Thanksgiving Memories

Wow, what a feast!  Ed did a 14 lb. beer can turkey on the grill and it was the moistest bird ever we ever ate. Ed used a Foster's Lager to shove up the bird and seasoned the outside with a cajun mixture of Gator Sprinkles (from the Gator Hammock Co.) and some butter and basted the bird throughout the 3 1/2 hour cooking process and it was scrumptious. Contrary to what you might think, the bird does not taste like beer at all.  The hops and barley in the beer evaporate into the bird and keep it soooooooo moist.  Even the leftovers were moist and tonight we're making turkey pot pie with all kinds of vegetables and gravy and of course Bisquick on the top.  We're even making a couple extra's for the freezer without the bisquick so we can enjoy it later in the season.  After all, winter hasn't begun and we've gotten quite a bit of snow already so we're expecting a long and cooler than normal season this year. Of course there was stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon and feta cheese, cranberry sauce and pumkin cheesecake for desert. The day after the holiday, we didn't even eat we were so stuffed. 

Well we hope you all had a warm holiday with the people you love and don't forget, we need your recipes for our book we're putting together. We give you the credit so include your name and hometown.

More Recipes Please!!!

Pre-Thanksgiving greetings!

We just had to share with you the excitement from a call we just received.  It seems a few weeks ago we had some wonderful customers in the store (our customers are the best) and they were getting recipe ideas and taste testing various products and it turns out there was a cooking contest coming up. It turns out that gentleman who was taste testing with Ed, Ross Jenkins, took an idea and made an award winning recipe.  He called us this afternoon to say thank you and when asked what he made, he won for biscuits and gravy.  But not just any ordinary biscuits and gravy.  He used Lizano Salsa from Costa Rica in the recipe and won first prize.  We got so excited when he called we had to share it with y'all. Congratulations Ross and thanks for the call.  Those of you who use Lizano know what a special taste it is.  Contrary to belief, it has no heat to it at all and they put it on their tables in Costa Rica like we put ketchup on our restaurant tables.  It's concocted from all vegetables (cauliflower mainly) and has a wonderful flavor of cumin, turmeric and other natural ingredients.  It's the best pulled pork sauce I've ever used and it's great on Oyster shooters, eggs, red beans & rice and about 3,000 other things.  Check out the recipe section on our website and you'll see many of our favorite uses listed. 

It's so exciting to get get that feedback from our customers that we had to share it.  As we get closer to the holidays and the "season of food" don't forget our wonderful pepper jelly's (served over cream cheese or a warmed brie with crackers is amazing). We've got lots of recipe ideas and if you need any help coming up with something new and unusual for a family gathering, just shoot us an e-mail and we'll share more ideas.  We're working on a SJHS cookbook too so don't forget to share your recipes and include your name and hometown so we can give you the credit. 

As we move into the end of November the weather forecasters are calling for lowland snow possibly this weekend.  Stay warm and keep the recipes coming our way. 

Have a great week!
~~Eddie & Genie~~

Monday Greetings 11/8/10

Good Monday Morning All,

Hope you all had a great weekend. The weather on the island continues to get a little colder although we've had a really nice run of sun breaks.  We typically only get about 1/3 of the rain that Seattle does and a lot of people don't know that about the islands which make it a pretty nice place to visit any time of year.  Business is a little slow but we expect that this time of year. While our internet sales continue to be brisk, we are signing up more and more people up for the Hot Sauce of the Month Club.  This weekend was full of activities as our little community offers a wide variety of things to do.  On Saturday night we went to a play at the Legion called "Only a Ridgeline Away" about 2 long time Vietnam War veterans and their lifelong camaraderie.  It was very moving evoking many emotions throughout.  One of the lead characters, Capt. Michael Mooney was played by Genie's boss, Mr. Anthony Vivenzio (on the left in the picture)  and really saw an incredible acting job done by the entire cast and crew. The plans are to take this production on a national tour and we highly recommend it if you get the chance to see it. Check out the write up below.

Playwright and Friday Harbor resident Miguel Herbert describes Only a Ridgeline Away as "a cross between Grumpy Old Men and One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. It is my goal, through this play, to give audience members a look at the astounding level of friendship experienced among men who have served together in combat."

  The principal characters, Matt Slater and Michael T. Mooney, are Vietnam combat veterans and lifelong best friends. While in their 50s they made a pact: when they needed to transition into a care facility, they would be together. The time has come.

Herbert says the play is full of both drama and plenty of zany antics. “The one thing that kept me from going bonkers in Vietnam was my three close friends. Two of us were fortunate enough to make it home. It is my goal, through this stage play, to give audience members a look at the astounding level of friendship experienced among men who have served together in combat.”

Have a good week and as always we love hearing from you guys.

Eddie & Genie Williams

Another Fantastic Recipe Idea

Ed came up with this one the other night and it was sooooooo good, I ended up using the sauce the next night on homemade pizza's. Yes, Ed even made the dough from scratch and I must say they were the yummiest pizza's we ever ate.

Anyway, Ed dreamed up a twist on Chicken Cacciatore and we have to share it.  You'll see it on the website soon too!

Ingredients (not exaxt, you can improvise)

3-4 skin on chicken breasts (he left the skin on for crispy browning. Thighs work well too)

1/2 bottle Ring of Fire Garden Fresh Chili Sauce (Yep, we got it!)
1/4 cup Canola or Vegetable Oil
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3-4 cloves of garlic minced (I love using my Magic Bullet to chop the garlic)
1 Onion - Diced (We used a white onion for a mellow flavor)
1 Red Bell Pepper - Cut into thin slices
1 Green Bell Pepper - Cut into thin slices
Wondra (or flour for thickening)

Heat canola or vegetable oil until hot and carefully add chicken and sear both sides until browned. Remove chicken, place on a place with paper towels to absorb oil and keep in warm oven while preparing sauce.

Heat EVOO until hot and add garlic, onions and peppers cook until warmed through but still crunchy.  Add Ring of Fire Garden Fresh Chili Sauce and heat slowly until all ingredients are incorporated.  Sauce will be thin so you you can thicken it at this point.

Ed served the chicken on angel hair pasta and put the sauce over it and boy it was yummy.  We made some garlic bread to sop up all the sauce and it sure was tasty.   I loved the sauce so much that I made Ed make up some pizza dough the next night and used this sauce on the pizza's with more peppers/sausage and pepperoni and plenty of cheese of course.  Enjoy!