Might be true for some, but not for us. On a recent tour of Continental Sauasge, a family-run Denver company, we were blown away by how clean and pure these products are.

• No fillers
• All natural meats
• Natural casings
• And even organic fruits and vegetables. I mean, who uses organic in a sausage?

Continental sausages curing

Continental ready to ship

Marczyk’s carries several kinds, including a breakfast apple and chicken, Avalanche Ale Beer brats, smoked brat, and the kid’s fave, mac ‘n cheese furters. Come try them! http://www.continentalsausage.com/history.shtml.

Latkes are a traditional part of celebrating Hanukkah, but I often see them make their way into Passover Seders. If you are planning on including them in your Seder this year and want to impress your guests with something a little out-of-the-ordinary, look no further! 

These Rainbow Latkes look like a major departure from the traditional russet potato version. They take on a beautiful ruby hue thanks to the beets, but are also studded with carrots and purple potatoes to give you almost all the colors of the rainbow (once you add the chives, all we’re missing is blue!).  The flavor is more complex and layered than the all-potato latkes while still maintaining that homey, comfort-food taste.  The parsnips add a hint of herbal sweetness and the beets lend a pleasant, earthy fragrance to the dish. 

I love to pair these latkes with one of my favorite new products - MM Local Pear Sauce.  The rich, brown-sugar sweetness of the pears adds a wonderful contrast and feels unexpected and yet familiar at the same time.  Once you try this version of the traditional side dish, you might just want to adopt a brand new tradition!

Whit's Picks: rainbow Latkes

• Rainbow Latkes
  makes 12-14 latkes

  1 medium russet potato

• 2 medium purple potatoes
• 1 large carrot
• 1 small parsnip
• 1 medium red beet
• ½ yellow onion
• ¼ cup matzo meal
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• ¼ cup chives, finely sliced
• MM Local Pear Sauce 

Scrub root vegetables well and peel, if desired.  Shred the potatoes, carrot, parsnip and onion on a box grater (alternatively, a food processor on the grater setting makes fast work of this step).  Place grated vegetables in a large bowl and set aside. 

Lay out some old newspaper to protect your work surface and grate the beet.  Set the grated beet aside in a separate bowl and toss with the matzo meal.  Add egg, salt and pepper to root vegetable mixture and toss well to combine.  Add matzo-coated beets and toss quickly with a fork to minimize “bleeding.”

Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan well.  Once oil is hot, reduce the heat, slightly, to prevent smoking.  Wet your hands with cold water and form vegetable mixture into flat cakes, using about 1/3 a cup of the mixture per latke (you can use more if you like larger latkes).  Gently place each latke in the hot oil and fry until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes per side.  Allow to drain on newspaper or paper towels and serve hot, with pear sauce (or applesauce) on the side and plenty of chives sprinkled on the top.

Marczyk Whit's Picks soup

The humble carrot doesn’t often play the starring role in main dishes, but carrot soup is one of the best exceptions.  And yet… most carrot soups fail to satisfy.  They are often either too bogged-down by heavy cream and butter to even taste like carrots or they are so light and refreshing that they don’t really work as a meal.  I’d like to think this recipe is the perfect compromise of the two.  The soup has a nice, creamy consistency and a thick body thanks to the sweet potatoes and the addition of tahini.  Soy sauce gives it a complex, meaty “umami” flavor.  In contrast, it is still a nice, light soup with plenty of refreshing ginger and lively heat from the Sriracha.

I would highly recommend investing in all the Asian ingredients that are called for because they are great staples, are found in lots of different Asian dishes, and make this soup incredibly flavorful and unique.

Three-Sesame, Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup
serves 8

2 T olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped

1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 cup fresh ginger, minced
1/4 cup mirin or white wine
8 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup tahini
2 T soy sauce

Garnishes:
black sesame seeds
Sriracha sauce
toasted sesame oil

In a large pot over medium heat, sauté the onions in olive oil until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add potatoes, carrots and ginger and cook until ginger is fragrant, about two minutes. Deglaze the pan with mirin, then add stock. Raise the heat to high and bring liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally until potatoes and carrots are very tender, about 40 minutes.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, add a little of the hot liquid to the tahini and stir to dissolve. Add mixture to soup and puree with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy (alternatively, you can puree the soup in stages in a food processor or blender). Serve with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and a drizzle of oil and Sriracha sauce to garnish

Banana Barley Porridge from Marczyk's

Brown bananas are one of life’s inevitabilities. We buy too many bananas and watch them slowly wither on the kitchen counter, or whatever the reason, but how many of us end up simply throwing them away when they become overripe?  Well, not only are there tons of uses for ripe bananas (and I’m not just talking about banana bread!) but when incorporated into a dish, they add a rich, ripe sweetness and a creamy consistency.  If you can’t use them right away, just peel the banana, throw it in a plastic bag, and freeze it (they’ll last at least a month or two in the freezer before they start to brown even further).  Here at Marczyk’s, we don’t like to see anything go to waste, so we offer up the overripe fruit at a really great discount.  What’s not to love?

My tribute to the brown banana is this simple, wholesome and delicious breakfast recipe.  This whole-grain porridge is a great thing to make in large quantities on a leisurely Sunday morning, since it takes more time to cook. You can easily double the recipe and have leftovers that make for a lightning-quick, filling and nutritious breakfast throughout the week.  The bananas also act as a natural sweetener for the dish and give the barley a creamy, almost risotto-like texture.  That’s what I call a great way to start the day!

Brown Butter Banana-Barley Porridge
serves 4

1 T vegetable oil
1 T butter
1 1/2 cups banana puree, lightly mashed

1 cup water
2 cups lowfat milk (or milk substitute)
1 cup pearled barley
sea salt, to taste
1/2 cup walnuts halves
maple syrup (optional)

In a large pot over medium heat, add oil and butter. Cook until the oils sizzle and butter begins to brown (you may need to increase the heat level, slightly) and become toasty and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Lower heat to medium and add banana puree. Allow bananas to saute in oil until lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes.

Add water, milk and barley and bring mixture to a boil, mixing often. Reduce to a simmer and cook, occasionally stirring, until barley is cooked and much of the liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange walnut pieces on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast until fragrant, about 5-7 minutes.

Serve the porridge hot, with the walnuts sprinkled on top and a light drizzle of maple syrup, if desired.

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.

DAC logo

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!

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!

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…

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!