Author: Tim Bratton

Butcher

Father’s Day Gift Idea: Grill Essentials Kit

Dads can be hard to shop for, so we’ve come up with a Father’s Day gift that will be useful for your family all summer long – a grill essentials kit.

The kit includes some standard grill essentials (tongs, meat thermometer, etc.) along with a few thoughtful ones that will save Dad some time, like newspaper to start the fire, resealable bags to marinate meat, and some aluminum foil.

Once you have everything together, pack them into a gift basket or reusable ..read more

Butcher

Recipe: Gnocchi with Beef Basil Ragù

Guest post & recipe by Amy of StreamingGourmet.com!

This version of Ragù is closer to a Ragù alla Napoletana than my recipe for Veal, Pork and Rosemary Ragù. The Ragù in Naples has more tomatoes, more onion in the soffritto and includes fresh herbs, like basil. The difference between a truly authentic Ragù alla Napoletana and mine is that in Naples, they make it with sliced meat rather than ground meat. Think pork spareribs and boneless pork shoulder stewing all day. ..read more

Butcher

Recipe: Gnocchi with Veal, Pork & Rosemary Ragù

Guest post & recipe by Amy of StreamingGourmet.com!

You may associate the word Ragù with the American company that makes the spaghetti sauce available at most supermarkets, but Ragù is also an Italian term for slowly stewed meat sauce served over pasta. There are many varieties of Ragù, but they all have a few things in common: the sauce starts with what the French would call a mirepoix, but the Italians call a soffritto – a mixture of onions, carrots and ..read more

Specialties

Sweet & Savory Snack Ideas for popchips

Summer’s just around the corner, and a perfect summertime (or any time) snack is popchips! They’re great straight out of the bag, but we also love their versatility for incorporation into recipes. Try crushing them for a pre-seasoned substitute to breadcrumbs, or appreciate the salty twist of Original or new Sweet Potato popchips in desserts.

Here are some great recipe ideas for popchips from around the web:

SAVORY SNACKS

Your favorite flavor of popchips with dip – try parmesan spinach dip, guacamole, chicken ..read more
Seafood

Perfect Pairings for Salmon

Fresh, wild caught salmon is in season! We picked four great salmon entrees from our Recipes and asked our Wine Buyer, Mark, to give us some pairing suggestions.

1. Salmon Filets with Country Herb Crust

Rive Sud varietals made with 100% Pinot Noir grapes are a delicious accompaniment to this baked salmon dish with a nutty pecan crust. The vineyard is located at the base of the Pyrenees Mountains in the South of France, where there is red clay soil and cool ..read more

Produce

Dipping Sauces For Steamed Artichokes

Once you’ve mastered the art of prepping and steaming artichokes (get our instructions and tips for the perfect steamed artichoke here), you still have some tough decisions ahead: whether to serve them warm or chilled, and which dipping sauce to serve with your artichoke.

We took a survey around the Mollie Stone’s office to find out everyone’s favorite dipping sauces for those tasty artichoke leaves. Here are some great ideas based on what people said:

MOLLIE STONE’S FAVORITE ARTICHOKE DIPPING SAUCES

Melted butter ..read more
Produce

How to Steam Artichokes

One of the most unusual vegetables, nearly 100% of all artichokes grown in the United States are grown in California, and nearly two-thirds of those come from the fog-shrouded fields surrounding the small town of Castroville in Monterey County. They are typically available two times a year: early March through May, and late September through October.

They are often steamed and served warm or cold with a dipping sauce (click here for our favorite dipping sauces).

Here are a few of our ..read more

Produce

Try Citizen Chef for Easy, Healthy Meals

We’d all love to cook amazing, fresh, healthy dinners every night, but busy schedules often get in the way. Citizen Chef offers a simple solution by providing freshly cut vegetables, delicious gourmet sauces and wholesome grains all in one dinner kit now available in Mollie Stone’s produce department.

Think of Citizen Chef as your “personal sous chef” – everything is measured in perfect quantities and the prewashed veggies are cut to cook evenly and quickly. Simply add your choice of meat, ..read more

Butcher

Meet Lorain of Mollie Stone’s Grand Central

Lorain Arruabarrena has been working behind Mollie Stone’s Grand Central meat counter for over a decade, and has been in the butchering business for more than 30 years. She knows everything about cooking meat, too, so say hello next time you’re at the store and don’t hesitate to ask her for advice!

Lorain was recently profiled in The New Fillmore, so we commemorated the article on a plaque and presented it to her as a small gesture of thanks for her ..read more