Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Did You Miss the Demo?

Click HERE to see Jim Barbour of FunniBonz and Glenn Coleman of Glenn's Gourmet Goodies cooking live in their demo at the DC Metropolitan Luxury Home Show in March 2010.

Monday, March 29, 2010

FunniBonz Barbequed Shrimp with Chipotle Bleu Cheese Grits

This weekend at the DC Metroplitan Food, Libations and Luxury Home Show, Jim Barbour from FunniBonz teamed up with Glenn Coleman of Glenn's Gourmet Goodies to demonstrate the versatility of their products.


One of the dishes that they made was Shrimp and Grits, making use of several of their products.  Here is a quick and easy meal based on their recipes.

Stuff you'll need:
1 lb Shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 box Quick Grits
1 package Bleu Cheese crumbles
SLAP Seasoning
Butter
Light Cooking Oil
Salt
1 jar FunniBonz Original
1 bottle Chipotle White BBQ Sauce

Make grits as usual (about 6 servings). 



Add about 1/4 cup crumbled bleu cheese and about 1/4 cup of Chipotle White BBQ Sauce and about 2 tablespoons of butter and salt to taste.  Turn heat to lowest setting and put lid on pot.  Be sure to stir occasionally.


Season shrimp with SLAP (Season Like A Pro) seasoning. 


Add a tablespoon of oil to a separate saucepan.  Once pan is hot, add shrimp and cook until opaque, about a minute or two on each side. 


Once shrimp are cooked through, add a couple tablespoons of FunniBonz Barbeque sauce.


Don't add too much sauce as you don't want the shrimp soggy, just gently coated in the sauce.


Once the sauce is warmed through, it's time to plate up your dish.  Place some warm grits on a plate and top with the barbequed shrimp.  Enjoy with a cold beer and the sides of your choice.



Remember that all ingredients can be adjusted to your own tastes.  If you like it more spicy, add more Chipotle BBQ Sauce and some black pepper.  You can also use goat cheese or cream cheese in place of the bleu cheese for more or a less of a tangy flavor.  Feel free to make it your own.  Enjoy!

A Weekend at National Harbor

This weekend FunniBonz participated in the DC Metroplitan Food, Libations and Luxury Home Show at the expansive Gaylord Hotel in National Harbor, MD.

Jordan King at Gaylord Hotel

There were so many vendors there including smooth jazz by Bertram McLeish, wines and spirits supplied by Legends, jewelry by Adal Jewelry Designs and Pale Fire Designs, art by J. Bertram White and Matthew Johnston, fashions from Let's Wine and Debra Murray Wearable Art, handbags by Bette's Bags and, of course, several gourmet tastes including FunniBonz Barbeque Sauce

Some of our favorites included the white BBQ Sauce varieties from Glenn's Goumet Goodies,


the amazingly versatile gourmet cheeses from Rising Sun Farms (the Key Lime is my absolute favorite!),












The delicious vinegars, sauces and oils from JD Gourmet,

the Southern-style barbeque sauces from Picky Vicki,
and the amazing upscale rice treats from Mallow Munchies.

Antre Lewis of Mallow Munchies with Lauryn King

Throughout the show, Jim joined up with Glenn Coleman of Glenn's Gourmet Goodies for some product demos.  On Saturday they made FunniBonz Sloppy Joe wraps served with Wasabi Bleu Cheese cole slaw and freshly-made SLAP chips.

Jim Barbour and Glenn Coleman

On Sunday they made Barbequed Shrimp with White BBQ Wasabi Grits.  Both dishes were absolutely delicious!

Our table had a non-stop line of customers all day long.  We sampled all-beef meatballs and our famous vegetarian FunniBonz Five Bean Medley


Jo Barbour, Darryl King and Lauryn King working the booth.

We even had some extra help when our cousin Sharon Phox popped in and threw on a shirt.  Within a few minutes she was selling like a pro!  Look for her at our next event as well.  She's HIRED!!!

Sharon Phox and Evonne Ellis

Cousins Mark, Theresa and Mark Jr. also came by to support us and enjoy the show.  There's really nothing like the love an support of family!


Theresa King, Darryl King, Mark King Jr. and Mark King Sr.

We made lots of new friends and FunniBonz fans this weekend.  In fact, we made so many fans that we ran out of samples and compltely sold out of sauce.  We are eternally grateful to the area residents of Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC and the surrounding areas that tasted our samples, watched the demos, and love and support us and our products!  Keep spreading the word about FunniBonz to your friends and familes.  And thank you!!!

Special thanks to Tammy, Linda and Sherry for their kindness and patience.  They are the Official FunniBonz Fans of the Week!

Sherry, Tammy and Linda
 
And we'd also like to thank Phyllis and Stacy Pesacov for putting on a GREAT show. 

Jo and Phyllis

See you at the next show!  Harford Live at Ripken Stadium beginning April 24th, 2010!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

A Taste of Home Style Foods

The folks at Home Style Foods have given our mom a place of honor.  They posted her recipe for White Chili in their newsletter.  In case you missed it, here it is:


1 pound Home style smoked sausage mild or hot
1 pound ground chicken
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion chopped
4 minced garlic cloves
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon crushed dried Oregano
4 skinned/ boned chicken breast
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
Juice of one lemon
1 Tablespoon lemon pepper
1 4- can chili peppers undrained
4 Cans Great Northern beans
4 9-oz packages of white shoepeg corn
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 stalks sliced green onions

Cook and stir onion, garlic, cumin, oregano in olive oil in large skillet until onion is tender. Brown ground chicken and pour off fat and set aside. Separate chicken breast and cut into 1 inch pieces. Add ground chicken, sausage and chicken breast to large sauce pan and add onion mixture. Add chicken broth and the rest of ingredients except cheese. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover simmer 40 to 50 minutes

Serve with Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese, green onions and Grandma's Cornbread. http://www.grandmascornbread.com/
Yield 8-12 servings

Jo's White Chili was submitted by Jo Barbour of FunniBonz BBQ Sauce. http://www.funnibonz.com/

They're always looking for great ideas for the spring time grilling season. Share yours and if selected they will include it in their newsletter as well.

Remember good food is "Food for the Soul"

If you don't already have some at home, you can pick up your Home Style pork and turkey products at these fine stores:
 Special thanks to Dave Martin for all of his love and support of FunniBonz!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Demo Weekend to Kick Off Summer Season!

In spite of all of the excessive snow we've had on the East Coast and the soaking rains on the West Coast, Summer is always, inevitably, around the corner.  This weekend, as we Spring our clocks ahead, we are reminded that warmer weather is on the way.  And what better way to is there to celebrate the warmer weather than a barbeque on your back deck surrounded by friends and family?

FunniBonz is here to make sure that all of your barbeque events are a blast to attend and the talk of the town for weeks afterward. (But in a good way!  Not in a "could you believe Uncle Ulysses wore that ridiculous hairpiece?" kind of way!) 

Haven't tried FunniBonz yet?  We're giving you lots of opportunities this weekend.

Funnibonz will be at ShopRite in Marlton with free samples for all that happen by. 

We will also be at Corrado's in Clifton, NJ and at Whole Foods in Union, NJ.  Stop in, say "Hi" to the FunniBonz Street Team and even take a picture or two, if you'd like.  If you send them to us, we'll post them on our website!

So, ignore the impending rain!  Make a stand!  Demand your Summer right now and come to a FunniBonz demo near you!  Can't wait to see you there!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Winter Slow Food Market at Tre Piani

On Sunday, February 28, FunniBonz participated in the Slow Food of Central Jersey indoor Farmer's Market.  The event took place on the top two floors of the gorgeous Tre Piani Restaurant at Princeton's Forrestal Village Shopping mecca.  Live music from John Henry Goldman and his Straight Jazz Ensemble permeated the entire restaurant as local and sustainable vendors sampled their wares to passers-by. 

The Hopewell Valley Vineyards, from Pennington, NJ were a favorite of ours, namely due to the Pinot Grigio that they make.  Proceeds from sales of this wine are dedicated to Autism Research which is a cause that is very near and dear to our hearts.

Hopewell Valley's 2008 Pinot Grigio supports Autism Research


We also met Nicole and Jeff from Simply Nic's Specialty Foods.  They handmake wonderfully unusual and daringly original shortbread bars which include flavors such as Rosemary, Lavender and Cardamom-Candied Ginger.  With their delicate artisian flavors, these aren't cookies you'll want to share with the kiddies.  These are "curl up with a hot cup of tea and a good book" cookies. 

Look for this heart-shaped logo on packages in local places around Central Jersey including Princeton's Whole Earth Center and Lawrenceville's Cherry Grove Farm.   You can also purchase them online.

 
Nicole Wilkins Bergman and Jeff Bergman of Simply Nic's with Jo Barbour of FunniBonz.

To learn more, check out this great article about Nicole and her endeavor with other working moms in this U.S.1 article about Cooperative Kitchen.


We made another friend in Catherine Perry of Catherine's Vegan Sweets.  If the word "vegan" sounds scary to you, my fellow barbeque sauce lovers, don't be afraid.  Catherine's dairy-free sweets will make a believer out of you.   

Vegan Baker Catherine Perry with Jo Barbour of FunniBonz

Don't let the fact that she doesn't use and milk, butter or eggs in her baking fool you... or rather, DO let them fool you.  Because her confections are DELICIOUS!!  You will never miss a thing while you snack on a pumpkin spice cupcake or cranberry oatmeal nut whoopie pie. 

Catherine makes her confections to order so shoot on over to her website, call her at (609) 977-7329 or send her an email to talk about all of the possibilities of "quality" vegan baking!
We made a few other friends, too including Ian MacDonald of Cherry Grove Farm and some great folks from Valley Shepherd Creamery based in Long Valley, Morris County, NJ.   Both farms offer wonderful, farm fresh cheeses to please any palate.

And of course, Terhune Orchards topped their famous apple cider and donuts with mouthwateringly fresh guacamole and salsa.  Yum!

Jo and Jim spent the day sampling the sauces, including our new Sweet and Tangy Mustard sauce scheduled to launch this month.  Customers seemed to really like it and we are really excited about the upcoming new release.


All in all it was a great afternoon.  If you missed it, never fear.  Look for us, and many of these vendors, at the West Windsor Farmer's Market beginning in May.  Hope to see you there.