As we get ready to celebrate Independence Day here in the U.S.A., which foods and drinks we’ll prepare and serve is on our minds. Whether you’re having the gang over to your place or are invited to someone else’s, chances are you’ll be called upon to make at least one dish to share with other celebrants. While there are literally innumerable recipes, I like to make something very “American” for this particular holiday. Hot dogs and apple pie come to mind when we think of American fare, but you may think those are too simple for a party; however if you ask people if they like that kind of food, they’re almost sure to say yes! I say, “serve the hot dogs and apple pie!” Just make them the best hot dogs and the best apple pie, right?

When it comes to hot dogs, you’ll find some people are purists who want mustard and onions only, or there are those to whom a dog is not a dog without sauerkraut on top. And there’s nothing wrong with either of those. For those who are a little more adventurous, these Bellisari’s hot dogs will elevate your weiner game:

• Saigon Dog - Bellisari’s Saigon Street Sauce and top with Saigon Slaw.
• Calabrian Pepper Dog - Calabrian Pepper & Sweet Tomato Fennel Spread, jalapenos and top with crumbled queso blanco.
• Fig Dog - Bellisari’s Blistered Jalapeno & Fig Spread and top with caramelized onions and goat cheese.
• Balsamic Shallot Dog - Warm Bellisari’s Balsamic Shallot & Black Garlic Spread and toss with cooked diced bacon. Spread generously and enjoy!

When you think of apple pie, you might think it’d be hard to improve on the classic apple pie recipe, and while classic apple pie is for certain a delicious dessert, we can play around a bit with the recipe and still come up with an outstanding dish that honors the original recipe. Like these Caramel Apple Pie Bites– with all of the classic flavors of apple pie in one perfect mouthful!

However you celebrate the 4th of July this year, let Bellisari’s Gourmet Spreads be a part of the party. Gourmet flavors at your fingertips – that’s what Bellisari’s and gourmet convenience is all about. Happy Independence Day from all of us at Bellisari’s!

Quick and Cool Vacation Foods

   When I pack for a long weekend away at a friend’s lake house or a rental, I don't just bring extra sandals and a sunhat. I bring enough food so that I don't have to make any trips to the store while I'm there. Those long weekends away from the hassles of my regular life are precious to me, and I don't want to spend any of my time at the supermarket. I've also learned that it's also worth it to prepare some make-ahead vacation recipes in advance, too, so that I can spend even more of my time lounging on the dock with my friends.

   Another reason to pack some make-ahead recipes, especially for a rental house: you never know what kind of equipment that kitchen is going to have. You can't assume there will be a blender or a food processor or a slew of pots, pans, and mixing bowls, or a well-stocked pantry or spice cabinet. If you can prepare the more complex dishes in the comfort of your own kitchen, you won't have to rely on the rental kitchen as much. And the payoffs of this make-ahead approach kick in right as you walk through the door of your summer getaway.

These three recipes will get you started:

1. There’s nothing like a good cold pasta salad on a hot day! Our Calabrian and Sweet Tomato Fennel Italian Pasta Salad hits all the right notes for a summer feast. Filled not only with hearty pasta but also with meat and cheese. This pasta salad makes a satisfying dish that family and guests will enjoy down to the last noodle!
2. When it’s too hot to heat up the kitchen, you’ll be glad to have the makings for delicious cold sandwiches on hand. Whether you pack sliced deli meats or plan to use leftover chicken from another meal, a loaf of bread and some sliced cheese are all you need to build your own special cold sandwich. Bring along Bellisari’s spreads and sauces and what might have been a boring sandwich suddenly becomes a brilliant sandwich. Wraps are always a great way to go too. Instead of bread, bring flour tortillas to make your favorite sandwich in a wrap format.
3. Finally, don’t make your guests wait very long for there to be food! Just 20 quick minutes in the oven, and you can put out these yummy buffalo chicken bites to hold people over until the main dishes are ready to go. With only 4 ingredients and our shelf-ready phyllo shells, these bite-sized appetizers are perfect for lake house entertaining!

We know that summer will fly by in a flash, so with a little planning ahead of time and the gourmet convenience of Bellisari’s Spreads and Sauces, we’ll help you make every summer minute count. Happy Summer from all of us at Bellisari’s!

We hope this finds you in good health and high spirits! We are excited to announce a special event, BBQ, Bands & Bourbon on August 19th. This fundraiser was organized to support Staff Sergeant Garrett, a dedicated member of the National Guard who has been faced with a life-altering accident.

 Logan’s journey to serving his country began with four years of active service in
the Army as a 91 Alpha Tank mechanic where he showcased his commitment to serving and protecting our nation. In 2013-2014, he was stationed in South Korea, and for two years after that, he returned to the states and was stationed in Kansas. In 2019, Logan was deployed to the Middle East in Kuwait and returned home in the fall of 2020. After his long-awaited return home, he and his wife Cameron, got married and he joined the 1-145th Armored Regiment, where his passion for his work and devotion to duty continued. Currently, he serves as a Federal Technician at Camp James A. Garfield in Northeast Ohio, contributing to the safety and defense of our community.  

On February 13, 2023, tragedy occurred when Logan was involved in a severe motor vehicle accident while on his way to work. This unfortunate incident resulted in life-altering injuries that have left him facing immense challenges. Logan has, so far, had four surgeries since February and will have at least two more in the future. We have come together as a community, aiming to raise funds to support Logan and assist his family with any medical bills. 

Bellisari’s and Logan’s Family invite you to join us on August 19th at “O” on Lane, 352 W Lane Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43201 for an unforgettable day of BBQ, Bands & Bourbon. This event will bring mouthwatering barbecue, live performances, and an array of bourbon tastings. It will be a great way to meet new people and the community that know and care about Logan and his family. Your participation in this event, making a donation, or spreading the word, will make a significant difference. Together, we can get together with Staff Sergeant Logan, demonstrating our gratitude for his service and providing the support he needs during this challenging time.

Venmo @cameron_garrett21 for donations.

Sincerely,

Bellisari’s & Garrett Family

A Taste of Summertime

Nectarines!

Nectarines are smooth, fuzz-free versions of their more popular cousin, the peach. These seasonal stone fruits grow on trees in warmer climates like parts of China, the southeastern U.S., and California. They appear July through September and present a firm flesh that's great for the grill, chopped up in salads, or as an after-school snack. 

Nectarines do not need to be cooked or peeled to be enjoyed. A washed fruit can simply be eaten as is, either bitten into like an apple or sliced. The large inner pit is not edible and should be discarded. Nectarines are ready to eat when the flesh yields slightly when pressed and the peel in the stem cavity is no longer green.

Munching on a ripe, raw nectarine is one of the joys of eating summer fruit, though there are plenty of other things to do with this orange orb of juicy sweetness. For starters, try slicing them in half, removing the pit, and placing them directly on the hot grill. You can do this with peaches too, but nectarines prove firmer and hold up better to the heat while they caramelize the sticky sugars. Serve them warm and steaming with a scoop of ice cream, drizzled with honey and balsamic if desired.

As with other stone fruits, nectarines create wonderful jams and jellies and go great in baked applications such as hearty pies, chunky cobblers, and delicate tarts. But it's not just the dessert menu that benefits from nectarines—try this fruit in savory dishes as well. Try chopping and mixing with jalapeños for a sweet and spicy salsa, and pair with grilled pork chops (use Bellisari’s Harvest Ginger Peach, Honey Pineapple Adobo, or Blistered Jalapeńo & Fig as your perfect finishing sauces to continue the fruity taste). 

Nectarines can be successfully used in a surprisingly wide range of dishes. Go sweet with pies, tarts, cobblers, and jams, or go savory with salads, grills, and stewed dishes.

When choosing this fruit, look for dark orange orbs that don't have brown or green spots. They should be firm to the touch with no soft spots and have a nice, fruity smell by the stem. Keep ripe nectarines on the counter in a cool, dry place for a few days. They will ripen more as time goes on, so don't keep your nectarines too long, since overripe stone fruit becomes mushy! 

Nectarines have many good-for-you qualities starting with fiber and vitamin C. This fruit also notably contains vitamins A and B3, copper, potassium, and magnesium. It's way better to munch on a sweet, ripe nectarine for dessert than a piece of chocolate cake, and you'll get nutrients out of the deal as well.

Next time you’re buying fruit, if nectarines look and smell good, buy some! Any recipe that calls for fresh peaches should work just as well with nectarines. The firm flesh is perfect for grilling. To me, these delicious fruits taste just like summertime! Happy summer fruit munching from all of us at Bellisari’s!

Sous Vide Cooking

Maybe you've heard sous vide mentioned before, in fancy restaurants and on competition cooking shows. But more and more, people are doing it at home. Once limited to the pros, sous vide (pronounced sue-veed) is a cooking technique that utilizes equipment with precise temperature control to deliver consistent, restaurant-quality results. High-end restaurants have been using sous vide cooking for years to cook food to the exact level of doneness desired, every time. The technique recently became popular for home cooks with the availability of affordable and easy-to-use sous vide precision cooking equipment.

At its most fundamental level, sous vide cooking is the process of sealing food in an airtight container—usually a vacuum-sealed bag—and then cooking that food in temperature-controlled water. In French, the term translates to "under vacuum," which makes sense. Chefs vacuum seal a protein with marinade, sauce, herbs, or spices, and drop it in a large pot of water. There’s no contact with a heated metal surface. No contact with flames or steam or smoke. The water never comes to a boil. 

It’s very difficult and time-consuming to consistently cook great food. Food ends up overcooked on the outside, with only a small portion in the center that is cooked to the temperature you want. Food loses flavor, overcooks easily, and ends up with a dry, chewy texture. With precise temperature control in the kitchen, sous vide provides the following benefits:

• Consistency
  Because you cook your food to a precise temperature for a precise amount of time, you can expect very consistent results.
• Taste
  Food cooks in its juices. This ensures that the food is moist, juicy, and tender.
• Waste Reduction
  Traditionally prepared food dries out and results in waste. For example, on average, traditionally cooked steak loses up to 40% of its volume due to drying out. Steak cooked via precision cooking loses none of its volumes.
• Flexibility
  Traditional cooking can require your constant attention. Precision cooking brings food to an exact temperature and holds it. There is no worry about overcooking.

A sous vide machine uses a heated metal coil to warm water to a constant temperature, never fluctuating to high or low extremes. This means that the cooking progress is gradual and controlled. Steak, pork, chicken, and fish cook for long periods of time, slowly heating up until the entire piece of protein reaches the temperature of the water. Since the water never goes past the desired temperature of doneness, the meat takes significantly longer to cook (A 12 oz. NY strip takes a little over two hours), but it also means that you’ll never have an overcooked piece of protein.

When that same steak is cooked on the stove, high, direct heat is applied to the meat to bring the internal temperature up to 135°. While that's happening, you can't see what's actually going on inside, which means you either have to guess, cut it open (which ruins the whole presentation), or poke it anxiously with a meat thermometer. With sous vide, there's no guesswork. If you put a steak in a bath set at 140°, there's no chance that steak will go past that temperature. The steak is cooked to a perfect medium-rare throughout, and that's thanks to the sous vide's secondary function, water circulation. Constantly moving water ensures that there are no hot or cool spots in your pot. It’s an insurance policy, acting like some kind of perfectly-heated, dinner-making hot tub! 😋

The only hands-on part happens after the food is removed from the bag. Since the sous vide process removes actual contact with a surface from the equation, the meat won’t be crispy, caramelized, or charred in any way. When cooking proteins like pork or steak (which will look pretty gray after a sous vide bath), that exterior texture is key. The solution? An extremely quick sear after the meat has been cooked through. Searing steak or pork in a ripping-hot cast iron skillet for about a minute on each side (including the smaller sides) will develop some caramelization without cooking the interior any further.

While a chef would normally spend about an hour cooking a ribeye from start to finish (letting it come to temperature, cooking it in a skillet, letting it rest, slicing it, and plating it), the sous vide method shaves off time by allowing the chef to unwrap the steak and quickly sear, slice, and serve, all while guaranteeing the right interior doneness. We're living in the golden age of at-home sous vide cooking, with small, affordable, powerful sous vide machines warming the waters for home cooks for around $200 dollars. 

And while we obviously love a sous vide machine for meats, fish, etc., there's more to explore. Chefs love sous vide eggs, for perfectly-set whites and runny yolks. Potatoes cook especially well, and tender vegetables like asparagus are easily cooked for salads or sides. The sous vide doesn't discriminate.

Trying new stuff is stressful. I get it. If you think that the whole sous vide process still sounds intimidating, I’m suggesting you step outside of your cooking comfort zone, and try sous vide precision cooking. Sous vide cooking is much easier than you might think, and it usually involves three simple steps:

1. Attach your precision cooker to a pot of water and set the time and temperature according to your desired level of doneness.
2. Put your food in a sealable bag and clip it to the side of the pot.
3. Finish by searing, grilling, or broiling the food to add a crispy, golden exterior layer.

And there you have it – easy as 1-2-3. Have fun trying this precision cooking method! Try our sous vide Eggs Benedict. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how easy it is, and those you’re serving it to will think they’re eating at a high-end, fancy restaurant. Happy experimenting with sous vide from all of us at Bellisari’s!