Category Archives: New Products

Spaghetti with Calamari Sauce and a Food Gal Giveaway

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A tangle of noodles and calamari.

A tangle of noodles and calamari.

 

This bowl of pasta is chock-full of tender calamari.

That much, you can see.

But did you know there is also one serving of vegetables hidden within that is not visible?

Yes, there is corn, carrot and squash — a half cup’s worth — incorporated into each 4 ounces of the dried spaghetti noodles.

Golden Grain has launched a new line of pasta, Hidden Veggie, that comes in spaghetti, thin spaghetti, small penne and twisted elbows. The pasta cooks up just like any other dried pasta. It also looks and tastes the same as any other. In other words, your spaghetti isn’t going to all of a sudden taste like Bug Bunny’s favorite snack.

What you get, though, is 150mg of potassium per 2-ounce serving compared to the company’s regular spaghetti that contains none. The Hidden Veggie spaghetti also weighs in at 200 calories per 2-ounce serving, 10 calories fewer than the company’s regular spaghetti. The total fat, cholesterol, carbohydrate, dietary fiber and protein amounts are the same with both, though the Hidden Veggie has 5mg of sodium, compared to 0mg for the company’s regular dried pasta.

If you’re worried about your family getting enough potassium, Hidden Veggie pasta is one way to up that nutrient quotient. Each 12-ounce box is about $1.99 and available at Safeway stores.

New Golden Grain Hidden Veggie dried pastas.

New Golden Grain Hidden Veggie dried pastas.

I used the Hidden Veggie spaghetti in this recipe for “Linguini with Calamari Sauce,” swapping out the slightly wider, flatter noodles called for originally. The recipe is from “Williams-Sonoma The Pasta Book” (Welden Owen) by food journalist Julia Della Croce, of which I received a review copy when it was first published three years ago. What’s great about this book is that it truly spans the world of pasta, including recipes not only for making fresh Italian pasta and dishes with dried noodles, but also for making Asian noodles and dumplings. Find recipes for everything from “Fresh Herb Pappardelle with Veal and Lemon” to “Pork and Cabbage Gyoza.”

The calamari pasta sauce cooks up quickly, in only about twice the time it takes to cook the dried spaghetti. Shallots, garlic, rosemary and pepper flakes are sweated gently in olive oil, before adding tomato paste, red wine and bottled clam juice. The calamari is added in for the final five minutes of cooking. I used calamari bodies, already cleaned and scored, purchased from my local Japanese market to make the process even easier.

The tangle of noodles absorbs the briny sauce that’s a little sweet from the tomato paste and a little spicy from the pepper flakes. The tender calamari add just enough chew.

It’s a dish that’s a classic at Italian restaurants. Try your hand at it to realize just how easy it is to make at home, too.

CONTEST: One lucky Food Gal reader will win practically a year’s worth of Golden Grain Hidden Veggie pasta — 24 coupons, each good for one free package of the new pasta varieties. Hidden Veggie pasta has rolled out in these markets: San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Oahu, Seattle and Portland, Ore. So, entries should be limited to those folks who live in those markets or have friends in those regions you want to give the winnings to. Entries will be accepted through midnight PST March 23. Winner will be announced March 25.

How to win?

If a fairy with a magic wand could make it so, what else would you want a year’s worth of? And why? Best answer wins the pasta.

Here’s my own answer:

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Que Syrah Syrah

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A glass of Syrah pairs with duck-Syrah ragu over Syrah-flour pasta.

A glass of Syrah pairs with duck-Syrah ragu over Syrah-flour pasta.

That’s what you’ll be humming, when you dig into this lusty pasta dish.

Because there’s wine, wine, everywhere in it.

There’s Syrah in the meaty duck ragu that tops it. There’s even Syrah flour in the pasta dough for the homemade fettuccini. And of course, a glass of — what else — Syrah to sip alongside it all.

I was inspired to cook “Venetian Duck Ragu” with “Syrah Fettuccini” when I received samples of the new WholeVine products from Santa Rosa.

Company founders Barbara Banke and Peggy Furth started their line of grapeseed flours, grape skin flours and grape seed oils — all gluten-free — as a way to make greater use of what vineyards provide. They’ve also added a line of four different gluten-free cookies ($6.99 for eight of them), as well as a line of eight different wheat crackers ($6.99 for 12), all made with their flours.

Syrah skin flour.

Syrah skin flour.

Moreover, they donate a portion of profits to charitable organizations that help children in need.

The varietal grape skin and seed flours ($6.50 per 1/2-pound bag) are made from Chardonnay, Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Syrah and Zinfandel grapes grown in certified sustainable California coastal vineyards.

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Some Like It Hot

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Artisan hot sauces that explode on the palate.

Artisan hot sauces that explode on the palate.

 

If you do, have I got the hot sauces for you.

Bob Henry of Henry Family Farm has been growing chiles in Virginia’s Shenendoah Valley for more than 30 years. Now, he’s bottling all that heat in a most pure form.

Henry allows the peppers to ripen on the vine, then hand picks them before extracting them within 24 hours of harvest. The extracts are bottled, with no additional spices or flavors, so that each pepper’s distinctiveness really shines through.

Henry Family Farm Chile Pepper Extracts are now getting a lot of attention, thanks to food and wine critic, David Rosengarten, who has been spreading the word about them and making them more widely available.

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Merci Chocolates & A Food Gal Giveaway

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Merci Hazelnut-Almond chocolate ingot is chockful of bits of nuts.

I admit that a drug store is not the first place I would think of to buy fine chocolates.

But Merci has me just about eating those words.

The German-made chocolates are available at select drug stores, including CVS. They are definitely a cut above a lot of chocolate confections found in the bins there.

Recently, I had a chance to try an 8.8-ounce assortment of its European chocolates, which retails for about $13.

The flat box opens up to reveal small ingots of chocolates in seven varieties. Each is individually wrapped in cellophane, so you can put a bunch on a candy plate to let guests choose their favorite.

The slender bars are coated in either smooth milk or dark chocolate. They have wonderful mouth-feel and are small enough to satisfy a chocolate craving without going overboard.

Among my favorites were the Dark Mousse, which has a fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth filling akin to an U-No bar. The Hazel-Almond is the perfect pick for nut fans like myself, what with its profusion of crunchy bits of nuts. The Coffee and Cream, which sports a dark top layer and a white bottom one, tastes very much like a shot of espresso with milky foam on top.

Who knew drug store chocolates could be so gourmet?

They come conveniently individually wrapped.

CONTEST: One lucky Food Gal reader will win an 8.8-ounce assortment of Merci chocolates, along with a fun “Red Carpet Kit.” It includes four champagne flutes, popcorn containers and a list of tips for making toasts.

Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST March 2. Winner will be announced March 4.

How to win?

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Gourmet Beef Jerky and A Food Gal Giveaway

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Look closely and you'll see real orange peel on this variety of Jeff's Famous Beef Jerky.

I had to chuckle upon clicking on Jeff’s Famous Beef Jerky site to hear a rousing and rather whimsical tune about kissing away the “Shoe-Leather Beef Jerky Blues.”

Owner Jeff Richards is that confident that his jerky will banish any blues or horror experiences you’ve had with convenience-store jerky that nearly took out your molars.

He’s sure his will convince you that jerky can actually taste good and be kind to your teeth.

Richards made his jerky for years as a gift for family and friends during the holidays. Finally, in 2006, after giving away more than 25 pounds of the beefy stuff, he decided to give it a go as a business.

Jeff’s Famous Jerky, made in Mission Viejo, CA, now comes in eight different flavors, including Jalapeno Carne Asada and Habanero Heatwave. Recently, I had a chance to try some samples.

The jerky is toothsome with some chew, but not so much as to cause your jaw to ache. The first thing you notice is the richness of this jerky. It tastes like real marbled beef. That’s because Richards uses sliced, whole muscle beef rather than the highly process, extruded meat that other manufacturers do.

This jerky also doesn’t taste primarily of salt, as so many others do. Instead, the Orange Peel variety actually has bits of real orange rind still sticking to the meat, giving it a subtle, rounded citrus flavor. The Sweet Teriyaki tastes of soy, sesame oil and brown sugar. The Cranberry Jalapeno is mid, with the pepper adding more of a grassy note than full-on heat. Indeed, the Black Pepper and Sea Salt carried much more of a kick, with its coating of ground peppercorns. It’s tongue-tingling, but balanced by the sweetness of brown sugar and pineapple juice, and the fruitiness of tamarind.

A serving is about 70 calories with 20 percent of that from fat. Sodium content is 80mg to 560mg, depending upon the variety.

A 2-pack of jerky (in two 3-ounce bags) is $13.95. Every few months, Richards also donates a box of jerky to U.S. troops to share the jerky love.

The contest winner will get to try three different flavors of their choosing.

CONTEST: One lucky Food Gal reader will win three free bags of Jeff’s Famous Beef Jerky in the flavors of your choice. Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST March 2. Winner will be announced March 4.

How to win?

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