Tag Archives: Recipe of the Week

Best Zucchini Recipes from gThankYou!

Posted on September 23, 2011 by | Leave a comment

In the Midwest, zucchini is both a marvelous signpost for summer, and terrifying force of nature. The northern equivalent of kudzu, when the growing conditions are right its vines crawl out of tidy, fenced-in garden patches to take over whole neighborhoods, depositing dozens of dark green squash the size of Volkswagens in its wake.

Fortunately, zucchini also has many wonderful qualities. It is a terrific addition to soup, pasta, and side dishes, and makes cakes and breads moist and delicious. In the zucchini world, remember that the biggest is not necessarily the best: young squash are by far the most desirable– their seeds are still small and tender, and the flesh is firm and sweet.

Zucchini photo for gThankYou!Little known facts about the humble zucchini:

In 2005, a poll of 2,000 people revealed the zucchini (also known in Europe as the courgette) to be Britain’s 10th favorite culinary vegetable!  Want to try something new?   Try this British no-cook antipasti recipe for “Stuffed Courgette Rolls” from Good Food.com.

Ratatouille - gThankYou!In France, zucchini is a key ingredient in ratatouille, a stew of summer fruits and vegetables prepared in olive oil and cooked for an extended time over low heat.  Julia Child’s recipe for this wonderful dish is still a consensus favorite!

Zucchini Gratin - gThankYou!

In Spain, zucchini are also fried with egg and onions in olive oil to make a Spanish dish called “tortilla de calabacín”.

In Italy, the blossoms are even stuffed and fried – an incredible treat!

Back here in the Midwest, when we have a craving for sweets, nothing beats a good zucchini bread treat; one office favorite is Zucchini-Chocolate Chip Muffins thanks to our friends at Allrecipes.com.  Feel that fall breeze yet?  It’s a good time to try and share them!

Do you have a favorite way to cook zucchini? Tell us about it!

About Us
gThankYou, LLC  (www.gthankyou.com) is based in Madison, WI and produces America’s favorite meaningful, affordable and convenient employee gifts.  gThankYou!® Certificates of Gratitude™ are one way savvy companies demonstrate commitment to valued employees and customers. The company is best known for its Turkey Gift Certificates, Ham Gift Certificates, Turkey or Ham Gift Certificates and Grocery Gift Cards.   Other Favorites include our Ice Cream and Pie Gift Certificates.

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Posted in All Recipes, Vegetable Recipes

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The Best way to Bake a Ham

Posted on March 11, 2010 by | 2 Comments

The top-rated recipe each time I visited Epicurious a while back was — seriously — How to Boil Water. Certainly this was a spoof at Conde Nast’s mega food site populated with recipes from its Bon Appetit and now-defunct Gourmet magazines. Just the same, it reminds me of this week’s Recipe of the Week topic: Baking a Ham.

Many Hams come pre-cooked and, really, need no cooking at all. But most Hams will benefit from baking. And if you don’t make big roasts that much (like me), you may need some reminders and tips.  Why bake? It brings out the natural juices and allows you to customize with a glaze, if you choose, to fit your dinner.

For a primer on Ham (the USDA recognizes four distinct classifications of Ham based on water to protein ratio), view this video from Alton Brown’s Food Network show, Good Eats.

After you’ve decided on which type you want to serve — city or country, fresh, bone-in, spiral sliced, etc. – follow these simple steps for the Best Baked Ham Dinner.

  1. Buy a quality Ham: Choose well by knowing what you’re buying. Alton Brown does a good job explaining it, but there’s good information on Ham at Wikipedia, too.
  2. Read the package: Most Hams you buy in your grocer’s case will come with some basic guidelines and instructions for cooking right on the label.
  3. Decide on a glaze: To glaze or not to glaze is a matter of personal taste (and some intense debate). Options range from fruity peach and pineapple, to adventurous honey mustard and hoisin sauce. Experiment with recipes from CDKitchen and Recipetips.com or go with a family favorite.
  4. Bake and check for doneness: One of my favorite kitchen tools is a digital probe thermometer. It is readable from outside the oven and alerts me when food is done. Consumer Reports rates them here.
  5. Enjoy! Slice and serve with your favorite sides. That’s another post, but please share your top picks with us.

While not exactly a no-brainer, it is easy to make a memorable Ham Dinner, whether it be holiday-related or for Sunday supper.

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Posted in Ham Recipes

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Comfort in a Pot

Posted on February 24, 2010 by | Leave a comment

While the days are getting longer, winter drags on (and on) in February. But you can cook up plenty of warming comfort with a few simple ingredients from your grocer’s shelves. This week, gThankYou starts its Recipe of the Week. This week’s pick: Delicious and nutritious soups made with cabbage and ham hocks.

First, a couple of notes on ingredients.

Cabbage has been called one of the world’s healthiest foods. It’s also cheap, plentiful, economical, and versatile, as demonstrated in cabbage-based dishes  from about every cuisine (kimchi anyone?). Cabbage has become among our favorite ingredients for satisfying winter meals, with availability at its peak during the colder months.

Ham hocks are fabulous flavor boosters, often added to enhance soups and to make substantial stocks. They’re smoky and rich, and according to Recipezaar come from the lower part of a pig’s hind leg.

gThankYou for these recipes:

An added benefit: Making these soups can be as rewarding as eating them. Enjoy!

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Posted in All Recipes, Ham Recipes, Ham Soups

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