheer her
patients. Her recipe has been handed down to her grandson, Fabio
( no, not that Fabio ) who continues to carry on her legacy of
making these artisanal bars in small batches. Bruco offers only
two selections: 72 % Dark chocolate with Orange and
Cinnamon and 72 % Dark chocolate with Anise. Bruco is named
after Bruna and her husband, Constantino. Voted Best
Artisanal Chocolate in Italy at Eurochoc, Perugia 2002.
• Solsi Antichi Sapori Lemon and Orange Sicilian Jams
the town of
Belice, in western Sicily, is famous for the sweeping groves of
Nocellara de Belice olives that carpet its landscape. Here, hot,
dry summer days also favors Sicily’s famous citrus fruits -
lemons and oranges. Luigi Restivo and his family produce these
jams from their own organically-grown fruits in the traditional,
Sicilian style - thick and compote-like with the addition of
bits of tasty peel. Lavish these on toast or use as a glaze for
chicken, ham or shrimp. Gently heat to thin the consistency and
spoon over slices of hard cheese such as Sicilian Pecorino or
Ragusano.
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exclusive
More tea from our
spring trip to China
is arriving ! These teas are a rare treat
!
Jade Rings,
Jade Twists, Jasmine Drifting Snow, Lake of a Thousand Islands,
Nine Dragons and Tai Ping Hou Kui.
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