The following recipes feature some of the season’s most popular ingredients and flavor combinations – from fragrant oranges and bittersweet chocolate to fresh sage and browned butter. Additional flavored butter recipes and a short video demonstrating how to make flavored butters can be found at www.ButterIsBest.com.
Contributed with permission by the Wisconsin Cheese Board and ARA Content.
Author: Wisconsin Cheese
Recipe type: Spread
Ingredients
3 ounces bittersweet (at least 70 percent cocoa) chocolate, chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, slightly chilled
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons orange zest, finely grated
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Optional
½ cup roasted and salted pistachio nuts, chopped into halves and quarters (Roasted and salted pistachios add a welcome textural contrast. Most stores sell them already shelled. You may also use a different toasted nut or no nuts at all.)
Instructions
Melt chocolate in microwave-safe bowl on low at one minute intervals, stirring until just melted and smooth. Or, using a double boiler, place chocolate in top bowl, stirring frequently until just melted, taking care not to overheat at bottom or sides. Allow melted chocolate to cool enough to touch.
Place the cooled butter in a medium mixing bowl and with an electric mixer (fitted with the paddle) or wooden spoon, beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides.
Beat in the cooled chocolate, cocoa, zest and sugar, scraping sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed to incorporate all ingredients. Stir in nuts if desired.
Scrape into a small bowl, serving crock or butter mold and cover tightly; or shape into a long roll in grease-proof paper (plastic, wax or parchment) for storing and slicing as needed.
Notes
This luscious butter makes even the simplest bread or roll special. Try it on toast, biscuits, pancakes, French toast, waffles or bread pudding. It's extra special with banana bread and holiday breads, such as Stollen.
(ARA) – Dress up your table for the season with a holiday favorite – real butter. With the addition of a few choice ingredients, butter can take on an unexpected and appealing new flavor – one that is sure to have your guests reaching for more.
Flavored butters, whether savory or sweet, are perfect for spreading on breads, melting on vegetables and embellishing the main dish, from turkey to steak.
Chefs Show You How to Grill and Spice Your Way to a Savory Summer Soiree
(ARA) – Seventy-six percent of Americans own grills, and hot dogs and hamburgers still remain the most frequently barbecued items. If you would like to do more than the standard backyard barbecue, the in-house chefs at VIVA! Herbs can show you how to become your neighborhood’s culinary expert with tips on seasoning for more flavorful food and growing herbs to spice up any dish.
The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu) with 31 educational institutions located throughout North America, provide an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.
Contributed with permission by the Art Institutes and ARA Content.
Author: Chef Ken Goodman
Recipe type: Main
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
2 to 3 pounds beef shoulder or boneless chuck roast
6 each carrots -- peeled & diced
1 pound red skin potatoes, diced
8 ounces whole peeled canned tomatoes with juice, crush with your hands
8 ounces freshly brewed black coffee
8 ounces water
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Trim exterior fat from beef and season with salt and pepper. Place carrots and potatoes in the bottom of your crock pot.
Place the beef on top of the vegetables and add remaining ingredients.
Cover and cook on low for eight to 10 hours or until tender. Remove the beef and let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing. If desired, thicken the broth by whisking together 6 ounces of flour with 6 ounces of water to a smooth paste and then slowly whisk it into the hot liquid.
(ARA) – Each holiday season families across the country are faced with the classic entertaining conundrum – how to put a special meal on the table without spending an eternity in the kitchen. In recent years there has been an increase in classic holiday comfort foods made in shorter preparation times. These time-saving innovations deliver “convenience cooking” that doesn’t skimp on homemade flavor.
At-home cooks can maximize time spent with family by thinking ahead. Washing vegetables immediately after returning from the grocery store makes it a snap to set out a holiday veggie tray. Because many holiday recipes call for similar ingredients, save time by shredding a whole block of cheese, chopping an entire vegetable or preparing more sauce or broth than called for and refrigerating what you don’t use. This will come in handy the next time you are preparing a meal.
Time-saving solutions are also available in new packages, adding precious time to holiday socializing with family and friends. Cook’s Ham, for instance, has included a new, ready-to-use Sweet Ham Glaze & Dipping Sauce with every spiral sliced ham, making it even easier to cook and serve a glorious and delicious holiday meal.
Other products aiming to streamline holiday time include pre-prepared holiday sides, wine and cheese selections that can be purchased together and frozen or refrigerated family-favorite desserts.
Holiday Style
It’s easy to add a festive twist to any basic meal just by adding a little spice and creativity. And with less time spent in the kitchen, at-home entertainers will have extra time to deck the halls – and their dining room tables this holiday season. Try these simple tips to put a cheerful spin on traditional centerpiece entrees:
Sugar. Heat granulated sugar and water in a sauce pan until sugar is dissolved. Let cool slightly, then pour over cranberries in a small bowl. Coat in liquid sugar mix, remove berries and sprinkle with dry sugar. Sprinkle sugared fruit around base of plated Cook’s ham.
Spice. Intermix cinnamon sticks and thin orange slices to create a fragrant centerpiece.
Shredded. Brightly colored spaghetti squash creates a vivid base for any holiday dish.
Standing. Take your spiral sliced ham to new heights by placing it in an elegant ham stand.
Holiday Convenience Today and Tomorrow
With a house full of relatives and friends, having a ham on hand can be a much welcomed helper. Cook’s kitchen pros recommend chopping spiral sliced ham or other holiday meats to add flavor and texture to easy meal ideas, such as:
Soup’er Bowls. Add small cubes of meat to standard soups.
Quiche Me. Sprinkle shredded ham to bring additional flavor to simple egg and cheese quiches.
Pasta Perfect. Toss meat with linguine, fettuccine or spaghetti to create a delicious twist on classic pasta.
Ham on Swiss with a Twist. Spice up a classic comfort food sandwich with spicy mustard, giardiniera or a dose of salsa.
Baked Spiral Sliced Ham with Sugar and Spice Pecan Rub
Contributed with permission by Cook's Ham and ARA Content.
Author: Cook's Ham
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: American
Serves: 10-15
Ingredients
1 Cook's Brand Hickory Smoked Bone-In Spiral Sliced Honey Half Ham, either Butt or Shank, 8 - 10 lbs.
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1½ teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
22 to 25 pecan halves, finely chopped
Instructions
Heat oven to 250F.
Remove ham from all packaging materials. Place Spiral Sliced Ham face down in roasting pan. Cover pan with aluminum foil; bake ham 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare sugar rub. Combine brown sugar with dry mustard, lime rind, ginger, allspice, cloves and finely chopped pecans in bowl. Mix thoroughly with fork. Stir in lime juice to moisten sugar mixture evenly. Set rub aside.
Remove ham from oven and uncover pan. Pat and rub sugar mixture over warm ham, covering top end first, then smearing mixture down the sides as evenly as possible. Return ham to oven.
Bake uncovered 30 to 45 minutes, basting meat with pan juices every 15 minutes. Ham is done when center reaches 150? F on meat thermometer; please refer to label for proper cooking instructions.
Remove ham from roasting pan; place on a ham rack and let rest 10 to 15 minutes.
(ARA) – After decades of being satisfied with mild foods, American consumers are now craving bold flavors that pack a punch – hot and spicy, sweet and heat, and other interesting combinations.
Food experts say that Americans have become more diverse and are now better-traveled. Our food choices reflect this new lifestyle.
One of the biggest trends is the fusion of Asian and Western cuisine. Asian foods are now a permanent part of the Western diet in restaurants, and home cooking. Because people are making Asian foods part of their routine home-cooking diet, supermarkets now devote large areas of valuable shelf space to Asian foods. The range of products available is ever expanding. Read More
Sweet potatoes are the perfect main ingredient for some tasty and nutritious dessert dishes, including Sweet Potato Bread Pudding with Apple Cider Glaze, created by David Gallent, courtesy ARA Content and contributed with permission by Louisiana Sweet Potatoes.
(ARA) – By now, nearly everyone has heard about the health benefits of whole grains. While more and more products labeled “whole grain” are showing up on supermarket shelves, most still take the form of breads or cereals. If you’re looking for something different – or just to reduce your wheat intake – consider corn tortillas.
Tortillas are versatile, easy to prepare and can be very healthy. However, not all tortillas are created equal. Most are made with corn flour, but do not use the whole corn kernel. They may also include multiple preservatives and other ingredients. Some also include Amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch into a simpler form and can be derived from bacterial, fungal or animal sources.
(ARA) – Whether it’s the taste, the aroma or the fact that one of the recipes starts with “Open three cans of beer,” the specially seasoned pork sausage known as bratwurst (or brats) is the perfect food for Americans and their grills this summer.
Unlike the 1950s, when grills were used predominately for backyard cookout fare such as hamburgers and hotdogs, today’s grillers are looking for versatile foods that bring new tastes to the table. Brats fit the bill, offering big taste alone on a crusty roll, topped with special mustards, sauerkraut or onions or used in a favorite recipe.
(ARA) – As the summer heats up, so do backyard grills. Food safety is essential all year round and only becomes more crucial as meals are moved outside to the park, the beach or the backyard. This is an important time to take a closer look at your food preparation habits to see if you are actually following the food safety techniques you think you are when cooking for friends and family in order to prevent food-borne illness.
(ARA) – Dress up your table for the season with a holiday favorite – real butter. With the addition of a few choice ingredients, butter can take on an unexpected and appealing new flavor – one that is sure to have your guests reaching for more.
Chefs Show You How to Grill and Spice Your Way to a Savory Summer Soiree
(ARA) – Each holiday season families across the country are faced with the classic entertaining conundrum – how to put a special meal on the table without spending an eternity in the kitchen. In recent years there has been an increase in classic holiday comfort foods made in shorter preparation times. These time-saving innovations deliver “convenience cooking” that doesn’t skimp on homemade flavor.
(ARA) – After decades of being satisfied with mild foods, American consumers are now craving bold flavors that pack a punch – hot and spicy, sweet and heat, and other interesting combinations.
(ARA) – By now, nearly everyone has heard about the health benefits of whole grains. While more and more products labeled “whole grain” are showing up on supermarket shelves, most still take the form of breads or cereals. If you’re looking for something different – or just to reduce your wheat intake – consider corn tortillas.
(ARA) – Whether it’s the taste, the aroma or the fact that one of the recipes starts with “Open three cans of beer,” the specially seasoned pork sausage known as bratwurst (or brats) is the perfect food for Americans and their grills this summer.
(ARA) – As the summer heats up, so do backyard grills. Food safety is essential all year round and only becomes more crucial as meals are moved outside to the park, the beach or the backyard. This is an important time to take a closer look at your food preparation habits to see if you are actually following the food safety techniques you think you are when cooking for friends and family in order to prevent food-borne illness.
