We have all the fixins for a Juicy Lucy in our warehouse, and we never make ‘em.  We’re just too dang busy!

Kinda sad, as this Minneapolis Burger Icon had recently hit the airwaves in an episode of Food Wars, and days later I was firing up the cast iron skillet and sizzling some stuffed meat (80/20 ground beef, to be precise). My Cheese of Choice, a pepper Jack and Shredded Mozz blend that was
oozing with creamy, pepper-poppin flavor!

As you will come to see, I am personally Burger-obsessed.  When I visit a new town, or re-visit an old one (like Houston, where I lived and worked for over 10 years), I inevitably end up at a burger joint.  Every city has their favorite.  Email us with your fav at sales@wergourmetfoods.com

Sometimes I’m a purist, just beef and bun!  Like a Zen Master, I’m always seeking perfection with 2 simple ingredients.  Beef and Brioche bun, Tuna and Toasted Wheat Bun, or Ostrich on a Kaiser, I know there is a perfect pairing, and I’m always on the hunt.  Other times, I want a flavor-carnival!  Grilled Jalapenos, Monterey Jack and Grilled Pineapple Ring is a new favorite.  An old Standard is Smoky Bacon, Grilled onions, and Rich Blue Cheese…especially if the Bacon is Benton’s and The cheese is Rogue Creamery.

The Juicy Lucy offers me a whole new way to get a greasy burger mess.  I think you should groove on down to your local market and sear up a few too.

No, we’re not gone.  We’ve just been as busy as a nest of bees adding new products, shipping out your orders, and trying to be the best gourmet food site on the web…all hard work, but well worth it.

I want to thank all of our customers who have supported us, sent us kind notes or left nice voicemails about our products, service, or anything sweet.  I’d like to let our less-satisfied customers know that we’re doing our best to please all of our customers.  We take our work, and your orders, very seriously.  I pick and ship every order like it was going to my mom, and if you knew my mom, you’d know just how serious that is

We’ll be adding lot’s more items to our website after the holidays.  I thought you guys would be interested to learn what the biggest selling items have been, and take a look into the future of WRG to see what items are on the horizon.

Saffron has been a big hit for us, and we hope for you too…seems like EVRYBODY is making Paella!  Along with saffron a ton of Paellea Rice has left the building.  Spanish food had a great year. 

Villa Manodori Balsamic Vinegar was also a huge hit, and it doesn’t surprise us at all.  This may be one of the best balsamics around, and I know we have a rockin’ price.

Pommegranate Molasses have been a big seller.  Great in pastries, on fruits, and drizzled on harder cheeses, I’m really glad this product is catching on.

In the coming weeks you’ll begin to see our Artisanal Cheese selection grow by leaps and bounds…keepchecking back to see it grow and grab yourself a big hunka hunka!

We’ve been adding more to our cured meats/charcuterie section, and that category is going to probably double in size soon.  Big hit’s have been the Paleta, which is a great center-of-the-table piece for New Years, or any event.

Lot’s more to come.  Stay Tuned…and Good Eating!

oh yeah…more podcasts…we promise…new shows real soon!

Nicoise, Kalamata, Cerignola…we have em all, and boy do I have a thing for them.  Tossed into some pasta, or stuffed into a Cornish Game Hen, olives have a thousand uses and I’m trying to find them all.

The best way to eat olives?  Well, in my house a block of Manchego or Grana, a bowl full of olives, and a dish to throw the pits is a normal saturday night affair.  Sometimes I sneak a container-full into the movies to snack on instead of 7$ popcorn!

Our olive selection is growing.  Keep your eyes peeled and head back soon to see what new olive treats we’re adding.

Duende Rojo Guindilla Vasca Peppers

Tapas.  The Sushi of the latter 2000’s.

Much like sushi, tapas brings to the eater one of the key elemnts missing from American dining of the 20th century…choices!

I think my love for this sort of dining stems from my incessant need to snack.  I am a hardcore snacker.  As a child, I have fond memories on a sunday afternoon, sitting in front of the couch with my dad, a big bag of thick, sourdough pretzels, a few wedges of extra sharp cheddar and a tall glass of milk (with ice).

Sushi was a big hit with me in college…and now i’ve started frequenting Tapas joints on a regular basis.  Olives, hams, fritattas, and a score of other nibble-while-you-drink items are, for me, one of the best ways to dine both out, and in.

Enter Guindilla Vasca peppers…a tangy and spicy pepper in wine vinegar that, like potato chips, leaves the eater wanting more.  Each pepper is like a snowflake, unique in flavor…some sweeter, some spicier, and all good!

Offering my dinner party guests a selection of great spanish cheeses and meats, olives, neat new peppers like the Guindilla Vasca, and other fun finger-foods is both simple to prepare, and great tasting.

We highly suggest you grab a big ol’ jar of these peppers…you won’t be dissapointed.

Contest still in full swing…no winners yet…is anyone listening?

We are adding tons of new stuff to the site…I really can’t beleive how fast we’re growing our selection.

Subscribe in a reader

It seems to me that we have a good amount of salt on hand.  If you had asked me 10 years ago about which salt I liked best, I would have looked at you a bit askew and said “Mortons”.

Nowadays, I have a minumum of 3 kinds of salt on my “quick-draw spice shelf”, and my son(4) asked me the other day why we had all those salts.

We did an impromptu tasting.  His review : they all tase salty.

These salts all do taste salty, albeit slightly unique in flavor.  What’s more important, though, is how they feel. Some are very crunchy, some a bit finer, some a bit flaky…each has a unique texture that suits them to different purposes.

My favorite…for sprinkling on top of foods last minute I’d have to say Maldon Sea Salt is my go-to salt.  For Soups and stews I prefer the La Baleine Sea Salt…and..well, you get the idea.

I wouldn’t say I’m a salt-junkie, but there’s hardly a food I cook that doesn’t call for seasoning, and salt is a staple.  I think the Roman Legion used to pay soldiers with Salt, hence “that man is not worth his salt”…which would account for the high dropout rate of Roman soldiers…

More of the usual ‘food banter’ including some Kentucky Prosciutto that ages 2 years, what we happen to be eating this last week, and more foodie wit and wisdom.

Subscribe in a reader

“Our hickory smoked country bacon is equally at home on a bacon, lettuce, and vine ripe tomato sandwich or on the breakfast table as it is wrapped around a premier cut of beef or a fish fillet. Hickory smoked in our smokehouse using an old-fashioned wood stove, each slice of our bacon has a distinctive full flavor that has attracted and maintained a broad spectrum of customers, from those looking for smoked bacon “the way grandpa made it” to gourmet chefs with the most distinguishing of tastes.”

As a wholesaler of many bacons, I have certainly been exposed to some very fine cured and smoked meats from around the globe.  Benton’s Bacon, however, is a true American Original.  If apple pie is the true American Dessert, than Benton’s Bacon is the true American Breakfast Meat.  Each slab should come with it’s own flag!

I think we can all agree that bacon=meat candy, and if this equation holds true, then Benton’s Bacon=Godiva Truffles.  If you are thinking of having a fine breakfast or brunch gathering, or you are looking for a slice of heaven to wrap around that nice filet of beef…look no further.

Other items of note this week added to the weRgourmetfoods site are:

Kewpie Mayonnaise  (needs a blog post all it’s own)

Laxmie Tamarind Paste

and Minus 8 Vinegar

I love butter. I know, I know…I say I love everything. I do. I really enjoy cooking, and I think that’s because I love eating…if I hated eating, well, I probably wouldn’t care so much about the cooking part.

The uses for butter are endless, and I’m not going to spend hours creating an exhaustive listing of the hundreds or thousands of ways I use/eat butter.

But making my OWN BUTTER?!?!? I never even considered it, since I don’t currently, nor do I have any plans to, own a chrurn.

No Churn Needed:

Danny at the Over The Hill And On A Roll blog has the instructions on making butter with just two ingredients:

16 ounces of heavy cream, chilled
1/2 teaspoon salt
Basically, you’re just beating the cream until it “start to look like scrambled eggs” and separates into butter and buttermilk. After that happens, you’ll remove the butter from the remainders and squeeze it into a “ball-o-butter”. Quick, simple, and it’ll make your cookies better.

I’ve noticed that more and more I’m seeing food-based posts on Lifehacker.com…thanks guys, for improving just about every aspect of my tech-geeky and now my food-geeky life!

Gotta go home now and make some butter…later!