Wednesday, November 28, 2012

HACCP Class


The next HACCP manager certification class in West Michigan is scheduled for December 5 & 6 at the Varnum Law Firm in downtown Grand Rapids. This is a great investment in your food safety education.
Call Amy at 616.771.0557 for details.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

"Hear ye, Hear ye."

The next HACCP manager certification class in West Michigan is scheduled for December 5 & 6 at the Varnum Law Firm in downtown Grand Rapids. This is a great investment in your food safety education. 
Call Jody Gruner at 616.771.0557 for details. 

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Canning Beef Bourguignon

We used canningusa.com’s recipe.  We each increased the ingredients by 1.5. There were three of us moving through and we made one batch. We achieved 7 quarts each of shelf – stable product and 2 quarts to be refrigerated and eaten soon.
We started Sunday at 1:00pm and finished at 10:00pm. It turned out great but…Wow… we were exhausted by the end.
Meet Sunday’s Three Canners:
Laurie Brooks, with Facility Kitchens, and leader of the pack – she used all venison.
Greg Grieves, of Saranac Tank and Coating – he used 50/50 beef and venison.
Janet Tlapek, also with Facility Kitchens – she used all beef.
Other ingredients were onions, shallots, mushrooms & bacon.
Here ingredients are sauteed in olive oil before adding the wine & cognac.
There is prepping, lots of prepping.  
There is a significant amount of wine and cognac in the recipe and all of us substituted brandy for cognac.
There is simmering, lots of simmering.
This must be the color of beta- carotene.
There is more simmering, now with carrots.
Filled jars went into the pressure canners for 75 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.
Its break time!
Its tasting time!
Voila! Here is our finished product of Beef Bourguignon.
Each of us achieved seven quarts of shelf-stable product and three quarts that are to be refrigerated and eaten in the near future.
“Lovely.”








































For our next personal food preservation session, we plan to do pork & beans, spiced apples, or Sloppy Joes.  Check back for dates and details.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Spots Available for Today's Event!

We have some spots available for our Beef Bourguignon event today at 1pm.  Please email Janet at Janet@facilitykitchens.com to reserve your place.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Tomorrow

Don't forget our special event tomorrow! We will can Beef Bourguignon, an iconic French dish of beef with vegetables in aromatic herbs.

PowWow Notes:

At our Thursdays Powwow we talked about accounting and distribution in the specialty food business. Sharing ideas  with others in similar businesses can turn production into profit.
Our featured food for the evening was barbecue from Pit Stop Catering.

Please remember our special event tomorrow!

Sunday, November 11, 2012 we will can Beef Bourguignon, an iconic French dish of beef with vegetables in aromatic herbs. This winter you will have hearty, comfort meals ready to go. You will put up 7 - 9 quarts for storage, and maybe extra quart meals for immediate consumption. 
Date: Sunday, November 11, 2012 
Time: 1:00pm to 9:00pm 
Please RSVP: janet@facilitykitchens.com 
Cost: $45.00 per person 
We will use the Beef Bourguignon canning recipe from www.canningusa.com.
Bring these ingredients:
Pot Roast 6- pounds
Onions 6
Shallots 18
Bacon 6 slices
Carrots 8
Beef Bullion 3 cubes (optional)
Garlic 3 cloves
Mushrooms 3 pounds
Burgundy Wine 1.5 bottles (75cl per bottle)
Cognac 1 cup
Olive Oil ¼ cup
Bring your own knives, a very large heavy skillet, a large sauté pan, and a pressure canner with a capacity of 7-9 quarts, and jars, lids & rings.
Schedule: Starts at 1:00pm
1.25 hours to meet, set-up, and prepare the meat and vegetables
.75 hours to brown the meat and bacon, and sauté the onions and shallots
2.0 hours to simmer the beef, wine and cognac *
1.5 hours to add carrots, salt to taste, and simmer again
1.0 hours to hot pack
1.25 hours to pressure can **
1.0 hours to wait for pressure release
Let set until cool and you may leave for pick up the next day at facility Kitchens
Total time about 9 hours
*You may break and walk around Lowell, run errands, or stay and order Pizza delivery during this simmer time. ** You may walk around or leave and come back the next day to pick up your production, if you want us to wait for the pressure time and cool down time.
RSVP: janet@facilitykitchens.com

Thursday, November 8, 2012

PowWow Tonight

Don't forget tonight's PowWow!! Are you ready to be profitable in your specialty food business! A mini conference at Facility Kitchens (www.facilitykitchens.com) 6:30pm – 8:00pm. Sarah Rossell, accountant, will present briefly on bookkeeping and taxes for the specialty food business. Then Lance Raimer will tell you how to increase food sales with a good distributor! 
Please join us for the special event!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Nov 11th Beef Bourguignon

Don't forget that this Sunday, Nov 11th is our Beef Bourguignon Night!
This is an iconic French dish of beef with vegetables in aromatic herbs. This winter you will have hearty, comfort meals ready to go. You will put up 7 - 9 quarts for storage, and maybe extra quart meals for immediate consumption. Date: Sunday, November 11, 2012 
Time: 1:00pm to 9:00pm 
Please RSVP: janet@facilitykitchens.com 
Cost: $45.00 per person
We will use the Beef Bourguignon canning recipe fromwww.canningusa.com.
Bring these ingredients:
Pot Roast 6- pounds
Onions 6
Shallots 18
Bacon 6 slices
Carrots 8
Beef Bullion 3 cubes (optional)
Garlic 3 cloves
Mushrooms 3 pounds
Burgundy Wine 1.5 bottles (75cl per bottle)
Cognac 1 cup
Olive Oil ¼ cup
Bring your own knives, a very large heavy skillet, a large sauté pan, and a pressure canner with a capacity of 7-9 quarts, and jars, lids & rings.
Schedule: Starts at 1:00pm
1.25 hours to meet, set-up, and prepare the meat and vegetables
.75 hours to brown the meat and bacon, and sauté the onions and shallots
2.0 hours to simmer the beef, wine and cognac *
1.5 hours to add carrots, salt to taste, and simmer again
1.0 hours to hot pack
1.25 hours to pressure can **
1.0 hours to wait for pressure release
Let set until cool and you may leave for pick up the next day at facility Kitchens
Total time about 9 hours
*You may break and walk around Lowell, run errands, or stay and order Pizza delivery during this simmer time. ** You may walk around or leave and come back the next day to pick up your production, if you want us to wait for the pressure time and cool down time.
RSVP: janet@facilitykitchens.com

Nov 8th PowWow

Nov 8th PowWow
Get ready to be profitable in your specialty food business! A mini conference at Facility Kitchens (www.facilitykitchens.com
6:30pm – 8:00pm. Sarah Rossell, accountant, will present briefly on bookkeeping and taxes for the specialty food business. Then Lance Raimer will tell you how to increase food sales with a good distributor! 
Please join us for the special event!

Monday, November 5, 2012

Beef Bourguignon Nov 11

Sunday, November 11, 2012 we will can Beef Bourguignon, an iconic French dish of beef with vegetables in aromatic herbs. This winter you will have hearty, comfort meals ready to go. You will put up 7 - 9 quarts for storage, and maybe extra quart meals for immediate consumption. 
Date: Sunday, November 11, 2012 
Time: 1:00pm to 9:00pm 
Please RSVP: janet@facilitykitchens.com 
Cost: $45.00 per perso
n
We will use the Beef Bourguignon canning recipe fromwww.canningusa.com.
Bring these ingredients:
Pot Roast 6- pounds
Onions 6
Shallots 18
Bacon 6 slices
Carrots 8
Beef Bullion 3 cubes (optional)
Garlic 3 cloves
Mushrooms 3 pounds
Burgundy Wine 1.5 bottles (75cl per bottle)
Cognac 1 cup
Olive Oil ¼ cup
Bring your own knives, a very large heavy skillet, a large sauté pan, and a pressure canner with a capacity of 7-9 quarts, and jars, lids & rings.
Schedule: Starts at 1:00pm
1.25 hours to meet, set-up, and prepare the meat and vegetables
.75 hours to brown the meat and bacon, and sauté the onions and shallots
2.0 hours to simmer the beef, wine and cognac *
1.5 hours to add carrots, salt to taste, and simmer again
1.0 hours to hot pack
1.25 hours to pressure can **
1.0 hours to wait for pressure release
Let set until cool and you may leave for pick up the next day at facility Kitchens
Total time about 9 hours
*You may break and walk around Lowell, run errands, or stay and order Pizza delivery during this simmer time. ** You may walk around or leave and come back the next day to pick up your production, if you want us to wait for the pressure time and cool down time.
RSVP: janet@facilitykitchens.com

Nov 8th PowWow

Nov 8th PowWow
Get ready to be profitable in your specialty food business! A mini conference at Facility Kitchens (www.facilitykitchens.com
6:30pm – 8:00pm. Sarah Rossell, accountant, will present briefly on bookkeeping and taxes for the specialty food business. Then Lance Raimer will tell you how to increase food sales with a good distributor! 
Please join us for the special event!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

S&D Distribution


Lance Ramier of S&D Distribution, who distributes for Facility Kitchen producers, sent us this photo of the opening of the Making it in Michigan Food Show from Thursday in Lansing. He reports that distribution is a vital link for every specialty food producer and he can help here.