Russian Weeks
Russia is a huge country – 5,562 miles wide to be exact! So, it’s hard to know where to start when it comes to Russian cuisine. The country is so vast and has so many different cultures and traditions that there’s certainly something for everyone. From the 5th to 18th January, we’ll be holding our Russian week’s specials here at NetCost Market as part of our weekly specials. It’s a chance for you to discover something new if you’ve never had Russian cuisine before, or indulge in some of your favorites if you’re already acquainted with the culinary delights of this amazing country. Here are just some of our favorites!
Cured fish
Russia is heaven for fish fans — especially freshwater fish fans! Due to the Russian Orthodox fast days when meat is forbidden, Russians have become expert preparers of fish. It’s often preserved by either pickling, smoking, or salting, if not eaten fresh. Right now at NetCost Market, we’ve got a Russian favorite — hot smoked sturgeon! This meaty fish is known for caviar but it also has a rich, meaty flavor that is enjoyed across the country.
Pelmeni If you haven’t tried pelmeni, then it’s time you pulled yourself together and got out and tried them! Pelmeni is small individually wrapped dumplings stuffed with ground pork, lamb, or beef. They originate in the east of Russia but are now popular all over due to their truly wholesome flavor. Pelmeni would have originally been prepared and then frozen in the snow for winter as a way of preserving the meat before being steamed or boiled. At NetCost Market, we’re currently stocking delicious Siberian pelmeni, but luckily for you, there’s no need to keep them in the snow outside! They’ll do perfectly well in your fridge or freezer.
Bubliki Bubliki is a ringed bread that’s made using a wheat dough which is boiled in water before it’s baked. It’s similar to a bagel, but usually, it has a thicker crust and stronger flavor. You’ll often find them tied up with string at local bakeries in Russia. They go perfectly well with Russian cheese or cured meats and make the perfect lunchtime snack.
Solyanka This spicy and sour soup is a Russia favorite. Although it may seem a little strange, it’s actually really tasty and is the perfect thing to keep you warm through the winter months. The main ingredients are meat or fish, pickled cucumbers, potatoes, cabbage, olives, and dill — but there is a whole host of different ingredients that could be used depending on the region. At NetCost Market, we’ll be offering Solyanka as part of our Russian weeks!
Russian food comes in all shapes, sizes, flavors, and colors — it’s no surprise with a country so huge! It’s, therefore, a great idea to celebrate this wonderfully diverse culinary land by heading down to your local NetCost Market between the 5th and 18th of January! We’ll be offering free tastings on Saturdays at select locations, so check out our website to see what you can taste when you head down to your local store. Make sure you don’t miss out on the upcoming Russian weeks weekly specials! NetCost Market Philadelphia Holiday Extravaganza
Attention dear Philadelphia customers! We’ve got something special for you – 2 weeks of Holiday Extravaganza!
20-50% savings on something everyone needs this holiday season – SWEETS! The offers are valid NOW through January 1st, 2020 and are available to all NetCost Club members!
Make NetCost Market your holiday shopping destination, we are waiting for you!
NetCost Family – Interesting Facts About NetCost Market
As the holiday season gets underway, it’s time to come together with family and friends to celebrate with good food, drinks, and of course, great company! The holiday season has got us thinking about our own family. NetCost Market is made up of over 1300 valued employees who together allow us to bring great food to your table. As a new decade approaches, we want to reflect on our wonderful family of employees. NetCost Market would like to share some fun, and interesting facts that we believe show we’re much more than just your run-of- the-mill employer.
A family that sticks together
The retail industry tends to have a high employee turnover rate, but here at NetCost Market, we’re proud to announce that 10% of our employees have been with us for over 10 years! That’s over 100 of our valued family members, which is a considerable achievement in any industry.
Family members rising through the ranks
As well as retaining many of our employees for over a decade, we’ve also managed to ensure as many as 20% of our employees have been promoted from entry-level to management-level positions. When we see talent, commitment, and a hard work ethic here at NetCost Market, we know that it needs to be acknowledged and applauded. Having managerial team members that have worked their way up from the bottom assures those new employees who join our company are in the capable hands of someone that has seen it all and can help them achieve their full potential.
Rewarding our most hardworking family members
NetCost Market employees that go above and beyond the norm to bring excellent quality service to our customers are rewarded as part of the NetCost Market incentive program. This program ensures that our most dedicated employees don’t go unnoticed and that others are encouraged to do the same.
Giving Tinder a run for its money
NetCost Market is honored to have played cupid to over 30 couples that have gone on to build loving families as a result. At that rate, NetCost Market may be giving some of the top matchmaking apps some healthy competition! We’re delighted that our big family was the starting place for so many others, and it highlights how we’re much more than just a place where people go to work.
Sharing is caring
Families share what they have with each other. Here at NetCost Market, we agree! We share what we have to offer with our valued employees, which is why we provide one of the largest employee discounts; when compared with our competitors. Also, we offer New Year’s gift cards to all our employees and even vacations and cruises to our most valued and hard working. Sharing what we have helps those who we rely on us, and it shows how much we appreciate the hard work they put in.
NetCost Market is more than just a place where people go to work, it’s a place where relationships flourish and people develop by building a career where they feel valued. As an employer, it’s our duty to look out for all those under our care and give them the support they need to fulfill their ambitions. At this time of year, when everyone is reflecting on the value of family and friends, we must reflect on what matters to us most – our employees. Putting our employees first is what will allow us to best serve our community for years to come.
Georgian Weeks at NetCost Market — What’s on Offer?
If you weren’t already aware, it’s Georgian Weeks here at NetCost Market! That means we’re celebrating everything this fascinating and breathtaking country has to offer. In previous blog posts, we gave you some great recipes for classic Georgian cuisine and told you about some of the culinary delights that this tiny nation has to offer. This week, we’re going to be telling you all about the great Georgian products we currently have here at NetCost Market as part of our Georgian Weeks Weekly Specials!
Shoti Bread
Shoti is a Georgian bread that’s cooked in an oven called a tone — a type of cylindrical oven similar to an Indian tandoor. The bread is made using white wheat flour and the beauty of shoti is in its simplicity and freshness, so it’s best eaten straight out of the oven when still warm. Each loaf resembles a boat due to the curved shape it gets from the side of the stone oven. Right now, NetCost Market is offering freshly baked shot for as little as $2.49! There’s no reason not to try this tasty bread that goes well with just about any meal.
Basturma Basturma is an air-dried, highly-seasoned cured beef that has its roots in Byzantine and Ottoman Turkish cuisine. In fact, this type of meat is popular across the whole of the Caucus region and as far south as Egypt where a variety of meats including camel are used to make this delicious preserved delicacy. In Georgia, it’s often served alongside locally produced Georgian wine and is also grilled and then served with tomatoes, onions, and lemon juice. Luckily for you, you don’t need to go all the way to Georgia to get world-class Basturma because we have it right here at NetCost Market for an amazing $13.99 per lb. — that’s $3 less than the regular price!
Gruzinskaya Beef Salami Gruzinskaya is a dry beef salami that’s a real favorite in Georgia. It is very lean and therefore has a richer flavor than most other salamis, making it unique to the region when compared with other European types from further west. Right now, Gruzinskaya Beef Salami has a massive 31% off at only $8.99 per lb.! So, there’s no better time to try this unique, delectable Georgian favorite.
Georgian Churchkhela Churchkhela is a traditional Georgian candy that consists of grapes, nuts, flour and fruit juices. It’s usually eaten around Christmas and New Year and is made by placing nuts on a string and then repeatedly dipping them into a liquid made of grape juice thickened with flour. The complex cooking process makes for a really unique and multilayered flavor that is really tasty! At NetCost Market, we currently have Georgian Chuchkhela for $2.49 a packet, saving you a huge 48% off the original price!
Georgian cuisine is really full of surprises, and here at NetCost Market, we want you to fall in love with it just as much as we have! In addition to our great Weekly Specials prices, we’ll also be offering free Plov — a baked Georgian spiced rice with meat and vegetables — at our store located at Blue Grass Plaza, Welsh Road, Philadelphia, PA 19114, every Saturday throughout December. Make sure you head down to make the most of this exclusive offer, or to your local NetCost Market store to take advantage of the current Georgian Weeks Weekly Specials!
Georgian Recipes From NetCost Market’s Weekly Specials
Georgian Recipes From NetCost Market’s Weekly Specials
In our last blog post, we showed you some of the culinary delights that Georgia has to offer. In this blog post, we’ll be giving you three classic Georgian recipes so you can bring the expectational taste of this small country to your home! All of these recipes use ingredients from our Georgian Week Specials, meaning you can enjoy your new favorite cuisine for less! 1. Khachapuri
Khachapuri is the stuff dreams are made of. It combines cheese, eggs, and butter on top of a freshly baked flatbread to make the most decadent comfort food out there! As part of our Georgian Week, the special cheese that’s used in khachapuri — named Sulguni — now 36% off. There are also great offers on Nature’s Yolk large brown eggs, which are perfect for topping your homemade khachapuri. Recipe
Ingredients for the dough: 1 cup warm water, 1 tbsp. dry yeast, 2 ½ lbs. all-purpose flour, 1 cup warm milk, 2 oz. oil, 1 large Nature’s Yolk large brown egg, 1 tsp. salt, 1 cup warm water (as much as needed).
Ingredients for the cheese filling: 7 oz. Tamani sulguni cheese (shredded), 3 Nature’s Yolk large brown eggs, 1 tbsp. butter.
Method:
You’ll need to start by making the dough. Combine 1 cup warm water with the yeast, and set to one side. In a large bowl, mix the flour, milk, oil, egg, sugar, salt, and yeast/water mixture. Once a rough dough has formed, knead on a floured surface until it is smooth and elastic. You may need to add extra water if it is too dry. Place the dough back in a bowl and cover with cling wrap. Leave for 2 hours in a warm place. After two hours, remove the cling wrap. Punch the dough to get the air out and then divide it into three equal pieces. Cover them with plastic wrap and leave for a further 15 minutes. Heat your oven to 400F. Roll the dough balls out to form a circular shape about 12 inches across. Take the opposite sides of the circle and fold them inwards about ½ an inch the whole way along so a kind of boat shape is formed. You want this to be able to hold all the filling in the bread. Top each bread with plenty of Tamani sulguni cheese and then place in the oven on baking parchment for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, crack a Nature’s Yolk large brown egg in the middle of each bread as well as 1/3 of a tbsp. of butter, and bake for a further 3 minutes. Remove and serve immediately!
2. Chicken Satsivi
Satsivi is a cold nut-based sauce that’s common in Georgia and is usually served with meat or vegetables. This recipe uses a whole chicken, which is currently being offered at ¢.99/LB as part of our weekly specials. The opportunity to make this delicious meal is not to be missed!
Recipe Ingredients: 1 large chicken, 2 carrots, 2 onions, 3 pints of water, 1 ½ cups walnuts, 4 cloves garlic – peeled, 1 sprig fresh cilantro, 1 fresh red chili, 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 2 tbsp. ground cilantro, 2 tbsp. turmeric, 1 ½ tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. curry powder, ½ tsp. ground cumin, salt, fresh cilantro leaves and red chilies to serve.
Method
Place the chicken, carrots, and 1 onion (whole), into a large saucepan. Add enough water to cover and bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to low and simmer for 1 hour with the lid off until the chicken is cooked right through. Remove the chicken and set aside the stock and the chicken until they have cooled. Strain the stock and reduce by simmering for about another 20 minutes. Remove all the chicken from the bones and cut into large pieces. Cover and place in the refrigerator. Blend the walnuts until a smooth paste is formed. Transfer this to a large bowl and then blend 1 onion, garlic, cilantro sprig, chili, and a little of the stock until a smooth paste is formed. Add to the walnut mixture and ½ cup of the stock and stir to combine. To this mixture, add vinegar, ground cilantro, turmeric, chili powder, curry powder, and cumin and stir until well-mixed. Season with salt and then gradually stir stock into this paste until it is runny but still coats a spoon thinly. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours to thicken. Place the chicken in a large serving bowl and then add the walnut sauce, cover, and place in the fridge for 7 hours. Serve topped with cilantro and sliced chilies. 3. Gozinaki
Gozinaki is a classic dessert in Georgia that uses nuts cooked in honey and is usually enjoyed on New Year’s Eve. Luckily, however, this sweet can also be served any time of the year! Right now, Seebees Raw Honey is on offer as part of our Weekly Specials here at NetCost Market.
Recipe
Ingredients: 3 ½ cups shelled walnuts — toasted and chopped, 12 to 14 dried apricots — roughly chopped, 1 tbsp. dark rum (optional), 1 tsp. almond extract, 2/3 cup of Seebees Raw Honey, 1/3 cup pomegranate molasses, 6 oz. sweet chocolate — chopped, 1/3 cup heavy cream.
Method
Place the apricots in a bowl and then add the rum and almond extract, and mix well and then set aside. If you’re not using rum, just do this part without it. In a saucepan, bring the Seebees Raw Honey and pomegranate molasses to a boil and then stir in the walnuts and apricot pieces. Cook while stirring over low heat for about 15 minutes. This mixture should thicken up. Pour the mixture out over a lightly oiled tray lined with baking paper, and then use a spatula to spread the mixture until it is about ½ inch thick the whole way across. Next, place the chocolate in a medium bowl. In a separate saucepan, bring the cream to a boil and then pour over the chocolate and whisk gently until smooth. Allow to cool until thick yet pourable. Pour evenly over the hardened gozinaki, and then spread evenly over the top with the spatula and allow it to cool. Chill in the refrigerator for a few hours until ready to serve and then cut into 2-3 inch pieces. Serve while still cold with a good quality espresso.
Georgia is a country full of surprises, and these recipes may just surprise you a bit more! Allow us here at NetCost Market to help you get creative for less by taking advantage of our Georgian Weeks Weekly Specials. There are plenty of Georgian classics to choose from, so get on down to your local NetCost Market now!
Explore Georgian Cuisine and Culture at NetCost Market
Introducing You to Georgian Cuisine and Culture at NetCost Market
Georgia is a small country situated on the eastern shores of the Black Sea that borders Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey. Its location made it a key stopping point for tradespeople on their way to Europe from the far east while traveling the silk road, earning it a reputation as a melting pot of different cultures and most significantly, cuisines! While Georgian food isn’t usually the first that pops into people’s minds when they think of high-end eating, it’s certainly growing as a favorite among foodies. For this reason, we thought we’d give you the low-down on Georgian cuisine and eating culture in the run-up to our Georgian Weeks as part of our #WorldofFood right here at NetCost Market.
Classic Georgian Favorites Khachapuri
If you haven’t heard of Khachapuri, then you must be living under a rock! This amazingly indulgent snack has been hidden away in Georgia for centuries, but recently, it’s made its way around the world as somewhat of a food revelation. It consists of melted cheese, eggs, and butter, all placed on top of a stone-baked flatbread. This simple yet tasty snack has almost singlehandedly brought Georgian cuisine to international attention. Ostri
Ostri is a hearty Georgian stew made with beef and tomatoes. It’s cooked down until the beef is very tender and soft. While Georgia can be very warm in the summer, it gets well below freezing in some regions in the winter, making this winter warmer a real favorite.
Khinkali
Khinkali are Georgian dumplings, usually filled with meat and spices and then steamed, boiled, or fried. Their origins lie in Chinese dumplings that were brought along the silk road by traders traveling westward that were then taken on as a Georgian favorite.
Chikhirtma
Georgia’s famous national soup, Chikhirtma, is known for being a hangover cure. It consists of chicken, onions, eggs, flour, vinegar, water, and is then seasoned with salt, bay leaves, and coriander. There is little evidence that it really does have magical powers to cure hangovers, but it’s certainly one of the tastiest soups out there and is well worth a try! Satsivi
Heavily influenced by the spices of the Indian subcontinent, this thick walnut paste is usually served with meat, vegetables, fish, or eggs. It contains walnuts, garlic, coriander, cinnamon, vinegar, and hot peppers, making it an intensely rich and warming sauce for any occasion.
The outlook for Georgian cuisine on the international stage
Georgian food has what it takes to become recognized as one of the greatest regional specialties in the world. The mixture of indulgent, rich, and fresh flavors that are offered by the different dishes found throughout the country make it as diverse and satisfying as any other regional cuisine, and it’s only a matter of time before it makes a name for itself in restaurants, grocery stores, and kitchens all around the world.
If you’re already a fan of Georgian food or are now curious to try something new, there’s no better time to explore the amazing cuisine that this charming country has to offer. Head down to NetCost Market for our Georgian Weeks offers as part of our #WorldofFood to uncover one of the best-kept secrets in culinary delights from the small yet remarkable country of Georgia!