New to Julie’s Beet: Bee Local Hot Honey January 26 2018

 This Hot Honey from Bee Local is the perfect addition to your table.  Find some of our favorite uses for this sweet and spicy honey below. Happy cooking!

Hot Toddy

Serves 1

Ingredients:

2 oz whiskey

1 tbsp Bee Local Hot Honey

½ lemon, juiced, plus 1 lemon wheel for garnish

6 oz boiling water, let to sit off heat for 5 minutes before adding

1 cinnamon stick

Method:

- bring water to a boil

- add whiskey, Bee Local Hot Honey and lemon juice to an 8oz mug

- add hot water and stir

- garnish with lemon wheel and cinnamon stick

Baked Chicken Fingers with Hot Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch strips

1 c buttermilk

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp hot sauce

1 egg

1 c unbleached, all-purpose flour

1 c seasoned bread crumbs

1 tsp salt

½ tsp cayenne pepper

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

- whisk together buttermilk, garlic powder, onion powder, and hot sauce in a medium sized mixing bowl

- place chicken breast strips into a large zip-top bag, pour buttermilk mixture over top, seal the bag and allow to marinate for up to 4 hours -- remove from refrigerator 1 hour before use

-preheat oven to 400 degrees set on convection bake

- meanwhile, set up the breading station: combine bread crumbs, salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper together and place in a shallow dish

- place flour in a shallow dish

- whisk egg with 1 tbsp water in a shallow dish

- lightly oil a baking sheet

- to bread, take 1 chicken strip from buttermilk mixture, coat in flour shaking off the excess, then dip in egg wash, and then finally coat in breadcrumb mixture and place on baking sheet -- repeat this step until all of the chicken is breaded

- bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown and the juices from the chicken run clear.

Hot Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

¼ c Bee Local Hot Honey

¼ c mayonnaise

¼ c dijon mustard

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Method:

- add Bee Local Hot Honey, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, and apple cider vinegar into a bowl, whisk together.

Arugula Pizza with Bee Local Hot Honey Drizzle

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 pound pizza dough, homemade or store bought, at room temperature

Unbleached all-purpose flour, for dusting

Semolina flour, for dusting

¼ c extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves roasted garlic, smashed with fork into a paste

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

½ c ricotta cheese

1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

4 c baby arugula

1 shallot, thinly sliced

½ lemon, juiced

3 oz thinly sliced prosciutto

Method:

- place pizza stone, cast iron skillet, or upside-down baking sheet in oven and preheat to 450 set on convection bake

- on a floured sheet of parchment paper, press out the dough, working from the outer perimeter inward, until a 12-in circle is achieved

- transfer dough to a semonia dusted upside-down baking sheet or a semonia dusted pizza peel (if using a large 12 inch cast iron skillet, remove skillet from oven, oil generously, dust with semolina, and then carefully drape in pizza dough into hot skillet)

- brush with 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, roasted garlic, and then add salt and pepper to taste

- transfer dough onto the hot pizza stone or upside-down baking sheet (if using cast iron skillet, just return to the oven with the pizza dough)

- par-bake crust for 5 minutes

- top crust with ricotta cheese and shredded mozzarella cheese and bake until cheese is golden and bubbled -- about 8 minutes

- meanwhile, toss arugula with remaining 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice

- remove pizza from oven, top with arugula salad, shallots, shaved parmesan, prosciutto, and of course, a generous drizzle of Bee Local Hot Honey

Sweet & Smoky Pecan Pie Recipe July 28 2017

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated National Pecan Pie Day.  While summer may have you thinking more about strawberry pie and ice cream, this recipe is too good to not to share.  We use the Bee Local Cherry Wood Smoked Honey which has just the right amount of smokiness to compliment all the sweetness in the pie.  You can serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to cool things off. I guarantee, you will not be disappointed. 

Happy Friday,

Julie

Southern Pecan Pie with Bee Local Cherry Wood Smoked Honey

Makes 6-8 Servings

Ingredients

¼ cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup Bee Local Cherry Wood Smoked Honey

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped pecans

1 unbaked pastry shell(9 inch)

½ cup pecan halves

Method

-Preheat oven to 350° F.

-In a small bowl combine the sugar and flour.  Stir in the eggs, Bee Local Cherry Wood Smoked Honey, butter, vanilla, & salt. Add the chopped pecans a mix well.  Pour into pastry shell.  Arrange pecan halves in a design on the top of the filling.

-Cover edges of pastry with foil. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for an additional 20-25 minutes.  A knife inserted into the center of the pie should come out clean.

-Cool on a wire rack and store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

Buzz, Buzz... Save the Bees May 19 2017

The spring brings the birds and the bees to mind as the flowers are blooming the sun warms everything up.  Bees are a very important part of our agriculture system and there has been a big movement lately to save the bees.  J. Crew has a ‘Save the Bees’ t-shirt with 50% of the profits being donated to helping the bees.  There is a message on our box of Honey Nut Cheerios to ‘Bring Back the Bees’. According to the Cheerios website they will be looking to turn 60,000 acres of oat farms into homes for bees providing over 3000 acres of habitats with wildflowers that allow these pollinators to thrive.  Our friend at Bee Local honey take their love of bees one step further.

Bee Local Honey was created to be a trusted and tasty honey company producing and sourcing only the most sustainable, healthy and uniquely delicious honeys in the country.  Bee Local ensures their bees are not fed high fructose corn syrup and never use in-hive chemical treatments to heal the common ailments of the bees.  This produces some really tasty honeys that have flavor profiles similar to chocolate or wine.  Bee Local takes the flavor profile one step further with the creation of their smoked honeys.

The Cherry Wood Smoked Honey has notes of deep cherry, tobacco and leather in a robust flavor profile.  This honey is created using a cold-smoking method by Chef BJ Smith of Portland’s Smokehouse Tavern Restaurant.  The honey is a truly amazing way to add a lot of flavor to your cooking with little effort.  Drizzle it over Fried Chicken or mix in your Hot Toddy for a tasty treat.  We have used it to make Roasted Carrots and there weren’t any complaints about those.  The Cherry Wood Smoked Honey is also great in a marinade for your chicken or pork before it hits the grill.

Remember the bees that work so hard to produce these amazing honeys when you are enjoying the nice weather this spring.  Of course, we don’t want a bee buzzing around our picnic basket but we do need them in other areas of our lives.

Happy Friday,

Julie

Happy 2016! January 01 2016

As I write this post, I am recovering from another wonderful New Year’s Eve!  It has become a tradition that we host New Year’s Eve at our home. This year was the sixth or seventh party at the Rosenberg’s and boy have they changed over the years.

There are some consistencies from year to year and that is why we continue to host.  The evening always includes good friends, good wine, interesting punch and great food.  The guest list continues to grow even though we now start the party at 6 pm and kindly ask everyone to leave at 9pm.  There is a little one at our house who doesn’t understand sleeping in, and I need to get some sleep too!  This means I am finished cleaning up in time to watch the ball drop and then head straight to bed. I remember a few years back getting to sleep around 5am… that doesn’t happen too often anymore.

The drinks continue to get better.  My husband is in charge of all beverages from the wine to the punch. The punch is usually very involved and doesn’t get touched. This year the punch included grapefruit, honey, banana liquor, strawberries, basil and Szechuan Peppercorn infused vodka. I’m not giving away the recipe here but you can see it was interesting.  The wine is always a safe bet and we have a champagne saber which usually results in one minor injury but allows everyone to enjoy a lot of bubbly.

The menu was streamlined this year and included meatballs, pigs-in-a-blanket, guacamole and a caviar display.  My friend Jeremy brought some decadent foie gras and chicken liver mousse. I couldn’t help but serve that with some Notorious F.I.G. from Gus & Grey.  I used some of the spices from La Boite to season the meatballs and had some D.A.T. Sauce out with the pigs-in-a-blanket.  As you can imagine, there wasn’t much left! 

Overall I feel the party was a success and know we will do it all over again to ring in 2017.  I am looking forward to an eventful 2016 and am very excited to share it with all of you.

Happy Friday,

Julie

A Happy, Healthy & Sweet New Year September 18 2015

L’Shana Tova 5776! This week marked the beginning of the New Year on the Jewish calendar. As with most Jewish Holidays, there are certain foods associated with this holiday.  We typically eat apples dipped in honey and just about anything else that is sweet. Here is a delicious recipe for Chocolate Honey Cake. I used the Portland Farmland Honey from Bee Local. It is new to our marketplace and super delicious.  Read more about Bee Local here.

Happy Friday,

Julie

Chocolate Honey Cake with Bee Local Portland Farmland Honey

Makes one 9-inch loaf cake

Ingredients:

2 oz unsweetened chocolate

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

¾ cup Bee Local Portland Farmland Honey

2/3 cup light brown sugar

½ cup orange juice

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Method:

-Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. Melt the unsweetened chocolate in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time stirring in between. Set aside

-Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon into a mixing bowl. Set aside.

--In a larger bowl, beat the eggs and add the oil and Bee Local Portland Farmland Honey.  Then add the brown sugar and chocolate chips.

-Alternately add the dry ingredients and the orange juice.  Stir in ¾ cup of the mini chocolate chips.

-Pour the batter in to the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips over the top.

-Bake on lower rack of the oven for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on a rack for about 15 minutes.  Gently run a knife around the edges to loosen the cake, then remove it from the pan.