Welcome to our first issue of Smart Solutions Spotlight.
It’s a newsletterjust for you, our retailers. We will be “spotlighting” a few of our products each month with recipes by chef, cookbook author and housewares industry alum, Elizabeth Karmel. [More about Elizabeth below.]
These recipes are designed to be used as talking points with your customers. At Frieling, we believe that the food or the promise of a future recipe sells the equipment as much as the quality and functionality of the item. That is why we asked Elizabeth to join us in helping you.
Speaking of which, we would love to know what you would like to see. Do you have a favorite Frieling product that you’d love an idea for? Something easy that you can communicate to your customers? Let us know and we will do our best to support you.
Many of you may have met Elizabeth or seen her selling her Super Silicone Blending Fork on QVC. If you don’t know Elizabeth, she is a chef, cookbook author, influencer and entrepreneur. She is known as the OG Grill Girl, and for her grilling, barbecue and southern food, but she loves to travel and flavors many of her recipes with global flavors. You can watch her Memorial Day grilling season kick-off this year on Good Morning America. She is also the co-author with TV food producer, Anthony Underwood, of a free newsletter filled with recipes, tips, and tricks for the home cook called Whats4Dinner?.
Summer is all about backyard barbecues, cocktails outside and fun foods. That means before you get to the steaks, there are the appetizers and nibbles, and after the steaks comes dessert.
There is so much fun summer baking to do—pies, berry tarts, galettes, and hand pies. And, Frieling has a couple of key pieces to enrich your summer baking.
In case you missed our new line of rolling pins, we are so excited to add these to our assortment. The new rolling pins make rolling dough so easy and the Made in the USA hard maple rolling pins are so old-fashioned in quality that they are ahead of the game. These are true heirloom quality that you will want to pass along.
They are available in 4 styles:
Classic French Rolling Pin, Suggested retail $29.95
Classic Baker’s Rolling Pin, Suggested retail $34.95
Classic Rolling Pin w/handles, Suggested retail $39.95
Grande Rolling Pin w/handles, Suggested retail $59.95
Sometimes you don’t need to change things to improve on them. The weight and superior quality of the American hard maple wood is just what you need to be a blue-ribbon pie baker – even better, hand-pie baker! When I received the Küchenprofi ravioli/pierogi/dumpling presses, I instantly thought about making hand pies.
The presses are your 2-in-1 tool for all your “stuffed” recipes—including hand pies. They are genius because you cut the dough into circles the exact right size with the bottom of the press, then place the disc of dough inside, fill and fold in half, and press to seal.
The presses are made of stainless steel and are dishwasher safe. They are available in three sizes:
small (3.25”) Suggested retail $29.95
medium (4.0”)—this is the size that I used. Suggested retail $31.95
large(4.75”) Suggested retail $39.95
In this newsletter, I am going to share my basic hand pie recipe. I say basic, because in my world, you can stuff them with any of your favorite flavors.
In fact, I turned my three favorites flavors into hand pies that I could serve for nibbles or even pair with a salad for a light-ish meal. They would be great for a picnic too.
· spinach-feta hand pie
· cherry-brie hand pie
· ham and cheese hand pie accented with everything bagel seasoning
—all three are totally crave-able. But don’t stop there, you could fill them with any favorite fillings. Just like a pizza, if the fillings need to be cooked, you will need to cook them and cool them before using them as a filling.
The hand pie idea may help you sell the presses to customers who like me, don’t make ravioli, pierogi or dumplings. And the best news is that you can make your crust from scratch if you want to, or use frozen pie dough.
The fillings are all easy and take very little prep. I use already prepared products for the most part and accent them with fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and great condiments. For example, for the ham and cheese hand pie, I lightly spread the inside of the dough with Dijon mustard for an extra layer of flavor.
Elizabeth’s DIY Mini Hand-Pie Recipe
Makes 8
Special Equipment: Frieling Classic Baker’s Rolling Pin
1. If using frozen pie dough, make sure that it is thawed.
2. Roll dough out with a little flour to keep it from sticking. I like to use the Frieling Classic Baker’s Rolling Pin which is straight without handles.
3. Cut rounds using the bottom of the press. One by one, place the disc of dough flat on the press and fill the center with 1-2 tablespoons of filling. Fill them as much as you can and still fold them so you have a good pastry to filling ratio.
4. Place on a sheet pan that has been lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with heavy cream and sprinkle with seasoning like the Everything Bagel seasoning on the Ham and Cheese. You can sprinkle any sweet hand pies with sanding sugar or Sugar in the Raw as well.
5. Place tray in a preheated 400F oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is lightly golden brown and cooked through.
6. Let cool and enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Have a great month and I’ll see you back in my kitchen next month!
