Upper Midwest Gourmet

I have been seeing a lot of St Patty’s inspired recipes floating around the internet and photos like this one (from thecupcakeblog) have inspired me to give one such cupcake recipe a try tomorrow.

I will be taking home some Ghirardelli sunrise cocoa to aid in my adventure.  Below is the basic recipe I will follow. I’ll let you know how it goes.

• 1 cup chocolate stout
• 1 cup (8 ounces) butter
• 3/4 cup Ghirardelli Sunrise unsweetened cocoa
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• ***Irish Cream Frosting***
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 4 to 6 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

At the Milwaukee Restaurant Expo, our Fabbri rep, Tom Trieschmann, asked the Bittercube Bitters Company if they would use our Amarena Fabbri cherries for their cocktail seminars (replacing Maraschino’s) and they agreed after sampling Amarena.

Just another great example of two great brands working together for the greater good.

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

We have a fabulous UMG scone mix that I decided to take home this weekend,

along with some Ghirardelli Barista chocolate chips and Fabbri Mou Toffee Caramel Marbling.

The result was this sweet treat!

For good measure I made a batch of plain chocolate chip scones too, which did not disappoint.

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

Please enjoy this article about composting from Heather at Badger Brew Express in Rice Lake, Wisconsin that she wrote for the Twin Cities Coffee Guild.

ARTICLE – “Where Do Your Grounds Go? by Heather H. Haller”

Remember that UMG carries a bunch of compostable disposables like the Eco Products Green Stripe cold cups that Heather uses.

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

Yes, it’s that time of year again when the trade shows begin. We are exhibiting in a couple of them that we would love to invite you to attend.

Our first show of the year is the Wisconsin Restaurant Expo being held in downtown Milwaukee on March 12-14th. That’s a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday show. We have been exhibiting at this show for over 10 years now and will have our usual spot on the floor with a 20 foot end booth. This year we will be highlighting our Flamenco Organic Coffees, Dr Smoothie 100% crushed fruit smoothie mixes, Mozo Chef shoes, Cappuccine, Big Train and a host of fine products from Amoretti including flavoring syrups, 100% fruit smoothie mixes, Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar and Martin mixes. We will have many other items on display as well including a 2 group espresso machine. We would love to see you there this year so stop by for an espresso, smoothie or martini (maybe all 3 mixed together!). We have a limited amount of FREE passes for Wednesday the 14th. Please contact us if that is a day you can make it.

Go to http://www.everythingfoodservice.org for more info on this fantastic show.

The second show of the year for us is Coffee Fest Chicago being held at the Navy Pier Convention Hall. This show is on June 8-10th (Friday-Sunday). We will have another 20 foot booth there highlighting many of our products including Flamenco Organic Coffee and are hoping to have a full display of Gelato on hand. For more info on this show and to register to attend, please visit http://www.coffeefest.com for more details.

Please stay tuned for more details on this show as we comprise them.

Hope to see you at one or both of these shows. We love to meet with our customers rather it may be the first time, or an annual routine. We truly appreciate your continued business and support and feel these show are a way for us to convey that to you.

Feel free to contact us for any further information on either of these shows.

What a winter we have had this year! It’s either been the worst or the best, depending on your perspective. We hope that the warmer than usual weather has helped business for everyone.

The weather will be turning even warmer, though, which means cold drinks like iced espresso drinks, cold press coffee, smoothies, frappes, iced tea, and lemonade are going to really start picking up. It also means that those of you that are making gelato will start to see some serious sales increases.

We have used this winter to make some serious improvements around here with a focus to better serve you, and want to let you all know again how much we appreciate your business!

Please check out our newest Brewsletter – Volume 46 – Winter 2011/12

Also, please go to the Brewsletters Page on our website to download and read previous Brewsletters. They contain lots of useful information!

Enjoy and thanks again from all of us at UMG!

Please enjoy these amazing recipes using our new

Amoretti Organic Extra Virgin Kalamata Infused Olive Oil, Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar, and Pomegranate Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Amoretti Pasta Salad
By: Chef Sadhna Sheli, The Masala Girl

Ingredients:
16 oz – Whole wheat rotini pasta
2 tablespoons – Amoretti Organic Extra Virgin Kalamata Infused Olive Oil
1 cup – Basil, chopped
½ cup – Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
½ cup – Amoretti Pomegranate Vinaigrette
1 cup – pitted Kalamata olives
¼ cup – Sun dried julienne cut tomatoes, drained
1 cup – Cherry tomatoes, halved
(2) 6.5 oz jars – Marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1 – Red bell pepper, cut into small pieces
(1) 8oz – container Ciliegine or Bocconcini mozzarella, drained
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Bring large pot of water to boil. Add 2 tablespoons salt, a splash of Amoretti Olive Oil, and pasta. Cook pasta according to package directions, until just tender. Drain, and run pasta under cold water until cooled. Add pasta to a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients, and salt and pepper to taste, toss and enjoy!

Soft Mozzarella & Tomato Salad
By: Chef Sadhna Sheli, The Masala Girl

Ingredients:
Big handful – soft mozzarella (pearl size)
2 handfuls – tomatoes cut in half (pearl size)
1 – clove of garlic (finely chopped)
Handful – fresh basil, chopped
2 teaspoons – olive tapenade
– splash of any one of the three Amoretti olive oil trio blends

Directions:
Mix ingredients together place in refrigerator. Allow for flavors to marinate for a couple of hours before serving.

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

The Umpqua Oats test kitchen has really outdone itself with this exciting new recipe!

Their famously huge, whole rolled oats are blended with the best quality berries and pecans they could find anywhere! The result is an incredibly delicious berry and nut oatmeal reminiscent of old fashioned berry cobbler. Yep, they know that berries are pricey, but they just couldn’t help themselves.

We are betting your customers will agree that our latest addition “hits the jackpot” with a big, juicy, bold, berry flavor!

Coming soon in March!

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

Numi Organic Tea is excited to share with you our 2 NEW Decaf Flavors!

We will soon have the Numi Decaf EARL GREY and Decaf SIMPLY GREEN in stock at Upper Midwest Gourmet.

Decaf Earl Grey – Decaf Assam black tea aged with real bergamot orange

Decaf Simply Green – Smooth, mellow and full-bodied decaf green tea

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

Better Stevia packets are now available at Upper Midwest Gourmet.

This all-natural sweetener is made with certified USDA organic stevia.

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

As many of you cafe owners and managers know, selling retail products is very important to your bottom line.

Having those retail offerings adds to the overall order total of the customer which means increased profits.

The Ghirardelli sauces in squeeze bottles come in Creamy Caramel, White Chocolate, and Dark Chocolate and are the perfect retail item!

These high-end sauces are something that any cafe customer would love to have in their home or to give as a gift.  In 2011 this was one of Ghirardelli’s best selling items for coffee shop and gift shop owners.  They literally flew off the shelves.

I think that once you give them a try and start offering them on your retail product display that you will see them start flying off the shelves too.

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

Yes, the rumors are true. We are doing away with our showroom and opening a cafe in it’s place!

This cafe will be open to the public and will hopefully be completed in the next few months. These should help you get the picture:

BEFORE

DURING

MORE DURING

AFTER – Coming Soon…

From this months issue of Specialty Coffee Retailer Magazine:

“Without food, most coffeehouses will starve.”

Do you serve food at your cafe?

La Spaziale has come out with two different instant / no-dose espresso grinders with internal electronics and a digital display for measuring grams! The two versions are the Astro 12 Instant and the Top Instant. These espresso grinders are the way of the future and we will personally be working with each of these in-house to make sure we are happy with their performance. Now available at UMG!

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)

Here is our newest offerings sheet from Flamenco Organic Coffee Company

(For pricing or additional product information, please Contact Us. Thank you.)