It’s the dawn of a new year

It’s the dawn of a new year, and with that comes more than just little-used fitness memberships and NFL playoffs. Each and every new year brings out the pundits. The predictors. The soothsayers. (Here’s a joke I just made up: Who does a soothsayer go to see when he has a sooth-ache? Answer: a Transcendentist.) 

And who are we to miss this train? Herein lies (in no particular order) our picks for this years biggest, baddest, and most trendy food trends.

• Healthier kid fare

Healthier kid food

As parents, and even kids, become more conscious of what they eat, more and more healthy choices aimed at the ten-and-under crowd will make their way to grocery shelves. We’re not saying it won’t still be frozen or convenience food, but don’t be surprised to see some healthier, more natural selections.

• Portion diets rather than elimination diets (i.e. Atkins, South Beach)

Portion diets

Remember when the Atkins diet was all the craze? Well people know now apparently what they didn’t know then. Eliminating entire food groups from a diet is simply not healthy, and can even be dangerous. While still avoiding generally unhealthy foods, like foods high in saturated fat or high fructose corn syrup, smart and healthy dieters are embracing things like carbohydrates and fats. But they are tailoring their diets by eating smaller portions.

• Traditional dishes with non-traditional ingredients (i.e. Shepherd’s Pie with pulled pork instead of ground beef)

turnip-gruyere gratin

We are becoming more creative and daring with our ingredients. Perhaps this is because of The Food Network, or maybe it’s due to a wider variety of fresh ingredients being more readily available. Regardless, today’s home chefs are more willing than ever to reinvent traditional recipes and to mess with tradition. And now that we think about it, it may have more to do with the desire to utilize the fresh ingredients home chefs have on hand.

• Mixed ethnic offerings (i.e. Asian tacos)

tacos

Korean BBQ tacos, anyone? Food fusion is not just for trendy restaurants anymore. Savvy home chefs are painting with broader strokes by combining disparate ethnic favorites into savory selections. 

• Smaller portions at meal-time, with more snacks throughout the day

mixed nuts

Many health and fitness experts are beginning to promote a diet where we eat carbohydrates and proteins every three hours, hungry or not, while forgoing traditional big meals. By doing so, the protein and fat (most proteins contains some fat) help keep the carbohydrates in the stomach longer, which increases gastric emptying time. We won’t get into all the gritty details here, but suffice to say that doing so helps burn your body’s fat stores, while helping you feel energized.

• Potatoes

potatoes

Plain old mashed potatoes are for the Cleavers (you remember June, Ward, Wally and the Beaver, right). Today’s home chefs are getting more and more creative with their potato companions. Prosciutto, brie, brown sugar, mustard, and artichoke bottoms are just some whacky (and by “whacky,” we mean “delicious”) suggestions. And when it comes to french fries, don’t be surprised to see some new twists in toppings, as well as enjoying them cooked in pure beef fat, pork fat, or duck fat. 

• Us! 

United States of Marczyk's

Perhaps an outgrowth of the push towards buying locally grown or produced foods, itself a trend from recent years, small, local markets are gaining favor, especially in urban areas where city dwellers (”localvores”) are paying more attention (pun intended) to whose pockets their dollars line. Locally owned small businesses actually have the leg up over the big box stores in this case. 

• Social cooking

Dinner for friends

Here’s how it works: Invite some friends over for dinner, and when they ask you what they can bring, give them a list of ingredients for one or two of the side dishes. Then when the cooking begins, get them involved. Today’s homes have larger, open floor plans that play to the fact that the kitchen is always where the party ends up anyway, so you may as well start it there, too.

There you have it. Think you can play this game, too? Have some trends of your own that you think will show up in the months to come? Please share them with us in the comments section. We love to hear from you!

Posted by Kyle Durlam, MFFII meat dept. and wordsmith.

Drinking with Pete DAC Holiday Wine Tasting

It was a winter night, the full moon was shining down, and a sold-out crowd was ready to hear about Pete’s Holiday Faves from Marczyk Fine Wines. Pete brought 10 wines to taste, and by the end of the night there were some obvious winners.

We started with the Gruet Blanc de Noir sparkling, a sexy grape, and a deal at under $20.

Then on to the X white. Both X wines are big blend fruit bombs from northern CA. “I could drink this every day” was the comment. Under $15 you actually could…

Daisy Hill Sauv Blanc was super light, super fresh.

Secateurs Chenin Blanc, well here’s what one guest had to say:

By now people were chatting, Pete was shouting, but he powered through. It’s hard not to want to catch up with friends at a festive event!

Moving on to the Sottimano Dolcetto d’Alba, a great conversation started about rating wine. Pete hates it. We hate it. Why?

Let’s say you visit a small town in Italy, and they serve you their local wine. And it’s great. Actually, you love it! But if that same wine ended up being rated by Mr. Parker, it would most likely get a low rating, even though it perfectly represents the vernacular “which uses locally available resources and traditions to address local needs”. And if that makes it special to you, then the hell with ratings.

An exciting Colorado wine that we all love love love is the Alfred Eames Syrah. “I would put this up against any other Syrah” Colorado vintners are making huge strides planting grapes that love the high and dry climate, and turning them into wines that can go grape to grape with any other American wine.

The X red blend: “these guys blend this shit right.” ‘Nuff said.

And to close the evening, a very special Madeira from Blandy’s. Maderia is a fortified wine from Portugal. They can be tooth-achingly sweet, or rich and complex, like this one. It is a beautiful way to end an evening.

Many thanks to the DAC for such a fun event! It’s a beautiful club!

Hidden soy in food

We got an email from a customer recently, asking about soy in food. Here was Pete’s reply: “Nearly all feeds contain some amount of soy.  We have some growers who may not include any soy in their feed, but I will have to verify.  I could check with one of our chicken growers as he pasture-raises his birds, but I think he may supplement at some point with commercial feed.  Much bison (our included) is finished on a ration which includes a small amount of soy, so ours is out of the question.   We purchase a couple whole grass-fed beef each year: this would be an option.  It is possible that our Heritage Turkeys have not received soy, but I will have to check.  And almost ALL lamb has been at very least supplemented with commercial feed.  For clarity, by commercial, I mean ‘produced by others–not the farmer’ these almost always have some percentage of soy in them.” Learn something new every day!

5 Best Questions to Get What You Want at the Wine Store

And 5 Best Questions to Land Your Perfect Bottle

By:  Elisabeth Beemer for Marczyk Fine Wines

It’s Friday.  TGIF!  But it has been a long week and the last thing you want to do is wander the aisles of a wine shop trying to make a decision. You’ve made enough this week.  If only your new favorite bottle would just fly off the shelf and into your hands…

Since wine doesn’t have wings, let’s give you some wine purchasing wings. Wait, what?  Here’s the 5 best questions to ask yourself so as to coax that perfect bottle off of the shelf and on to your counter.         

1)  What do you normally like to drink?  What bottle have you recently enjoyed?  If employees are worth their salt, they should be able to give you an idea of something that would be comparable (or better) than that La Crema you just had.

2)  Is it something that you’re having with dinner?  Let employees in on your dinner plans.  It doesn’t matter if you’re having filet mignon or frozen pizza, there will be a wine to pair splendidly with it.  Really.

3)  Following that:  What’s the occasion?  Is it book club with the gals?  A wine to go with the newest action flick?  Just want a non-fussy Tuesday night red?  Those kinds of questions will inspire employees to find bottles they’d drink for such an occasion.

4)  What are you feeling like?  You know more about what you want than you think.  Red, white, bubbles, rose?  Something big or something light?  Something dry or something a little sweet?  Something from Europe or something from elsewhere?  Even answers to two of these questions should land you a bottle you’ll enjoy. 

5)  What is the wine staff loving right now?  If you’re up for anything, ask an employee what wine they’ve had at such and such price point and are digging right now.  You’re bound to get something exciting from a passionate person who’s probably tried everything in that darn store.

Remember:  Wine staff are nerds.  Most of the time they relish your questions because they like the opportunity to wax poetic about the juice they love.  So get on in there, ask, and get out!

Not Your Average Party

It’s Sunday, and Marczyk Fine Foods has closed its doors for the night. The fresh produce is sleeping soundly in its case, and I’m gathering my things- I’ve got a party to DJ. No, not a house party; tonight it’s a Marczyk party, and the guests are already streaming in. Representatives from the front end, deli, and even Marczyk Fine Wines are arriving in ones and twos to occupy the kitchen for our annual pie rolling party.  

You see, Marczyk’s pies are something of an oddity in today’s world of frozen, pre-made pastries- everything is hand-made with love from scratch (as Paul Marczyk puts it, “you cut more corners at home,”) and with the holidays right around the corner, well, making hundreds of these bad boys is no simple feat.

The bakery gals have been at it all day cranking out our world-class pie dough- made with Plugra butter, Niman Ranch leaf lard, and King Arthur flour- and the cavalry has arrived to help roll it all out.   Fueled by a steady stream of Al Green, Black Keys, and Richard Cheese (provided by yours truly,) and armed with a wide array of rolling pins, the dozen or so smiling Marczyk staff you know and trust set to work rolling out hundreds of perfect pie crusts.

We all took a certain pride in knowing that in a few days, these crusts would be transformed into crazy-awesome apple, delectable pecan, and wicked pumpkin pies that will grace the Thanksgiving tables of Denverites city-wide.   Needless to say, the crew made short work of the Herculean task before us. In three short hours, over six hundred dough balls were well on their ways to becoming the best deserts in Denver.

Grinning and covered in flour, we gathered our brooms and dustpans and began returning the kitchen to its former, spotless splendor.  

And the band played on…

My name is Erin, and I’m a chocoholic.

I have begged for and stolen chocolate, eaten entire bars of bitter-sweet and even gobbled up those pieces that fell on the ground when you weren’t looking. I am recovering.

The 10-Minute Mug Brownie is a quick and easy treat for one made using basic pantry ingredients, and the microwave. Yes, a microwave.

Unlike other cocoa powders that may leave a grainy texture in your treats, Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa Powder refines their flakes to a size 50% smaller than other brands for a brownie that will melt in your mouth. And boy, is it smooth.

1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 Tbsp milk
¼ tsp vanilla extract
Dash of salt

1. In a microwave-safe mug, soften butter for approximately 15 seconds.
2. Add sugar, flour, Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, milk, vanilla and salt, and stir together.
3. Mix in any other treats you may fancy (I like walnuts and chocolate chips).
4. Microwave for one minute. The top of the brownie should look solid but glossy. If it doesn’t, microwave at 10-second intervals until it does.
5. LET YOUR BROWNIE COOL FOR A MINUTE. Failure to follow this step will result in mushy brownie and burned mouth.
6. Top with your favorite Sweet Action Ice Cream (I like Crunchy Peanut Butter and Salted Caramel… they’re all delicious), milk, or whipped cream. Or don’t. It’s still good.
7. Eat it!

Whit’s Picks – 10.11.2011

Whitney is the merchandising guru at Marczyk’s. She touches practically all the Marczyk products, so has lots of time to consider how to use them. Here is her November pick, with recipe! Enjoy.

Picks of the Month:  Kabocha Squash and Niman Ranch Chipotle and Cheddar Sausages

Here in Colorado, the cold weather has arrived!  Our Denver trees are dusted with snow, and the market is abundant with local squash of seemingly endless varieties.  While I tend to like pretty much any kind of squash, I have to admit that Kabocha is my all-time favorite.  If you’ve never tried Kabocha squash, you are really in for a treat.  Also known as the Japanese Pumpkin, the Kabocha is more intense, sweet, and vibrant-colored than regular pumpkins.  The skin of this squash is edible when cooked, but since this soup is pureed it is best to remove it and use for making pumpkin stock.  I used “Sunshine Kabocha” for this recipe (the bright orange-skinned variety) but green Kabocha would work just as well.

Marczyk Fine Foods squash

What you’ll love about this soup is the wonderful flavor contrasts of spicy and sweet.  If you remove the seeds from the chipotles before adding to the soup, you will get a milder, smoky heat.  If you want some sinus-clearing spice, there’s no need to remove the seeds.  It might just be the tastiest cold medicine you’ve ever sipped!  The addition of Yukon gold potatoes gives the soup a more creamy texture and thick body.

This soup also has my new favorite sausage from Niman Ranch, the uncured chipotle cheddar flavor.  There are so many reasons why Niman Ranch is one of our favorite suppliers here at Marczyk’s - from their humanely raised “never-ever” meats (as in, never ever treated with hormones or antibiotics) to their environmentally sustainable farming practices - but the best thing about their meats is really the taste.  These juicy and flavorful chipotle cheddar sausages have little pockets of melted cheese and the wonderful, smoky, spicy taste of chipotle.

Spicy Chipotle-Kabocha Soup
serves 8

1 large Kabocha Squash (about 5 pounds whole, any color)
1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced
3 T butter
1/4 cup white wine
4 cloves garlic, minced
about 3 (1/4 of a can) Chipotles in adobo sauce, seeds removed and chopped
2 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
6 cups of vegetable stock

Salt, to taste

4 Niman Ranch Chipotle Cheddar Sausages, sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Prep the squash:  halve the Kabocha and scrape out the pulp and seeds.  Fill a large, shallow pan with about 2 inches of water.  Place squash halves cut-side down in the pan and place in the oven.  Roast until squash is very soft, about 30 minutes.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt butter.  Add onions and cook until golden-brown and caramelized, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Deglaze pan with wine and add chipotles and potatoes.  Add stock and bring mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to allow the soup to simmer.

Once squash is cool enough to handle, peel away the skin, scraping any stubborn bits off with a spoon.  Stir the Kabocha flesh into the soup and continue to simmer, covered, until potatoes are completely soft and the liquid thickens, about 30 minutes.  Using an immersion blender (or a blender or food processor), puree soup until smooth.  Season with salt.  Add sliced sausages and cook another 8 minutes, or until sausage is nice and hot.  Remove from heat and serve immediately.

You’ve got to stand for something, right?

You’ve got to stand for something, right? Me? It’s the abolition of the Designated Hitter rule. You? It’s lunch at Marczyk Fine Foods on Colfax. Seriously.

Pig Roast 2011. Gettin’ Piggy with It!

Jimmy and Mr Pig

10 Years of Pig Roasts at Marczyk Fine Foods!

It’s not every day a neighborhood grocery can pull 2 big-ass roasters onto a city street and just start cooking a whole pig!

Over the years Marczyk’s has been known for bringing the Uptown neighborhood of Denver together over a plate of great food.

This year we served about 400 people on a beautiful autumn day.

Jeff Prah, Jimmy the Butcher, and Paul Marczyk cooked the pig to perfection, sitting with it overnight as delicious roasting pork smells pulled residents out of their slumber. Thank you to Niman Ranch, who has supplied us with America’s Best Tasting Pork for all these years.

Summer pies

Marczyk pies taste authentic because they are. We peel our own apples, stew fresh rhubarb, and render Niman Ranch leaf lard for the crust! One taste and you’ll know that it’s real, and not one of those “fresh baked” pies from other grocers. (What that means is that they bought frozen pies from a wholesaler, and baked it in their ovens.)

Our summer pies include apple, cherry, strawberry rhubarb, coconut cream, banana cream, and blueberry.