Tag Archives: Tips

Spring has finally arrived and with the good weather comes lots of outdoor weekend activities and not as much time to cook on the weekends, opening cabins for the summer and yard work leave little time to spend in the kitchen. Burgers are delicious and a simple solution, my favorite is our 1/3 lb. ground beef 85% lean patties, cooked on the grill with a slice of melted cheddar cheese and served on the cheddar onion buns from our bakery. Bubbies bread and butter pickle chips are a staple in our house and add a sweet and crunchy contrast to the burgers. Lucky’s mustards are another condiment that will add extra special touch to your burgers and brats! Our Homestyle Potato Salad is so delicious I don’t waste my time making it, and you can conveniently order ahead on line in a 1 gallon bowl (26-30 servings) for gatherings, parties, … Continue reading

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Time to breakout the bun and enjoy some great burgers. Burgers are an easy dinner solution and so much better when you make them at home! First up is our Guacamole Burger, we think Guacamole is always welcome on the table and we like it chunky with nice large pieces of avocado. This burger is served with bacon slices and we think the easiest way to cook bacon is in the oven. We placed our bacon slices on racks on a baking sheet and baked at 350 degrees until cooked thoroughly. If you’re looking for a ground turkey burger this is our fav – this Pesto Turkey Ciabatta Burger is delicious and you may substitute the ground turkey with ground chicken. Our Juicy Lucy recipe is cheesy and fabulous, we Minnesotans love our Juicy Lucys. We use Tilamook Cheddar a wonderfully rich and tasty cheddar that melts easily. Our Tickler Bacon … Continue reading

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Impromptu, informal gatherings with friends for a cocktail and a bite seem to be frequent during the holiday season.  It seems a necessity to have cheese, crackers and baguettes on hand to make a cheese board at the last minute and a couple of bottles of wine chilling in the frig isn’t a bad idea either! Our Big Cheese event is in full swing for the holidays, we offer more than 300 varieties of cheese and have serving suggestions and pairing info in the stores to help you choose a selection for your cheese board or recipes. This event has many other delicious goodies beside great cheese and if you’re looking for some special fare for your guests you’ll find it in our Delis. One of my new favorites is a black olive tapenade/dip and now another staple in our pantry!  A small charcuterie board to serve along side of … Continue reading

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The fresh Halibut season has begun in the US and the fillets have been awesome! One of our favorite recipes for Hallibut is Fish Tacos with Chunky Guacamole. This recipe also works well for Shrimp Tacos, use some shredded Spanish Manchego Cheese for a lovely combination with the shrimp. Guacamole is also a healthy snack that takes very little time to prepare, we have Guacamole at our house at least once per week. Guacamole is a lovely side to so many dishes. Another fabulous recipe for Halibut is Roasted Halibut with Red Bell Peppers, ask our butchers to remove the skin on the Halibut for you to save time. Click on the photo below for the recipe.   Source: eatingwell.com via Festival on Pinterest   Nothing says spring like a delicious dish made with Asparagus! We found this recipe for Absurdly Addictive Asparagus on Food52.com and fell in love, let … Continue reading

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Our Premium Quality Double Smoked Bone-In Ham has been a holiday tradition for many families. Our ham is twice smoked over hard wood, it is fully cooked so you may simply bake covered with foil or lid at 325 degrees for approximately 15 minutes per pound to an internal temperature of 140 degrees. This video featuring Festival team members Ray and Jason explains the advantages of purchasing and serving a premium quality ham. If you prefer a glaze on your holiday ham this is a fabulous recipe for Cranberry Maple Glazed Ham. I recently saw this recipe in Bon Appétit magazine for Easter Ham with Golden Breadcrumbs and Madeira Sauce and it sounds delicious so I plan to prepare this for our holiday dinner. Regardless of the recipe you choose for your ham, the perfect accompaniment is our Cheesy Potatoes, all you need to do is pop them in the oven! Leftover ham from your dinner … Continue reading

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  How would you like to sleep-in on Thanksgiving Day and still serve a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner? We have some delicious fuss-free options for your entire menu that can make it possible for you to enjoy the day and your guests. We have solutions to take care of the entire meal and all you have to do is heat and serve or if you prefer cooking your turkey we can still provide all of the sides and desserts for you.Our Thanksgiving Guide provides all of the details for planning your holiday meal.  You may order on-line or call your favorite Festival Foods location and speak to our Deli Team. If you are prefer cooking  your turkey, here is a chart to help you estimate how large of a turkey to purchase for the number of guests you are serving:  

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Scare up some Halloween fun food and get your BOOFFET put together with some of our delicious prepared foods and recipes! We like to include Mini Ham Sandwiches on our menu because you can make them a day ahead and just pop them in the oven before your guests arrive. If you’re a little more adventurous how about making Boofalo Chicken Sliders using our Buffalo Burger recipe, a tasty slider with a little kick. Our Killer Artichoke Bread is to die for! A really easy recipe with excellent flavor your guest will love. Our Queso recipe is another item that can be made ahead and re-heated before serving with your choice of tortilla chips. If you don’t want to do any cooking we have a fa (boo)lous selection of prepared items in our Deli: Fiesta Taco Dip Boofalo Chicken Dip Bacon Chive Dip Texas Caviar Fresh Pizza including our special … Continue reading

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Soup and chili feel just right for the change in seasons, a little heartier fare for cooler weather. Two of our absolute favorite soups are our Hearty Italian Sausage and Taco Soup. Try the Taco Soup with slices of avocado and fresh cilantro on top for a real treat.   We think our new Chili recipe is ingenious because it uses our own fresh Italian Sausage as well as ground beef for a rich wonderful chili. Check out our new video with “Chef” Ryan cooking up a batch. This recipe is a crowd pleaser!     If you are having people over to watch football or just for cocktails we have a simple appetizer recipe that seems just right in terms of comfort food, try this Killer Artichoke Bread recipe.   Cheers!

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Fall has arrived and it’s time for some football!  Throw that beer in the fridge and start planning what football-friendly food to serve while watching the game. Make up some Game Day Pretzels for that crunch that every gathering needs, this is one that you need to make a couple of days ahead so plan accordingly. If the kids are watching the game with you it might be fun to make Sloppy Joe Nachos (the adults will love these too). Make our simple but tasty Sloppy Joe recipe, next make our Queso recipe, again really simple. Now you are ready to assemble your nachos. Layer a platter with tortilla chips and spoon your hot Sloppy Joe mix over the top of the chips and drizzle hot Queso over the top. Serve the remaining Sloppy Joes in buns and you also have plenty of Queso for dipping. Buffalo Wings seem to … Continue reading

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  I’m always looking for simple ideas for entertaining and it seems that I often come back to serving cheese and wine with crusty baguettes. Some of my favorite cheeses of late come from Sartori in Wisconsin. Their Bellavitano Reserve Cheeses are heavenly.  Here are some descriptions of the line that we carry at Festival Foods, my personal favorite is the Balsamic: BellaVitano Gold begins in the mouth like a premium Parmesan and finishes in award-winning style with hints of melted butter. Balsamic BellaVitano, the sweet, nutty, fruity flavors of our most-sought-after BellaVitano become even more desirable when blessed with a few prized drops of Modena balsamic vinegar. Merlot BellaVitano weds this rich, creamy cheese to the berry and plum notes of Merlot, creating a marriage of flavors destined to make your taste buds say, “I do.” Raspberry BellaVitano is soaked with handcrafted Raspberry Tart ale. The bright notes of … Continue reading

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