Caggiano Sausages

Fantastic for grilling!
If you are looking for some variety from hot dogs and hamburgers for your grill, try our delicious assortment of Caggiano Sausages this summer.

Petaluma’s Caggiano Sausage Company, which supplies the finest Northern California restaurants and markets, Read more…

Cherry Barbecue Sauce

Rack Em Up
It is officially barbecue season. This means it’s time to talk all things smokey and saucy. I have been in smoker mode lately—mostly because I am still trying to get the hang of my electric smoker.

Don’t come at me for the electric smoker. Yes, real BBQ masters always go with live fire and wood. Truth be told, I like smoked meats, but I wouldn’t say it’s a passion. I’m not getting up at 3 AM to fire up the wood smoker. I’ll leave that to the folks who know what they are doing and enjoy that process. I am happy to hand my money over to them for some juicy brisket anytime.

With the electric smoker, I can smoke some ribs or chicken relatively quickly when I have a hankering. I’ve even smoked some chicken on a Wednesday night after work…and it was glorious. Best part is, when I’m not using it, the smoker is stored out of the way ready to pull out for the next use. Win-win.

Why am I bringing this up you might ask? Because while the smoked meats are the main attraction, I want to talk about the sauce…

I have never met a rib I didn’t like. I like baby backs. I like spareribs. Whatever rack you have cooking I will eat. I will say though that I am a sauce-after-cooking kind of gal. Meaning, I like to put a dry rub on a rack of ribs, cook ‘em, slice them up, and let the person eating the ribs slather on their sauce of choice. That doesn’t mean I won’t eat them the other way. It’s just a preference that does necessitate having a good sauce.

My hands-down favorite sauce for ribs is this one for Cherry Cola Ribs Cherry and pork go very well together be it ribs or a roasted pork loin. Now that it is BBQ season and fresh cherries are in the market, I’ve been thinking about using fresh cherries in a BBQ sauce. I found this one which uses balsamic vinegar for a little bit of pucker and sweetness.

Cherry Barbecue Sauce Recipe
Adapted from The Recipe Rebel
Yields about 30 servings

This recipe makes quite a bit, but the good news is you can throw this Cherry Barbecue Sauce in the freezer and enjoy the taste of cherries long after the season is over. And, if you want to make it out-of-season, you can always use high-quality frozen cherries. Read more…

Boylan’s Black Cherry Soda

Handcrafted soda
Boylan’s Black Cherry Soda is a unique blend of cherries, wild cherry bark, and extracts of bourbon vanilla. It’s flavorful, sweet, and tart. It is made with carbonated water, real cane sugar, citric acid, caramel color, natural black cherry flavor, and fruit and vegetable juices. Read more…

Vietnamese Peach Relish

Relish The Thought
I have a mango salsa that I love to make when we have grilled fish or, better yet—and more likely than not—fish tacos. It adapts this salsa recipe from Macademia-Crusted Yellowtail with Mango Papaya Salsa. Except, I leave out the papaya and double the mango. Nothing against papaya per se. But, I find it is too soft for my taste in a salsa. (That’s just me.)

As much as I dig my usual, it is never a bad idea to broaden your horizons and try something different. And, with the fresh peaches and nectarines coming into the market, I felt inspired. So, I tried something outside my norm. And, I think I have found a new favorite.

Peach Salsa is not a new concept, but this relish recipe is new to me, at least. And, it is less south of the border and definitely more Southeast Asia. This opens up a whole range of possibilities from grilled salmon to Halibut steamed in banana leaves. (Not that I always have banana leaves at hand, but a girl can dream. Don’t harsh my vibe, man…)

I like the funkiness that the fish sauce lends to it, and I am curious to see if a little lemongrass would work too…maybe next time.

This relish screams hot summer nights by the pool with some grilled shrimp skewers and a cold glass of white wine…though you could never go wrong with a Mai Tai if you’re feeling tropical.

Vietnamese Peach Relish Recipe
Adapted from Food and Wine
Yields 3 cups Read more…