5282(JAVA)
BAKE MORE!
StopbytheCreameryCheeseShop 734.929.05003723PlazaDr. www.zingermanscreamery.com
Events
Well teach you how to make our super gingery whole wheat graham crackers. Then well have fun making both vanilla and chocolate marshmallows as well as tell you how to make up your own flavors. Join us and increase the flavor of your smores by 100%.
Thistastingsellsoutearly,bookyourseatnow. Call734-663-3400.
Zingermans Turns 30
Lets celebrate our 30th anniversary with a few of the most popular Zingermans treats. Well make long time best-sellers Jewish rye bread and Magic Brownies and a new fave, hummingbird cake. Well serve sandwich fixins from the Deli to go with your bread and end the class with iconic Zingermans treatsa sandwich, a pickle, a brownie and a toast to 30 years of great customers.
Auchie Semos
Fun! Fun! Fun! Its got chicken! Its got spinach! Its got our great garlic hummus! And with sliced old pickles on a grilled paesano roll, its got a crunch thatll have you making up words to a Beach Boys song! $10.99/onesize
BLC Platter
A trio of our top-notch traditional treats rolled out before you on a single plate! A warm & buttery cheese-filled blintz, a crispy potato latke, and a scoop of our chopped liver which we still make according to Aris grandmothers recipe. A slice of rye bread, as well as sour cream and preserves, will help you take action steps to mix, match, and expand your own Deli favorites! $12.99/onesize
In the late 1800s Hungary enjoyed a coffeehouse culture of delicious fancy tortes and great coffee. Philosophers, artists, musicians and politicians gathered in coffeehouses to share ideas and camaraderie while eating cake! Well teach you to make two of the classics. Rig Jancsia chocolate rum sponge cake filled with chocolate whipped cream, iced with chocolate ganache and Esterhzy Cakewalnut meringue layers with vanilla cream icing. Its a classic sold at all traditional Hungarian bakeries. Checkoutthefullschedule®ister forclassesat
www.bakewithzing.com
3723 Plaza Drive 734.929.6060
Roadhouse Special Dinners are 5-course family-style affairs with a little history and a LOT of food featuring writers, chefs, authors and more from our own community and all around the country.
For reservations to all events stop by 2501 Jackson Ave. or call 734.663.3663 (FOOD) or online at www.zingermansroadhouse.com
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For this annual Roadhouse dinner, we welcome author Audrey Petty, born and raised in Chicago and currently a Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to the 7th Annual African American Dinner. Audrey will share her stories and poetry of the African American community through a traditional and full-flavored meal prepared by Chef Alex.
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Zingermans Food Tours has teamed up with Gioacchino Passalaqua, an Italian artisanal food exporter, cook, gastronome, tour guide, adventurer, and native Sicilian. Through his company, Attavola, Gioacchino has developed relationships with artisanal food producers, restaurateurs, olive oil companies, chocolatiers, vintners, and confectioners all over Italy. The food of Sicily is outstanding both in the quality of its ingredients and in the incredible variety of traditional dishes you will find there. Chef Alex will collaborate with Gioacchino to create a traditional Sicilian menu, full of rich flavors, pasta, meats and cheeses.
The Roadhouse is a great place to celebrate the holidays with your friends, family and co-workers. We can accommodate groups up to 40 in one of our dining rooms or we have a private room that seats up to 80 people. On a budget this holiday season? Whether you are bringing in 8 people or 80, we can work together to create a menu that fits your budget and tastes great.
Call 734.929.0331 or email rhcatering@zingermans.com to book your holiday event at the Roadhouse!
Holiday Tasting
Sunday,December181-3pmFree!
Stop by and taste a few of our coffees as we demonstrate the different brewing devices we have in the shop. Or stop in and shop for the coffee geek in your life.
Openfrom9:00amto9:00pm,servingaNewYearsDay brunchuntil2:00pm.Reservations encouraged. The Roadshow will open at 9:00 am on New Years Day.
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Available in a holiday gift bag at Zingermans Delicatessen and in our classic tin at www.zingermans.com or 888.636.8162.
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Ca$hew Cow
Freshly roasted cashews and cashew brittle with milk chocolate gianduja enrobed in dark chocolate.
Wowza
Raspberry chocolate ganache, raspberry nougat and raspberry chewy candies.
Chewy, crunchy, sweet, salty and highly addictive this luscious handmade candy bar puts the vending machine stuff to shame.
O magazine, September 2011
Holiday Cocktails
Getinthecelebratoryspirit withourholidaycocktails TheFrench75
A staff favorite, the French 75 was created in 1915 at Harrys New York Bar in Paris. It was said to pack a punch like a French 75mm howitzer. Gin, champagne and lemon make this a sure-fire party starter.
TerrasTranscendentCoffeeBar
A delicious ending for your party. Our very own fresh-roasted coffee accompanied by Calder Dairy whipped cream, chocolate shavings, vanilla syrup and housemade Scharffen Berger chocolate syrup.
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Its become a tradition now that each autumn I put together a list of my favorite foods of the year. Of course, its next to impossible for me to nail the listthere are so many great things to talk about (and eat!) around here that no matter what I write about, its inevitable that within a week of this piece going to print Ill think of at least five more that I forgot. What follows are all foods Ive been eating regularly, with great relish, in recent months. I cant guarantee that youll like them all as much as I do, but I can say with certainty that Ive had a great time eating every one of them, and, in writing them up for the newsletter, Ive ended up even more excited than I was when I started. Everything on the list is, of course, available for you to taste at our businesses in Ann Arbor. And if you want to a have a little honest fun, you can make some time to treasure hunt for yourself and find all the great things I forgot to include.
I could go on and on and on (which is what I can honestly say is true for the finish of the vinegar, too), but space is limited. Its not inexpensive so this probably isnt everyday eating but it would be a truly superb gift for anyone who loves food. This is one of the best things Ive tasted in ten years. In fact, these vinegars are so good that I think Im ready to take things a step beyond where theyve been. The idea of sipping or drinking vinegars has become fairly common in our end of the food world. But this stuff is what Im starting to think should be called kissing vinegarnot to make anyone blush, but, truly, kissing anyone who just sipped it would be a pretty sensual experience.
I want to start this piece with an apology. Im sorry that I waited so long to bring these vinegars to the Deli. These amazing vinegars are some of THE best new things to arrive in a long, long time. The story behind them and the flavor of the vinegars in each bottle are both, to my knowledge, unique. Most definitely worth taking notice of more quickly than I did. I think that I first tried the Rozendal vinegars three years ago at a food show. Their exceptional flavor caught my attention right off, but I think the fact theyre flavored made me doubt myself. I tried them again the next year and was still impressed but . . . again, I held back and failed to act on my instinct. We have a lot of good vinegars, and I let my purist streak get in the way. Finally, this summer I tasted them for yet a third time with folks at the Deli and Mail Order, and I was still impressed. I finally gave in. Im glad I finally got goingthese are some pretty exceptional bottles of vinegar. Theyre made by the Ammann family in Stellenbosch on the southwest coast of South Africa. Long a grape grower and wine producer, Kurt Ammann took the family farm organic in 1994. He went even further by going biodynamic back in 2001. Nothing in a biodynamic setting is taken for granted, from the method of conversion from wine to deciding not to pasteurize (to protect the positive acetobacters), to spending many years of patient maturation, to carefully selecting herbs and flowers for the infusion into the vinegar. All of which has been translated into a truly spectacular and unique set of vinegars; so good I really could drink these by the shot glass. The vinegars start with natural conversion of the Ammanns already well-made and nicely matured wines. The move to vinegar is a process that alone takes many months. Natural conversion protects the flavors of the wine and also the natural health benefits of the vinegar. The herbs are then added to the vinegar and the infusions are allowed to mature another four or five years. The total maturation is about 12 years, all done in oak barrels. The results, as I said, are superb! Theyre so good that you canand I have a number of timessip them straight from the bottle. Theyve got big, slightly tingly, subtly sweet, fantastic flavors with great complexity and very, very long, very lovely, finishes. The Ammanns are very adamant about the health benefits of raw vinegar like this and draw on centuries of data to back up their claims. Either of the two varieties we have at the Deli would do. The Fynbos Vinegar is infused with an array of the regions herbs and flowerSouth African honeybush, buchu, wild olive, wild rosemary, and rose geranium. Im worried now that Ive started sipping I might drink the whole bottle. Like sipping a super long-aged bourbon, theres a loveliness, a long lingering sweetness, vanilla undertones from the oak, a succulence and smoothness . . . thats hard to explain. The hibiscus vinegar is equally excellent. Its got elderflower, rosehip and vanilla.
Last year Zingermans Candy Manufactory managing partner Charlie Frank emerged from his Wonka-like workshop with this extremely fantastic peanut brittle. Right out of the gate this stuff was great. I know that this sounds a bit over the top but the truth is that literally almost everyone who eats it has loved it. Many around here are actively admitting to having eaten a half a bag in a single sitting. Its simple reallybrown sugar, the same Jumbo Runner peanuts that are in the Zzang! bars, some butter. He cooks it over the stove and pulls it by hand when its just the right temperature to get the perfect brittle texture. Simple but damn if its not good. Really good. Really, really good. Next time youre at the Roadhouse or Deli, ask to have some crumbled on top of your gelato!
beautiful loaves to get me through the next week. Bigger loaves, quite simply, have a better, moister texture. And they taste better. Somehow, though I cant explain the science; theres just something thats noticeably nicer, a touch chewier, and somehow significantly more rewarding than eating from the also very, very good smaller loaves. And, kept in the paper bag we pack them in, the big loaves last easily for a week or longer. Then theres my affection for caraway. For some reason, I like the little seeds more and more with each passing year. Theres something about the aromatics, the small hint of anise it offers and the almost-but-not-quite-fennelly flavor that makes the rye all the more interesting to me. A chunk ripped from a fresh loaf and eaten, as is, is really a pretty marvelous thing. Better still, thick cut slices spread with a lot of butter. Add some good jam and youve seriously got a world-class breakfast in about two minutes. The same slice is equally excellent with a thick layer of the Creamerys old style, no vegetable gum, no preservatives cream cheese. And of course, its all also amazing if you toast the breadits almost worth toasting for the aroma alone. And, last but definitely not least, theres the obvious opportunity to use it for sandwiches of all sorts. Great for grilled cheese and, of course, on the classic corned beef or pastrami sandwich. [If youre going the butter route, try the Irish Kerrygold cultured butter in the silver foil wrappermade only when the cows are grazing in the pastures which makes for a noticeably more flavorful, more golden in color (more beta carotene), softer-textured butter. Because the cream is allowed to properly ripenas per rarely used traditional techniquesthe butter develops a fuller flavor. Really remarkable stuff.] As a bread lover, seriously, I cant think of a better gift than a 2-kilo loaf beautifully wrapped in nice paper and tied with a string. Save the sweatersIll take bread any day!
This is one of the most popular new desserts weve done at the Roadhouse in a long, long time. Ethereally light espresso mousse served in a cappuccino cup, topped with a thin layer of dark chocolate and a dollop of real whipped cream. Like an elegant cup of coffee and dessert all in one!
Ive written so much about these two of late that Im wary of overdoing it. Ive literally eaten couscous or harissa almost every week for the last two years, and Ive yet to tire of either. To the contrary, the more I eat them the more I want to eat them. Both are easy to use and easy to like. Theyre great togethera bowl of hot couscous and a spoonful of harissa to mix into it is fast food at its best. If somehow youve missed my ongoing oration of the last few years on these terrific Tunisian products, let me review things very briefly here. Both the couscous and the harissa come to us from the Mahjoub familys farm, about an hour outside of Tunis, in the small town of Tebourba. The family itself is fantastic. They are truly passionate about all things Tunisian, intent on spreading the word about their countrys special history. All the familys products are organic. They grow the wheat for the couscous on the farm, mill it, make the resulting semolina flour into couscous, rolling each small round by hand, then dry it all slowly and naturally in the sun. Mhamsa, actually means by hand. When you cook it your whole kitchen will smell like wheat. Its also incredibly easy to do, so easy that I was skeptical when we first started stocking it four years ago. But sure enough, all you do is use 1 parts water for 1 part couscous. Salt the water lightly, bring it to a boil, the add the couscous. Stir, cover, turn off the heat altogether, and just let the couscous steam in the pot for
Americas very best rye? No contest. It comes from Zingermans Bakehouse. Jane and Michael Stern
Jane and Michael Stern rated the Bakehouses rye bread the best in the country this past spring in Saveur magazine. Having long respected their palates, read their articles, listened to their radio shows and known them for many years now, I was really happy to have their support. But in honesty, what they were saying is what Ive already long since believed to be truethe Jewish rye at the Bakehouse has been pretty amazing since we started making it back in 1992. And for whatever reasons of technique, nuance, and delicate touch, it seems to just keep on getting better and better with each passing year. If you havent been to the Bakehouse or the Deli, we do a whole range of ryesone we call Jewish rye (without the caraway seeds), a caraway rye, and one with onions. My favorite this year though has very clearly been the caraway rye, in particular the really large 2-kilo loaves that we only make on Fridays. Friday, if you didnt already know, is Ryeday. And pretty much every Friday I try to get a quarter or half of one of those big,
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about 12 minutes. It should come out light, almost fluffy once you move it around a bit with a fork. Couscous is, of course, basically a form of Berber (the native peoples of North Africa) pasta. It fit well with their nomadic lifestyle, allowing them to transport and eat wheat regularly throughout the year. If you love pasta (as I do) youll pretty likely love the couscous. It can be a main course, a side dish, or a salad. Top it with anything from a simple tomato sauce to meat, fish, and vegetables. You can add it as well to soups or stews. Cooked with milk, cinnamon and a bit of sugar you have a porridge to take the place of rice pudding. The harissa is excellent on pretty much anything you can imagine. Its made from three different chiles, tomatoes, and garlic all organic, all sun-driedground to a paste and then blended with the Mahjoubs organic extra virgin olive oil, a touch of caraway, some sea salt. I like it a lot on eggs, on sandwiches, added to tomato sauces, mixed with mayonnaise for a dipping sauce, mixed with yogurt and then tossed with chickpeas and baked. Its great in cream cheeseyou can serve it that way for a snack, hors doeuvres, or on a toasted bagel. Toss it in really good, justcooked pasta (couscous or one of our other artisan offerings), serve it next to broiled fish, roasted meat of any sort, or just add a spoonful to a vegetable soup. All, truly, are terrific. If opposites often attract, it would make sense that the harissa would be a natural partner for the couscous. The latter is mellow, nutty, wheaty, a beautiful golden color, with a soft flavor that can support most any sauce. The harissa by contrast, is forward, fast paced, spicy, wildly intriguing, a deep, bold red and intense flavor that will never, ever go unnoticed. The harissa is so exceptionally good that Id put it on pretty much any list of bests you asked me to put together. If you know anyone who loves spicy food, stick a jar of this in their stocking. And if you know anyone who likes to cook, give them a jar of the couscous. If you really like them, give them one of each. They will, I promise, thank you for many years to come. And for what its worth, that promise is not speculationIve given both as gifts dozens of times and I think that everyone Ive given them too has quickly confessed to being as addicted to the two as I am. P.S. if youre wary of the spiciness of the harissa, take home a jar of the Mahjoubs sun-dried tomato paste instead. Basically it inverts the ratio of chiles and tomatoes. With the sun-dried tomato taking top billing, the heat is very secondary. You can use it in all the same ways and it is always super fantastically good. P.P.S. the Mahjoubs also make spectacular sun-dried (truly dried in the sun which almost no one else does any more) tomatoes, incredible Tunisian tomato sauces, orange marmalade, preserved lemons (aged six months in salt brine barrels out in the sun) and amazing naturally cured (for over a year) olives. All are outstanding.
Mandelbread is anything but new. Its been a staple of Eastern European Jewish eating for centuries and a regular item at the Bakehouse for fifteen years or so. For whatever reason, I have a tendency to take mandelbread for granted. Maybe its the long history, the fact that I grew up with it being in the house with a high degree of regularity. Or maybe I forget about it because I dont eat a lot of sweets. Or because so much of the worlds mandelbread is, unfortunately, rather unremarkable. The good news is that literally almost every time I taste a piece of it, Im reminded how incredibly good the Bakehouse version really is. Basically you could start calling mandelbread Jewish biscotti. Butter, fresh orange and lemon zest, lots of whole toasted almonds, and real vanilla. We make them the old-fashioned way, forming a long loaf, baking it once, then slicing it crosswise and baking each slice once more again so it turns a nice golden brown on top. Finally each slice is then turned over again and baked in a final third position. (Most commercial versions are sliced before they even start baking, which changes the texture and flavor of the finished cookie.) Theyre great on their own, with coffee or tea, or perfect for an easy, light after-dinner treat. You can also dip them into sweet wine (like the Tuscan Vin Santo) as well. On top of all that sweet goodness, theyre now packaged in a really nice new box, which I happen to love almost as much as I love the mandelbread. Makes them not only taste good, but also turns them into a super easy to give gift.
If you like peanut butter and you like ice cream, youre pretty sure to love this stuff. A pound of the Koeze familys amazing peanut butter in every batch . . . . its pretty great stuff. I couldnt resist the nearly obvious opportunity to top a scoop with a spoonful of American Spoon strawberry jam for the dessert equivalent of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
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Ive long loved good sardines. Im happy to have them in pretty much any form I can get them. When I can get them (we have them at the Roadhouse at times), fresh ones are fantastic. Top notch tinned sardines are equally superb. Those, I try to have on hand all the time. They are one of the ultimate convenience foods. Canning was actually started first with sardines in an effort by Napoleon to feed the troops out on the front lines. I regularly open a can and put them on salads, sandwiches, and pasta dishes. Unlike the fresh fish, the tinned sardines never go bad so theres no reason not to carry a high level of inventory. In fact, they actually get better with age. Im particularly excited right now because weve just gotten in a couple of types from France to add to our already really good sardine selection. Fished only in the summer months (which is officially sardine season) off the coast of Brittany using small old school nets (to protect the delicate flesh), the sardines are brought back to port that night to maintain freshness. Theyre then cleaned, very lightly fried in olive oil, tinned up with additional olive oil and then finished by being cooked inside the tin. When you open the can youll find four or five beautiful, silverskinned sardines carefully lined up inside. A bit denser in texture than the also terrific offerings were getting right now from Portugal, these French sardines are very meaty, herbaceous and just darned delicious. Better still Id say are the aged sardines were getting from the same folks in France. Each tin has four beautiful, big (for a tin at least) sardines, caught, cooked and packed as above, but then put aside to mature for three years. As the months pass, the olive oil penetrates to the center of the sardine, making them even more delicious than they were to begin with. Delicacy that they are, I like to eat the aged sardines in simple waysnext to a small green salad or with some toast topped with a bit of butter or extra virgin olive oil. A sprinkling of sea salt seals the deal. Here, Breton fleur de sel would be geographically correct, and its delicate texture would be a good compliment for the sardines.
Its been about two years now that weve been bringing these amazing nuts in from the West Coast. In that time theyve given me a whole new take on hazelnuts. While Id always liked them just fine, outside of what Id had in northern Italy, I cant say that Id ever come across any that drew me in the way so many other foods have over the years. All thats changed. Now that Im hooked up with Freddy Guys, I almost never go without hazelnuts. I keep them in my house to toss on salads or to add to rice or pasta dishes. And I pretty frequently take them in my bag when I traveltheyre a great way to get protein and great flavor all in one, easily transportable form. Freddy Guys is a family run farm. Fritz and Barb Foulke are growing an old variety called Barcelona that was brought first to New Jersey, where it didnt do very well, before eventually being loaded on wagons and hauled out west. The climate in Oregon is, apparently, very similar to that of the Piedmont in northern Italy, which is like the world headquarters for hazelnuts. All the Freddy Guys nuts are roasted to order; when we get them theyre literally only about a week or so out of the small Italian roasting machine that the Foulkes have on the farm. Theyre really as simple as can be, and all the better for it. No salt, no oil, no nothing; just great nuts shelled and given a light roast. Theyre really good and they go with most anythingchop and put em onto fresh cut fruit, gelato, cake or cookies. Accessorize salads and pastas; or if youre getting into more complex cooking, theyd be great in a Catalan picada, ground up along with fresh garlic, and really good olive oil.
Although weve been making it for a good ten years now the Bostock really does seem to be one of the best kept secrets at the Bakehouse. I know it has a loyal following but its yet to get the level of attention I think it deserves. It really is amazing stuff, but unlike muffins, croissants, danishes and donuts its hardly a well-known way to start ones day. There are a handful of spots around the world that make it but not many, so maybe the word is starting to get out. Sara Kate Gillingham, on her amazing website thekitchn.com described the Bostock as a, syrup-soaked, frangipane-topped, crispy-edged ode to breakfast glory. Id say its a little bit like a really good almond croissant thats come back to life in a dense, round, but still equally delicious and almost otherworldly good new existence. Bostocks start with a piece of Bakehouse all-butter brioche. Its brushed with orange infused simple syrup, topped with a layer of frangipane (ground almonds and sugar), and then more toasted slivered almonds. If youre ready to liven up your morning routine, seriously ask for a taste of this stuff at the Bakehouse bakeshop or the Delis Next Door Caf.
While Im on the subject of aged tinned fish I should tell you about the really delicious Spanish tuna weve tracked down this fall. Its line caught albacore (known to Spaniards as bonito) from the Cantabrian Sea. We get it from the Ortiz family, whove been at this since 1891, and are known across Spain for the consistently high quality of their tinned seafood. Like the Breton sardines above, the bonito is aged right in the tin along with extra virgin olive oil. Same basic process, same really good results. For a particularly good treat, pour a bit of extra virgin olive oil on a plate. Add a few spoonfuls of harissa (if youve had the jar in the refrigerator, let it come to room temperature before you do this so it will soften up and its complex flavors will be even easier to appreciate. continued on page 6
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The third in my trio of tinned fish favorites of the moment. This time its mackerel packed with Portuguese piri-piri hot sauce. Easy to use and easy to love, like all the great tinned fish weve got on hand, this stuff is super healthy (very high in Omega-3 oils) and super convenient. Fast food at its finest!
house (poppy and sesame are my personal favorites), top with a generous layer of this cream cheese and youve got as good a way to start the day as I can imagine. In case you havent yet had it, this stuff is to commercial cream cheese what all those great artisan cheeses Ive written about on page 10 are to the prepacked slices of stuff that they sell in supermarkets. Come on by the Deli, Creamery, Roadhouse or Bakehouse and ask for a taste today. It is, truly, pretty terrific!
pletely hand done. Each torta is a bit different from the next, which youll see when you unwrap the waxed paper in which they arrive. Im particularly partial to the slightly dark edges that you get on a few of them. Not too sweet, great with tea or coffee, with cheese, or for a snack. I have a feeling they could be a big hit with kids and parents alikesweet enough to get you excited, not so sweet as to put you off. Again, all are made completely by hand and all are really quite excellent!
Cosmic cakes
As I was writing this I was about to head home from the Bakehouse when a family pulled up next to my car. I was loading up to leave and they were arriving but for a minute or two we were basically sharing the same space. As they gathered up their whole group (three generations it looked like) I heard one of the kids say really loudly, I know what I want. I want a mint Cosmic Cake! I was impressed. When a product that only we make, and thats only been around the Bakehouse for maybe two years, has that kind of high name recognition from a ten year old, thats a pretty great thing. One other thing I know toothat kid sure has good taste. These Cosmic Cakes are pretty terrifica couple of thin layers of chocolate cake, sandwiched around fresh butter cream fillings, then all dipped into dark chocolate. Try all four fillingsvanilla, chocolate mint, peanut butter or bananaat Zingermans Delicatessen, Bakehouse, Roadhouse or ship them from www.zingermans.com.
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I have loved piqullo peppers for so long now that I start to assume that everyone else knows them as intimately as I do. That, of course, is not the casewhile theyre far more popular in the US than ever before, Id be shocked if more then two percent of the population has ever tried one. If youve not yet had the chance, please come by and ask for a taste next time you have a spare minute. Id highly recommend adding them to your list of things to try before the end of the year. Other than when the local peppers are in season at the market, I usually go through a jar or two a week. If you dont know piquillos personally, theyre a small triangularly shaped pepper that grows up in Spains Basque Country. The best of them (which we of course go after) are still roasted over smoldering beechwood. The blackened skins are then carefully rubbed off by hand and the peppers packed with no additives of any sort; the liquid that forms in the jars is just the juice from the recently roasted peppers. piquillos are so highly prized that only farms near three dozen or so villages qualify to get the official denomination of origin that certifies authenticity. This is no small thing; over the last ten years, piquillos have probably become the most often misrepresented pepper in the world. There are actually subpar piquillos now being processed in almost every part of the globe. But the best ones still, Im adamant, come from those same small villages in the northeastern part of Spain. They have a smoky, slightly spicy, delicious, unique flavor that goes great on pretty much everything you can think of putting a roasted pepper on. What we have here is a new way to experience piquillo peppers and a pretty amazingly good one at that. piquillo pepper jelly. It is just like what it sounds: piquillo peppers from the Basque country, chopped up and cooked down with a bit of sugar. Not surprisingly, this stuff is as delicious as the peppers are on their own. A bright bold red color that reminds me of raspberry jam, you can do with this stuff anything youd do with any pepper jelly. Ive been putting it on toast thats topped with a good Spanish olive oil. Its also a great thing to use to deglaze your pan after sauting fresh scallops, or to accompany roast pork, lamb or duck. Hmmm . . . better still, Im going to try using it to deglaze a pan after I saut up some fresh pork liver. For lunch, Im thinking almond butter and piquillo pepper jelly sandwiches would be pretty superb. And of course, for one of the easiest and all time best hors doeuvres, put it atop some of that handmade cream cheese from the Creamery.
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This is one delicious and very special chocolate bar which is made by Shawn Askinosie, unquestionably one of the countrys best chocolate makers, whos working directly with cacao growers in east Africa to bring these beans to North America. I love it. Its a bit lighter, slightly softer in flavor than most of Shawns other offerings. Its definitely more cocoa-y than most of our other dark chocolate bars, with a slight hint of cinnamon with a slight bit of some other specific spice that I cant put my finger on. Shawn himself says it has hints of tobacco but I quit smoking so long ago I cant really remember what that means. Its definitely kind of creamy on the tongue. Allen, the coffee man, is adamant that he tastes banana and I agree. The main thing is, its complex and well balanced with a nice finish and it really doesnt taste like any other chocolate that Ive had. All of which, Id say, makes it well worth checking out. Without getting too simple on you, its just sort of downright delicious. Mouth watering. Clean finish. Makes me want to eat more every time I taste it.
Weve been making noodle kugel since we opened the Deli back in 1982. It was delicious then and its equally as delicious now. Its basically my grandmothers recipe but we make it with much better ingredients. Although theres no replacement for family memories and emotional connections, when it comes to flavor, the truth is that ours actually tastes far better than what she made for us when I was a kid. Egg noodles from Al Dente in Whitmore Lake, farm cheese from the Creamery, plenty of plump Red Flame raisins, and a generous does of vanilla, all blended and then baked til its a nice golden brown. Great for breakfast, lunch, dessert or really any time you just want something good to eat. And now that I think about it, since it holds up nicely wrapped, its a great bag lunch or afternoon snack as well. Im considering calling 2012 the Year of the Noodle Kugel. Ill start the trend now so you can get out in front of things.
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This is another classic that slipped off my list for far too long. Theyre so, so, so good, that blintzes really shouldnt be off anyones list for any length of time. Like the noodle kugel, we make these pretty much as my grandmother did, but, again, the ingredients we use are about eighteen times more flavorful. Thin handmade blintzes (Jewish crepes would be the standard description) folded around a filling of farm cheese from the Creamery, plenty of real vanilla (from beans, not extract), and a generous dose of chestnut honey to sweeten them. Its an impressive line up of ingredients, but the honey, for me, is what takes them over the top. Chestnut honey has a pretty remarkable, sweet, deep, almost slightly bitter flavor that brings a big round bass note to an otherwise mostly sweet dish. Served with sour cream or preserves, blintzes, like the kugel, are great for almost any settingbreakfast, lunch or a light dinner,
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What piquillos are to peppers, these prunes from Southwest France are to plums. So special that they have a demonination of origin. So good that I can eat them easily out of hand almost any time. So versatile that you can add them to almost any dish you like. Salads, stews, sauces, . . . theyd be tremendous actually in noodle kugel. Or just eaten out of hand with some of those Freddy Guys hazelnuts. If you want to do something a bit different and very delicious, try topping them with a drizzle of walnut oil before you serve. Or if youre feeling fancy for the holidays you can stuff them with a bit of mousse de foie gras. Special stuff for any one who loves dried fruit!
Our cream cheese, I know, is hardly anything new any more. Weve been making it at the Creamery for over ten years now. But every time I taste it, Im reminded how lucky I am to have it. While great cheese has become readily available all over the country (see the Wisconsin piece on page 10), for whatever reasons, old style, hand-ladled, preservative-free cream cheese like this is still almost non-existent. This is truly a taste of what luxurious eating would have been like for my grandparents generation a hundred years ago. Toast up one of those incredible handmade, board-baked bagels from the Bake-
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A specialty of southern Spain thats been ever more present on my kitchen counter over the last couple months. I havent been back to the area for a long time now, but Im speculating that these tortas are to the people of Seville what mandelbread is to Eastern European Jews. A really great little sweet you could eat almost every day, something most everyone made at home, that could carry you through a long afternoon or be a light, sweet ending to a good meal. Made in the town of Castilleja de la Cuesta, theyre lightly-leavened, crisp flatbreads made with a generous dose of olive oil, then sprinkled with a bit of coarse sugar and, in the case of our most recent arrival, also brushed with a bit of orange syrup. Unlike some of the other models on the market, these are com-
Im a huge fan of black pepper and this pepper, just arrived from the Wayanad Hills in southern India (from a single estate at about 2500 feet up) is pretty freaking fantastic. Para, who runs the project, is passionate about pepper. Hes growing two varieties: the long-shoot Panniyur and the shortshoot Karimunda. All of Paras pepper would qualify as Tellicherry, and all is also especially goodbig winey nose, lots of complex aromas and a lot of flavor. Weve got jars of it ready to gosome whole black peppercorns, some white and then also peppercorns dried on the vine. The latter in particular makes a beautiful gift.
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House of Alvarez de Toledo has been a fixture in Spanish history for something like ten centuries. I cant tell you its some romantic rags to riches storyat least for the last nine hundred years, the family has been hugely successful and has stayed that way for centuries. Best I can tell quality and care have been a part of most everything they seem to have done for hundreds of years now, and this oil is no exception. The Valdueza oil is very well made and it shows. No defects, long finish, good complexity. Its made from a unique blend of four different varietals that grow on the farm. Hojiblanca and Picual are standard varietals from southern Spain and are not uncommon out west either. The former brings a soft, warm, nutty butteriness; the latter offers hints of artichoke, green asparagus, a bit of earthiness and a touch of black pepper in the finish. Arbequina arrived in the region only recently, planted for its good yields and round soft flavor. In Extremadura, at least on the family farm, it tastes a bit different from what Ive experienced in Catalonia (where it typically comes from): less appley, more olivey. Most interesting to me, though, is the oil from the Morisca olives, which are unique to the area, offering a fair bit of pepper and interesting fruit, almost apricot in a way, with a touch of green grass and green tomato in there too. For those of you who follow these things (and there are many!), Id put the flavor profile of the finished oil in about the middle of the rangeless green than the Tuscans, less earthy than most southern Spanish Picuals. This past autumn the weather was very drynot great for yields, but generally, in my experience, very good for the flavor of the oil. As is true of all these high end, well made oils, theres a complexity and an elegance (and a commensurate higher cost) that will likely mean youll want to use it for finishingat the table drizzled on great greens from the market, on top of a bit of roasted meat or vegetables. During my visit a few years ago we had lunch at the family hunting house where they served us an entire meal in which the oil was featured in every dish. The highlight for me was the potatoes, tossed with a lot of the oil and a bit of salt, then roasted at high heat til they had a bit of a golden brown crust and a whole lot of flavor. The more I eat this oil, the more I like it, and I should add that with its distinctive pale blue label and elegant bottle, the Valdueza oil makes a pretty marvelous gift too.
The daily ritual of brewing a cup of freshly roasted and ground coffee can be as simple as a kettle of water and a filter or as detailed as a precisely made espresso. We carry some great brewers for the whole range of coffee drinkers. The equipment we carry all have three things in common: they are engineered to make GREAT coffee; they are elegant in their simplicity; they are built to last; our Technivorm and Rancilio brewers are commonly used for decades! We also have also have tools for the home barista including French presses, espresso tampers, cleaning brushes and filters. Stop in to see our full selection. Well show you how they work and even make you a cup with one.
Technivorm Moccamaster
Technivorm is simply the best electric brewer you can buy. A couple came into our shop and told us about getting a Technivorm at their wedding 30 years ago in the Netherlands, where Technivorm is headquartered. It was the first coffee maker to achieve the Specialty Coffee Association of Americas Gold Cup certification for its ability to brew at the correct temperature (198-204F) in about six minutes from beginning to end. Lesser brewers would take almost twice as long, causing the coffee to be overextracted. On the inside it is over-engineered. The massive heating coil wraps around a metal tube providing indirect heating to the water and eliminating a common source of corrosion. And heres another thing we love about Technivorm spare parts. It is so well built that in the off-chance something is damaged or lost, we stock spare parts. It is a longlife product which is better for the environment.
Chemex
This classic brewer was designed by a chemist almost 60 years ago and inspired by glass laboratory apparatus. Chemex brewers use a sightly thicker filter paper and produce a very clean cup of coffee. We carry the latest version with a glass handle blown right into the piece. (The earlier versions had a removable wooden handle.) Available in 3, 6 and 8 cup models; all sizes of Chemex filters available too.
One of the few single estate Greek oils out there (most are from co-ops) and one of my favorites right now. The Astrikas Estate is located on the northwest part of the island, about 20 something miles west of the town of Chania, the fourth village up into the hills after you turn inland from the coastal road. The farm has been in the family for a long time nowGeorge is the fifth generation to run it. The oil is made from Koroneiki olives, the small olive thats most commonly found in Greece, handpicked a bit later in the year than, say, the olives of Tuscany, hence the relative sweetness and softness of the oil that the people of the area like so much. Biolea is also interesting for the story. The oil is organic. The olives are handpicked. And the owners have done a great deal of work to take traditional stone milling above and beyond whats considered the most modern of olive oil pressing techniques. Theyre exceptionally aware of the environment, both in an ecological sense and in terms of the community in which theyre working, and theyre intent on leaving both better off than when they arrived on the scene. Long story short, the result of all their work is a delicious olive oil. Its a bit lighter than a lot of our oilsdont let the stereotype of Greek oils being heavy fool you. This ones anything but. It is a bit buttery, surprisingly sweet actually. George wanted to make sure I understood that this lighter flavor was very true to the regionthis is the way people in the area like their oil. I dont want to get too wonky on you, but its got a touch of some spice I cant yet nail . . . maybe mace, or even a hint of vanilla? George says it has hints of salad greens and lettuces and sorrels and it is slightly citrusy. Its got a touch of pepper at the end, but not too much. Terrific on fish, salads, slices of barrel-aged Greek feta cheese, simple pasta dishes, or vegetables of all sorts (raw, roasted or really any other way you can think of).
SO, if youre counting, youll notice were not quite up to 30 as promised in the headline. Blame in on Wisconsin. While making this list I got so distracted by the huge number of great artisan cheeses coming from our neighbors across the lake, I had to get them in here, too, with their own essay. See page 10!
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6 Months
(everything from the first 3 months plus the following:
Lactose Intolerance
Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese Farmhouse Gouda Cheese Great Lakes Cheshire Cheese
Anaphylactic Armageddon
Koeze Cream-Nut Peanut Butter Zingermans Butter Toasted Peanuts Zzang! Original Bar with Peanuts
Hypertensive Episode
Sea-salt Topped Pecan Blondie Bequest Celtic Sea Salt Caramels Salt-cured Salami
Know Carbs
Paesano Bread Farm Bread 3 pound round Ginger Jump-Up Molasses Cookie
CalL 888.636.8162
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Roll up your sleeves with See zingermansfoodtours. a chef and learn traditional com for more information, and call, email, or find us cooking of the region on Facebook -- wed love Come shop the markets, to hear from you! Go behind the scenes and relax in the cafes, stroll the countryside, and savor spend time with artisanal some of the best food in food producers in their the world with us! shops and kitchens Come with us and learn about (and taste!) amazing traditional food directly from the source Dine on local, in-season specialties We keep our tours small, approximately 15 guests, and always led by Zingermans staff.
Be the first to hear about all our tours, sign up for our eNews on our web site!
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milk. When I first tried it, the cheese was already good. When I tasted her cheese again a year or so later, it blew me away. The couple, their five young kids, and their herd of cows all come together to make what I feel like now is one of the most flavorful young cheeses Ive tasted in a long time. Buttery, soft, a touch of vanilla, complex, Marieke Gouda is mellow enough to be popular with people who are a bit anxious about eating artisan cheese but equally well accepted with those whove traveled the cheese world extensively. I love it the Dutch wayfor breakfast with a bit of rye or pumpernickel, some good butter and a strong cup of black coffee.
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A signed copy of Zingermans Guide to Good Leading, Part 1: A Lapsed Anarchists Approach to Building a Great Business by Ari Weinzweig A signed copy of Zingermans Guide to Giving Great Service by Ari Weinzweig A pound of Brazilian Peaberry from Zingermans Coffee Company to get you started on the reading and a bag of Blanxart cocoa an intensely rich and dark Spanish drinking cocoabecause weve heard reports that folks who started reading Aris books in the morning hadnt yet put them down in the evening!
Big Brain Food Gift Basket: Everything But The Success Itself $1500
A signed copy of Zingermans Guide to Good Leading, Part 1: A Lapsed Anarchists Approach to Building a Great Business by Ari Weinzweig A copy of Zingermans 3 Steps to Giving Great Service Training DVD A copy of Zingermans 5 Steps to Effectively Handling a Complaint Training DVD A seat to one of ZingTrains two day seminars in Ann Arbor!* An idea we use in one of our training seminars: a bag full of rewards for OutOf-The-Box ideas: 24 assorted mini Zzang! candy bars and four 4 oz. bags of the best peanut brittle you ever ate from Zingermans Candy Manufactory. Share em or just have all the best ideas and win them all for yourself!
SharingandteachingZingermansuniqueapproach tobusinesstofolksallovertheworld!
Want to put together your very own version of a Brain FoOd Gift Basket?
We customizeboth our training and your gifts! Just call us at 734-930-1919.
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$60/feeds up to 20 $120/feeds up to 40
Classic Americana
6-year Wisconsin Cheddar Vella Dry Jack from Mendocino Buttermilk Blue from Newton, Iowa Zingermans Creamery Pimento Cheese
Thanksgiving Collection
Vanilla Dark Chocolate Harvest Pumpkin Cinnamon Paw Paw Maple Pecan
Holiday Box
Vanilla Dark Chocolate Peppermint Dulce de Leche Gianduja Raspberry Sorbet
Give these great American cheeses the extra special treatment they deserve!
Well prepare them on a handmade Appalachian wood platter, a Michiganmade cutting board, or hand crafted cheese pedestal. Each of these pieces are unique hand crafts and are priced separately. Stop by the Creamery on Plaza Drive and find out for yourself whats so great about great American cheese!
www.zingermans.com 888.636.8162
Available at the Creamery cheese shop at 3723 Plaza Drive and at the Deli on Detroit Street
Creamery SpeciAls!
December
November
Our Dutch-Belted cows milk comes to us from Andy Schneiders Dairy Farm in Westphalia (near Lansing). Dutch-Belteds are very rarethere are roughly 200 in the U.S., and what makes their milk unique is its high butterfat and protein content. The bonds formed by the protein and butterfat are exceptionally small, creating a supremely dense, rich curd. Andy Schneider takes pains to produce a milk that is significantly better than the norm. We getting enough milk from Andys herd to make all our Zingermans Creamery Manchesters and Great Lakes Cheshire with it. Stop by the Creamery on Plaza Drive (just a scones throw from the Bakehouse) or the Deli and ask for a sample. You really can taste the difference great milk makes!
Click here to meet Andy Schneider and our cheesemaker Aubrey Thomason on video!
Family Feast
ThanksGiviNg
TO Go
The Roadhouse has you covered! Weve got everything you need for a complete Thanksgiving meal even the leftovers! (serves 8 to 10)
- Really Fresh Cranberry Relish - Savory Cornbread Stuffing - Roasted Vegetables - Roadhouse bread - Bakehouse Pumpkin Pie
(48hoursahead)
#1 Order
#2 Pick-up
(Drive-upto theRoadshow)
(Useourinstructions)
Available for pick up through the Roadshow Tuesday, November 22nd, Wednesday, November 23rd and Friday, November 25th. The full Thanksgiving Meals To-Go menu is available online at www.zingermansroadhouse.com.
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ARecipeforBuildingPositiveEnergyinYourOrganization
In the interest of taking our newly established emphasis on energy out of the ethereal and into the everyday work world, weve turned what we learned from Anese Cavanaugh into another of our very teachable, learnable, repeatable and rewarding organizational recipes. Like our 3 Steps to Great Service, or 3 Steps to Great Finance, the 4 Steps to Effective Energy Management that follow are a recipe that literally everyone in our organization learns and, I hope, uses almost every day. Like all our organizational recipes, having the clarity that 4 Steps bring really does make a very big difference. New staff members feel more comfortable more quickly when they learn it, managers have a tool to take with them on shift every day and we develop common language around an area of our work to which were giving ever greater importance. Having fun at work has long been a high priority for us at Zingermans. Its explicitly written into our guiding principles, and is one of the nine key headings in our 2020 Vision. While most of the world seems to believe that you have to leave work before you can start to have fun, weve believed from the beginning that the two were anything but mutually exclusive. It is, after all, the basis of the twelfth of our natural laws of business: Great organizations are appreciative, and the people in them have more fun. All that said, wed never really gotten clear over the years on what having fun meant to us as an organization. You wont be shocked, Im sure, to learn, as we did, that most everyone here had a different definitionmost of us take fun to mean doing the stuff that we each personally enjoy. As the months went by we started to realize that we werent going to go anywhere with the issue until we could get clear on what we really meant by fun on an organizational levelits hard to make anything work well if everyone involved isnt speaking the same language. Pretty much everyone here knows how much having a written definition of what high quality food means to us (full flavored and traditionally made) has helped us organizationally. This year weve decided to get as clear on fun as we have with food. Independent of what each of us may like do personally, weve agreed that our definition of fun in the professional sense of the word would be positive energy. The first question that arises is, of course, What is positive energy? I figured Id start my search for an answer at the same spot Id gotten going on the whole thing in the first placeby calling Anese Cavanaugh. Given that shes actively taught the stuff for so long now, it didnt surprise me that Anese had an answer at the ready: Its the ability to create positive results through the vibe you put out there and the attitude you hold. Its the vibe you bring to life, relationships and all your interactionsit feels good and creates even more positive feelings in yourself and in those around you. Fully agreed. When theres positive energy on a shift, things are flowing. People feel good. Were alert, were smiling, were finding joy, were appreciative and were looking forward to more good things to come. Time feels like its flying by. It may well be busy but we like itthats why were here. I could go on about this energy stuff at length. The more we teach it, the more we work with it, the more I like it. I know that many people out in the business world will have dismissed Aneses work in this field as too soft, or silly, or irrelevant. As you can tell, I think theyre completely missing the point, and in the process, theyre costing their businesses money, detracting from the quality of the experience they deliver to customers and staff, and in truth, from the quality of their own lives. Their loss, its true, but the sad thing is that theyre taking a really easy to use, totally free, tool away from their organizations. Were still far from perfect, but weve given everyone here another hands-on, terrifically practical tool. And it works. Its helped me and most everyone here to get a better handle on how we feel, and the way we relate to the world. Im happy and honored to pass it on to others! c) Vibrational energy might be the most interesting of the three. Its not something they talk about in boardrooms but the truth is, vibrational energy, both good, bad and in between, is all around us. Anese says its, your vibe; your impact; how you show up; what others feel around you. What you invite in others; what you create. You can find fifty examples of other definitions and you can have your own as well. Vibrational energy is the feeling we have inside us, a feeling that, for better and for worse, carries into all the interactions we have, one that words alone can never keep from flowing through. Like service, vibrational energy is always and only really judged by the recipients of it. When you get a good handle on yours, you can, more often than not, probably be pretty close in your assessment. But in the end of the day, the only real way to know what it is is to ask others. From a leadership standpoint, the vibrational energy we bring to work every day will have an enormous impact on everyone else. Remember that were talking unseen, unspoken and often unintended energy here. Words and intentions are all well and good, but the vibrational energy is, more often than not, whats going to get people going. Or not going, actually, as the case may be. When we as leaders bring negative vibrational energy into any situation its going to detract from the work quality of everyone around us. So how do we define energy here? Its a combination of those three things. (Physical + emotional + vibrational )/3 = total energy The bottom line is, that quite simply, positive energy means more fun, better service, better health, better sales and lower stress.
3 Elements of Energy
a) Physical energy is marked by pace; people are focused, having fun, and moving fast, but not at all out of control. Theyre quick, yet oddly calming at the same time. Moving too fast, frenetically and anxiously around a room may mean theres a lot of motion, but its not great energy. When the energy is positive peoples posture will generally be good, their eyes look alive, theyre alert, listening, smelling, sensing all of whats going on around them with a high level of attention to detail. Not only are they having fun, they look like theyre having fun too! b) Emotional energy is when were grounded and feeling centered, appreciative, expecting good things even while preparing for possible problems. We feel open, welcoming, anticipating the positive, appreciating the little things, calm, aware, enjoyable to be around. When things go wrong, as theyre bound to do on occasion, people pull together, acknowledge the stress, and then calmly pull up and out of the problem. Positive emotional energy comes when were learning and teaching, when were excited about new opportunities, new information and new experiences. It also comes, conversely, when were comforted by familiar foods, family, friendly faces, or a gentle touch on the shoulder from an old friend.
Learn more about how we use positive energy to build a great organization in
ZingermansGuidetoGoodLeading,V.2 ALapsedAnarchistsApproachtoBeinga BetterLeader Coming January 2012
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available in December
We have made some great specialty breads over the years that developed their own small followings, so we bring them back for a weekend here and there just for fun. If youre looking for a little adventure check out this calendar.
Whole cakes of the month and slices at the Bakehouse or Deli Next Door coffee shop!
20% OFF
November
Made with farm bread, Nueskes Applewood Smoked Bacon and Tellicherry black pepper.
A chewy loaf of cornmeal-crusted Paesano bread with savory green olives. Just slice it up for an instant appetizer.
Chewy, traditional pumpernickel bread with juicy Red Flame raisins and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
Made with farm bread, Nueskes Applewood Smoked Bacon, and Tellicherry black pepper.
It looks a little like a winter snowfall. It feels light and creamy. It tastes heavenly. Layers of yellow chiffon cake sandwiched with vanilla bean pastry cream and Italian raspberry preserves. Its all covered in vanilla buttercream and white chocolate shavings.
Rye and wheat flours are mixed with a bit of Muscovado sugar, a touch of lard and a generous dose of a locally brewed porter beer.
Chernushka Rye
Chewy, traditional Jewish rye with peppery chernushka seeds. This one definitely has a following.
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