November 15, 2005 Vol 1, Issue 8
 
I can't believe it's nearly Thanksgiving! I sincerely hope that each of you enjoy a wonderfully relaxing holiday. By the way, last year one of our vendors, Ed Greer from Dallas, told me that he served his Thanksgiving turkey ringed in a circle of Pappardelle's Sweet Potato pasta. Sounds like a nice change from the marshmallow-laden sweet potato casserole!
 
For all of you Summer Vendors, you should have received your survey and samples of products. We'll be eagerly awaiting your feedback from the survey. We will share the pertinent results with everyone.
 
We are also in the process of sending out a "thank you" gift to all of your market managers for allowing you to be in their market this past season.
 
We are pleased to announce that we have two new vendors in Florida. The first opened right before Hurricane Wilma hit down in Palm Beach/Boca Raton on the east side of Florida, and the other opened a week later near Orlando in the center of Florida. Their season goes from now until early spring. So, if any of you seasoned veterans out there have any tips/hints that you'd like to pass along, please do let me know!
 
Ravioli
This month I am not including any new recipes, however I would like to direct your attention to the recipe section of the website. We have added a recipe for every single ravioli that we carry. Most of the recipes are extremely simple and easy to memorize for "on the fly" recommendations to customers. We hope that the addition of these 21 recipes will benefit you as you sell the ravioli.
 
And, as always, if you have any recipes that you have created using any of the products, please do let us know. We'd love to include them in our collection. We will, of course, give you credit for the recipe.
 
Don't forget: tell your customers to find us on the web or call our 800# to order more products if they can't make it to the market. You will receive a 20% product credit on all gross sales. And, be sure to mention the newly designed website and easier ordering capabilities!

Tips of the Trade from Other Vendors

Lisa and Kris Nelson, sisters who run a market in Overland Park, Kansas reported: "We also started collecting email addresses a few months ago, and so far we have about 150 addresses.  Last week, we sent out our first weekly email and it really boosted our sales.  A lot of people specifically came by our booth to purchase our "weekly special" that we advertised on our email, so we were really excited about the response."

Did You Know?
That you should stir in grated cheeses after removing pasta and sauce from the heat. Cheese breaks down (fat separates from protein) and becomes stringy if it is heated too long or at too high of a temperature.
 
Food for Thought

"I believe that if ever I had to practice cannibalism, I might manage if there were enough tarragon around."
James Beard (1903-1985)

Mange!
Annie