It’s November at Zingerman’s! Cranberry Pecan bread is here! When I started at the deli, I was always getting requests for the mythical cranberry pecan bread, but I had to wait a couple months to get my chance to try it. Now I understand why guests will pine for a freezing November day in the middle of June — this bread is delicious! I love our raisin pecan bread, too, but the cranberries add a tartness that gives the loaf a “pop” of flavor I’ve never tasted in bread before. The crust is thin and crackly, and the pecans give it all the crunch you could ask for — it’s like trail mix in bread! I love it with butter, I love it more with our cream cheese, and I love it most as french toast (and not just because that rhymes). We only get this bread November and December every year (and weekends in July), but it freezes really well and you’ll be glad to defrost a loaf in March or April, right along with the snow outside.

Of all the bacons that we carry, I keep coming back to the Benton’s. This is a dry cured bacon, super smokey with a lingering salty sweetness. It adds new meaning to the concept of smokey bacon. With eggs in the morning, or mixed into your favorite recipe, this is a bacon that will have you coming back for more too.

I know, I know.. grilling season is almost over in Michigan. But this kielbasa is so good that I will be finding more ways to use it as soon as I have to put the grill away. Made with pork and chicken and then lightly smoked this sausage is king in my kitchen! As we head into fall, my favorite weeknight supper is 1 lb. of kielbasa, half a can of beer, and 10 oz of sauerkraut that I can dump into the slow cooker on my way to work and come home to delicious dinner.

We get a lot of nifty and exclusive thing in at the deli, and we’re always excited to share them with you, but this oil is going to blow your socks off! It all started, as most of our food stories here at Zingerman’s do, with a sample. This particular sample came to us from one of our longtime vendors, Daphne Zepos. Daphne and her company Essex Street Cheese sell us our very fantastic Comte cheese from France, and most recently she has helped us create a mastery course for cheesemongers (for more information click here). But instead of cheese, this was a sample of the olive oil that her sister and brother-in-law produce on their small farm on the Greek island of Zakynthos. Amalia Zepou and her husband Stathis Potamitis own a farm that was established in the 1830s and grows two varietals that they use for this oil, the Koroneiki olive and the Dopia olive. They grow their olives organically and then press within mere hours of the olive being harvested by hand. To top it all off, Amalia and Stathis leave this oil unfiltered to maximize the rich flavors.A very small production, they only press about 1000 liters (thats around 264 gallons for those folks that don’t think in metric) a year! We convinced them to part with 200 liters so that we could share this great oil with you. With a big flavor that rolls around your mouth like waves hitting the island shores, this rich, buttery oil starts with ripe fruit flavors and floral undertones and gradually fades into a pleasant bitterness. You’re left with just a hint of pepper that will stay with you. Supplies are limited, so if you want a bottle of this totally exclusive olive oil, come pick one up today. Drizzle some over fresh pasta with crumbles of feta, fresh tomatoes, and sauteed shrimp with garlic for an evening stay-cation on your own personal Greek Island! Or for a purist approach, grab a loaf of bread (my favorite is Paesano) and dip away.