SAUCE WARS CHAMPION!

MY CHUNKY TOMATO SAUCE WON THE BEST SAUCE CONTEST AT THE PITTSTON TOMATO FESTIVAL.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR VOTES.  I KNEW THAT IF THE CONTEST WAS BASED ON FLAVOR, MY SAUCE WOULD RISE TO THE TOP.  STOP IN GERRITY’S AND PICK UP A JAR FOR YOUR FAMILY.   IF YOU ARE IN THE PHILADELPHIA AREA, CHECK OUT THE CHESTNUT HILL CHEESESHOP IN CHESTNUT HILL.  MY SAUCES WILL ALSO SOON BE IN THE SHOPRITE STORES IN NEW JERSEY AND PHILADELPHIA.  COME BACK SOON AND CHECK OUT WHICH STORES I WILL BE IN. 

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I am writing to let you know that my CHUNKY TOMATO sauce is entered in the Sauce Wars tasting contest at the Pittston Tomato Festival beginning tomorrow (Thurs. 8/21) through Sunday. If you happen to attend the festival please stop by the YMCA booth for the tasting and try to pick out my Chunky Tomato sauce to taste and PLEASE GIVE MY SAUCE YOUR VOTE.

This is an expensive proposition for me, but the donation to the YMCA is a good cause.

Try to pick my sauce and give it your vote of approval.

Thanks guys!
Pam

I have listed some very tasty ways to use the varieties of marinara sauces available. I am looking for ideas from you with other ways you would like to use a good marinara sauce. Send in your recipe using any one of my sauces and I’ll post it on the website and name it after you.

Here are some of the ways you can use this versatile gourmet marinara sauce:

Over pasta; any one of the four.

Over chicken: Sauté in olive oil sliced onions and add hot pepper flakes and rosemary. Add marinara sauce over fried chicken and serve with fresh grated Pecorino Cheese.

Over fish: add black olives and capers to marinara sauce and heat. Pour over filet fish of any kind and bake until flaky.

Over polenta (By the way, I also sell fully cooked, tubes of flavored polenta): Sauté Italian (hot, if desired) sausage, pour Mushroom and Wine sauce over cooked sausage and heat through. Pour over heated (fried in evoo) polenta slices,

Meatballs: Make (or store bought) meatballs. You can either cook them first or let them simmer in the sauce until done. Place them in a pot full of chunky marinara sauce and cook through. Top with Romano cheese.

Meatloaf: Sauté peppers, onions, and add Worcestershire sauce and a bit of ketchup. Pour chunky marinara sauce over mixture and heat through. Add some to the meatloaf mixture; pour the rest over the top of the loaf. Bake and serve.

Vodka sauce : over cheese tortellini and top with fresh sage leaves and pecorino cheese.

Over Eggplant: Seasoned, breaded and sautéed eggplant, pour one of the red sauces over eggplant in a baking dish, add mozzarella cheese and grated Romano cheese and bake for 10 minutes to melt the cheese.

Over Zucchini: Grill seasoned slices of zucchini. Pour chunky marinara sauce over and top with your favorite cheese.

Smooth marinara As a Dip for chicken fingers, stromboli, or fried veggies. A great appetizer or quick snack.

SEND IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS.

The best part about the whole expo was the customers passing through the food show, tasting our products and filling up their bags with purchases. To all of our customers who attended, thank you for your support. We all enjoyed the show.

Hope you enjoy the sauces, and come back again soon. Just stop in any time and see what’s going on and order your next “heaven in a jar” marinara sauce.

Luv, Pam

Here is a recipe for VEGGIE-STUFFED BONELESS CHICKEN BREAST WITH MARINARA.

Slice thin strips of carrots and red and peppers. Also use whole long green beans. You can add any veggies you like. These are just a few suggestions.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Using a knife, carefully butterfly each chicken breast almost to the end. Lay flat and place chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and using a meat mallet, pound each breast to 1/4-inch thickness. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.

Lay chicken breasts flat on a cutting board and sprinkle with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Place 3 to 4 strips each of the long green beans, carrots and red pepper leaving 1/2-inch on the side furthest from you. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons cheese. Roll chicken breast up and place seam side down in a medium skillet that has a think layer of olive oil coating the bottom.

Pour my Chunky Marinara sauce over the chicken and place in oven. Bake 30 minutes basting with the marinara sauce halfway through cooking.

Remove breasts from pan. To serve slice each breast into 4 or 5 slices and fan on the plate with additional marinara sauce on the side.

Take my word for it. It is definitely as good as it sounds. Plus, it’s a great way to get the kids to eat some veggies!

Former international supermodel, turned celebrity chef, Best Selling author-Maria Liberati will be appearing at the Toast to the Coast in Bally’s, Atlantic City ,NJ On June 26-28. Ms. Liberati will be bringing her The Basic Art of Italian Cooking to the stage at 5:30 pm on Friday, June 26th when she will bring her The Basic Art of Italian Cooking to the stage.

Attendees to the event will also be treated to a book signing at The Basic Art of Italian Cooking booth on the show floor and get to sample the gourmet Italian sauces of Casericco’s Italian Sauces.

This is one of my best sellers for the Holidays and the reason why it’s one of my favorites is it uses my homemade marinara sauce!

Mozzarella Cheese (grated.  Add salt, pepper and some garlic power and parsley)

Ricotta (Add an egg and beat to mix through, salt and pepper)

Grated Romano (fresh grated)

Mix all of the cheeses together.  Refrigerate overnight if you can.  Not absolutely necessary.

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

When you are ready to prepare the shells, cook Large shells as directed, but less cooking time, maybe 10 minutes instead of 12.

Remove them from the water and set aside on paper towels on a baking sheet so the water can drain off them. Put a layer of my marinara sauce (either smooth or chunky), on the bottom of a baking dish. Using a tablespoon and spoon heaping portion into each shell and place in a row in a baking pan, cheese side up.  Pour marinara sauce over the top of each shell and sprinkle with more Romano cheese.  Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes at 350 just to melt all the cheeses.

This only works with a good-tasting marinara sauce.  So, make sure you have made your purchase of one my sauces before you start.

I will be putting all the recipes in my RECIPE BOX.  All the different ways you can use a gourmet marinara sauce, and believe me, it is very versatile.  You can add a few ingredients to change it up for any type of meal.

How about this one…

Puttanesca (with black olives, capers and basil)

Sauté sliced onion and garlic in olive oil, sprinkle (just a few) red pepper flakes.  Add my chunky marinara sauce, chopped olives, and some capers.   Simmer for 10 minutes.  Stir in a big piece of torn fresh basil and just server over your favorite pasta.

Or… you can serve it over polenta.  Fry up some already prepared polenta (you can buy polenta tubes from me also.  I have fantastic cooked rosemary and garlic polenta tubes).  Slice it up, fry it in some olive oil, and pour the above prepared sauce on top.

If you like sausage, just fry up some hot Italian sausage, cut it up, pour one of my red marinara sauces over them, simmer to cook through, and serve over polenta.  That is the best!!!!

You can do the same thing with fried chicken parts.  Just marinate the chicken parts in red wine vinegar, either half hour before cooking or the night before.  Fry them up in chopped garlic and olive oil, salt and pepper.  Heat up some chunky marinara sauce, pour over chicken and top with parsley and grated Romano cheese.  A side of sautéed green beans in olive oil, butter and lemon pepper and you’ve got a complete meal.  And it will take under an hour if you use boneless chicken pieces.

……..One more for the recipe box.

I hope you’re not too upset that there’s only a few left:

TARTUFO:  A truffle, of which there are both white (bianco) and black (nero)

TIRAMISU:  (another favorite in these parts): A dessert of ladyfingers soaked in espresso and layered with a cream, often made with mascarpone cheese.

ZABAIONE:  An egg custard made by beating egg yolks with sugar and wine over a water bath until fluffy.

ZEPPOLE:  Fritters, served sprinkled with sugar.

We’re done.  Hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about what you are seeing on an Italian menu.  If you have a recipe that you’ve conjured up yourself using my gourmet marinara sauces, share it with us. Lynn shared her fish filet recipe with us.  Check out her comment.