Man's Best Friend

Anyone who tells you that 2009 was a walk in the park has been dipping into the egg nog. With the possible exception of my two best friends on earth… my dogs!

Now look, I love my family. I am truly blessed. But heck, they are only human. They have their ups and downs. They have needs that are complicated, time consuming, and expensive! My canine companions, however, are undemanding, loyal, easy to please. A fresh bowl of kibble, a bone, a belly rub, and life is beautiful! Which is probably why I derive such satisfaction from spoiling them rotten.

When Pacific Merchants launched the Mason Cash line of stoneware stateside this summer, the first thing I did was order a wide variety of their legendary pet bowls. Sold in dozens of countries around the world for over forty years, these handsome dog and cat bowls are considered the “Rolls Royce” of pet products. Beautifully designed, crafted and meant to last a lifetime, they are also an excellent value!

Made of heavy stoneware, Mason Cash pet bowls won’t get tipped or pushed around during meal time, and keep food and water cool longer than other bowls. The thick lip at the top of bowls is chip and bite resistant, and we even carry angled bowls that prevent spillage, and keep long, droopy ears dry and out of the chow! To make a sweet deal sweeter, a percentage of all proceeds of Mason Cash pet accessories also goes to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals!

So, when you want to spoil your very best friend (dog, cat, rabbit, hamster), purchase a set of Mason Cash pet bowls. And don’t forget that walk in the park.

Entertaining Is Serious Business!

If we weren’t such a bunch of foodies at PMTC, we wouldn’t be in the restaurant supply business. We like to dine out, we like to dine in. We just like to dine. Yes, “Eat, drink and be merry!” could almost be our company motto. Entertaining is a big part of our lifestyle. Having said that, Pacific Merchant’s company mantra is actually, “Exceed Customer Expectations.” Which is why our beautiful range of restaurant supply products – gorgeous Acaciaware™ serving trays and serving platters, classic Mason Cash bakeware and serveware, fashion forward MacFab, Saleen and Counter Culture placemats and cutting surfaces, and other hand crafted small wares - have a wide range of benefits that guarantee a lifetime of enjoyment.

We start with attractive designs, because first impressions are important. But our products are about more than good looks. They are also extremely well crafted, durable, easy to clean, versatile, and of exceedingly high value. Because once the party is over, we still have a business to run. And our success is based on exceeding your expectations time after time.

Christmas Is Coming,and Guess Who's Getting Fat?!

The British Royal Christmas Pudding

Christmas Pudding is a big deal in Great Britain, even for the British Royal Household. For the past several years, Queen Elizabeth II has gifted hundreds of her loyal subjects, family and friends with Christmas Puddings prepared and presented in none other than Mason Cash pudding basins! We are proud to offer a brief and fascinating history of Christmas Pudding in the English tradition, and a tremendously long and deliciously overwrought recipe for same.

Happy Holidays!!!

Family recipes for Christmas Pudding are often closely guarded secrets, handed down from generation to generation. Many are based on the Royal family’s Sandringham recipe – rich with dried fruit and spices, some include nuts, grated apple or carrot – harking back to years when sugar was scarce.

The first Sunday in December is ‘Stir-up’ Sunday, the day when the best puddings are begun. It's already time to roll up your sleeves and think about making the Christmas pudding. Some cooks go so far as to prepare it 6 months to a year in advance. In the old days, it was traditional for everyone in the house to come into the kitchen and give the batter a stir while making a wish. The puddings are cooked, cooled and tucked away in a dry place to wait for their final steaming on Christmas Day when they will be turned out onto a handsome dish, decorated with a sprig of holly and wreathed in blue flames from a generous dousing of warmed spirit.

It seems as if all of Fortnum and Mason's stock goes into the recipe: currants, raisins, sultanas, almonds, candied fruit, ginger…. There may also be cherries and citron, or one of the two, or neither, depending on the recipe. Some chefs add to the mixture a diced russet apple and a grated carrot.

Tradition dictates that six objects be found in the pudding: two rings to bring love, a sixpence as a sign of prosperity, a trouser button for the bachelor, a thimble for the spinster, and a little pig who will determine the glutton at the table. The tradition of hiding silver coins in the pudding is a link to earlier days in English and Scottish courts when the leader of the Christmas revels was chosen on Twelfth Night by finding a bean hidden in the pudding.

At the end of Christmas Day, after having listened to the Queen's Christmas Message, the plum pudding is brought out to be enjoyed for tea on the stroke of five, as one raises a drop of port to toast the Queen!

The presentation is a festive affair. Dickens describes the arrival of the Christmas pudding in A Christmas Carol: "Mrs. Cratchit entered, her face crimson, but smiling proudly, with the pudding resembling a cannon ball, all speckled, very firm, sprinkled with brandy in flames, and decorated with a sprig of holly stuck in the centre. Oh! The marvelous pudding!" All guests receive a slice with a little dancing flame so that they can make a wish before it goes out.
Countrywide, brandy butter is served with the pudding alongside cream or custard, it’s a tradition that originated in Cumbria – where the best brandy butter is still made today, a delicious blend of butter, sugar and spirit with a hint of spice.
 

Ingredients
- 250 g (9 oz.) sultanas
- 250 g (9 oz.) seedless raisins
- 250 g (9 oz.) currants
- 10 g (2 tsp.) candied lemon zest
- 10 g (2 tsp.) candied grapefruit zest
- 20 g (4 tsp.) candied orange zest
- 20 g (4 tsp.) candied citron
- 125 g (4 oz.) candied cherries
- 60 g (2 oz.) blanched almonds
- 60 g (2 oz.) chopped almonds
- 500 g (18 oz.) chopped suet
- 250 g (8 oz.) rye bread crumbs
- 125 g (4 oz.) brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp. powdered cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. ginger
- A pinch of salt
- 4 tbsp. brandy
- 250 ml (1 cup) milk
- 30 g (2 tbsp.) butter
- 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 125 g (4 oz.) flour
- 2 tbsp. baking powder
Brandy butter
- 250 g (9 oz.) unsalted butter
- 250 g (9 oz.) icing sugar
- 50 ml (2 oz.) brandy
- Grated zest of 1 orange (optional)
 


Method
Quick method (only 7 hours!)

1. Chop the raisins, currants, cherries, candied fruit and peel;
2. Place all the dry ingredients into a large non-reactive bowl and combine; add the other ingredients and mix until thoroughly blended;
3. Line a Mason Cash pudding basin with a large piece of cloth that has been buttered and floured on each side; pour the mixture into the basin and enclose by folding in the four corners of the cloth; top with a piece of buttered parchment; cover;
4. Place the pudding in the oven in a pan half-filled with water or in a steamer on the stove top; cook for 6 hours at a bare simmer, checking the water level from time to time;
5. Remove the pudding from the pan and let cool;
6. Cover with a fresh cloth and parchment; replace the cover or wrap in aluminum foil and let ripen in a cool spot (not refrigerated) for at least one month. It will be even better if it ages longer!
7. On Christmas Day, return the pudding to the oven or steamer (as described in step 4) for 3 to 4 hours; unmould;
8. Flambé with brandy or cognac and serve hot with brandy butter.
Longer method… 216 hours! (7 days macerating time)
1. Chop the raisins, currants, cherries, candied fruit and peel; pour 1 litre (4 c.) of rum over top and let sit for 48 hours; drain, reserving the rum;
2. Combine all the ingredients except the eggs; add 200 ml (generous 3/4 cup) of the reserved macerating rum and the juice of an orange and a lemon; cover the bowl with a cloth moistened with rum and let sit 7 days. Stir the batter once a day, adding a little rum if necessary to keep the batter soft;
3. If the batter becomes too stiff, thin it with a small glass of old ale; if the batter is too thin, add a little flour and mix gently; continue with the recipe (above).

As adapted from worldwidegourmet.com

Tray, Tres Chic!

The image of a stodgy British butler in black tie and tails is what comes to mind for many when they hear the words "serving tray". Perhaps some of us watched a bit too much "Masterpiece Theater" (namely my Anglophile wife!) in days gone by. Nevertheless, there is a reason the British have always been associated with fine service. Presentation. They really have it down pat. But guess what? In this day and age, when the butler and parlor maid are you and your mate, entertaining is a completely different ball of wax. The key to successful entertaining in today's home is the ability to combine graciousness with informality. And what better way to do so, than with our gorgeous line of acaciaware serving trays. There's a reason todays restaurant supply houses and fine dining establishments place a premium on Pacific Merchants serveware. Our serving pieces are beautiful, functional and warmly tactile. Their lustrous finishes, easy clean up, and substantial feel make them a natural for the home as well as hotels, restaurants and caterers around the country. So whip out that Pacific Merchants tray, the sexy butler or maid costume, and let's party! Here, here!!!

Project: Typhoon Recovery

Over the last ten years, the craftspeople who work at our Philippine factories have made beautiful, hand crafted acaciaware that provides our customers with unparalleled quality and enduring beauty. These craftspeople represent several hundred families who thrive, in large part, because of their successful partnership with Pacific Merchants and the strong, loyal customer base we provide for their exceptional woodenware.

This past month, super Typhoon Ondoy brought a month's worth of rainfall to Metro Manila and the outlining Philippine towns in just a few hours, causing severe flooding which resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. Eight days later, Typhoon Pepeng struck the northern regions causing more damage. More than four million people have been affected by the ravages of these two major typhoons. Beside the loss of life, electricity is still out in many outlying areas, access roads have been washed away, telephone service is still out, and the production of wood at factories such as ours has been at a standstill for several weeks. The good news is that the factories are slowly coming back to life.

After learning about the full extent of the crisis just this last weekend, Pacific Merchants has committed to aid our friends in this devastated country. Effective immediately, we are launching Project: Typhoon Recovery. Through November, Pacific Merchants will donate a significant percentage of profits to recovery efforts in the Philippines.

A Little of This, A Little of That

I’ve had a few requests for my homemade vinaigrette, so I’ve included it below, along with the recipe for my favorite salad. Enjoy!

Bruce’s Famous House Salad

Salad:

1 head Romaine lettuce
1 bunch chives, diced into 1/8 “ pieces
1 plump, moderately firm heirloom tomato, sliced or diced to suit your style
4-5 hearts of palm, diced into ¼” pieces

Remove tough and discolored leaves from exterior of romaine head, and cut into bite sized pieces*, rinse, pat dry, and toss into your gorgeous wooden salad bowl from Pacific Merchants. Add chives, tomato and hearts of palm in reckless abandon. Toss with vinaigrette just prior to serving in your gorgeous wooden salad bowl from Pacific Merchants. Am I repeating myself? ; )

Vinaigrette:

Balsamic vinegar
Unsweetened rice wine vinegar
The best virgin olive oil you can manage
Salt
Pepper
Crushed garlic
Fresh garden herbs

To be perfectly honest, I don’t have measurements for this dressing. It’s “a little of this, a little of that” which means the ingredients above serve as a guide for your own, unique vinaigrette. In the interest of good health and lower calories, I do tend to use much more vinegar than oil, flipping the traditional 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 oil the other way round. But that’s all I’m gonna say. Enjoy!!!

*Romaine is the only lettuce I know of that can be cut with a knife, rather than torn. This according to my 8th grade home economics teacher. Something to do with the edges of the leaves being resistant to browning... I’ve never checked with an outside source to verify Miss Silver's claim, but she did have a sterling reputation.

Picasso of Placemats!

Serving a memorable meal is a fine art. That art begins with sumptuous cookery: delicious dishes composed with rich daubs of color, broad swathes of texture, and subtle accents of spice. But plating out a delightful dinner is only half the magic. Table setting provides the ultimate framework for the meal you've poured your culinary creativity into. Flowers – always. My wife loves when I bring them home, but often picks them fresh from the garden. My kids enjoy collecting pebbles, branches and leaves in the fall and creating the look of a little Japanese garden on the table. They’ve even used a battery operated dime store Zen fountain as a centerpiece, and the effect is charming. Candles? Absolutely, but keep them unscented so they don’t compete with the amazing smells wafting from your serving dishes. I’m also a big fan of oversized, oft washed, super soft dinner napkins. Buy the best and use them often. They just get better with age. But I have to admit that as a purveyor of placemats, I am most inclined to wax poetic about the spectacular qualities of these regularly rectangular, occasionally oval little beauties.

Placemats are a beautiful adornment for a bare table, but they also look lovely on a tablecloth. I recently attended a function at a very fancy restaurant and was pleased to see our Red Maple placemats embellishing a tablecloth of crisp white linen. The look was surprising, both modern and classic. I got a kick out of how several of the other diners commented on the table setting, without knowing the placemats were one of my products! I also surmised that the restaurateur was saving a fortune on laundry bills by using our dishwasher safe placemats on top of the linens!!

Placemats come in a wide variety of colors and weaves, and your best bet is to make sure they complement your dishes, serveware and home decor. Sometimes we serve off of very modern white dishes at home, and pretty much anything goes. Placemats can tie in with a seasonal or culinary theme, flowers, or even complement the color palette of the food being served – although I would warn against getting too cute and matchey-matchey. If you are serving on a patterned china, then the placemat should be more subtley paired, to be a backdrop for the plates. A tailored neutral is often best in that case. But whatever you do, have fun. Think a little outside the box - or rectangle - as the case may be. If you do, you are sure to produce a masterpiece!

The More Things Change...

Pacific Merchants has evolved quite a bit over the years. Some of our first endeavors were cutting boards in the shape of animals – including Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. We also produced heavy maple cutting boards and carried a line of hand made wooden utensils created in Amish country. So I guess you could say, wood has always been at the root of our business. Now we sell the most comprehensive, high quality line of Acaciaware in the country, and the simple truth is: wooden salad bowls, platters, chargers, trays and other beautifully designed serving pieces never get "old” for me.

In fact, my cupboards at home are filled with prototypes for much of our serveware, and many pieces have been used for years. With the highly resinous nature of acacia wood, our trademark line of Acaciaware keeps its luster over time, even when exposed to my wife’s rather stringent cleaning standards. One wooden salad bowl, in particular, has been at our dinner table for over ten years. It has become a tradition in our household to serve from that bowl (a salad of romaine hearts, heirloom tomatoes, hearts of palm and chives, with my famous homemade vinaigrette is a personal favorite!) and the "infamous" wooden salad bowl is even known among our friends, who have long since been gifted with similar sets. It’s nice to know that in some ways, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

An Affair to Remember...

If you are in the food service industry, restaurant supply trays are an important part of your business. These trays serve more than a functional purpose. They also serve an aesthetic purpose which goes a long way towards impressing customers. A wide variety of serving trays are produced, with wooden trays being the most popular. However, you should choose the material that best suits your purpose. If, for example, you are transporting beverages, plastic-coated trays are a practical choice. Beyond materials, you can choose from a wide variety of trays based on design, shape, size and color. An important part of the small wares category of the restaurant supply business, serving trays can also be bought from housewares stores and the Pacific Merchants online shop, which will ship products to your doorstep at the click of a mouse. Buy just the right serving tray for your needs, and you will be guaranteed an affair to remember!

Backing Up on "Back of the House"

I explained the term "serveware" in a previous post, but neglected to define another bit of hospitality industry jargon that I tossed out somewhat carelessly. Namely: "back of the house". Sorry, readers! Back of the house describes the part of hospitality you don't see. It's a term used in the restaurant business to refer to kitchen area and staff, as opposed to the dining room — the "front of the house."

Never being satisfied with a simple explanation, I went on line to do a little research. It's actually pretty interesting!

According to WiseGeek.com, "Different types of staff work in each area, and rivalries sometimes crop up between back of house and front of house staffers, especially in large restaurants which can get extremely busy. As a general rule, the back of house is a staff-only area, although it may be opened to the public on a limited basis for tours. The back of house is the area in which food is stored and prepared, and it typically includes other staff areas such as a break room and changing area. Cooks, expediters, and dishwashers work in the back of house, usually largely unseen by the public.

In most kitchens, the back of house has a strict hierarchy, with each staff member performing a specific task.In the front of house, waiters, waitresses, and hosts interact with guests. These staff are said to be “on the floor,” since they are visible representatives of the restaurant. Floor staff are supposed to be courteous, informative, and neatly dressed, since their behavior determines whether or not guests enjoy themselves.Some staff flit between both the back and front of the house. Bussers and runners, for example, carry food and plates back and forth from the kitchen and the floor. Their jobs can be extremely high stress, as they must deal with demands from the kitchen and the floor staff. In addition, they also engage in interactions with customers, since guests of the restaurant may not always understand the distinction between waitstaff, runners, and kitchen staff.In some restaurants, part of the kitchen may be visible to members of the public. Not all kitchen staff enjoy this, as cooking can be a messy and tension-fraught business. Diners, on the other hand, enjoy being able to watch food preparation, especially since showy stations such as grill or sautee are often exposed."

So there you have it, more of an explanation than you asked for. Suffice it to say, the kitchen and staging areas of a restaurant are a hive of activity where food is painstakingly prepared, then carefully arranged on smallwares such as serving trays, chafing dishes, and other restaurant supply paraphanelia, before being shuttled out to the relative serenity of the front of the house. See how much we're learning?!

New Name, Old Game!

Setting a table with all the appropriate accoutrements is not exactly a new thing. Trends come and go, whether its paleolithic stones, sticks and arrowheads; medieval daggers and communal (yum!)wooden troughs; or post 17th century forks and knives, etcetera. (I'm thinking here, it's good to be a modern man!) There's always something interesting going on in table setting.

The "new" new thing in table setting is "tablescaping"! Tablescaping is essentially table setting on steroids. Legitimized as a word in the 2006 edition of the Oxford New American Dictionary, tablescaping is the art of designing a table, utilizing any number of table items such as napkins, placemats, serving plates, runners, silverware, chargers, etc., in order to create just the right ambience for dining. What makes it different from just setting the table? I suppose, it's the implied "creative license" associated with it. To dream the impossible tabletop dream!

But I say, don't wait for a dictionary to give your creative concepts legitimacy. Define and design your table with confidence! And if our amazing array of polyvinyl placemats, acacia wood serving trays, and Mason Cash earthenware can be helpful to you in the process, then so be it.

Note from the Editor: We're out of stock on communal wooden troughs. Check back with us in a few months.

Mason Cash: The Enduring Nature of Simple Things Well Made

Mason Cash, a revered line of kitchenware favored by the British Royal Household, has returned to American shores this August, after several years’ absence. We at Pacific Merchants are thrilled to launch this British invasion as exclusive U.S. importer and distributor, and see this classic line as an opprtunity to exceed consumer expectations in a changing marketplace.

When I was a boy, my mother – a devotee of Julia Child’s PBS show – purchased a set of Mason Cash mixing bowls and pudding basins. When she used the bowls, she felt as if she were cooking with her culinary idol. I can’t tell you how many times I helped my mom mix batter in those bowls for scones, crepes, and Aunt Fanne’s famous fudge brownies.

I'm not alone in my memories. While rooted in over two hundred years of tradition, Mason Cash is ideally suited to today’s consumer, who yearns for products as functional and long-lasting as they are beautiful. First launched over 100 years ago, these products enjoy worldwide recognition and many have stayed within families for generations.

The origins of Mason Cash can be traced back to the heart of Derbyshire, England in around 1800. Mason Cash ceramics were made from ‘white and cane’ glazed earthenware, also known as ‘yellow ware’ due to the color of the local clay. The pottery was run by a series of Master Potters, of whom the most colorful was ‘Bossy Mason’. Tom Cash acquired the pottery in 1901, and renamed the company Mason Cash and Co.

The Mason Cash mixing bowl has met the test of time by combining both ergonomic and functional elements. My mom’s bowls were solid and well balanced, with raised ornamentation that made them easy to turn while whipping cream with sticky fingers, or folding egg whites into Dad’s favorite broccoli soufflé. One large bowl with a glaze the color of butterscotch sat year round on the kitchen table, brimming with fruit. Just the memory of it makes me think of apples in autumn and peaches in summer! Even more telling, is the fact that almost fifty years later, Mom still has most of those bowls in her possession. I was gratified that something of such simple beauty could also be so enduring.

Just as well-regarded and recognizable as the mixing bowls are Mason Cash’s traditional white “pudding basins”. Microwave and dishwasher safe, these rimmed bowls maintain a tight seal with plastic wrap and are ideal for steaming. Legendary for their clean lines and high quality, they even meet the exacting standards of the British Royal Household, which uses them for Christmas puddings! A full complement of cane bakeware completes the line, with square, rectangular and oval baking dishes that are fully oven, freezer, microwave and dishwasher safe. The versatility, quality and attractiveness of Mason Cash kitchenware make it a priceless investment for any kitchen.

A few weeks ago, my family and I prepared a big Sunday dinner with a brand new set of Mason Cash bowls, “bakers” and pudding basins. As my wife assembled eggplant parmigiana in the square 9 “ baking dish, I crushed garlic cloves for a tri-tip marinade with Mason Cash’s iconic mortar and pestle. My eldest daughter steamed broccoli in a 64 oz. pudding basin and arranged crudités in dainty ramekins, as the baby of the family whipped up a raspberry lemon cake batter and butter cream frosting in the 14” and 11.5” bowls respectively.

As the kitchen filled with the sights and sounds of cooking, I felt a distinct sense of homecoming. The bakeware and bowls may have been new but the moment was timeless. This beautifully crafted Mason Cash stoneware is destined to be enjoyed by my family, as we create a whole new set of memories. One day my children may even use these pieces to cook with their children!
For me, Mason Cash represents a return to fundamentals: kitchen essentials crafted with pride, and meant to last a lifetime.

Small Wares, Big Selection

What the heck are "smallwares"? The name brings to mind any number of images, none of which I'll expound upon here. But the fact is, I hadn't heard the expression until I began to delve into the world of hospitality. For the past few years, Pacific Merchants has expanded their business to include hotels, restaurants and institutional venues across the country, and even internationally. Smallwares are the small kitchen and bar appliances, glassware, tableware, and flatware that we take for granted when we go out to a restaurant, check into a hotel, or visit a univeristy or corporate dining hall. You learn something new every day!

A lot goes on in the "back of the house" to make the "front of the house" look good. And Pacific Merchants is busy making the hospitality industry look good with all sorts of smallwares such as eco friendly melamine trays, gracious wood room service trays, amenity trays, acaciaware serving trays, wooden salad bowls, and trend setting poly vinyl placemats. Just to name a few! They may be small wares, but we have a big assortment of them! Maybe we should call them "big wares". Of course, that brings to mind another set of images, none of which I'll expound upon here.