Fun Food For A Cinco de Mayo Party! In Wisconsin?

Yes, Wisconsin! Wisconsin is the place to find delicious, fun food for a Cinco de Mayo party!
Come May 5th, Cinco de Mayo parties will be thrown throughout Wisconsin and not just by Wisconsin's Mexican-Americans. In fact, many Mexican-Americans chuckle at Wisconsin's enthusiasm for Cinco de Mayo parties because September, not May, is when Mexico celebrates its independence from Spain!
So why all the fuss over Cinco de Mayo in Wisconsin?

Well, the answer is not that a decisive battle was won by the Mexican rebels over the Spanish. The real answer is that Wisconsinites have a growing love of Mexican food. Mexican-American chefs have introduced Wisconsin to the delectable flavors of roasted chilies, slow-cooked pork, and complexly-flavored sauces such as mole, adobe, and green-chili.

Wisconsin is a natural adopter of gourmet Mexican cooking because Wisconsinites already have a cultured appreciation of gourmet sausage and cheeses. Chorizo, a famous Mexican, spiced sausage, is very similar to Wisconsin's own spicy bratwursts.

Two of the gourmet cheeses used in fine, Mexican cooking are asadero and queso para fundir. Last month, Wisconsin cheese-masters Dennis Schliem and Brian Zimmerman, both of Zimmerman Cheese Dairy won 1st and 2nd place for creating the world's finest asadero cheese. Steve Stettler, of Decatur Dairy, took 3rd place for his queso para fundir which competed in the same class as the asaderos. Fine cheeses and meats give Wisconsin chefs the special ingredients required to create gourmet-Mexican cuisine. Our Wisconsin gourmets take Cinco de Mayo way beyond guacamole and margaritas.

And Wisconsin loves heat. You know we crave it in the winter, and what we can't get outside we put in our food! Wisconsin is home to Stump's Hot Olives, - the absolute hottest olive ever devised. Serve the little devils on a condiment tray, in a spicy appetizer of taco roll-ups, or pop a few in your next batch of chili. Then watch your guests turn red. If they really love spicy food, then make and serve Stump's own chili recipe. That chili will be the talk of the evening!

But if you're not so adventurous and just desire gourmet, spicy salsa that adds tremendous flavor to chips and nachos, then garden fresh, smoky tomato and corn salsa is the best buy. Wisconsin is the state famous for its cranberries and Door County cherries, and Wisconsin chefs have concocted many delicious salsas from these native fruits.

So roast or grill that pork tenderloin, baste it in salsa, serve over seasoned, Wisconsin rice and you've got yourself the main features of a gourmet meal. For gourmet Mexican recipes, look to the cookbook compiled by chefs at Madison, Wisconsin's Eldorado Grill restaurant. These Mexican-American chefs offer wonderful ideas, tips, and recipes for creating fun food to serve at your Cinco de Mayo party.

Pack Picnic Foods For A Party On National Picnic Day

National Picnic Day is April 23rd. Are you ready to party?
Throw a picnic party on a Wednesday?
Why wait until a Saturday? If you have a great picnic party on Wednesday, throw it again with more friends on Saturday. Our Wisconsin weather is at last warm enough for outside parties. We can't waste these warm days. We're stepping outside to party and taking our picnic foods with us!
But it's been so long since I thought about outdoor eating. What to make? What to pack? My mashed-potato comfort food doesn't travel well.
Not to worry. So many fun foods DO travel well. Get travel foods that are easy to pack like summer sausages and crackers. Pack some Wisconsin cheese and you've nearly got yourself a meal. For something more hearty, go ahead and pack a ham. Fully-cooked, boneless sliced ham is an excellent picnic food. It's ready to eat. Just pack some great bread, and a couple of jars of mustard, and you've got gourmet sandwiches ready for the picnic table.
Or if your picnic table has a grill next to it, then bring along some bratwursts. They are always picnic food winners. Wisconsin bratwursts say, "It's party time!" Bratwursts say, "It's Summer!" Bratwursts scream, "We're having fun!" Yes, our Wisconsin bratwursts are very bold and loud when it comes to great flavor. Can't keep them quiet. And they'll get your party guests raving too.
But don't I need more than brats, bread, and cheese for my picnic?
Well yes, beer too.
"I'm not asking about beer. I want to know about veggies!" some nutrition-conscious voice might insist. So answer that concern with the delectable flavors packed in pickled vegetables. Pickled asparagus, mushrooms, green beans, and olives make tasty, healthy snacks.
Popcorn is also an excellent picnic food snack. It's light to carry, and doesn't crumble like crackers or chips. Plus it's healthier too. Popcorn comes with different seasonings so everybody can snack happily. Mixed nuts are also great picnic snack foods. They're easy to pack, and easy to munch on the bench or on the trail.
But back to the beer. Some Wisconsin parks don't allow beer. However, they do allow root beer! And you can get premium Sprecher root beer made in Wisconsin's own Sprecher brewery. Or try Blumer's old fashioned sodas for a sweet pop better than ordinary colas.
The easiest dessert on a picnic is cookies. Packed in a tin, cookies won't crumble.
Sugar cookies delight kids and adults when they're decorated with special themes. Say, get cookies with a picnic theme. They're fun.
So I think you're all set. Here are so many ideas and choices for great picnic foods that you can celebrate National Picnic Day once a week and never run out of delicious picnic party foods. So go ahead, throw the picnic party. Inspire the neighbors to throw one too and let the outdoor-party season begin!

Edible Birthday Gifts: Food Gifts For The Person Who's Got Everything

Birthday gifts are hard to buy for the birthday person who's got everything. But edible birthday gifts can be your answer. Everybody who wants to live to the next birthday has got to eat. So let that birthday boy or gal eat cake... pie, or cookies. Or give an equally yummy but heartier food gift. Birthday gifts of gourmet specialty meats or Wisconsin artisanal cheese are always appreciated. People enjoy sharing food gifts, so by sending birthday food you're supplying food for a birthday party as well!
Food gift baskets are great birthday gifts because they keep on giving. The birthday person can dip into it over and over to pull out something surprising and delicious. Birthday gift baskets are also a savvy way for the giver to hedge bets on what the birthday recipient will enjoy. If you're not sure just how much he or she will like one thing in particular, then provide a selection. A birthday gift basket of food can hold snacks, candies, bakery treats, meats, cheeses, crackers, and even specialty sodas. Enough bounty can pack into one gift basket to please even the hardest person to buy for.
On the other hand, food gifts can fit particular tastes and hobbies. For example, some folks regularly enjoy a bowl of popcorn while watching TV in the evening. If your birthday recipient does, then a creative gift is a selection of heritage-variety, gourmet popcorns that can't be found at the grocer's. A popcorn gift set will show you thought about what the birthday person really likes, and not just about what is easy to give. (Of course popcorn gift sets are easy to give too.)
Or maybe your birthday person loves Harley motorcycles. Then give a Harley Let's Ride gift set. If you're giving to a chocoholic, then a selection of gourmet chocolates will be sure to please. Or maybe you're giving food to someone who loves to cook. Then a breakfast gift basket of specialty pancake mixes, pure Wisconsin maple syrup, and gourmet bacon can be the best birthday gift to give. You really have so many options when selecting thoughtful and out-of-the-ordinary food gifts.
And the great thing about giving edible birthday gifts? If they're from Wisconsinmade, they'll get eaten up and you can send them again next year.

Easter Gift Baskets: Perfect Food Gifts For The Whole Family

Easter gift baskets loaded with gourmet food make perfect gifts for a whole family. The ultimate gourmet food gift basket arrives packed with an Easter ham, smoked turkey breast, smoked pork chops, applewood smoked bacon, Wisconsin cheeses, mustards, and sauces and will feed family and guests for the whole Easter weekend.







Or give the gift of an Easter brunch. Easter breakfast gift baskets come in many sizes. The festive Easter Treats Gift Basket is filled with pancake mixes, pure Wisconsin maple syrup, maple sugar candy, and gourmet coffee.



Children love unwrapping Easter baskets brimming with Easter candies and chocolate bunnies. Try something new and delight children with a gift of Easter-decorated caramel apples hand-dipped in pastel-colored, candied-chocolates or sprinkles. The He Has Risen Sugar Cookie Tin will help children keep the religious significance of Easter in mind as they enjoy their Easter sweets.



Food gifts are always appreciated and always enjoyed. And sending food to loved ones has never been easier with easy on-line ordering and fast delivery. Select your favorite Easter gift basket and give it today.

Wisconsin Cheeses Win Top Awards At World Championship Cheese Contest

This past week master cheese-makers from 20 different countries met in Madison, Wisconsin to compete in the World Championship Cheese Contest. 2,318 different artisan cheeses, separated into 79 categories, vied for the gold medal of their class and the top award of world's best cheese. The Swiss Gruyere created by cheese-master Cedric Gragniere for Emmi Kase AG was named 2010 World Champion. But Wisconsin cheese-makers won 21 of the 79 gold medals for best in class, far more than any other single region.
The gold medal winner of the class of flavored Goudas was Burning Melange created by cheese-maker Marieke Penterman of Holland Family Cheese. Her flavored foenegreek Gouda won the silver medal at the 2008 World Championship Cheese Contest. My personal favorite is her smoked Gouda.
Master cheese-maker, Al O'Brien of Mt. Sterling Cheese Co-op, won 2nd place for his cave-aged raw goat milk cheddar. Delicious!
The University of Wisconsin's Babcock Dairy won best of class for its Edam Gouda! And Wisconsin's Zimmerman Cheese got the gold and silver for its Quesos Para Fundir.
Click on the link for the complete list of 2010 World Championship Cheese Contest results. To order award-winning, Wisconsin cheeses delivered to your home visit Wisconsinmade.com.

Can You Really Order In The Family's Traditional Easter Dinner And Still Please His Mother?

Countdown to Easter! Soon many mothers will be cooking the family's traditional Easter dinner. Already the kids are excited about the Easter candy and chocolate bunny. They're reminding you to get "the solid chocolate rabbit", - not the hollow one. They won't care about the Easter dinner. But everyone over twelve will. So what delicious Easter food will you make? Or does just thinking about cooking Easter dinner make you tired? How do you feel when you think about spending Easter day in the kitchen cooking for his extended family?
Oh good, glad to hear it. You're revved up and ready to bake six new kinds of Easter breads complete with hand-carved butter bunnies carrying flower baskets. You ROCK girl! Rachel and Martha move over!
What? This isn't you? You've already begun dropping hints to the hubby about going out to one of those fancy Easter brunches? Did he really say "okay, but mother won't like it"? No, don't tell us what you said back. Time to turn things positive.
Time to order in the family's traditional Easter dinner. With his mother in mind, you know you'd better find some highly impressive Easter meat. If a ham is what she always made, that's easy, here's an applewood-smoked ham you can get pre-cooked and spiral-sliced that will likely taste even better than hers. Now, wouldn't that be a shame, your ham showing up hers. You could instead go with the bone-in ham, but you'd have to dirty a pan. Still, this Wisconsin ham tastes good enough to spend a few minutes washing out a pan, even if you do forget the non-stick spray.
What's that? You can't go with a ham because Mother-in-law added a non-compete clause to your pre-nupt contract? Okay, not to worry, there's always the lamb. I say that so nonchalantly. A roasted leg of lamb is likely the absolutely most impressive piece of meat that you can put on an Easter dinner table. But this lamb is easy to prepare! And you won't be able to beat this lamb's delicious flavor with any supermarket lamb roast.
No of course lamb's not too showy. But if you fear "Mother" will think you're putting on airs with a lamb, then I say go for a bird. Roasted duck or pheasant are always pleasant (and rhyming). They too taste as great as they look. But if hubby and you hate carving, then try the boneless roulade. It sounds fancy, it looks fancy, and it is fancy. This rolled chicken stuffed with sage and cranberry dressing is a gourmet treat for Easter dinner. And best of all? Just heat it up and it's ready to eat!
Are you cheering up with the prospect of ordering in these easy Easter meats? But the vegetable side dishes still sting the back of your mind? No sweat. Buy some fancy flavored rice. Wisconsin, - home to wild rice fields extraordinaire, makes some fantastically-awesome rice mixes. Their flavors are so complex, no will suspect you just dumped the rice in water and boiled it. The gourmet rice mixes come in lots of flavor combos so you can choose the right mix to accompany the meat you choose.
And for something green? Ask your mother-in-law to bring her favorite (fill-in-the-blank) vegetable side-dish. She'll be happy to do so; no non-compete clause clutters her recipe box. Plus, a dish from hubby's past will add a feel of tradition to your family's Easter dinner.
But for dessert, be sure to break out of tradition and break out the good stuff! Spoil the family with a scrumptious carrot cake and hand-decorated Easter cookies. These too, like all the rest, can be delivered to your door. Easy ordering. Easy Easter. Now that makes for a happy mother!

Lucky Foods To Eat While Drinking Beer At A St. Patrick's Day Party

An old joke about Wisconsin small towns is that across the street from every church is a bar. And when Wisconsinites celebrate St. Patrick's Day , we meet in the bar. Miraculously, we've transformed the feast day of Ireland's patron saint into a grand drinking party. The holiday has become a reason to drink copious amounts of good beer. On St. Patrick's Day, WI-Irish join Wisconsin-Germans, WI-Norwegians, WI-Swedes, WI-Mexicans, WI-you-name-the-nationality to raise beer mugs in toast to "The Luck Of The Irish". But unlike New Year's Day with its long list of lucky foods, St. Patrick's Day lucky foods may be any food that helps you wake up feeling reasonably okay on March 18th.
So which St. Patrick's Day lucky foods does the Wisconsin gourmet eat? What are the ultimate drinking foods? High-protein fatty foods and salty foods. Why? Ingestion of fat and protein slows digestion allowing the drinker to consume more beer before feeling ill. And a higher intake of salt helps the drinker retain water countering the alcohol's efforts to make him give it up. That hang-over headache is largely due to dehydration. The only difficulty is inducing the partier to eat these foods rather than filling up completely on beer. That's why the lucky foods are the gourmet foods. They taste even better than beer.
Here are some suggestions. The ultimate drinking food is nuts. High in salt, protein, and the-good-kind-of-fat, nuts top the list of lucky St. Patrick's Day foods. Plus, nuts are easy to serve and easy to eat, - no plates or utensils required. Second on the list is cheese. Cheese fills the belly with good nutrition, and in curd form is also easy to eat one-handed (the other hand being busy holding a beer mug). The traditional gourmet may choose pickled eggs to eat with his beer. Jars of pickled eggs adorn many of Great Britain's pubs, so a jar on your bar at home will add a touch of authenticity to your St. Patrick's Day party.
Since St. Patrick's Day has become a multi-ethnic celebration in the U.S., Wisconsin gourmets feel free to consume well-known drinking foods of other cultures. German Summer sausages are lucky because they too are high in protein and fat. Their delicious flavor entices the drinker to turn from the bar and toward the table.
Lastly, it's well-known that drinking beer often induces a craving for sweets. There's no better way to round-out the gourmet's feast of lucky foods than with decorative St. Patrick's Day cookies. With these scrumptious gourmet Wisconsin foods in your cupboard, you're ready for a grand St. Patrick's Day party!