Satur Farms Mixed Kale

With vibrant green and punchy purple leaves, this clam shell of mixed kale is not only visual appealing, but it's also super good for you. Unlike store-bought, tough kale, with big veins that are simply inedible, Satur Farms takes the hard work out of eating your greens and does the prepping (de-veining that is) for you. All you have to do is throw it in the pan, cook it down for a bit, and enjoy the natural flavors and health benefits from these tasty leafy greens (and purples!). Personally we recommend cooking them up with a little bacon, garlic, and red pepper flakes, and finishing it with a nice bright zing of lemon juice. We also recommend that you eat it up right away before anyone else can get their hands on it. You'll see what we mean once you make this bright and tangy yet deep and smoky dish.

Rainbow Kale with Lemon and Bacon

Ingredients

• 1 clam shell of Satur Farms Mixed Kale
• 2 tbsp olive oil such as our LA Organic - Delicate Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 thick slices of Nueske's bacon
• 1 lemon wedge
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Rinse kale thoroughly, finely julienne one clove of garlic, and cut bacon into half inch pieces.

2. In a large pan add bacon and allow to cook until browned and crisped; about 4 minutes. Add cut garlic and cook for one minute until it starts to get tender. Add red pepper flakes and olive oil and stir for about thirty seconds.

3. Add kale and cover, stirring occasionally until the amount has reduced by half and the greens are tender and slightly wilted; about ten minutes. Salt and pepper to taste and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Siggi's Icelandic Yogurt

Siggi Hilmarsson started making skyr, an old school Icelandic style yogurt, in his tiny NYC apartment after missing one of his favorite childhood treats from his homeland in 2004. Since then, siggi's skyr has blown up in the yogurt industry as one of the tastiest, creamiest, rich, and surprisingly low sugar cultured products on the market. While being made in upstate New York with milk from local, grass-fed, and untainted cows, this brand not only uses real fruit but also refuses to use anything artificial(!). And as you can imagine, siggi's flavors are out of this world; from fresh orange with tiny bits of candied ginger, to the store's favorite - lush pineapple, this brand of Icelandic skyr is something you've got to try. But be weary, this stuff is just mildly addicting.

Dep's Special Grilled Cheese

This sweet and savory grilled cheese is perfect for a cold afternoon snack. The sugary pop from the pineapple contrasts with the salty ham and nutty cheese. It's loaded with the Dep's Fra'mani rosemary ham, comte cheese, Roberta's city white bread, and Vermont's cultured butter. All you need is some fresh pineapple and you're good to go. You can find the recipe here on  MacKenzie's -- one of our cheese gals/sandwich maker -- website, Grilled Cheese Social.

The White Lushian

Similar to the Big Lebowski's favorite cocktail The Caucasian (aka White Russian), our version of The White Lushian features our favorite milk from upstate. Battenkill Valley Creamery's whole milk is so silky and luscious that it actually holds up as well as regular cream. And with a splash of Bailey's Original Irish Creme, this cocktail mildly exhibits the milky sweetness of ice cream along with some serious alcohol levels that will most definitely have you cruising.

The White Lushian

Ingredients

1 cup of Battenkill creamery whole milk

1.5 oz Kahlua

1.5 oz of vodka

a splash of Bailey's

Directions

Combine ingredients in shaker and pour over ice.

Mother In Law's Kimchi

This crunchy, briny kimchi is brought to you all the way from Jang Mo Gip, a super fucking awesome Korean restaurant in Garden Grove, California. Fermented without preservatives and featuring all natural ingredients along with the best peppers possible, this aromatic and spicy concoction of pickled cabbage is the ultimate in flavor complexity. The underlying heat from the chili peppers most definitely packs a punch, but it's surprisingly mellowed out by a bright vinegary tang. Toss MILKimchi with succulent shrimp for an exotic ceviche; plunge in tomato juice and vodka for a twist on the oh-so-fabulous Bloody Mary; or just eat it straight out of the jar - whichever method you choose, we're sure that you'll come back for more.

The Hi-Pop

The week is finally over. Finally. I feel like I should give a toast or high-five a stranger or something. I don't know what it is about this time of year, but it seriously flies by and stresses me the fuck out. WIth Thanksgiving a few weeks away, and Christmas right after that, the overwhelming pressure from this season makes me go crazy, it's like dumping a truckload of fertilizer on a patch of wild weeds. And since it's Friday and all, and not that I ever really need an excuse to pop a bottle of bubbly, I'm celebrating what's left of my mental stability this week with a beautiful bubbly drink that is just so pretty that it might take my mind off of things. So here it is, The Hi-Pop. With a dash of bitters, a hibiscus flower soaked in floral syrup, and of course, some brut champagne, this potable is quite the Friday night treat.

The Hi-Pop

Ingredients

1 wild hibiscus flower in syrup

1-3 dashes of bitters

a shit ton of Brut Chamapagne

Directions

Place one pretty little flower at the bottom of an empty flute, top with champagne, add a dash or three of bitters and gently stir. Drink up buttercup.

Edinburgh Mustards

These hand-crafted mustards come in a varietiy of bold flavors straight from Scotland. With enticing combinations like Honey & Whiskey, Beer & Black Peppercorn, Chili & Vodka, and Original Wholegrain, these spreads will most definitely compliment cheese trays or holiday platters this season. We also think they make great gifts for the booze aficionados that you roll with, because you can always rely on their drink of choice to guide you in your gift giving. And for the non-drinkers, there's always the Original Wholegrain, of course.

But if you're looking to pair some cheeses for a snack or to impress your friends during their next dinner party (not that you already don't) we'd suggest the Honey & Whiskey Mustard to go with our dynanic Avonlea Cheddar our our fruity Piave. For the Beer & Black Peppercorn Mustard definitely try our chalky and butterscotch-y aged Borenkass. And with the Chili & Vodka Mustard, we'd recommend our salty manchego or grassy, earthy Lou Bergier. And lastly, for the Original Wholegrain Mustard, well you can't really go wrong, but we'd suggest nutty Comte or complex aged Gruyere.

If that doesn't make your stomach growl, well then, you're SOL.

Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup

Preserved in a deep magenta syrup made from Australian cane sugar, these delicate and floral hibiscus flowers are an eye-catching and flavorful addition to a wide variety of libations. Grown in the foothills of The Blue Mountains and maintained by a company that only has around 35 employees at any given time, you can be certain that you're getting the best product possible. The buds are even picked, cleaned, and jarred by hand to ensure that they do not get crushed and can retain their beautiful and natural organic shape.

The Wild Hibiscus Company 's flowers in syrup were even featured on Rachel Ray and the New York Times Magazine, both of which infused them in exotic margaritas to the highlight the bright and tropical flavors of Mexico.

Happy Halloween - Try our Treat!

Happy Halloween everybody! We're handing out Monster Munch, our favorite British baked corn snack, to those specially dressed kid-os tonight! With a flavor somewhere between a funyun and a dill pickle, these crunchy chips are just as unique as some of the costumes you'll surely see this Halloween.  

The Bloody Devil

It's Halloween weekend! You know what that means... booze, candy, and an excuse to dress up like a slut some dead celebrity (never too soon!). As for the the typical Halloween libation, you'll surely encounter some weird sherbert-y punch that's just one sugar cube short of giving you the worst hangover in your life - if you haven't already set yourself up for it. But your friends will definitely hate you if you do that. C'mon dude, seriously, they're better than that. This ain't no high school prom. (Unless it's some sort of zombie prom, then it's totally acceptable)

So why not treat them to something nice like this super special ghoulish cocktail - it's got CANDY INFUSED VODKA! Hot Tamales soaked overnight in grain alcohol turns whatever cheap vodka you use into something amazing. It's bright red and has notes of spicy cinnamon and finishes with semi-sweetness. Our tangy blood orange soda doesn't just work perfectly for this Halloween cocktail because of it's name, but because it evens out the bite from the candied liquor. So yeah, come get yourself some.

The Bloody Devil

Ingredients

1 part Blood Orange Soda

1 part of Hot Tamale Infused Vodka

(Drop 10 Hot Tamale Candies into a flask of vodka, shake, let sit overnight)

1 part seltzer

1 lemon wedge

Directions

Combine all ingredients over ice and finish with seltzer. Squeeze a wedge of lemon and stir.

European Gummy Candies

Since Halloween is right around the corner, we figured that we should feature some of our favorite gummy candies from around the world. These bagged delights are just as beautiful, tasty, and unique on the inside as they are on the outside of the package. So whether you're more of salty and spicy licorice-lover, or more of a fruity and tangy kind of person, then we've got you covered. Here's the lowdown on some of our favorite treats.

To begin, let's talk about Bassetts Jelly Babies!

• Jelly Babies, originally called Peace Babies in an effort to end World War I, are sugary gelatinous baby figures that each have their own name and shape. They're sweet to the taste and feature delightful flavors from lime and blackcurrant. They were even said to be a favorite of George Harrison!

• Rowntrees Fruit Pastilles, which are sugar-coated fruit flavored jelly disks, are absolutely irresistible! With flavors of lime, lemon, strawberry, orange, and blackcurrant, and made from real fruit juice, you just bite the big one and chew 'em!

• Haribo Fruit Salad, which are also dusted in sugar, feature delicious flavors like grapefruit, passion fruit, cherry, lemon, lime, and orange. These funky-shaped gummy fruits are not overly sweet and not too sugary, so you won't feel guilty about consuming an entire bag (at least we didn't!). I guess you could say that they are sort of a healthy snack... sort of.

• Katjes Kinder, known for it's cat-shaped appearance, is a hard black candy that is made from real licorice root extract. With a unique flavor isn't overpowering, these German candies are definitely pleasing to the taste buds. Though technically not a hard candy, whether you chew or suck on them is said to be personal preference; no matter what, method you choose - the taste will be memorable.

• Katjes Katzen Pfötchen, which are similar to the aforementioned licorice, are made with a perfect blend of natural herbs and spices. These cat-paw-shaped chews are soft and spicy with the perfect balance of sweet and salty licorice flavor. An absolute must for a licorice lover.

• Saure Johannisbeeren, a tart sugar coated chewy candy, has a ridiculously strong and sour redcurrant flavor. This sweet and sour combination is strange and a little bit overpowering at first but after you eat just one, they surprisingly become completely addicting!

• Yogurt Gums, which are Katjes number one candy, have not changed their recipe since they were first made in 1971 - except for the elimination of unnatural extracts which happened way long ago. Made with a mixture of fruit concentrate and yogurt powder, the delicious flavors of these creamy delights are strawberry, cherry, raspberry, lemon,  pear and sometimes blueberry!

The Spicy Ginger

Alright guys, one week until Halloween! That means it's time to get your costumes ready and more importantly, time to get your alcohol tolerance levels way, way up there. No more of this weak shit. You've gotta be able to party all night and still stay in character - except when the cops try and talk to you, then it's time to run act like you're completely sober and maybe just mildly creepy. So to help you along the way, we've mixed up a spicy and devilish drink that will have you acting real sassy.

The Spicy Ginger

Ingredients

2 oz Fentiman's Ginger Beer

2 oz Migliorelli apple cider

2 oz spiced rum

*cinnamon sticks for garnish*

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a pot and bring to a simmer. Turn heat to low and serve to all your thirsty guests. Throw a cinnamon stick in their cup for some extra fanciness.

Recipe: The Pickleback

For our first Friday Get-Fucked-Up Special, we’re making Picklebacks. This one’s easy. All you need is a jar of Mcclure’s Pickles and a Bottle of your favorite whiskey. And if you’re a badass, do it right and use the Spicy Spears. The acidity from the pickle brine totally kills the burn from the whiskey and it tastes good, too! This is totally not a homeless person thing, I swear.

The Pickleback

 

Ingredients

1.5 oz of McClure’s Pickle Juice (or Brine)

1.5 oz of Whiskey

Directions

Pour each ingredient into a shot glass. Slam the whiskey and chase it with the pickle juice. Repeat.

Tarentaise Grilled Cheese

There's never a bad time to eat a grilled cheese, but I'd argue that autumn is an exceptionally good time. Why? There's something about the chilly air and dark evenings that inspires cravings for the ooey, gooey, and cheesy. And big, creamy bowls of tomato soup.

We did some delicious, pseudoscientific experimenting and found that our Tarentaise, a firm, grassy, and buttery cow's milk cheese, makes an awesome grilled cheese. It melts perfectly, while still maintaining its assertive flavor. We found that the cheese was best complimented with a little sweetness, which is why we like to add a layer of caramelized onions between the cheese and bread.

Here's a quick recipe for an oniony, buttery, cheesy grilled cheese.

Ingredients:

Two slices of sour dough bread, Roberta's butter (softened), caramelized onions, Tarentaise cheese (sliced into thin slivers)

1. Butter the outside of two slices of sourdough.

2. Spread a layer of caramelized onions on one slice. On the other, layer as much cheese as your digestive system can handle.

3. Grill on a panini press, until outside is golden and cheese is super melty.

4. Slice in half, eat with tomato soup or whatever you want. Go jump in a pile of leaves.

Almdudler, Austrian Soda

We're very pleased to once again carry our favorite Austrian soft drink, Almdudler limonade. With a flavor somewhere between an herbal gingerale and lemon-lime soda, Almdudler has fast become our go-to sugar fix. Try it out!!!

The Fine Cheese Co. Chive Crackers & Fromage De Meaux

With the extensive amount of cheese and crackers at The Dep, it's hard to narrow down the pairing options. Because this can sometimes be a little overwhelming, we've started carrying a new line of flavorful English crackers that just so happen to share their expert knowledge right on the box. Yep, that's right. The Fine Cheese Co. not only tells you which cheese to pair with what cracker, but it also gives you a glimpse into what the crackers themselves look like. So next time you're in a rush to get to a dinner party, or just too exhausted and need a little pick me up - check out this new delightfull line.

In the picture above, we did a sampling in the shop and paired our bloomy Fromage De Meaux with some of the crispy and flaky Chive Crackers - it was an absolutely delicious and well-balanced combination.

And if you're looking for something to pair with some hard, nutty, and salty cheese like our Parmigiano-Reggiano or the oh-so-robust Pecorino Toscano Stagionato Dop. Then you'll want to try the Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Sea Salt Crackers. Or maybe you're in the mood for some our softer cheeses like a nice little bijou or our triple cream delicacy - the Brilliant Savrarin. If that's the case, then you should try the light and airy Rosemary crackers that are laced with this aromatic herb. And if those aren't doing it for you, and you want something in the middle, like a Comte or Gruyere, then you'll definitely want to try the Basil speckled crackers which pair perfectly with the supple, fruity, and nutty flavors that are present in these raw cow's milk cheeses.

Fancy a Drink?

How about a fancy drink? Here's a recipe for our new favorite gin drink, made with Belvoir Farms Elderflower Cordial: to mix one, combine equal parts Hendrick's (or another floral gin) and elderflower cordial over ice, top with soda water, and garnish with a lemon slice. What better way to start your weekend?

Satur Farms Fingerling Potatoes

Tweet We love the sweet, buttery flavor of Satur Farms fingerling potatoes, and have had a lot of fun coming up with different ways to use them. Below are recipes for some of our favorites. Let us know how it goes (or if you have any brilliant ideas of your own) in the comments!

Herb Roasted Fingerling Potatoes Preheat your oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, combine 1 box of fingerlings with 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary, thyme, tarragon, or lavender (if using dried herbs, only use 1 tablespoon or less), and salt and pepper to taste. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet, and roast until tender and fragrant, about 35 minutes.

French-Style (vinegar based) Potato Salad Ingredients: 1 box fingerling potatoes 2 TBS good olive oil 2 TBS white wine vinegar 2 TBS Dijon mustard 2 TBS very finely diced red onion (about 1/2 of a small onion) 2 TBS small capers 1/4 cup cornichons, sliced thin 1/2 cup breakfast radishes, sliced thin Salt and pepper as needed

Set a large pot of salted water to boil. Add potatoes and cook until fork-tender. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, combine equal parts white wine vinegar, Dijon, and olive oil to make the dressing. We use about 2 tablespoons of each per 1 box of potatoes, but you can use more or less depending on your taste. When potatoes have cooled enough to handle, chop roughly and toss with the dressing in a large bowl.  Add other ingredients and stir to combine. Allow the salad to rest for 30 minutes or so before serving, to let the flavors soak into the potatoes.

Provençal Potato Salad

Ingredients: 1 box Satur Farms fingerling potatoes 2 TBS good olive oil 1 TBS champagne or white wine vinegar 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard Salt & pep to taste 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved 1/4 cup small capers, drained 1 package Satur Farms heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved 2 TBS fresh italian parsley, chopped

Set a large pot of salted water to boil. Add potatoes and cook until fork-tender. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, combine the olive oil, vinegar, and dijon. While the potatoes are still warm, toss with the dressing and a little salt and pepper. Allow to rest for a few minutes so dressing can soak into the warm potatoes. (If you want to, you can halve potatoes before this step.) When potatoes have cooled, toss with the rest of the ingredients. Delicious alongside a thinly sliced steak! Optional add-ins: 2 TBS basil chiffonade or lightly blanched haricots verts.

David Chang's Lucky Peach

Need a good read? We now carry our favorite new food magazine, Lucky Peach. The first issue of David Chang's quarterly features writing by the likes of Anthony Bourdain and Ruth Reichl, in 174 full color pages all about ramen. Retails for $10. Hope you like it as much as we do!!! Check out reviews here.