Here at New Jersey Monthly, we editors are fortunate to be invited to some pretty interesting events. I recently had the pleasure of attending a media tasting at the Kings Food Market cooking studio in Short Hills to sample a lineup of Kings signature products.
We’re talking about a whopping 350 varieties of gourmet marinades, crackers, cheese, frozen fruits, veggies and grains, gourmet pizza, pasta, sauces, coffee, iced tea, gelato and more. Pretty soon they’ll roll out another 100 SKUs. Ultimately, you and I will be able to sample about 700 private-label varieties.
I am up to the challenge.
Inside the Kings cooking studio, product development chef Maral Banks set out to prove how easy it is to be a gourmet chef at home, and she prepared a fine meal for us in no time flat. She says that her team’s mission is to make elegant food easy to prepare and organic food readily accessible. And she believes a tasty meal shouldn’t have to cost you a weekly paycheck. I like that.
Her salmon recipe relied on Kings frozen Black Pearl “Scottish” salmon (topped with a ready-made, gluten-free pineapple jalapeno marinade) and frozen haricots verts. And for dessert, we gobbled up Kings premium Italian gelato (my fave flavor was latte macchiato), served with blackout cake (dense but low in buttercream) made for Kings by Zaros.
Actually, I was surprised to discover so many edibles now available in the frozen-food aisle. I especially like the gourmet side dishes like bulgur and quinoa, crispy Mediterranean potatoes and haricots verts because they come in plastic bags. You can use as much as you need and then pop them back in the freezer. It’s a nice convenience when whipping up a fast dinner on a busy evening. As for breakfast, we eat a lot of oatmeal at our house, and now we can cook it super fast (in four minutes) with Kings frozen steel-cut oatmeal with maple syrup and brown sugar.
“We’re 100 percent dedicated to offering our customers inspirational food,” Antonio Acosta told me. He’s a busy guy, managing the mega-launch of Kings-label specialty goodies. “Our team attends a lot of food shows to sample the fare of small purveyors, and we like working with new companies that offer superb quality.”
What else is Antonio excited about? “You gotta try our new coffee line with organic and seasonal flavors like pumpkin spice, made by a tiny company in Maryland. We also have organic seeds and rices on the way, and we like organic cookies in a tub, a nice treat for kids and grownups alike.”
On September 25, to entice customers to check out the new offerings, each Kings store will give away signature organic pasta, imported from Italy, to the first 175 customers at each store. New Jersey locations include Bedminster, Bernardsville, Boonton, Chatham, Cresskill, Florham Park, Garwood, Gillette, Hillsdale, Hoboken, Livingston, Maplewood, Mendham, Midland Park, Morristown, Ridgewood, Short Hills, Summit, Upper Montclair, Verona, Warren and Whitehouse Station.
Meanwhile, here’s a recipe that Kings’ executive chef created especially for New Jersey Monthly readers. Just in time for autumn cocktail parties, it features four new private-label products:
Goat Cheese Canapes with Green Olive & Roasted Tomato Tapenade
Prepare the tapenade:
1 – 10oz. jar Kings Jumbo Garlic Stuffed Olives, well drained
¾ cup (6 oz.) roasted tomatoes
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
½ cup packed Kings fresh basil leaves (about 24 – 2” leaves)
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
¼ cup Kings extra virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes, more to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Place all ingredients into the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse the mixture 15-20 times until it is well chopped, but still a bit coarse in texture. Taste and adjust to taste with the black pepper. Refrigerate until needed.
To assemble:
Kings Original Water Crackers (or your favorite flavor)
8 ounces chevre goat cheese
Spread a thin layer of goat cheese onto each cracker and top with about 1 teaspoon of the olive salad. If desired, garnish with a little basil chiffonade or a leaf of fresh parsley.