Archive for the ‘Smart Living’ Category
05.14.2022
Suzanne’s Simple Summer Caprese Salad
Want a great way to put some of your delicious homegrown tomatoes to use, like the ones I mentioned in my summer gardening tips? This very simple Caprese Salad is the perfect side dish for lunch or dinner, and can be on the table in no time! Don’t worry if you don’t have beautiful heirloom tomatoes growing in your yard. Store-bought is fine, but try to get vine-ripened tomatoes or campari tomatoes which tend to have more flavor. Ingredients Tomatoes Fresh Mozzarella Cheese Fresh Basil Extra Virgin Olive Oil Balsamic Syrup Salt & Pepper Directions Slice your tomatoes 1/4 inch thick. You can purchased pre-sliced logs of fresh mozzarella cheese, or slice into 1/4 inch pieces. If you’re using smaller tomatoes, try to make the slices of cheese a similar size to the tomato. Arrange on a platter, alternating slices of tomato and cheese until platter is full. Sprinkle kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Then drizzle with olive oil and balsamic syrup. Be sure to use a balsamic syrup, glaze or reduction, as balsamic vinegar tends to be too loose and acidic. Garnish with fresh basil cut into thin ribbons, or left as whole leaves. This simple […]
04.20.2022
Suzanne’s Top Spring & Summer Gardening Tips
With food prices going through the roof, why not consider growing some of your own produce? With these helpful tips below, you’ll see just how easy it can be to enjoy high quality veggies in the late spring and summer months. The nice thing about living here in metro Atlanta is enjoying a vegetable garden literally twelve months out of the year. It’s all in what you choose to plant and when you plant it. If you don’t have space for a garden in your yard, you can always conveniently plant in pots. The things to plant this time of year are warm season vegetables like: Tomatoes Peppers Squash Watermelon Corn Beans Pole beans Sweet potatoes And other summer vegetables Avoid planting cool season vegetables like spinach, peas, radishes and carrots. They can’t take the heat! When to Plant Tomatoes, corn and beans like it hot which means that planting too early before the soil has sufficiently warmed is not ideal. You can avoid the cold soil problem by planting in a pot and then transplanting into the garden around the first of May with tomatoes. For corn and beans, consider waiting until May 1 or even May 15. Rather […]
02.08.2022
Easy Chocolate Dipped Strawberries Recipe
Want an easy way to impress your sweetheart? Make these mouthwatering chocolate dipped strawberries and you’ll melt their heart! One key to this recipe is buying top quality chocolate. You don’t need much to coat the strawberries, so go for the good stuff! (Ghirardelli, Lindt, Godiva) In the candy/sweets aisle of your grocery store you’ll find these finer chocolates available by the bar which makes them more affordable. For best results, don’t use semi-sweet chocolate chips or baking chocolate. Those are best left for other recipes. Ingredients 1 pint Strawberries 1 3.5oz-5 oz Bar of Chocolate (dark or milk chocolate) Directions Make sure strawberries are washed, dried and at room temperature. Place wax paper on baking sheet. Chop chocolate into small pieces and place in microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave for 1 minute. Stir chocolate with spatula, and if it needs further heating do it in 15 second increments until it looks almost fully melted. Stir chocolate until soft, shiny and smooth. Place a skewer or toothpick in the stem end of the strawberry for easy handling, and dip it into the chocolate while swirling. Alternatively, you can hold the strawberry near the chocolate and spoon the chocolate onto […]
12.14.2021
Jiffy Corn Pudding Recipe with a Kick
Having a few boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix in your pantry is a great way to whip up some easy sides, including this delicious Corn Pudding. This easy recipe features pantry ingredients you always have on hand, and the dish is a delicious crowd pleaser. You can kick it up a little (or a lot) with a few dashes of our Holtkamp Heat Wave hot sauce! Ingredients 1 egg 14 oz can creamed corn 14 oz can whole kernel corn, drained 8 oz sour cream 1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix 1/2 cup butter melted Dashes of Holtkamp Heat Wave hot sauce (optional) Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish. Add egg to a medium sized bowl and beat the egg. Add the creamed corn to the bowl. Drain the whole kernel corn and add the corn to the bowl. Add the sour cream and hot sauce (if using) and mix well. Add Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix to the bowl and mix well. Add the melted butter into the bowl and mix well. Pour the batter into the baking dish, bake for one hour. Serve and enjoy! This tasty side dish has […]
11.15.2021
Four Tips for Making the Perfect Charcuterie Board
Whether you’re serving your charcuterie as a snack between meals, the main course for a date night, or an appetizer to guests before dinner, charcuterie boards are truly the Swiss army knife of the food world. Perfect for any occasion! By following a few pointers, you can make your charcuterie board a real crowd pleaser. Keep in mind these are just guidelines, as there are no rules when it comes to charcuterie. Make it your own and serve what you and your family love. Tip 1: Find the Right Mix of Meats Use a variety of cured meats like pepperoni, salami and prosciutto, all of which are familiar to your guests. But don’t be shy about adding more exotic meats like coppa (cured pork shoulder), serrano (Spanish ham), spec (smoked prosciutto), and mocetta (cured beef tenderloin). Choose about 3 or 4 meats for your board. Rather than buying pre-sliced meat which can be on the thicker side, have your deli slice it thin. It will be easier to present (rolled, folded, etc) on your board, and easier for your guests to pick up each slice. Tip 2: Choose Your Cheeses Cheese comes in so many delicious flavors and textures. Choose […]
10.11.2021
Quick & Easy Steak Marinade
Whether it’s a special occasion or you’re entertaining guests, sometimes a grilled steak is the perfect choice. But how can you take your steak from ordinary to extraordinary? This simple steak marinade is packed full of flavor to help your steaks have that extra little something that will have your friends and family raving from the very first bite. Plus, you probably have all these ingredients in your pantry already! Also, our Holtkamp House Wine pairs perfectly with grilled steaks. If you’d like to make a donation to the Holtkamp Family Foundation and enjoy this fine Napa Valley Cabernet with your next steak dinner, contact us. Ingredients 1/2 cup Worcestershire Sauce 1/2 cup Soy Sauce 1/4 cup Olive Oil (Recipe can easily be doubled or more if you’re entertaining a large group) Directions Place steaks in baking dish or pan. Combine all ingredients and pour over steaks. Cover with cling wrap and leave steaks in marinade for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours. Alternatively, place all steaks and marinade in zipper lock bag and make sure marinade is evenly distributed. Turn steaks every 15-20 minutes while marinading to ensure even coverage. Remove steaks from marinade and place on […]
08.10.2021
Fall Gardening Tips for Georgia Homeowners
There’s nothing like those few sunny warm days after a cold bleak winter to turn even the most hardened city dweller to thoughts of gardening. My friends are often surprised to hear that I vastly prefer fall vegetable gardening in Georgia to either spring or summer. Why? Let me count the ways… Fewer bugs Less watering Weeds grow more slowly No sunburned ears No sweating through your bermudas (shorts, that is!) Fall vegetable gardening loses its terror when you realize that all food crops can be classified as either warm/hot weather or cool/cold weather. Whereas tomatoes, squash, corn, beans, and melons all flourish in the bright sunny days of summer, there are just as many vegetables who need cooler weather to grow and sweeten. These cool weather crops include lettuce, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, kale, spinach, and leeks. As well, many types of onions and garlics are sown in the fall for harvest in the spring; other vegetables can be grown to maturity into the fall and left to overwinter in the ground such as carrots, turnips, and rutabagas leaving you to enjoy the harvest all winter long. Planning is the Key Read all seed packages carefully and pick varieties […]
06.22.2021
The Best Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins Recipe
It’s blueberry season, and we have the very best blueberry muffin recipe that you’ve ever tasted. The secret ingredient is buttermilk, making these muffins moist, rich and tasty. And since the local blueberry farms have just opened for summer picking, now is the perfect time to bring the kids and pick a bucket of blueberries to make these muffins. Don’t have time to pick your own? Try to pick up some beautiful blueberries at the store. This time of year, the price is very nice! A couple of tips on picking blueberries: Bluer is better, but if they are lightly purple, that’s ok. Unlike strawberries, blueberries will continue to ripen after being picked. Bigger is better. The bigger the berry, the more water content inside. They’ll be sweeter and will have that satisfying “burst” when you bite into your muffin! Give them the tug test. If they come off the bush very easily, they’re nice and ripe. If they don’t want to let go, move on to the next berry. Blueberries freeze beautifully, so go ahead and pick a bunch to save for the offseason. They freeze best in a ziploc freezer bag, without being washed. If you don’t plan […]
05.08.2021
Easy Shortcut Hollandaise Sauce Recipe
If you want to take your brunch game up a notch, a creamy, rich hollandaise sauce will make your family swoon. But how can we take this famously fussy sauce and make it simple to prepare? Forget endless whisking, and break out your blender instead! Plus, with a few dashes of our famous habanero hot sauce (available free to all our customers!) you can turn the volume up on this sauce as high as you’d like. 🌶 Ingredients: 3 Egg Yolks 1 Stick Salted Butter Juice of 1/2 lemon Dashes of Holtkamp Heatwave Hot Sauce (or pinch of cayenne pepper) Directions: Place egg yolks, lemon juice and hot sauce in blender. Bring butter almost to a boil in small saucepan. With blender on lowest setting, slowly pour butter into blender over the yolks. This delicious hollandaise sauce will keep in the blender for up to an hour. If you need to warm it up and thin it out before serving, simply add a tablespoon or two of hot water and blend briefly. This amazing hollandaise sauce will be the absolute highlight of your Eggs Benedict, and is also delicious when poured over asparagus. Enjoy! PS. Speaking of simple, we can […]
12.11.2020
Cheesy Potato Gratin Recipe
When temperatures turn chilly, some dishes just have a special way of warming you up. This easy potato gratin recipe captures the magic of comfort food. It’s hearty, creamy, filling…and easy to make! While this might be a side dish, the flavor of creamy white cheddar cheese and perfectly tender potatoes will make it the star of the show. Your family will keep going back for more… Tip: Carefully slice the potatoes on a mandolin to get thin, even slices. Don’t have a mandolin? Cutting them with a sharp chef’s knife is fine. Ingredients 2.5 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8″ thick 8oz white cheddar cheese, freshly grated 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, freshly grated 1 pint heavy cream Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper Directions Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pour the cream into a heavy saucepan and warm it gently over very low heat. (do not boil) Prepare a casserole dish with softened butter or cooking spray. Place a layer of potatoes in the bottom of the dish one at a time, overlapping each of the potatoes a bit to cover the entire bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add a couple of tablespoons […]
