Truffles. Yum. When you have a full untouched box, the world is yours.  A parking ticket isn’t as bad.  The parents don’t seem to be screaming as loudly.  Hell, even your homework seems exciting.

Yes, the truffle is the ultimate comfort food.  It makes everything better.  It’s chocolate, French and comes in a fancy box you’ll keep around for a few months to remind you of how great the contents were.  What’s not to love?

They may be hard to share but I recommend sharing them. You will reap benefits. Friends, parents, teachers.

That special someone not that i would know anything about that, being 16+,(not to worry mom)

When in a rush, I admit it right here, sometimes I cheat .

One of my favourite easy to do recipe is to get a store bought rotisserie chicken (we all know about them, the ones the supermarket make on site in the in-store rotisserie that truly lacks flavour).

Add one cup of Chaloner Plum and Onion preserve to supermarket chicken, at 350 for 15 min uncovered. Try it!

Barbecue can mean two things to me, out on the deck with the family and some homemade sirloin burgers, or it can mean a developed flavor from wet and dry marinades or sauces. Barbecuing without the influence of marinades and sauces really means grilling to me. I know, your still doing it on the barbecue, but the flavor you are trying to achieve is a cleaner flavor of the grill.
“In this recipe there is no grilling on the open flame, but when you experience the smoky flavor with the zing, you think and taste Barbecue.”
Braised Short ribs
2 kg of 2 by 8 inch pieces
1 bottle of QGourmet Smokey BBQ Cooking Sauce
2 sliced onions

In large surfaced pot, heat 2 oz of vegetable oil. Caramelize the ribs until golden and remove from heat. Repeat this step three times in total: we wish to achieve total caramelizing without burning the protein. Once the ribs are removed for third and final time, add the onions to the pot and cook until they are translucent. Place the ribs in a 4 inch hotel pan and cover with the onions, then cover with the ribs with the BBQ sauce and cover pan with tight fitting foil. Braise the ribs in a preheated 325’ degrees oven for four hours or until tender. When the doneness is perfected, separate ribs from sauce and remove bones from ribs. Pull the rib meat with a fork to create strand texture. Set the ribs and sauce to cool in a proper container. Use the Qgourmet Smokey BBQ Cooking Sauce to reheat the rib meat.

To say I love Persian Saffron is a huge understatement. When a new shipment arrives, the excitement starts from the moment I open the box. I am greeted with the kiss of an aromatic flavour that suggests numerous culinary possibilities.

Have you ever had saffron flavoured rice? If your answer it no, then you haven’t lived. Sorry to say, but it’s true. The aroma of pure Persian Saffron infused with a good jasmine rice or even a regular rice (god forbid) is an experience for every foodie.

The various ways to enjoy it are continuous. Use it with stews, in pilafs, and one of my favourites, simply adding it to pan melted butter, then placing any white fish into the butter-saffron sauce. Incredible!

This month The Indulgent Foodie (moi) is offering a special promotion of the worlds most expensive spice at an introductory price of $9.99 for a cute little box of our best saffron. Indulge and enjoy!

www.theindulgentfoodie.com

Indulge Me….

Looking back, it’s clear where it all began –with iced tea. It was my first entree to the food industry. I made it at home, serving it at all summer gatherings.

I call it my East Hamptons Iced tea. I was in the Hamptons, at the Mulford Farm Food Show, and there was this pitcher of iced tea without a brand name and what seduced me was the contents in the jug – big, big lemon slices, fresh mint and lots of ice. Its creator refused to give me her recipe and so I created my own: premium quality brewed Indian tea left overnight to enhance the flavor, the view inside my clear pitcher:large orange slices, strawberries, fresh mint, and some other secret ingredients. I’d serve it at dinners, parties in the backyard around the pool, and would also add rum for a cocktail sometimes. EVERYONE who has ever tasted it LOVES it and raves about it. But a product like this is very difficult to bring to market…I am still working on it….and will tell you as soon as I perfect it.

My fondest dreams were to have my tea being featured at Dean and Deluca and Harrods, and written up in Gourmet or Bon Appétit magazines as the hottest thing on the market—and someday I will.

I’ve come to realize it’s not that easy!

Getting product to market is painful, as is understanding how to allocate the proper use of capital and market strategies. Better business insight would have reduced sleepless nights and allowed more time for family and friends. I wish I could have founded a company that made it all easy. But it just isn’t. Yet today I understand so much more and am ready to help others.

Our mission now is to make the process of placing your products — no matter where you are on the food chain — an easy, less expensive and more profitable process.

We can do it. Send us information about your best product and let’s talk.
www.nadinespencer.com