Dana Shortt Gourmet is expanding! I’m very pleased to announce that we are expanding our space to serve you – our loyal clients – better.

I’ve been eager to send out this newsletter to share the great news – but my lawyer (aka Dad!) advised me to wait to send the newsletter until it was 100% official (hence the delay in sending out the January newsletter).

We take possession of our new unit tomorrow, on January 25th, 2008 (a lucky day – also my Dad’s birthday!) and I hope (pray!) to have our new space ready no later than March 1st, 2008 (our current store will remain open until the new space is ready).

It’s been 3 ½ years since I opened the shop, and we’ve quickly outgrown our space. I approached Blessing’s (the gift shop next door to us, which will be our new home) and we worked out a deal – Karen and Judy (the owners of Blessings) are “passing on the torch”. We will NOT be selling decorative items and certain giftware, such as hand lotions, bubble bath and wreaths, but we will be taking over their corporate and personal gourmet gift basket business, as well as continuing to sell chocolates (including Rheo Thompson Candies and Reid), gourmet candies, kitchen essentials (white servingware, cheese knives, tea towels, etc) and entertaining essentials (cocktail napkins, place cards and so forth).
We also plan to continue with the Blessing’s tradition of offering free gift wrapping for large or small gifts (you have no idea how excited we are to actually have our own gift wrapping station!)

Here are some of the products and services that we plan to introduce over the coming months:

• a wider selection of fresh and frozen entrees and soups (including more “party sized” items for casual entertaining)
• fresh salads, side dishes and dips
• Rheo Thompson Candies chocolates
• Reid’s chocolates
• gourmet candies
• a bigger selection of pantry essentials – i.e. –more crackers, sauces, dips, spreads, and so forth
• additional baked goods – artisan breads, croissants, cakes…a wider selection of baked goods in individual and family sized portions
• grab-and-go lunch items
• gourmet gift baskets, boxes and hostess gifts
• tasting and sampling areas
• extended hours (we’ll be open until 7 p.m.)

We’re expanding from 480 square feet to close to 2000 square feet – I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of the dana shortt gourmet staff – Lynda, Scott, Jennifer, Sandy, Caroll, Lindsay, Pete, Daniela, Christine and Kirstie – for working in the relatively "cramped" conditions. I am truly grateful to be working with all of you.

Speaking of staff…..I’m also very excited to announce that Carol Black (the store manager of Blessings) will now be a part of the dana shortt gourmet team. I’m so fortunate to have Carol on board!

healthy, easy appetizer ideas

I am also “expanding” – the big joke around here is “Dana Shortt is expanding” (as opposed to Dana Shortt Gourmet).

I’m thrilled to tell you that David and I are expecting our first child in late April. I will still be very much involved in the business but plan to take 6-8 weeks of uninterrupted maternity leave.

After this short leave, I’ll be back in the shop (often with baby in tow, I’m sure!). As I've mentioned to you in previous newsletters, I have on staff a production & catering chef, a catering co-ordinator (Daniela Schmidt) and a retail manager (Carol Black) to ensure that our business is properly staffed, not just while I am away on maternity, but moving forward as an expanded and growing business.

Now that I have help managing our various departments and behind-the-scenes work, my plan is to have more time to spend in the front of the shop, sampling and introducing new products and spending time with all of our loyal – and new – customers.

pasta san marzano

San Marzano tomatoes are a variety of plum tomatoes, and are considered by many chefs to be the best “sauce tomatoes” in the world. They come from a small town of the same name near Naples and are grown in volcanic soil. The volcanic soil is believed to act as a filter for water impurities. Compared to Roma tomatoes, the flesh is much thicker with fewer seeds, and the taste is much stronger, sweeter and less acidic. Because of their high quality and origins near Naples, San Marzano tomatoes have been designated as the only tomatoes that can be used for Vera Pizza Napoletana (True Neopolitan Pizza).

The name denotes both a point of origin and a variety of tomato. Canned Marzanos grown in Italy in compliance with Italian law will have the EU "DOP" emblem on the label. They can only be called “San Marzano” if they are actually grown in the San Marzano region of Italy (the same principle idea that governs that Champagne can only be called “Champagne” if the grapes are grown in the Champagne region of France – other varieties must be labeled “sparkling wine”). Source: Wikipedia

At this time of year (when tomatoes are not in season) I like to use San Marzano tomatoes for my pasta sauce (you can buy them at Vincenzo’s in Belmont Village).

My hubby David LOVES pasta and his favourite way to enjoy it is usually with a simple sauce – nothing too fancy or complicated. But feel free to add pancetta, sliced olives, sausage or whatever else sounds good to you, if you want to jazz things up a bit.

ingredients

• 1 tablespoon good-quality olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 small onion, peeled and diced
• 1 14-oz can San Marzano tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon good-quality balsamic vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 large handful of fresh basil, washed and chopped
• freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 200 grams De Cecco Pasta
• 2 L salted, boiling water

method

1. Season water with lots of salt (taste it – it should taste like saltwater) and bring to a boil. Add pasta and stir. Stir occasionally, and cook until “al dente”.
   
2. Meanwhile, while pasta is cooking, add olive oil to saucepan. Add chopped garlic and onions and sauté until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Once soft, add can of tomatoes and juices. Break tomatoes into large pieces with wooden spoon. Add balsamic vinegar and ¼ tsp salt. Stir.
   
3. Warm sauce through, and then add chopped fresh basil. Drain pasta and spoon sauce overtop. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese, if desired.

Did you know that we sell frozen, ready-to-bake hors d’oeuvres by the dozen?

All of our hors d’oeuvres are made from scratch, using only the highest quality ingredients (as always, no fake flavours or artificial ingredients).

Visit our website to view our “pick up hors d’oeuvres” menu to peruse the available selections.

Gourmet made easy!

Avoid the restaurant crowds, parking issues and snowy weather by picking up our 5-course valentine's day dinner (best of all, you can eat in your comfies!)

appetizer: a selection of ready-to-bake hors d’oeuvres (6 pieces in total, per person) including:
--sweet potato and shrimp cakes with smoky paprika aioli for dipping
--bacon, stilton and pecan phyllo purses
--one-bite gourmet pizza’s

your choice of soup:
wild mushroom soup enhanced with marsala
or
creamy spanish chickpea soup with sherry

salad:
winter greens with macadamia crusted goat cheese truffles, cucumber, sliced red onion and a citrus herb vinaigrette

your choice of entrée:
beef bourguignon – tender cubes of beef braised in a red wine sauce, garnished with carrots, mushrooms and pearl onions. Served alongside garlic mashed Yukon gold potatoes
chicken masala – tender cubes of chicken cooked in a masala wine cream sauce with red onions and mushrooms, served alongside garlic mashed Yukon gold potatoes

dessert: rich chocolate pate with citrus crème anglaise and fresh berries

price and details
$34.95 per person (plus applicable taxes)
a Visa or MasterCard number is required to hold your order. We recommend that orders be paid for in advance to reduce your wait time during pick up

Available for pick up on Thursday, February 14th between 4 pm – 6 pm.
Sorry, the meals will not be available before 4 pm, the shop will closing at 6 pm
The meals come with detailed heating and serving instructions.

OIf your sweetie loves good food, let us customize a gourmet gift package for him or her. Just tell us how much you’d like to spend and we’ll put something together. Come into the shop to browse or give us a call and we’ll have something ready for you upon your arrival.

Does your Valentine love to cook? How about our sweet and savory marinades, spice rubs or RALO brand olive oil and vinegar?

Does your Valentine love good food but prefers to stay out of the kitchen? What about our lemon curd, signature scones, root chips for gourmet snacking, raincoast crisp crackers, eggplant pesto…

Lastly, a practical yet very romantic idea. Give her (or him!) a break from the kitchen and purchase a selection of our fresh and frozen entrées. Stock your fridge and freezer and enjoy a few nights of easy eating…

Wishing you a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

One of our regular shop clients recently told me a wonderful new use for the new “slow roasted garlic and cream cheese torte” that we sell. Not only is it delicious spread on crackers or flatbread, but try adding it to jazz up mashed potatoes! If you love garlic roasted mashed potatoes, add a knob of the cheese torte for easier garlic mashed.

Thanks for the idea, Leslie!

Do you have an unique idea on how we can use one of our products? Let us know!

apples!

Apples are at their peak right now…..try making a seasonal fruit crisp or simply slice fruit, sauté in a bit of butter and brown sugar and pour over ice cream.
Make baked apples – core and stuff with a sprinkling of oats (or granola cereal), butter, brown sugar and raisins (my Mom’s foolproof way to get my brother Adam and I to eat fruit when we were growing up!)

To soften brown sugar, try one of the following tips:

• "grate" a clump against a box grater (use the side that you would normally use to grate cheese)
• soften it in the microwave (I heat it for about 20 seconds at a time, until softened).

One last thing – we’re hoping that all of you receiving this newsletter want to be on our distribution list.

If you would like to be removed from this list, please let me know and we will fulfill your request asap.