Big Acres'November eNewsletter
(11/01/2002)

Hey, it's your Favorite Sauce Company, Melanie's Fine Foods -- checking in to let you know what's going on this month with Big Acres'Sauces!

Well, here we are, starting yet another wonderful holiday season! And to help you get ready, we've put together several ways to make your preparations easier! See us at our upcoming event where you can buy sauce and beautiful gift baskets for your friends & family; call or fax us your orders using your MasterCard or VISA, and print out the recipes below for your holiday celebration!

Welcome New Fans!
Welcome to all our new subscribers! Many of you came to us via our web-site, the Redwood City Farmer's Market, Noel Boutique (a lovely event) and the San Carlos Art & Wine Festival. Thank you for your business and for choosing to receive our monthly eNewsletter!

The Spirit of Giving Holiday Boutique. . .
Happens next week, November 7, 8, and 9 at the Crown Plaza Cabana Hotel in Palo Alto, CA (for details, see http://www.bigacres.com - Events). The profits from this event go to the Junior League of Palo Alto·Mid Peninsula, an organization that provides trained volunteers and grants for community projects that help underprivileged families in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.

Please drop by and buy Big Acres'Sauces and shop their Holiday Boutique or attend one of these wonderful events:

• Twilight and Twinkling Preview Party Thursday, November 7th, 6:30 p.m.to 9:30 p.m. Featuring Shopping, Hors d'Oeuvres, Cocktails and Wine Tasting $35 per person

• The Spirit of Giving Holiday Boutique Luncheon and Informal Modeling by Wilkes Bashford Friday, November 8, 12 noon $55 per person

Get your tickets now for these fabulous events! http://www.acteva.com/go/jlpamp or call The Spirit of Giving Hotline at 650-321-5026 x18.

Two Great Ways to Give Gifts of Big Acres Sauces!

Melanie's Fine Foods Now Accepts VISA & MasterCard!
Get your credit card out and call us up or fax us the attached order form. We'll ship sauce to you, your friends and family for the holidays! Select Teriyaki Marinade, Rich & Mild BBQ or Hot & Spicy BBQ Sauces in quantities of 3 or by the case (6 bottles). We'll confirm your order by email, along with the total price including shipping & handling.

Holiday Gift Baskets
Need a holiday gift for a special person in your life who loves to grill? Sensational Treasures has put together some wonderful barbecue gift baskets -- each one includes a bottle of each Big Acres Sauce, a non-stick sauce pot, and either a BBQ mitt or rosewood handled tongs! Call them for other options as well!

To order, call Sensational Treasures at (650) 622-9226. They ship

Recipes: Thanksgiving Dinner for 12

Menu:
Butternut Squash soup
Apricot herb stuffed Cornish Game hens glazed with Big Acres Rich & Mild BBQ Sauce
Green beans & sautéed mushrooms
Baked Yams & honey
Lattice Apple Pie and Ice cream

Butternut Squash Soup:
8 lbs of butternut squash
Olive oil
4oz of butter
4 yellow medium onions or equivalent quantity shallots, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
8 cups of chicken broth
2 cups water
2 cups of cream (or more water)
2 to 3 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 half a whole nutmeg, finely grated
12 oz of cream ?optional

Halve squash lengthwise, remove seeds and strings, brush with oil, bake face down on baking sheet for 50 minutes or until a knife is easily inserted into the squashes thickest part. Cool and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Saute' onion in butter on medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and saute' for another minute, stirring all the time. Add squash and stock to cover, bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove to a large bowl and cool slightly, put the original pan back on the stove add all the remaining stock and 1 cup of the water, bring to a boil. Puree the squash mixture in a blender in batches. Add each blended batch to the saucepan on the store and stir. Add salt and pepper, stir well, cover and bring to a simmer for 30 minutes.

In a separate small sauce pan, warm through cream and nutmeg, being careful not to boil. Stir and check thickness and add water and seasoning as necessary. Serve soup warm with a swirl of cream.

Apricot Herb Stuffed Cornish Game Hens Glazed With Big Acres Rich & Mild BBQ Sauce:
Heat oven to 450 degrees,
2 large shallow-sided roasting pans
12 Small Cornish Game Hens
Olive oil
Stuffing:
1 cup dried apricots
6 slices white bread, or Italian peasant bread
1 teaspoon salt
?teaspoon white pepper
3 teaspoons olive oil
?cup Italian parsley loosely packed, chopped
2 tablespoons chives or scallions, finely chopped
Hot water

Stuffing can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to stuff the birds. Do not stuff the birds until just before cooking.

Roughly chop the apricots, put in a small bowl with enough hot water to cover them. Soak for at least an hour, drain well and reserve the soaking water. Trim the crusts from the bread and cut into cubes. Mix all of the ingredients gently but well in small bowl, except the olive oil. When everything is mixed, dribble in the oil and mix well. Try not to break up the bread.

Make the glaze by combining 1 bottle of Big Acres Rich and Mild BBQ Sauce with the apricot soaking liquid. Set aside.

Wash the defrosted hens inside and out, remove any loose skin or meat and discard. Dry hens with paper towels, rub all over lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Stuff an equal amount of the apricot stuffing in each bird, do not over fill. Arrange on roasting pans.

Roast hens for 60 to 70 minutes. Check for doneness: use a meat thermometer to check poultry by inserting it between the thigh and body. Hens are done when the internal temperature reaches 170+ degrees. In the last 5-8 minutes of cooking, brush top of each hen with the glaze. Allow the birds to rest for 20 minutes before serving.

Green Beans & Sautéed Mushrooms:
3lbs green beans, trimmed, blanched and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 ?lbs mushrooms, cleaned and sliced into ?inch slices
6 oz butter or olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
Soy sauce
Pepper

May be done in 2 batches. Melt butter in large skillet on medium heat. Do not let butter burn. Add garlic and saut?for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and saut?until soft and liquid is released. Add soy sauce and pepper to taste. Stir well. Do not add salt; the soy sauce is enough. Add blanched green beans and stir until warmed, 1-2 minutes, do not cook them again as the contrast of crisp beans and soft mushrooms is desired. Serve immediately.

Baked Yams & Honey:
Oven preheated to 350 degrees, broiler proof dishes
4 - 5lbs yams or sweet potatoes
?cup honey
4 oz butter
?- 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
Salt and Pepper

Wash and dry yams, wrap tightly in aluminum foil, bake for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until soft when a knife is inserted. Cool slightly, then scoop out flesh and place in microwave proof bowl with the butter. Roughly mash. Before serving, warm in the microwave, carefully transfer to broiler-proof serving dishes, drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cinnamon to taste. Broil under high heat for a few minutes until the top is slightly browned (watch carefully to avoid burning).

Lattice Apple Pie:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, Food processor,
9 inch deep pie dish Makes enough for one 9-inch pie crust (make two batches, 1 for crust and 1 for top)

Pastry:
?cup all-purpose flour
?cup plain cake flour
?teaspoon salt
4 oz unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ice water

Filling:
3 lbs Granny Smith apples
?cup sultanas, optional
?- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4-5 whole cloves
1 egg lightly beaten
Lemon juice
?cup granulated sugar or light brown sugar

Add flour, butter and salt to the processor. Pulse for 1 minute or until butter is blended. Add sugar, egg yolk, vanilla, and water and process until pastry gathers together. If this doesn’t happen within 10-15 seconds, add more water, a?teaspoon at a time while processing. Knead dough on a clean, un-floured surface. Form into a disc 1 to 1-1/2 inches thick, place in a plastic bag and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and core the apples, cut into thin wedges, and sprinkle with lemon juice in a bowl to prevent browning. Roll the chilled pastry on a floured surface to ?inch or less thick and large enough to cover the pie dish. Turning a quarter turn between each roll out will help it become a circle and prevent sticking. Work quickly as this pastry is very soft when it gets warm.

Line pie dish with pastry and place a layer of apples, a sprinkle of sugar, cinnamon, sultanas and all the cloves on top. Repeat making a pile in the middle of the dish until it is very full in the middle (the apples will reduce down as they cook).

Roll out the second batch of pastry. Cut into ?inches strips, long enough to go across the pie dish. Brush edge of pie with some of the beaten egg and lay strips across pie to make a lattice. Keep them loose and press the ends down lightly into the egged edge of the pie. Carefully brush lattice with beaten egg and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar. Trim the excess pastry off using a sharp knife.

Bake at 400 for 1?to 1?hours. Check at 40 minutes, if the edges are cooking before the rest, use a pie edge shield made from strips of aluminum foil wrapped around the pie edge. The pie is done when the apples are soft and the piecrust is a nice even brown. If the crust looks like it is cooking before the apples, you may turn the oven down to 375 degrees.

Serve pie warm with vanilla ice cream.

For more recipes, visit our Recipes section at http://www.bigacres.com.

So, have a Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your holidays!

Eat Lotsa Sauce!

Melanie's Fine Foods, Inc.

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