Winning Food Products at DC Metropolitan Cooking Show

My wife, daughter, and I attended the Metropolitan Cooking Show in DC on November 3-4.  This makes the third time I have attended.  There are aisles of food product booths set up handing out samples, trying to entice you to buy their products.  There is no short supply of olive oils, dips, sauces, desserts, spices, drink mixes.  You name it, they probably had it.  The show also features celebrity chefs who provide entertainment with their cooking demos.  This year, we attended the cooking demos by Iron Chef Michael Symon and Carla Hall of The Chew as well as legendary chef Jacques Pepin with his daughter Claudine.  All were quite entertaining and provide great inspiration to those who love to cook. 

Below are my top 10 favorite foods from the show.  I have put a link to each of their businesses for you to check out.  Each one is a small business owner.  I am sure each would appreciate your business this Christmas season. 

Carolina Candy Company

If you love chocolate covered toffee, this is the product for you.  This is the best toffee I have found. The chocolate is smooth and very high quality.  The toffee is crunchy, yet melts in your mouth when you eat it.  This toffee will be snapped up quickly around your house. 

Emily G's Jam of Love

Emily G's has a large collection of 18 jams to chose from.  The hardest part is picking which one you want to buy.  My favorites are the Triple Berry, Cranberry Port, and Cabernet Sauvignon jams.  The finest ingredients go into these jams and you can tell in the finished product.  The flavor profiles in these jams are useful in many different types of sweet and savory recipes.   

Basik's Spice Blends

This company specializes in blended spice mixes.  I like to have a large selection of different spices at home to use in my cooking.  These are also great in olive oil to create a special dip for parties.  They can be used as a rub before grilling or roasting or added to your veggies when sauteing.  My favorites are the Italian Blend, Key Lime Citrus, or Hunter Blend. 

Dimitri Olive Oil

This olive oil from Greece is quite outstanding.  The olive oil is unfiltered and has a truly wonderful depth of flavor.  The fruity flavor is rich and goes well in both salads and sauteing.   

Tom's Roid-Rippin BBQ Sauce

Barbecue sauces are a popular commodity at the food show.  This one was my favorite barbecue sauce.  I prefer some sweetness in my sauces and the mixture with the mesquite flavors here make for a great sauce.

Tsp Spices

This company sells collection of complimentary spices in small teaspoon sealed packets.  These are perfect for adding to recipes in the right amount.  Since each package is sealed, each remains fresh until you use it.  The spice profiles include Game Day Chili, Cookie Jar, Dinner for Two,  and Sweet Heat.  They also have a holiday collections. 

Sarah N' Dippity Salsa

As with the barbecue sauces, there are many types of salsa at the show.  They range from the very mild to the kinds that leave you breathing fire.  The Sarah N Dippity salsa came out as my winner.  The fire roasted flavor of the tomatoes and peppers really set this one apart from the others.  They had a mild and spicy variety and each was just the right amount of heat for those categories.  This salsa would make a great hit with friends and family.

Cookies and Corks

This company specializes in selling cookies that can be paired with wine.  We bought some of these cookies a couple of years ago and served them at a party pairing them with different kinds of wine.  Folks at the party really enjoyed trying the cookies and wine.  The company sells three different types of boxes, one for white wine, one for reds, and one for sparkling wine.  Some cookies are sweet and others are savory.  These would be fun to have at your New Year's party.   

La Boella Olive Oil

This olive oil from Spain is also quite good and has won many awards in Spain.  I am a fan of arbequina olive oils in general, but this one rises to the top.  I really like the spicy notes in this olive oil. 

No Bull Burger

I don't have a picture of these scrumptious veggie burgers.  However, check out their website for info about their products.  While I love my beef, I am also becoming a fan of a good veggie burger.  This one ranks very highly on my list.  My only regret was that we couldn't buy any at the show since they needed to be refrigerated and we had no way to keep them cold until we got home.  I will have to look for them in the future. 

Hope you check out some of these small businesses.

Carla Hall Visits Columbia Wegmans

This weekend my daughter and I were at the movies.  To my surprise, when I checked Facebook news feed, I saw that Carla Hall was across the street at the Columbia Wegmans signing her brand new cookbook Cooking with Love.  Carla Hall is one of the hosts on the TV show "The Chew" and a former contestant on Bravo's "Top Chef."  My wife and I have taken cooking classes with Carla prior to her role in her new show.  She is a wonderful teacher and cooks with such passion while having so much fun in the process.  We got our copy of "Cooking with Love" signed by her and my daughter, who was a little shy about meeting someone on TV, was so thrilled.  I haven't had a chance to read through the cookbook yet, but glancing through the recipes, I know that I will be making many of the recipes in this cookbook.  The book has her recipe for her Chicken Pot Pie which was such an extraordinary hit on Top Chef.  Looking forward to trying it myself.   

Wegmans had a great setup for the signing.  They had made about 10 recipes from Carla's cookbook and was giving out samples of the finished result.  Some of the highlights were Salmon Cakes, Pecan Shortbread, Beer Barbecued Beef Brisket, and Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce.  Thanks Wegmans for putting on a great event. 

If you are looking for great Christmas ideas, you can also check out Carla's cookie business and order a tin of cookies for a special gift.  Check out her website at:  Alchemy by Carla Hall.  You can buy a collection of either sweet or savory cookies.  We have purchased some in the past and they are delicious. 

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Cooking with Top Chef Carla Hall

Melissa and I spent an evening last week at a cooking demo by Top Chef contestant Carla Hall. This is the third class we have taken from her and each one has been a lot of fun and entertaining. Did I also mention we got to try some great food? During the past season of Top Chef All-Stars, Melissa and I were pulling for Carla and very happy that she made it to the final 5 and won the fan favorite prize. We have a few pictures here from the class, including the dishes that we got to try. Just overlook the fact that my eyes are closed in the picture above, not a great shot.

For the cooking class, we had four courses to try, each accompanied by a wine pairing. The meal included Goat Cheese and Leek tart, Persian Turkey Burgers with flatbread, Roasted Lemon Thyme Chicken, and Chocolate Mousse Cake with Salted Caramel Sauce. Carla made a portion of each of the recipes herself, demonstrating the techniques she used and giving tips for improving your ability to create recipes on your own. We all were given a serving of each dish which was made earlier in her kitchen. I really liked all of the dishes, even the cucumber relish and ailoi that accompanied the turkey sliders. I don't normally like cucumbers, but the flavors worked well together in the dish.

Carla's class was at her cookie making headquarters located in Silver Spring. She has ended her catering service and is now focusing on making and selling cookies, both savory and sweet. We got to sample cookies during the class and bought some to bring home. Yum! You can order some by visiting her web site at Alchemy by Carla Hall.

Carla appears to be a very busy person. Not only has she made several Top Chef appearances, she recently appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and Paula Deen's Show. She recently landed a spot on a new daytime talk show about food which premeirs in September. The show will be on ABC (after All My Children ends) and is called The Chew, and will also include Mario Batali and Michael Symon. Her cookbook proposal is also going up for auction among publishers. Looking forward to getting a copy when it is finished.