Monday May 25, 2009

The 2009 Entry Form is Open for Business

The Mezzetta Make That Sandwich 2009 Contest is now running, so start entering your delicious sandwiches today. You've got until September 7th to enter as many gourmet creations as you can dream up. Remember to include lots of Mezzetta ingredients and check the contest rules for all of the details. We can't wait to see what you come up with this year!

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Wednesday April 22, 2009

Fire up your imaginations and get your kitchen ready!

We’re pleased to announce that the Mezzetta Make That Sandwich 2009 contest will be open for entries from May 25 – Sept 7, 2009. We will be selecting a finalist from each of the three categories: Hot Sandwich, Cold Sandwich and Vegetarian Sandwich. One of those finalists will be crowned the grand prize winner and awarded $25,000 and a trip to Napa Valley. The two runners-up will both receive $1000 prize!

We had such a good time judging the sandwiches last year and we were amazed by the incredible culinary talent that exists across the country! Remember, sandwiches will be judged on the following criteria: Creative Use of Ingredients, Taste, Ease of Preparation and Visual Appeal; and you must use at least two Mezzetta products in your recipe.

Mmmm....we’re getting hungry just thinking about all of the delicious sandwiches headed our way!

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Wednesday September 3, 2008

LET THE JUDGING BEGIN The final search for America's Best Sandwich is underway!

After a beautiful Labor Day weekend here in Napa Valley, we returned to Mezzetta rested and ready to take on the challenge of judging the hundreds of fabulous recipes from all corners of the U.S.A.  We are delighted with the style and inventiveness of your sandwich creations, and are now in the process of going through each and every recipe.  Our judging team, headed by Executive Chef Shea Rosen and Consulting Chef Marisa Chruchill, will narrow the field down to the top ten, and then the top three entries in each category.  The final twelve contenders will be judged on the basis of appearance, taste, creativity and use of Mezzetta products at a gala sandwich luncheon here at Mezzetta.  Stay tuned for an announcement of the winners on September 15!  Here are some of the fab photos sent in with the entries.

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Tuesday July 29, 2008

MEZZETTA MAKES SANDWICHES IN THE BIG APPLE Gourmet Sandwich University and the Mezzetta Paninoteca travel to the Fancy Food Show

 

Not long ago, we packed up our panini grills and took our sandwich show on the road.  Destination: the 54th Annual Summer Fancy Food Show at the Javits Convention Center in New York City.  Mission: to sample Mezzetta products (along with 2,400 other producers of the world's most special specialty foods) to thousands of influential members of the gourmet food community. 

Usually the show is an opportunity to introduce new products to the food world.  Since this is the Summer of Sandwiches, our goal was to generate buzz for our Make That Sandwich Contest and talk to customers about how Mezzetta ingredients turn bland-wiches into gourmet sandwiches.  Our Mezzetta Executive Chef Shea Rosen and Consulting Chef Marisa Churchill had created three fabulous recipes in our test kitchen and we planned to serve them at the show.  I mean, how hard good it be?

Mezzetta Cuban                                     

Mezzetta Sliced Olive Roast Beef Hero      

Veggie Mediterranean

Turns out, a little harder than we anticipated.  Maybe it was because, bored of bits of biscotti, chips of chocolate and crumbs of cheese, showgoers were looking for some real food.  Maybe it was the savory aromas of grilling that wafted through the airspace around our booth.  Maybe it was our sparkling personalilties and logoed aprons.  Whatever the reason, the first day, as soon as we put out our platters of Mezzetta gourmet sandwiches, we were indundated with customers. Slammed.  In The Weeds.   Keeping up with demand was barely possible.  We ran out of bread (from the wonderful Amy's Bread in Hell's Kitchen).  We ran out of meat (Cabbie, take me to Whole Foods and step on it).  We raided our display racks for more jars of Deli-Sliced Peperoncini and Kona Coast Honey Mustard.  At the end of the day, we were sandwiched-out.  And the busiest days of the show were yet to come.

Luckily, the Fancy Food Show offers a temporary chef service which provides kitchen hands-for-hire. The next morning, a wonderful culinary professional named Chef Phil showed up at the booth.  He cleaned, organized, prepped and generally got everything under control so we were free to do what we normally do at shows:  talk to customers about our great products.  I even had a chance to sneak away and deliver boxes of Mezzetta products to The Today Show, Good Morning America and Food and Wine Magazine.  Who knows?  Maybe we'll see Al Roker with a jar of Napa Valley Bistro Creamy Marinara someday soon!

If you want to recreate the sandwiches that had New York waiting on line, here are the recipes:

Mezzetta Cuban

2 slices French Bread

2 T Kona Coast Honey Mustard

1/8 Cup Deli-Sliced Mezzetta Jalapenos

1/8 Cup Deli-Sliced Mezzetta Banana Wax Peppers

1 Slice Swiss Cheese

1 Slice Fontina Cheese

2 Slices Black Forest Ham

1 Slice Roasted Pork

Mezzetta Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Preheat the panini grill according to manufacturers instructions.  Plasce one tablespoon of mustard on to each slice of the bread.  Sprinkle the peppers evenly on top of the4 mustard.  Place the sliecs of cheese on top of the peppers and top the cheese with the meat.  Press the sandwich together and brush a light coating of olive oil on to the slices of bread.  Place the sandwich in the panini grill and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and cheese melted.

 

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Tuesday June 24, 2008

OLIVES, WINES, SANDWICHES AND VERY BIG HATS Mezzetta goes to the Napa Valley Wine Auction

Several Fridays ago, we packed up cases of  Napa Valley Bistro Olives, platters of cheeses, and two large salamis and headed north up Highway 29 to St. Helena.  Destination: the Napa Valley Wine Auction's "Taste of Napa" event.  Held on the spacious grounds of Trinchero Family Estates (home to Sutter Home Winery) this event gathers Napa's top chefs, vintners, and food purveyors in a celebration of food and wine.  It's all for a good cause, too.  Since its inception in 1981, the auction has raised $88 million for local health care, youth services and affordable housing.  Mezzetta was proud to be a part of the wine auction, and to give back to our local community.

We decided to wear the crazy hats in case Town and Country or People magazine wanted to take our photo.

As it turns out, the paparazzi was not a problem, since the press was more interested in following Opah Winfrey around, who was making her first wine auction appearance.

We, on the other hand, were checking out the sandwich scene.  A number of the food vendors were serving up some very gourmet sandwiches including this juicy-looking pulled pork from a popular local barbecue joint called Barber's Q.  This shot was taken by Jason Tinacci, staff photographer for the Napa Valley Vintners Association.

But we were most excited to have Mezetta as a featured condiment served alongside the starring sandwich of the day, a Panino Filletto created by the culinary team at Trinchero Family Estates.  Served inside the winery, where the auction of very expensive barrels of wine was taking place, this grilled sandwich consisted of thin slices of filet mignon, smoked gouda cheese and fresh basil, grilled on a panini grill and served with Mezzetta Pimento Stuffed Spanish Olives and Sweet Cherry Peppers.

Trinchero Winery Chefs Jeffrey Starr and James Houghton did not use any spreads or condiments on the sandwich.  They wanted to keep the flavors relatively simple so the sandwich would not overpower the wines being tasted.  We've adapted the recipe for home use, and jazzed it up with some sassy Mezzetta products.  Great with $100 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon--or whatever you like to drink!

Roast Beef Panino with Smoked Mozzarella, Roasted Red Bell Pepper Aioli and Sweet Cherry Peppers

 

(yield 1 sandwich)

 

2 slices French bread

1T. Kone Coast Honey Mustard

1 T. roasted red bell pepper aioli

1/8 c. Mezzetta Deli-Sliced Sweet Cherry Peppers

1 slice (1 oz) smoked mozzarella or gouda

2 slices (2 oz) roast tenderloin of beef (use good-quality medium rare deli roast beef slices or prepare your own)

2 fresh basil leaves

2 T extra-virgin olive oil

 

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Aioli

 ½ cup mayonnaise

1 Mezzetta Roasted Red Bell Pepper

1 clove fresh garlic (optional)

 

Aioli Procedure:

Place ingredients in food processor fitted with the blade attachment and process until blended

 

Panino Procedure:

Pre-heat the panini grill according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Place one tablespoon of mustard on one slice and a tablespoon of the Roasted Red Bell Pepper Aioli on the other.  Arrange sweet cherry peppers slices on the aioli; layer with slices of roast beef and smoked mozzarella.  Top cheese with basil slices.  Press the sandwich together and brush a light coating of extra-virgin olive oil on to the slice of bread.  Place the sandwich in the Panini grill and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until bread in golden brown and cheese has melted.  Serve with your favorite olives.

 

 

 Next week, off to the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City, where we'll be unveiling three delicious new gourmet sandwich recipes created by our new culinary consultant, Chef Marisa Churchill.  Famous for her innovative dessert creations and as a "Top Chef" contestant, Marisa will be working with Mezzetta Executive Chef Shea Rosen to create new recipes to add for our Recipe database at www.mezzetta.com.  We'll reveal the new sandwiches and report on our journey in the next blog update.

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