Cheese Fondue with Prosecco!

Stuck on what to make your guests for New Years Eve? Red Bee’s got the answer! We’re buzzing about a decadent cheese and Prosecco fondue drizzled with honey. Cheese and Honey are a natural pairing, and when you add the bubbly fizz of Prosecco, it becomes the perfect festive New Years eve dish. What could bee more decadent and festive and with the surprise of honey your celebration will be spectacular.

Here at Red Bee we’ve put an Italian twist on it, using Fontina Val D'Aosta and Taleggio cheeses. Our alfalfa honey is fantastic drizzled over this fondue or on your dipping accompaniments; its grassy, mild flavor will play nicely with the light flavor of the Prosecco.

Cheese Fondue with Prosecco Recipe

Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients:
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/4 cups Prosecco or Champagne
1 large shallot, chopped
2 cups coarsely grated Gruyère cheese (about 7 ounces)
1 1/3 cups coarsely grated Fontina Val d’Aosta cheese (about 5 ounces)
1/2 cup diced Taleggio cheese (about 3 ounces)
nutmeg, pinch
white pepper, pinch
Linden or alfalfa honey to drizzle
Crusty baguette

Method:

Stir cornstarch and lemon juice in small bowl until cornstarch dissolves; set aside. Combine Prosecco and shallot in fondue pot or heavy medium saucepan; simmer over medium heat 2 minutes. Remove pot from heat. Add all cheeses and stir to combine. Stir in cornstarch mixture. Return fondue pot to medium heat and stir until cheeses are melted and smooth and fondue thickens and boils, about 12 minutes. Season fondue with nutmeg and white pepper. Place over candle or canned heat burner to keep warm. Serve with crusty bread, shrimp and Prosecco.


Red Bee Events:

JANUARY 4 
• New Canaan Nature Center Green Book Club 
+ Tuesday, January 16, 2010 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm 
Spend an evening with beekeeper Marina Marchese 
and New Canaan Green Book Club readers to discuss her book 
HONEYBEE Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper


JANUARY 9 
• Red Bee Skin Care Workshop 
+ Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm 
Rossape Sustainable Skin Care Workshop, Weston, CT 
Spend a fun Saturday at beekeeper Marina's Red Bee Cottage in Weston, CT and learn the basics on how to make your own skin care 
using ingredients from your kitchen. 
Reserve your place early-limited space!


JANUARY 16 
• Honey Tasting Workshop 
+ Sunday, January 16, 2010 at 1:00 till 3:00p 
Join us for a Tasting Flight of Seven Artisanal honeys 
paired with farm style cheeses and accompaniments with Red Bee's own Marina Marchese 
Event held at "The Cottage" at Red Bee Studio, Weston, CT.


For more information about Red Bee and our events, please visit www.redbee.com.
Happy New Year and hope to see you all in 2011!

Blooming and Buzzing!

Our gardens are blooming and the bees are buzzing! It's finally June at Red Bee® and is it just me, or is everyone crazy for honey? Now more than ever, people are paying attention to where their food comes from and now...even their honey. Did you know that honeybees are responsible for pollinating 100 different fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, spices? My personal favorites that I could not live without are coffee, chocolate and the cotton for my blue jeans. Beekeepers nurture natures greatest pollinators while providing local honey at their source. They are the rising rock stars of today's green movement. We find ourselves here at Red Bee Apiary are busier than ever, educating the public on honey and beekeeping. People are reading labels too! They understand that what you put on your body is as important as what you put in it. With that said, our Rossape sustainable skin care products are getting attention too. Could bees and honey possibly be getting a little bit of respect?



So if your interested in learning more about the health benefits and the culinary delights of honey, join us at one of our workshops here at Red Bee Apiary. There are a few coveted seats left for our next Seven Flight Honey Tasting Workshop on Sunday, June 20th at 1:00 pm till 3:00 pm. Reserve your seat on our web site.


Learn how honeybees make this liquid gold we call honey, how location and nectar source determines a honeys color and flavor and how is harvested and extracted from the comb. Beekeeper and Honey Sommelier, Marina Marchese will show us how to taste and evaluate honey using the Honey Sommelier tasting guide in her new book HONEYBEE Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper.

Read: What Fairfield Green Food Guide says about our Honey Tasting Events!


If you can't make our formal events, our Honey Tasting and Bottling Kitchen is opened 12:00 noon till 4:00 pm seven days a week by appointment only. Honey lovers are invited to join us for a Tasting Flight of any seven honeys of your choice with accompaniments locally produced bread and goat or brie cheeses for $5.00 per person. Groups of six or more could reserve our veranda overlooking the apiary and gardens.

Red Bee® JUNE EVENTS

SATURDAYS •••••••
Farmers Markets have officially begun and Red Bee Honey can be found at the New Canaan and Fairfield Brick Walk markets.

JUNE 3
Ocean County Library Stafford Branch • 129 N. Main Street, Manahawkin, NJ 08050
Honeybee Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper Book Talk

JUNE 5
Sculpture Barn Art Center • Preservation Celebration • 3 Millltown Road RT39, New Fairfield, CT
Honey, Cheese and Wine Tasting

June 12
Centennial Bee Day Party • Brooklyn Botanical Gardens
Honey Tasting and Honeybee book signing

JUNE 20
Seven Flight Honey Tasting
at Red Bee Apiary

JUNE 25
Artisanal Cheese Center • Honey, Cheese and Wine
Beekeeper and Honey Sommelier Marina Marchese and Affineur Erin Hedley

Here is one of our favorite recipes It is so easy and elegant...
Honey Figs with Goat Cheese and Pecans Recipe

Goat cheese or Chèvre cheese is cheese made from goat's milk (chèvre is French for goat). In regions where domesticated goats are kept, many kinds of goat's milk cheeses are produced.
Caprino is a Italian goat's milk cheese and Castelo Branco is a Portuguese goat's milk cheese. So don’t be afraid to experiment.

Servings: 6
Prep Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
1cup pecans, finely chopped
3/4 cup of wildflower honey
6 oz log of goat cheese
12 fresh figs Calimyrna or black missions, halved
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper


Methods:
Place the finely chopped pecans in a shallow dish. Season with salt and pepper. Roll the goat cheese log in the pecans to evenly coat. Refrigerate log until firm. To serve, cut evenly into rounds. Divide figs evenly between 6 dessert plates. Top figs with a round of pecan crusted goat cheese. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of honey over each serving. Serve immediately.

Blooming and Buzzing!

Our gardens are blooming and the bees are buzzing! It's finally June at Red Bee® and is it just me, or is everyone crazy for honey? Now more than ever, people are paying attention to where their food comes from and now...even their honey. Did you know that honeybees are responsible for pollinating 100 different fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, spices? My personal favorites that I could not live without are coffee, chocolate and the cotton for my blue jeans. Beekeepers nurture natures greatest pollinators while providing local honey at their source. They are the rising rock stars of today's green movement. We find ourselves here at Red Bee Apiary are busier than ever, educating the public on honey and beekeeping. People are reading labels too! They understand that what you put on your body is as important as what you put in it. With that said, our Rossape sustainable skin care products are getting attention too. Could bees and honey possibly be getting a little bit of respect?



So if your interested in learning more about the health benefits and the culinary delights of honey, join us at one of our workshops here at Red Bee Apiary. There are a few coveted seats left for our next Seven Flight Honey Tasting Workshop on Sunday, June 20th at 1:00 pm till 3:00 pm. Reserve your seat on our web site.


Learn how honeybees make this liquid gold we call honey, how location and nectar source determines a honeys color and flavor and how is harvested and extracted from the comb. Beekeeper and Honey Sommelier, Marina Marchese will show us how to taste and evaluate honey using the Honey Sommelier tasting guide in her new book HONEYBEE Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper.

Read: What Fairfield Green Food Guide says about our Honey Tasting Events!


If you can't make our formal events, our Honey Tasting and Bottling Kitchen is opened 12:00 noon till 4:00 pm seven days a week by appointment only. Honey lovers are invited to join us for a Tasting Flight of any seven honeys of your choice with accompaniments locally produced bread and goat or brie cheeses for $5.00 per person. Groups of six or more could reserve our veranda overlooking the apiary and gardens.

Red Bee® JUNE EVENTS

SATURDAYS •••••••
Farmers Markets have officially begun and Red Bee Honey can be found at the New Canaan and Fairfield Brick Walk markets.

JUNE 3
Ocean County Library Stafford Branch • 129 N. Main Street, Manahawkin, NJ 08050
Honeybee Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper Book Talk

JUNE 5
Sculpture Barn Art Center • Preservation Celebration • 3 Millltown Road RT39, New Fairfield, CT
Honey, Cheese and Wine Tasting

June 12
Centennial Bee Day Party • Brooklyn Botanical Gardens
Honey Tasting and Honeybee book signing

JUNE 20
Seven Flight Honey Tasting
at Red Bee Apiary

JUNE 25
Artisanal Cheese Center • Honey, Cheese and Wine
Beekeeper and Honey Sommelier Marina Marchese and Affineur Erin Hedley

Here is one of our favorite recipes It is so easy and elegant...
Honey Figs with Goat Cheese and Pecans Recipe

Goat cheese or Chèvre cheese is cheese made from goat's milk (chèvre is French for goat). In regions where domesticated goats are kept, many kinds of goat's milk cheeses are produced.
Caprino is a Italian goat's milk cheese and Castelo Branco is a Portuguese goat's milk cheese. So don’t be afraid to experiment.

Servings: 6
Prep Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
1cup pecans, finely chopped
3/4 cup of wildflower honey
6 oz log of goat cheese
12 fresh figs Calimyrna or black missions, halved
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper


Methods:
Place the finely chopped pecans in a shallow dish. Season with salt and pepper. Roll the goat cheese log in the pecans to evenly coat. Refrigerate log until firm. To serve, cut evenly into rounds. Divide figs evenly between 6 dessert plates. Top figs with a round of pecan crusted goat cheese. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of honey over each serving. Serve immediately.

Honey, not just for your Tea

Honey and tea has been a staple for as long as we could remember. Grandmother's swore that it would ease symptoms related to colds and flues. The latest buzz is that local honey helps seasonal allergies and our customer swear by this. They stop by daily, specifically to purchase our local honey.

Here at Red Bee Apiary, we use honey on just about everything and there is no food that has escaped the drizzle of our liquid gold, from home baked breads to a sweetener for our morning coffee. YES, I said coffee. Who ever thought honey could be the perfect "green" sweetener for your morning Joe? It's full of minerals and vitamins that you won't find in processed sweeteners.

To help you explore the possibilities of coffee and honey, we are hosting a Coffee Roasting Workshop here in our gardens at Red Bee Apiary and posting three of our favorite honey recipes below. Coffee and Honey are the perfect accompaniments for home baked breads. We will be serving up all three of these tasty honey spreads with locally made Wave Hill breads and the freshly roasted coffee at the workshop.

Please join us for a Coffee Roasting Workshop with Peter and Junalyn Duveen of the Siberian Pipeline Coffee Company in NY. Learn how to roast your own coffee beans for a much fresher, robust flavor. Find out about pan-roasted coffee, and automatic roasting machines, and taste the result--freshly brewed coffee with delicious locally made Wave Hill Bread and Red Bee Honeys! Each guest will receive one sample sized bag of coffee beans.

Sign Up for our Coffee Roasting Workshop

Here's a sneak preview of what's on the menu at
Red Bee's Coffee Roasting Workshop
RECIPES:

Coffee Creamed Honey

Makes 1 cup

• 9 oz. creamed honey
• 1 Tablespoon instant coffee
• 1 teaspoon hot water

In small bowl, bring creamed honey to room temperature. Combine instant coffee and hot water. Add to creamed honey. Stir in quickly but do not blend completely, leaving some swirls of coffee. Chill until ready to serve. Makes 8 2-Tablespoon servings.

Chocolate Honey Hazelnut Spread (Nutella)

Makes 1-1/4 cups

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup ground skinned roasted hazelnuts
• 1 teaspoon raw cocoa powder
  

Cream honey and butter; add hazelnuts and stir until smooth. Serve spread at room temperature; store in refrigerator, tightly covered. Cream honey and butter; add hazelnuts and stir until smooth. Serve spread at room temperature; store in refrigerator, tightly covered. * Roast hazelnuts on flat pan at 325°F for 15 minutes or until skins blister and nuts are lightly browned. Cool slightly; rub between palms of hands or with clean towel to remove skins. Grind in blender or food processor until fine but not pasty.

Whipped Honey Cinnamon Butter

Makes 1 cup

• 1/2 cup (6 oz.) whipped or creamed honey
  
• 1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  

In a medium bowl, mix together honey and butter. Spoon into jars with tight-fitting lids. Store in refrigerator.

Honey, not just for your Tea

Honey and tea has been a staple for as long as we could remember. Grandmother's swore that it would ease symptoms related to colds and flues. The latest buzz is that local honey helps seasonal allergies and our customer swear by this. They stop by daily, specifically to purchase our local honey.

Here at Red Bee Apiary, we use honey on just about everything and there is no food that has escaped the drizzle of our liquid gold, from home baked breads to a sweetener for our morning coffee. YES, I said coffee. Who ever thought honey could be the perfect "green" sweetener for your morning Joe? It's full of minerals and vitamins that you won't find in processed sweeteners.

To help you explore the possibilities of coffee and honey, we are hosting a Coffee Roasting Workshop here in our gardens at Red Bee Apiary and posting three of our favorite honey recipes below. Coffee and Honey are the perfect accompaniments for home baked breads. We will be serving up all three of these tasty honey spreads with locally made Wave Hill breads and the freshly roasted coffee at the workshop.

Please join us for a Coffee Roasting Workshop with Peter and Junalyn Duveen of the Siberian Pipeline Coffee Company in NY. Learn how to roast your own coffee beans for a much fresher, robust flavor. Find out about pan-roasted coffee, and automatic roasting machines, and taste the result--freshly brewed coffee with delicious locally made Wave Hill Bread and Red Bee Honeys! Each guest will receive one sample sized bag of coffee beans.

Sign Up for our Coffee Roasting Workshop

Here's a sneak preview of what's on the menu at
Red Bee's Coffee Roasting Workshop
RECIPES:

Coffee Creamed Honey

Makes 1 cup

• 9 oz. creamed honey
• 1 Tablespoon instant coffee
• 1 teaspoon hot water

In small bowl, bring creamed honey to room temperature. Combine instant coffee and hot water. Add to creamed honey. Stir in quickly but do not blend completely, leaving some swirls of coffee. Chill until ready to serve. Makes 8 2-Tablespoon servings.

Chocolate Honey Hazelnut Spread (Nutella)

Makes 1-1/4 cups

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup ground skinned roasted hazelnuts
• 1 teaspoon raw cocoa powder
  

Cream honey and butter; add hazelnuts and stir until smooth. Serve spread at room temperature; store in refrigerator, tightly covered. Cream honey and butter; add hazelnuts and stir until smooth. Serve spread at room temperature; store in refrigerator, tightly covered. * Roast hazelnuts on flat pan at 325°F for 15 minutes or until skins blister and nuts are lightly browned. Cool slightly; rub between palms of hands or with clean towel to remove skins. Grind in blender or food processor until fine but not pasty.

Whipped Honey Cinnamon Butter

Makes 1 cup

• 1/2 cup (6 oz.) whipped or creamed honey
  
• 1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  

In a medium bowl, mix together honey and butter. Spoon into jars with tight-fitting lids. Store in refrigerator.

English Tea with English Honey by English Beekeepers

Last weekend our English beekeeping friends Lillian and John were visiting their family here in CT. When they visit we always get together and exchange information and updates on how our bee season is going. They reported to have harvested some 3,000 lbs of honey this year and are always thoughtful enough to bring us a jar of their special harvest. Their Oxfordshire honey is close to white in color with a hint of warm yellow. As you can see from the picture it is practically pure cream in texture yet with a gentle granular texture. I love how honey can have these two completely different qualities in the same mouthfull. Not only did we get to indulge in their honey, we were treated to a traditional English tea party! Below are a few photos of the offerings...


ABOVE: Lovely cucumber sandwiches, crustless in the traditional style, English Breakfast tea with bee designed napkins...a thoughtful touch. BELOW: Scones with strawberry jam and REAL clotted creme! It was all so heavenly and a chance to relax and while reflecting over the bees who bring us such lovely indulgences.


My Recipe for Traditional English Scones:

Yield: 1 dozen
Level: easy
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together the flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the 1/4 cup sugar, beating until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, then add the flour mixture and the buttermilk. Sprinkle the raisins over the dough and gently fold them in. Using an ice-cream scoop, place mounds of dough on a baking sheet and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve the scones warm, with strawberry jam and clotted cream.

English Tea with English Honey by English Beekeepers

Last weekend our English beekeeping friends Lillian and John were visiting their family here in CT. When they visit we always get together and exchange information and updates on how our bee season is going. They reported to have harvested some 3,000 lbs of honey this year and are always thoughtful enough to bring us a jar of their special harvest. Their Oxfordshire honey is close to white in color with a hint of warm yellow. As you can see from the picture it is practically pure cream in texture yet with a gentle granular texture. I love how honey can have these two completely different qualities in the same mouthfull. Not only did we get to indulge in their honey, we were treated to a traditional English tea party! Below are a few photos of the offerings...


ABOVE: Lovely cucumber sandwiches, crustless in the traditional style, English Breakfast tea with bee designed napkins...a thoughtful touch. BELOW: Scones with strawberry jam and REAL clotted creme! It was all so heavenly and a chance to relax and while reflecting over the bees who bring us such lovely indulgences.


My Recipe for Traditional English Scones:

Yield: 1 dozen
Level: easy
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together the flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the 1/4 cup sugar, beating until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, then add the flour mixture and the buttermilk. Sprinkle the raisins over the dough and gently fold them in. Using an ice-cream scoop, place mounds of dough on a baking sheet and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve the scones warm, with strawberry jam and clotted cream.

Honey Bee Open House

What’s Buzzing at the New Canaan Nature Center?
Honey Bee Open House
144 Oenoke Ridge
New Canaan, CT 06840
Phone: (203) 966-9577
Saturday, July 25, 2009
10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Did you know that one third of our food is pollinated by honeybees? Did you know that we have lost 50% of our honeybees in the United States due to environmental stresses and a little known condition called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)?

Everyone is invited to our Honey Bee Open House to learn more about honey bees and honey, pollination, the amazing health benefits and the importance to our environment and ecosystem.

• 10:00AM Unveiling of the new honeybee observation hive in the Discovery Room
• 11:00AM – Noon Marina Marchese, owner of Red Bee Honey will share her experiences as a beekeeper and conduct a honey tasting to highlight different nectar sources that create each unique flavor profile
• Noon – 1:00PM Encaustics (beeswax) art demonstration with Silvermine Guild artist Elizabeth Back, Nash Hyon, Kari Englehart, Leslie Guiliani and Maria Marchese
• 1:00PM Wildflower walk & talk
• 1:30PM Honeybee costume parade - prizes will be awarded!

Honey Bee Open House

What’s Buzzing at the New Canaan Nature Center?
Honey Bee Open House
144 Oenoke Ridge
New Canaan, CT 06840
Phone: (203) 966-9577
Saturday, July 25, 2009
10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Did you know that one third of our food is pollinated by honeybees? Did you know that we have lost 50% of our honeybees in the United States due to environmental stresses and a little known condition called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)?

Everyone is invited to our Honey Bee Open House to learn more about honey bees and honey, pollination, the amazing health benefits and the importance to our environment and ecosystem.

• 10:00AM Unveiling of the new honeybee observation hive in the Discovery Room
• 11:00AM – Noon Marina Marchese, owner of Red Bee Honey will share her experiences as a beekeeper and conduct a honey tasting to highlight different nectar sources that create each unique flavor profile
• Noon – 1:00PM Encaustics (beeswax) art demonstration with Silvermine Guild artist Elizabeth Back, Nash Hyon, Kari Englehart, Leslie Guiliani and Maria Marchese
• 1:00PM Wildflower walk & talk
• 1:30PM Honeybee costume parade - prizes will be awarded!