Holiday (Page 3)

Sipping on sparkling wine is a classic component of celebrating the holidays. Whether it’s champagne, sparkling white wine, or even sparkling red, it’s so refreshing and tasty! And Tacoma Boys’ wide selection of sparkling wine at various price points and varieties makes it simple to shop for and choose your favorites. A cold, crisp glass of bubbly at a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner fits right in as part of the cozy holiday celebration. 

Sparkling Wine at Tacoma Boys

Sparkling wine is made fizzy by fermentation during the wine making process. Carbon dioxide is absorbed, creating those pleasant little bubbles. You can enjoy sparkling white wine (including champagne), sparkling rosé, and even sparkling red wine. And while all champagne is sparkling wine, not all sparkling wine is champagne. Champagne is just a type of bubbly white wine that’s produced in a specific region in France. Several varieties of wine like these will fit your holiday celebration— Tacoma Boys’ large assortment to choose from means you can find your favorite and try new things! 

You can browse sparkling wine offerings like these on the shelves at Tacoma Boys:

Champagne

• Duval-Leroy Brut Champagne 
• Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée Champagne
• Henriot Brut Souverain Champagne 

Sparkling White Wine

• Dibon Cava Brut Reserve
• Mumm Napa Cuvée
• Villa Maria Bubbly Sauvignon Blanc 2019
• Decoy Brut Cuvée Sparkling
• Mionetto Prosecco Brut

Sparkling Rosé

• Argyle Brut Rosé
• La Marca Prosecco Rosé
• Los Dos Cava Brut Rosé

Sparkling Red

• Treveri Sparkling Syrah Brut
• Castello di Luzzano Sommossa 

Pairing Sparkling Wine

Pairing sparkling wine at your Thanksgiving dinner or other holiday celebration is simple and tasty. Most neutral wine goes well with the robust flavors of celebratory meals in the autumn. There’s really no rules to pairing sparkling wine — it’s all about enjoying the taste of what you’re eating! You can pair champagne with roast turkey, sparkling rosé with mashed potatoes, or anything else that sounds good to you. It’s also common to sip on hard apple cider (the adult, sparkly version of classic apple cider) during this harvest season. You can also shop for some regular or hard apple cider at Tacoma Boys! Read on for some suggested wine and food pairings to try. 

Pasta

Go for cream based sauces, rather than tomato based, to pair with a fizzy dry wine. Or, try sparkling red wine with a red sauce pasta! Both white and red still wine are often incorporated into pasta sauce, too.

Fried Food

Fried mushrooms, artichokes, and battered fish and chips all go great with sparkling wine. Try a fried appetizer like Crispy Fried Zucchini with sweet sparkling white wine for the holidays.

Cheese

Wine and cheese definitely pair well together. Go for a rich, aged cheese like Kerrygold Aged Cheddar with sparkling rosé. Or, try a mild sparkling prosecco with Briette Creamy & Mild Brie Cheese. Read more about Tacoma Boys various specialty cheeses to pair in our blog all about it!

Seafood, Poultry and Pork

White wine and seafood are a timeless pair! And the light flavors of tender chicken, turkey, or pork are simple to pair with bubbly wine. This is perfect as many people enjoy turkey or ham for the holidays, anyway! If you’d like, pair white meat and seafood with white wine, and dark meat with richer wines like red. Tacoma Boys also offers a large selection of fresh seafood to choose from.

Wine Recipes

There are several different types of wine recipes you can try for the holidays! Individual or batch cocktails, like sangria, are great ways to enjoy the taste and fizz of sparkling wine.

Sangria is a drink made with wine, fruit juice, and sometimes sweetener and hard liquor, like brandy. Other wine recipes to try include classics like white wine spritzers and mimosas. Spiked lemonades are also sometimes made with sparkling wine, too: Try a mix of 3 cups lemonade with a full bottle of Sorelle Bronca Extra Dry Prosecco. That dry prosecco is a nice balance to the sweetness of lemonade!

Wine recipes of course can mean wine was used in the cooking process, too. You can use still or bubbly wine when deglazing, in salad dressings, marinades, and more. Cooking with wine can enhance the flavor of the food and add elements of acidity, similar to vinegar. Start with a white wine pasta sauce or something like hearty Wine Braised Beef!

Prep For The Holidays With Tacoma Boys

Don’t forget to stop by Tacoma Boys’ sparkling wine section while you’re shopping for your holiday meals! You’ll find a variety of bubbly white, rosé, and red wine to enjoy with your family. And if you can’t find what you’re looking for, just ask and we’ll be happy to help guide you. To stay up to date on insider deals and specials, sign up for Tacoma Boys’ text list. Just text (253) 246-1661 to tell Paul you want to be on the list!

The holiday season has begun again and it’s time to get ready for Thanksgiving turkey! While not everyone enjoys turkey, it’s a seasonal classic that can be prepared in so many ways. The most traditional way to cook a Thanksgiving turkey is probably to roast it in the oven. Turkey is often purchased frozen and thawed for a couple days. Then, let the Thanksgiving turkey cook all day while preparing the rest of your meal. Those savory smells of the turkey cooking will make your stomach grumble in anticipation all day! 

Thanksgiving Turkey

The tradition of preparing Thanksgiving turkey is tasty and rewarding! At Tacoma Boys, you can purchase your turkey in addition to other specialty food items to get ready for your holiday meals. It can seem like a lot of hard work, but most of the time spent cooking Thanksgiving turkey is thawing or cooking time. Thawing your turkey is a simple but important step that has to be done safely. There are a couple ways to thaw your Thanksgiving turkey: In general, most people leave it in the refrigerator to slowly thaw for a couple days. The basic guideline is 24 hours of refrigerator thawing time for every 4-5 lbs of turkey.

When it comes down to preparing the turkey with seasoning, there are so many ways to experiment! Turkey brines, seasoning blends, and marinades can all enhance and add flavor to the turkey. Tacoma Boys Poultry Seasoning with herbs like thyme and rosemary are particularly popular to use during Thanksgiving prep. Try some of these ingredients from Tacoma Boys when preparing your Thanksgiving turkey:

• Butter and olive oil
• Fresh or dried herbs: Thyme, rosemary, sage, marjoram, and bay leaves
• Spices like smoked paprika, cayenne, and red pepper flakes
• Tacoma Boys Mappe Apple or Traditional Turkey Brine
• Lemon, garlic, onion, celery, and carrots
• Brown sugar, and maple syrup

How to Cook Turkey

Many people who are unsure of how to cook turkey can be overwhelmed by the options. There are seemingly infinite recipes online with different cooking methods and seasonings. If you don’t know how to cook turkey, don’t panic! Everyone tends to have their own way to prepare turkey: But as long as you follow food safety practices and enjoy the taste of your turkey, you can make it any way you like. You can roast the turkey in the oven, slow cooker, air fryer, or more. These are just a couple options to try. 

1. Roast

Perhaps the most common method of cooking turkey is roasting slowly in the oven. This can take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours or more, depending on the size of your turkey. It’s generally roasted at 350 degrees Fahrenheit after being thawed and seasoned to your liking.

2. Slow Cooker (Crockpot)

This method takes the longest, as the cooker works slowly. Depending on the size of your turkey or turkey breast, you can cook the whole bird right in your slow cooker. In general, you can simply put your thawed and seasoned turkey into your slow cooker and cook on low for several hours. This recipe by The Little Kitchen is a good guide for slow cooker Thanksgiving turkey with vegetables that is moist and flavorful!

3. Air Fryer

This is one of the newer methods of cooking turkey— Even large air fryers are a bit too small for a whole turkey, though. This method works best with turkey breasts because they’re smaller. Air fry a seasoned turkey breast at about 375 degrees Fahrenheit, flipping halfway, for about 45-60 minutes or until completely cooked though. For more details on how to cook turkey in the air fryer, check out this recipe by Spend With Pennies.

Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving recipes can include traditional classics as well as new modern twists. It’s fun to mix and match and get creative with what you and your family like to eat! Start out with tasty appetizers, like these homemade dips for the holidays. Then, bond over new and old Thanksgiving recipes like cornbread stuffing with Marie Calendars Organic Cornbread Mix and cheesy Lundberg Organic Wild Rice casserole. For dessert, roast up a butternut or acorn squash with a drizzle of Stonewall Kitchen Maple Syrup. Or, browse our blog all about Thanksgiving dessert! 

Tacoma Boys offers an assortment of spices, seasonings, and specialty food items to flavor your dinner. You can particularly find a variety of gravy mixes like these to make your Thanksgiving recipes that much easier: 

• Tacoma Boys Chicken or Turkey Style Gravy 
• Simply Organic Chicken or Turkey Gravy Mix
• Knorr Roasted Turkey Gravy Mix
• Better Than Bouillon Gravy Mix

Tacoma Boys is here when you’re ready to shop for your Thanksgiving turkey. We also have all the fresh produce and pantry items you’ll need for an ultimate holiday dinner. And you can even check out some of Tacoma Boys top vegan Thanksgiving side dishes here! To stay up to date on insider deals and specials, sign up for Tacoma Boys’ text list. Just text (253) 246-1661 to tell Paul you want to be on the list!

Hosting for the holidays means being prepared for your guests with drinks and food like appetizers. Small plates and snacks are easy to prepare and serve. Think chips and dip, stuffed mushrooms, garlic bread, potato skins, and more! Appetizers are convenient and popular, whether you’re planning on a larger meal later or are simply snacking all afternoon. Some people consider appetizers as only finger food, where you don’t need a knife and a fork. But there are plenty of tasty little dishes to make that can be enjoyed in different ways.

Appetizers

Small plates and snacks like appetizers are great to start out with when hosting. They’re often served in small portions loaded with hearty flavor. It’s a way to welcome your guests and have a little bite to eat while chatting, when dinner isn’t quite ready. While just about any food can be made into an appetizer, there are a few things to keep in mind. Finger foods are often best when appetizers are served away from the table. That means bite-sized foods, dips, and anything without a knife and fork. 

Here at Tacoma Boys, charcuterie boards are easy to shop for and a favorite as an appetizer! They’re a popular snack because they’re customizable and quick to put together. At Tacoma Boys, you’ll find a wide selection of specialty cheeses and cured meats as well as nuts, jams, crackers, fruit, and more. Build your charcuterie to fit the preferences of your guest and set it out as a grazing board. Your guests can snack on it casually as a group, or you can use little plates to serve the spread.

Dip Recipes for Groups

Dip recipes are easy to enjoy when hosting or in groups. Full of flavor and just filling enough, cold or hot dips are usually quick to make and serve. Picture raw veggies with blue cheese dressing or spinach artichoke dip with tortilla chips. These types of dip recipes are usually first to go at parties and get-togethers! If you’re looking for some dip recipes to make for the holidays, consider one of these suggestions:

• Tacoma Boys’ Buffalo Chicken Dip: It’s not too late to serve this one in a pumpkin! You’ll find several different types of buffalo sauce at Tacoma Boys. Plus about 5 other ingredients, this dip is quick and easy to cook up for a hungry crowd.
• Tacoma Boys’ Irish Beer Cheese Dip: You’ll need some dark beer and a couple different kinds of cheese for this rich recipe. It’s full of flavor and goes great with fresh cut veggies and pretzels, like Dutch Country Gluten Free Soft Pretzels.
• Spinach Artichoke Dip by Natasha’s Kitchen: Try this savory, cheesy dip with Cara Mia Marinated Artichoke Hearts and serve it with Stacy’s Pita Chips. Kids and adults alike can enjoy the extra vegetables snuck in!
• White Cheddar Cranberry Dip by Little Broken: This 4 ingredient dip is a tasty twist on a classic cheese dip. Try it with Tillamook White Cheddar Cheese, Organic Valley Cream Cheese, fresh cranberries, and a Homemade Cranberry Sauce.
• 7 Layer Dip: The popular layered dip is so easy to make with a variety of ingredients of your choosing! It requires very little, if any cooking. For an example, try the dip with layers of Amy’s Organic Vegetarian Refried Beans, Smith Brothers Farm Sour Cream, fresh guacamole, Tacoma Boys Loco Cheese Dip, diced fresh tomatoes, Mrs. Renfro’s Jalapeno Peppers, and your favorite Tacoma Boys Salsa. Then dig in with Tacoma Boys Tortilla Chips!

Holiday Appetizers

Some people get real creative with holiday appetizers! You can make a variety of dishes with Thanksgiving or Christmas themes and seasonal ingredients. For example, snacks made with cranberries, turkey, and stuffing for Thanksgiving. Cranberry and brie puff pastry bites are another example of an appetizer that is so popular for the holidays! Make whatever dishes you want into holiday appetizers by just scaling down a bit: Mini quiche, bite-size meatballs, and just about any food on a mini skewer.

It can also be a good idea to ask your guests to bring appetizers if you’d like. Cooking an entire meal including appetizers and dessert can be a lot to do! And while you’re planning your holiday appetizers and meals, make sure to account for different diets. If you’re expecting guests that are vegetarian, vegan, or gluten free, it’s easy to prepare those dishes. 

Prepare For The Holiday With Tacoma Boys 

Get ready for holiday celebrations and meals with Tacoma Boys! Your local market is stocked with a variety of seasonal produce, meat, and specialty food products. To stay up to date on insider deals and specials, sign up for Tacoma Boys’ text list. Just text (253) 246-1661 to tell Paul you want to be on the list!