Nice Job Jax!

The only bad news about the new Jax opening is that the Terminal Bar is finally, completely, erased. R.I.P. juke box with Johnny Cash, and welcome to LoDo beautiful, shiny, delicious Jax! Pete, my sister Mariah, and I went to the grand opening and had really really good food, interesting food, well priced food in a happy setting. The bar now runs the length of the room, and the dishes are bigger than a starter but smaller than a dinner, so you can eat more things. More things like this:

Iceberg lettuce and fresh shrimp

Sturgeon with creamed turnips, maitake mushrooms, and pinot noir fumet. Order a small or large serving.

This was just so damn good. texture, taste, it was all going on!

All your fave seafood in a sauce. Excellent.

The scallop serviche was also amazing. Soft scallops in a bath of grass green fruity olive oil. No picture, too busy eating.

Thank you Jax!

Manicaretti Imports are here!

Dave:  Mamma!  Papa!  The Italians are coming! The Italians are coming!

Dave’s Dad: I don’t care if the Second Coming’s coming.

Exchange between Dave Stoller and his dad.  From Breaking Away (1979).

Marczyk’s has just forged a direct-from-importer relationship with Manicaretti Imports of San Francisco; they have one of the best books of extraordinary Italian foods anywhere.  I’m as excited as Dave was in Breaking Away (1979) when the Cinzano Cycling team was headed to Indiana.  BTW, if you haven’t seen Breaking Away, run, don’t walk.  One of the best flicks ever.  We have been working on getting this going for a couple years, and we just received over 2 pallets worth of really incredible food from Italy.  Many of the items are new to Denver.  Marczyk’s staff is really pumped about this, and we hope you are too!

In celebration of the 1 year anniversary of our Colfax store, we are running a super-special deal on Frantoio di Sommaia 1 Liter single-estate olive oil from Tuscany at $19.99 (normally this oil is priced at $24 wholesale!)  I guarantee this will be the best 20 bucks you will spend all week.  It is an absolutely beautiful traditional EVOO with hints of green apple and a grassy wonderfulness not to be missed.  This oil is packed in tin, so it will keep for a year. We’ve procured only 270 liters.

Other great ingredients include a vastly expanded selection of Rustichella d’Abruzzo pastas and other goodies.  In particular, I suggest trying:

 Farro Puls, the original “risotto”; you can make farrotto,!  This is a coarsely ground type of spelt which can be used to make farrotto (I made that up) or to thicken and add nutrients to soup or baked goods.  Whit says you can use it to make farrenta as well.

Rustichella Primo Grana pastas.  Like the Rustichella pasta we’ve always sold, except on steroids.  This incredible pasta is made from 100% Abruzzese heirloom wheat, and like all the Rustichella pastas, these are made and dried traditionally ; it’s a peek into the food of our past and not to be missed.  Try this with Frantoio di Sommaia EVOO, and some of Elaine Granata’s tiny eggplant sautéed with a bit of her garlic, and finished with a handful of her Sungold cherry tomatoes.  Bellisimo!

Rustichella arrostiti pasta/bruschetta sauce.  This mouth wateringly good sauce is made from tomatoes and sweet red peppers with a bit of carrot for depth and sweetness.  This is my favorite go-to easy sauce to feed my son on a busy night.  He loves it, and it’s really good for him to boot.  Try this on a toasted or grilled slice of Marczyk baguette as a quick and delicious appetizer.  I bet you’ll finish the jar.

Marchesi di San Giuliano Marmalades from Sicily.  These exquisite marmalades are from a 22 acre farm on Sicily.  Ingredients: fruit, and sugar.  The estate has trees dating to the early 1800’s that still produce fruit.  Crazy.

Farina Della Valsugana Polenta.  The quality of ‘flour’ you start with has a direct correlation to the quality of polenta you end up with.  This is a non-degermed cornmeal grown without irrigation in Trentino in northern Italy.  Try making polenta the centerpiece of a simple meal with grilled onions, peppers, and sausage.  We have a great friend of the market whose family tradition is this sort of meal with a big mound of polenta and sausages.  The kids couldn’t have any sausage until they had a big helping of the delicious polenta.  This polenta requires about ½ hour of slow cooking and stirring—a great way to get the kids involved and to spend time in the kitchen with them.

Aceteria Leonardi Balsamic vinegars and Saba.  Wow!  If you haven’t ever tried condimento or tradizionale Balsamico, now is your chance.  We have some sample bottles of this absolutely transformative condiment which has been called the eighth wonder of the world.  Once you try it, you will understand why.  I love these in small drops over grilled meats, especially Niman Ranch Pork (maybe the ninth wonder of the world!).  This must be tried to be believed. Seriously.

We look forward to seeing you at the market and sharing our passion for food with you.  Thanks for reading.

Pete

Sausage and Politics

You may think you like them, until you see how they’re made.

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.

Whit’s Picks: Three sesame, sweet potato and carrot soup.

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

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.

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!

MCA Buffalo Dinner

In November, Marczyk Fine Foods was part of the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Beast Roast.

First, Jimmy demonstrated how to break down 1/2 a buffalo (with color commentary by Pete Marczyk) to an enthralled audience.

Then Denver’s top chefs took their part of the beast and cooked in up for the next night’s feast. Solera, Barolo, Elways, TAG, El Diablo, Marczyk’s, and Lola all made killer food! If you missed it this year, there’s always next year!

Time Magazine Gets Real about food

“Niman Ranch raises its livestock traditionally, humanely and sustainably to deliver the finest tasting meat in the world.”
This week’s Time Magazine cover story, Getting Real about the High Price of Cheap Food, is an eye opener about the industry we know and love. We have been plugging Niman Ranch for 7 years, and have been happy to explain over and over what makes them different and why it matters. (To be honest, we have felt like the slightly crazy guy standing on the box on the corner, yelling and waving his arms as people hurry by.) We watched the company grow and go through painful but necessary changes to be what it is today. So it was with great pleasure to see the only meat company mentioned as a viable alternative to commodity pork and beef is, drum roll please, Niman Ranch! (In Time freaking Magazine no less!) Congratulations to them!

Easy Recipes and Big Ass Cookware

Westword Newspaper has added a recipe section to their Cafe Society Blog, and we’re the recipe writers! Join Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane every week for an easy-to-follow recipe slideshow/video. Bacon candy, corn chowder, fried chicken, and what to do with all that zucchini.

The Land of the Free?

In the U.S. 500,000 people die from smoking each year, 250,000 die from alcohol related causes; the FDA estimates 1 person every 9 years dies from raw milk related causes.  Soft raw-milk cheese is illegal.  Is this really the land of the free?