It's National Pumpkin Day: Pumpkin Giveaway!

*********UPDATE*********

We have a winner!  Congratulations Mom, please comment back with your contact information so we can mail you your pumpkin products to enjoy!

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With Fall comes gorgeous foliage, cooler weather, football games and my favorite...pumpkin.  Pumpkin spiced coffee, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin scones, pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie; you name it and I love it, and for some reason it all tastes better in the Fall months!  There is just something about the the mixture of pumpkin, cloves and cinnamon that warms you up during the crisp mornings and cold evenings. 

Today, on National Pumpkin Day, we want to share a little of our love for pumpkin by giving away some of our favorite pumpkin products for one of our readers to enjoy this fall!

What you will win:

One (1) box of our Pumpkin Scone Mix

And to top your scones, one (1) jar of our new Pumpkin Caramel Sauce

How to Enter:

Mandatory: What is your favorite way to enjoy pumpkins?

Additional Entries:

• Share our Facebook Page with your friends on Facebook
• Like us on Facebook if you don't already do!
• Follow us on Twitter: @stonewalkitchen
• Blog about our products and send us the link!
• Re-tween this giveaway daily.  Feel free to copy/paste:

Pumpkin Giveaway

@Stonewalkitchen http://bit.ly/bO4Ab, Please RT

Remember, each extra entry must be left in a separate comment.  A winning comment will be chosen at random.  If an email, twitter handle or other way to be contacted is not included the winner will be announced and asked to comment back leaving their contact information (this will not be published).  Winner has 48 hours to reply and claim their prize.

Giveaway ends on Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 12:00PM EST

Winners have 48 hours to claim their prize.  US residents only, please no employee entries.

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For another chance to win some of our pumpkin products, register to win our Pumpkin Breakfast Gift, our monthly giveaway for November.

Oh My, It's Time for Pie!

All this talk about harvest fests, apples ripe for picking, and big orange pumpkins dotting the landscape, forced me to get up super early the other morning to enjoy all this New England beauty under a rising eastern sun. Nothing says, “Fall is here,” like a morning mist rising off a local farm’s fields.

Of course there are pumpkins and apples galore around York, Maine but another fall staple of Maine is the cranberry, much like it is in Massachusetts, and what I hear, Michigan too. Maine cranberries grown on low lying vines in marshy areas near the coast. Offering a high dose of vitamin C, vitamin A and potassium, these little tart berries have gone to become lunch pail staples and  insistently represented on most Thanksgiving tables. Once known as the “craneberry” because the pilgrims thought the budding, spring flowers resembled a crane, the cranberry as become an important commercial crop for Maine.

It’s no easy feat being a cranberry harvester. In fact, two prominent Maine occupations, cranberry harvester and lobsterman were recently listed as two of the toughest jobs in the food business: http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2011/04/28/the-toughest-jobs-in-food/. Cranberry harvester, come on, really?  Yes, it’s true.  While you’re sitting back, feeling content after you’ve eaten a piece of freshly baked cranberry apple pie, think of the delicate cranberry crop that must endure constant monitoring during chilly fall nights. If frost comes in, someone has to notify the other farmers and activate the sprinklers to prevent the frost from destroying the crop.  I guess cranberry harvesters are not privy to automatic sprinkler systems? All the more reason to enjoy this traditional, hard working crop, and something I think about during this early frosty morning.

My hungry thoughts quickly change to visions of cranberry and apple pie, one of my favorites. And Stonewall Kitchen’s recipe developer, Kim, offers up her fabulous version below.  Oh my! Enjoy!

ingredients

Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 3 tablespoons white sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, frozen, cut into 8 pieces each

• 8-10 tablespoons ice water

Filling:

• 3 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

• 1/2 cup golden raisins

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1 jar Stonewall Kitchen Apple Cranberry Chutney

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• pinch of cloves and nutmeg

Glaze:

• 1 egg yolk

• 1 teaspoon cream or milk

directions

Crust:

1. Blend flour, sugar, and salt in food processor. Add butter pieces and pulse until butter is in 1/4" pieces.

2. Add 7 tablespoons of ice water and blend until moist clumps are formed, adding more water by the tablespoon until dough just starts to form into a ball.

3. Remove from processor and carefully gather into a ball on a clean and lightly floured surface.

4. Divide ball of dough into 2 portions. Flatten into discs. Wrap one in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

5. Roll out remaining disc on a lightly floured surface and place into a 10" quiche pan. Refrigerate.

Filling:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degree F.

2. Combine chopped apples and all remaining filling ingredients until well mixed.

3. Spoon into prepared shell, spreading evenly.

4. Roll out second crust disc.

5. Cut into 1"-wide strips for lattice topping.

6. Using a long, narrow spatula, carefully lift strips onto pie, using 5-6 strips.

7. Rotate pie 45 degrees. Carefully place 5-6 more strips on top.

Glaze:
1. Combine egg yolk and cream/milk in a small dish. Stir with fork until well blended.

2. Brush entire crust, top and edges, with egg wash.

3. Bake pie in lower 1/3 of over for about 1 hour until apples are tender and crust is golden brown.

You can view many harvest themed recipes, including this recipe on our website:


http://www.stonewallkitchen.com/recipes/desserts/pies-tarts-pastries/R100303.html

With so many kitchen gadgets, what deserves a space in your cabinets?

Now a days, there seems to be a kitchen gadget for just about everything.  Sometimes I find myself wondering where people store all of these gadgets because often they take up an entire cabinet in your kitchen!  Unfortunately, most kitchens have limited space so you need to choose your gadgets wisely.  Recently, at our Holiday kick-off meeting, some of our staff members had a chance to share with us their favorite gadget that they use on a regular basis, here are a few that we found deserve a place in the kitchen.


Polder Cooking Thermometer

Our talented recipe developer, Kim, is in the kitchen developing new recipes with our latest products on a daily basis.  Cooking meats can often be difficult because typically the done-ness is determined by the inside temperature, not a set time.  The Polder Cooking Thermometer can be inserted into the piece of meat you are cooking, while the thermometer itself stays outside of the oven.  With pre-programed temperatures to choose from, simply pick whatever you are cooking and the timer will go off when the inside comes up to that temperature range. 

Pot Minder Chef



There are few kitchen gadgets that are only the size of a poker chip!  Eddie from our Portsmouth Store uses the Pot Minder on a regular basis.  For some reason a watched pot never boils, but an un-watched pot?  That boils over in no time and you are left cleaning up!  We can thank the Ancient Greeks for this fantastic idea!  They used to place a piece of antique pottery in their pots to prevent them from boiling over.  Since most people don't have chunks of pottery laying around their homes, the Pot Minder works as a perfect replacement!

Personal Popcorn Popper



I am a big popcorn lover, but as much as I love the convince of microwave popcorn, the ingredient lists often have me attempting the paperbag trick and filling my kitchen with the smell of burnt popcorn.  This little gadget has saved my poor kitchen!  You simply fill the bottom with a layer of kernels, and microwave just as you would a bag of popcorn.  You can even place a pat of butter on the lid so it perfectly melts and pours onto the popcorn, or enjoy it with a little salt and pepper or seasoning.

Please share with us what kitchen gadget deserves a space in your cupboard!

The Old Farmhouse Chutney Cheeseball; A company classic recipe

The Old Farmhouse Chutney Cheeseball; a staff favorite, a customer favorite, and company classic.  This is one of the most popular recipes we have and yet its also one of the easiest!  With holiday entertaining around the corner, this is a great recipe to keep on hand.  Here are step-by-step directions on how to make one of our favorite recipes. 

Old Farmhouse Chutney Cheeseball



Ingredients:

• 2 - 8oz packages of cream cheese
• 1/2 cup Stonewall Kitchen Old Farmhouse Chutney
• 1/4 cup green onion, diced
• 1 glove garlic - crushed
• dash of salt
• dash of pepper
• 1/2 cup Colby Cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup Monetery Jack Cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup pecans

Step 1:

Mix together cream cheese, Stonewall Kitchen Old Farmhouse Chutney, green onion, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl.



Step 2:


Fold in the Colby and Monetery Jack Cheeses



Mix well



Step 4:

Form into a ball and coat with nuts and serve with crackers!

Did our Fall Holiday Catalog arrive in your mailbox yet?

Yep, it's our busiest and more favorite time of year! Between Halloween and New Years Eve has got to be some of the best eating that we get to do all year long. So many parties, so many gatherings, so many good eats! Every year we kick off this wonderful season with our Fall Holiday Catalog. We just can't wait to share all things pumpkin and fall with you.

Like what you see here? Find all of the gadgets that you need to turns those just-picked-apples into pies! You can see more pages from our catalog on our Facebook Album or in a mailbox near you soon! Not signed up to receive our catalogs? That's an easy fix, get yours HERE.