Come the holidays, sugar may be the doyenne of sweetness, but there’s another gal who deserves a place at the table. You know her—honey. Of course, we tend to invite honey to breakfast or for summertime meals, but who doesn’t need an extra boost of sweetness when the weather can be a bit too sassy and salty for our liking?
Available at Lunds & Byerlys, Buzz + Bloom Honey offers unique flora flavors from the natural pollen, to deliver craft-style honey to your table. The Bold & Floral Honey is primarily sourced from the flowers of acacia trees and has notes of juicy Concord grapes with hints of nutmeg. (Buzz + Bloom Honey makes a great addition to summertime flavors.)
Honey finds its way into a host of recipes (from the folks at Buzz + Bloom), perfect for company, family or a sweet treat for yourself.
Pear Cranberry Spiced Galette
- 4 pears, thinly sliced and cored
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup of Buzz + Bloom Organic Non-GMO Honey
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. ginger
- ½ tsp. cardamom
Crust
- 1 cup butter
- 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. sugar
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup iced water
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp. milk or cream
- ½ cup sliced almonds
Crust: With a cheese grater, grate butter into a large mixing bowl. Combine butter, flour, sugar and salt with your fingers until crumbly. Slowly add in water, and mix with your hands. Form dough into two disks, and refrigerate for three hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, combine pear slices, sugar, vanilla extract, cranberries, brown sugar, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and salt. Dust counter with flour, and roll out one pie disk 8-9 inches in diameter. Place sliced fruit in pie dough, overlapping. Fold up edges. With a pastry brush, brush on egg and milk wash to the top of dough, and add sliced almonds. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Drizzle with extra honey before serving.
Nor’easter Cocktail
- 2 oz. bourbon whiskey
- 1/2 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 oz. Buzz + Bloom Orange Blossom Honey
- 1 tsp. finely grated ginger
- 2-3 oz. ginger beer
- Lime slices for garnish
Combine bourbon, lime juice, honey and grated ginger in an ice-filled shaker, and shake one minute. Strain over ice in a rocks glass. Top with ginger beer, and garnish with a lime.
Holiday Honey Baked Brie
- 1 wheel brie cheese
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 2 Tbsp. of Buzz + Bloom Fair Trade Certified Honey (more for topping)
- 1 apple, diced
- 1 persimmon, diced
- Handful of fresh cranberries
- 1/2 Tbsp. rosemary, minced
- 1/2 cup pecans
- Toasted baguette pieces
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place brie in a shallow baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes or until the center is soft. In a small sauté pan, add butter, honey, rosemary, apples, persimmons and cranberries. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until apples are fork tender. Top the mixture onto warm brie. Add pecans and extra honey before serving. Use baguette for dipping.
Turkey and Ham Sliders with Honey Caramelized Onions
Honey Caramelized Onions
- 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 large white onions, thinly sliced
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp. ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp. honey
Sliders
- 6 pretzel slider rolls
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- 6 oz. black forest ham, sliced
- 6 oz. roasted turkey, sliced
- 1½ cups arugula
Honey Caramelized Onions: Heat butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions; cook 25 to 30 minutes or until onions are deep golden brown, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in salt, pepper and honey.
Sliders: Slice the rolls in half crosswise. Divide and spread mustard on the six bottom rolls. Top each with ham and turkey, and finish with caramelized onions and arugula. Cover with tops of rolls, and serve immediately.
Roasted Winter Squash and Ricotta
- Bulbous end of one butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, sliced into half moons
- 1 delicata squash, sliced into rounds, seeds removed
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup toasted pepitas
- 12 oz. ricotta
- 1/8 cup Buzz + Bloom Mesquite Blossom Honey
- 1/2 tsp. thyme leaves
- 1/2 tsp. Maldon salt
- Red pepper flakes to taste
Preheat oven to 400° F. Arrange the squash slices on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice, salt and black pepper. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, turning once, until the squash is beginning to caramelize around the edges. Once done, allow to cool slightly. Divide the ricotta among the desired amount of plates, spreading into a thin layer. Layer the roasted squash on top then drizzle with honey. Sprinkle with thyme leaves, Maldon salt, pepitas freshly cracked black pepper and red pepper flakes. Serve immediately.
What is … ?
How much do you know about ingredients?
May we have a word about some of the ingredients found in these recipes? Sometimes even the easiest recipes can call for a culinary glossary. Even if you’re heard of the item, how much do you know about its flavor profile and use? Here’s what you need to know:
Arugula is known for its peppery flavor, but did you know that it’s packed with vitamins A, K and C; folate; calcium; iron; potassium and magnesium? We love it on sandwiches as a crunch replacement to the same old, same old head lettuce.
Cardamom, from the ginger family, can be substituted with equal parts cinnamon/nutmeg; cinnamon/ginger; or cinnamon/ground cloves.
Delicata squash, according to some, tastes like a combo of corn and pumpkin pie. Hmm!
Galette, thanks to the French, is a flat, round crusty cake. (Think big, dressed up pancake.)
Ginger Beer is a misnomer, of sorts. Most commercially-made ginger beer doesn’t contain alcohol, but you can still find some brands that do include it. Ginger beer, unlike its cousin, Ginger Ale, has an enhanced robust and spicy quality. Moscow Mule anyone?
Maldon Salt, an English sea salt, features thin salt flakes and is mostly used as a finishing salt. You can easily impress your guests by topping sweet or savory items with a pinch of Maldon.
Persimmons are an orange, sweet fruit. Caution: When unripe, they can have an astringent flavor. Store them at room temperature to avoid chill damage in the fridge.
Pepitas are pumpkin seeds, but they don’t have a shell and are found in select pumpkin varieties. (The seeds from your run-of-the-mill jack ‘o’ lantern have shells.)
