Sweet Merry Berry

07/17/2023

This time of year is great for a lot of fresh fruit!! Besides the always lovely fruit tart, a Summer Trifle is perfect for balancing the flavors of sweet, tangy, and decadent!!

Layers of our pound cake moistened with Cointreau simple syrup, a lemon curd pastry cream, and spiced rum whipped cream. And of course the star of the show, fresh blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and stone fruits such as white peaches and nectarines.

07/14/2023

Know someone getting married? We have 2 VIP tickets we would love to give away to next Sunday's (the 23rd) Bridal Show at the TN GA Wedding Expo at the Colonnade in Ringgold, GA!! Email [email protected] and provide your name and email address. I will confirm if you are the first to respond and send your info on over to them who will send you e-tickets.

Please only respond if you are sure you will attend so as to not take away from someone else in case you do not show up. And even if you do not get VIP tickets, please come to the expo and see us so we can talk about customizing a memorable menu for you and your guests! We will also have a wedding planner at our table who can help you every step of the way, or maybe you just a planner for the "Day of" the event. Either way, she will have you covered!!

07/07/2023

Wondering what you’ll get to sample at Sip ‘N Que Festival? Here’s a round-up of the breweries you’ll find at First Horizon Pavilion THIS Saturday!

We’ll also have a wide assortment of red, white, and blush wine to sample as well as Tennessee Whiskey samples.

Don’t miss out - get your tickets at http://www.chattanoogabreakfastrotary.com/chattanooga-sip-n-que.

06/23/2023

New pricing!! Sign-up today for our class next week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday June 26, 27, 29 from 10 am to 2pm each day) and receive a savings of 40% off the original price!! Was $500 and is now $299.

Only 4 slots left!! To sign-up, head over to sweetmerryberry.com and find the class on the front page!!

Many items for them to learn and take home (maybe they'll share with you). Tie-dye aprons, pizzas, popsicles, fresh pasta, and much more!!!

06/07/2023

At Sweet Merry Berry, you don't just cater high end events, we also serve many corporate and organization events such as our weekly Hamilton Place Rotary Club Luncheon!!

Contact us today about your upcoming corporate events and we'll customize a menu for you.

We take no responsibility for anyone who falls asleep after eating 😄

06/02/2023

https://t.ly/WOVH

I had the immense pleasure of being an invited guest on the Channel 9 WTVC morning show The Daily Refresh yesterday!! Josh and Sierra are genuine and gracious co-hosts. We hope they enjoyed (and shared haha) the Financiers pastries we left with them.

It is a quick watch so please like and share if you enjoy it as much as I did being a guest!!

Chef Barry C. Brock is a trained chef and misses teaching. Throughout the summer he'll have classes for 8-12 year old and 13-18-years-old! Check out their websi

05/31/2023

Very excited to be a guest on the Channel 9 morning show The Daily Refresh tomorrow morning; Thursday June 1st!! We will talk all things Sweet Merry Berry and our upcoming summer Kids/Teens Culinary Classes!!

05/26/2023

Fruit tarts are perfect this time of year for your event.

Light with just enough sweetness to make nearly everyone happy!!

05/24/2023

Join us and a host of other vendors for your wedding needs this summer at wedding expos!!

We will have samples and can discuss your upcoming wedding.

Let us customize your menu, set up a tasting, and make your wedding an event you and your guests will cherish forever!!

05/22/2023

sweetmerryberry.com has your sign-up information for our kids/teens classes.

The nice thing about rolling out your own pasta besides the great flavor is that it's not too thick. You can roll it to your desired thickness.

Or better yet, send your child to our 3 day summer cooking class so we can teach them and then THEY can you the perfect pasta each time 😄

05/19/2023

sweetmerryberry.com has your children's sign-up information for Summer Kids/Teens cooking classes!!

We've covered some of the activities we have planned for our kids summer classes. Another we wanted to touch on is making cupcakes and decorating them!!

05/17/2023

Head over to sweetmerryberry.com for our updated kids/teens summer class schedule and sign-up!!

Day 1 of our 3-day summer cooking schedule includes the tie dye aprons we featured on Monday and today's post of pizza making!!

Both the kids and teens classes will make their very own pizza to take home with them that day.

Making and shaping the dough
The tomato sauce
And many toppings for them to choose from

Maybe, just maybe, they'll share it with you later that day 😄

05/15/2023

Who says all kitchen activities have to be cooking or baking based? Why not tie dye an apron?!?

This is just one of the many and fun activities we have planned for our 3 day kids summer cooking classes. We have a class series for ages 8-12 and a class for teens.

Head over to sweetmerryberry.com to sign up!!

05/12/2023

Do your teens enjoy cooking and want to take it to the next level? Or maybe they are looking for a place to start?

Look no further than our 3 day Teens Class Series!!

Pasta making, tie dye aprons, Latin cooking and more!! They will also learn the most important skill in the kitchen (outside of safety of course); how to season and balance the flavors by the end of the cooking process.

Sign up at sweetmerryberry.com

05/10/2023

As a child, I thought cooking and baking was magic!! Truth be told, I still do. If you have a child age 8-12 who wants to learn more of the ins and outs of the kitchen, then look no further!! Have them join Ava and me in the kitchen!!

Information and sign-up is at sweetmerryberry.com. It is a 3 day class (10-2 each day) filled with fun kitchen activities. They will take home food every day to share with you and make their very own Tie Dyed apron to take home on the last day.

If your child is 13-17, we will be posting those classes by Friday. We will also post a couple more dates for the ages 8-12 classes.

Like and share if you know someone interested

05/09/2023

Huge thank you to all the volunteers at UTC that made this happen, and to all the attendees who took time out of their busy lives to travel here. Great event all around!!

05/08/2023

I had the immense pleasure of being invited to participate in the UTC VEP (Veterans Entrepreneurship Program) 2.0 iteration this past weekend.

This program is curated and maintained by many wonderful volunteers within the Gary W. Rollins UTC Business school and the local community. And of course, it would never happen in the first place without the support and donations of local businesses and private donors.

Pictured here is the wonderful volunteer Beth McClary-Wolford of Superpower Strategies (Chattanooga) helping Chattanooga's own Jim Derry cultivate a viable sales strategy for his product related to his business, Derry Software, LLC!!

Edit: Apologies, I did not identify the veterans in the second picture foreground: Bret Moldenhauer of Norspring Cryotherapy (back to the camera), and Judson Simpson, owner of Patriots Pride Windows (both located in the Chattanooga area)

05/03/2023

Smoked Salmon Bites are a great starter item for your next event.

We brine and smoke our salmon in-house before arranging on top a crostini with our herbed mascarpone spread.

Simple, elegant, and we'll let everyone think you made it 😄😉

05/01/2023

When trying to decide which items are best for your catered event, don't overlook meatball skewers!!

One of our most popular starters, the meatballs and sauce can be tailored to your tastes. BBQ (shown here), Pesto, Asian style, and the list goes on.

Order some for your next event!!

04/24/2023

Guests are blown away by the depth of flavors in our Cajun BBQ Shrimp and it all starts with the stock.

Did you know you can make stock for nearly anything? A Shellstock is perfect for times you need liquid for seafood dish and the best part is, unlike stocks that require a lot of time to bring out the flavors and collagen, it is ready in about 45 minutes.

Head over to https://www.sweetmerryberry.com/post/get-shell-stocked to see the recipe and finally have a great use for those shrimp or lobster shells!!

04/21/2023

Bananas used as a component in baking or cooking are best used when they're over ripe since a green banana is more starch than sugar and they slowly reverse the percentage of both as they speckle and blacken.

If you have some time before using, buying speckled bananas and then lightly crushing them along the entire peel will help them turn black quicker especially if they are in a warm environment.

Need it quicker than that? Peel and roast in a hot oven. It's not perfect but the sugars will caramelize and work enough for your needs.

04/19/2023

Look for info next week about our summer kids classes!! Still working out the details but we will have different classes for age range groups and will probably be a 3 day class.

Lot of fun kitchen activities planned such as tie dying aprons, making pizzas/breads, breakfast items, popsicles like pictured here, and much more!!

Interested or questions? Let us know in the comments!!

04/17/2023

Deconstructed pies and tarts are the perfect grab n go dessert for your next event!!

04/12/2023

We've talked about it before, but we cannot stress enough; make roasted garlic to liven up nearly all savory dishes!!

Spread directly on crusty bread or toast
Make roasted garlic hummus
Put on pizza (this and sundried tomatoes are heaven)

So many possibilities, what are you waiting for?!?

04/05/2023

Head over to sweetmerryberry.com and check out our new blog post. Today we share our recipe for Dirty Herbed Mashed Potatoes.

With Easter around the corner this is going to be your best and easiest side dish!!

04/03/2023

Our Ceviche is the perfect party starter that you had no idea you needed!! The depth and layers of flavor is surprising to most people who just assume it's a strong fish flavor.

Instead it is sweet, tangy, earthy, umami, and refreshing. You have to try it to believe it!!

03/31/2023

So many fun things to do with cake besides the normal baked cake with icing.

Pattern inlays and patterned rolled cakes are perfect for something different!!

03/29/2023

Catering season is in full swing and one of our most popular items is our Chicken & Waffles!!

We hand bread our chicken thighs with seasoned panko and buttermilk dipped before frying. And our waffle batter is whipped before cooking on the waffle iron so they are perfectly fluffy. Finished with a caliente maple syrup on the side.

03/27/2023

With Easter right around the corner, let's talk food (as usual haha)!! What is something that is ALWAYS at your Easter meal? Is there a side dish or appetizer you are known for?

Something I have never made, but miss every year is my grandmother's Ambrosia/Lime Jello Salad. I know the Lime Jello Salad gets a lot of ribbing and jokes, but I will be honest, I loved that dish growing up. Something I tell people often is, "like what you like and do not worry about anyone else". No one is ever going to kick down your door and tell you, "You are doing it wrong" or "You shouldn't like that dish, because...".

Hmm, maybe I should remember that every now and then too. Might have to make some Ambrosia or Lime Jello Salad!

So what is your Easter dish this year? Is it passed down from family member to family member? Let us know

03/24/2023

Our next video we will release next Thursday involves a fun and simple ingredient you can use immediately in nearly any and all of your current pastry recipes; Browned Butter (or Beurre Noisette for you Francophiles out there).

Butter contains some milk solids which will caramelize with heat and time. And we know how great foods can taste with a little caramelization!! Butter goes from some flavor to TONS of flavor in a matter of minutes. Toasted, nutty, hints of sweetness are just a few of the changes in taste. Best part is it can be used in nearly every pastry recipe such as cookies, brownies, cakes, etc. We will not even begin to make brownies without browned butter as it pairs so well with dark cocoa and sea salt.

Sounds difficult, right? Nope, all you need is a saucepan, butter (preferably unsalted), heat and about 3-5 minutes. That's it. Brown a bunch of butter at once so that you have some on hand at all times if you wish.

Heat the butter over medium to medium high heat. Do not walk away. Let the butter melt and cook down, swirling the pan every so often. Once you see it start to get foamy, remove from heat and run a spoon through to see if the milk solids have changed to little browned bits and the smell should be fragrant and nutty. If it is browned sufficiently, immediately pour into a bowl to stop the cooking process and to cool down. Boom, you have your browned butter. Do not be concerned if it looks deep brown. If you are keeping an eye on it, it should not burn.

So if you like your cookies, but feel little bored with them, incorporate Beurre Noisette for more depth of flavors. Take that recipe from "Like" to "Love"!!

03/22/2023

Head over to our Blog posts at sweetmerryberry.com to learn more about making Vegetable Stock!! Do not sleep on this at all. Yes, you can buy stock at the store, but you have to find one that is unsalted (you want to control the salt content in the first place) and you are forced to go along with their boring flavors. Wouldn't you rather control the flavors? Mushroom stock for a meaty-style, but still vegetarian stock. Stock with a few more onion peelings in it for a French Onion soup? The possibilities are endless! And best of all, you are using up all those scraps you have left over from cooking. Vegetable scraps freeze well until you are ready to use them. Stock made and strained freezes well, too. You can do this!!!

03/20/2023

The lovely thing about many French Pastries is they are easy to make from scratch; we promise you. But often, we do not know the correct technique and worse, the information out on the Internet is confusing or does not give all the tips for success. One failed attempt later and you tell yourself, you will just buy it from the store. Unfortunately what you get there is usually awful product made for shelf longevity instead of flavor.

If you are going to be "naughty" and eat a pastry, then wouldn't you rather make it yourself and control all the ingredients? And best part, you might have extra to share with people!! Ok, ok, you do not have to share with others if you do not want to, but you are still in luck since most pastries, breads, cakes, etc freeze well.

Pate a choux dough is very versatile. Never heard of it? Well, if you have ever had eclairs, profiteroles, or churros, then you have had pate a choux (pronounced pot uh shoe). Stay tuned here and at our website, sweetmerryberry.com for our Pate a Choux class coming in the next few weeks! No longer will you have to buy that leathery eclair from the grocery store!! And you might have enough left over to share

03/17/2023

Join us tomorrow noon to 4 (come and go as you please, do not have to stay the entire time).

We will have Pulled Chicken BBQ, coleslaw, our Mexican Corn Dip/chips, assorted chips, tea, and water. All we ask is you bring a dish of your own. Appetizer, main dish, sides, dessert, it does not matter what you bring, we are just excited to get together for a day of community and making friends. Part of the fun of potlucks growing up is seeing what people bring. Sometimes that meant we had 30 buckets of chicken, but hey, that is part of the fun, haha.

With the cooler weather tomorrow, we will have tables and chairs set up inside our shop at 1309 Taft Hwy, Signal Mountain, TN 37377. So much for celebrating Spring ha.

We hope you join us!!

03/13/2023

What is your comfort food from your childhood that might be surprising to others?

For us, it's homemade apple sauce. Our grandmother always, and I mean ALWAYS had her handmade apple sauce on hand. Store bought apple sauce will never compare. Munner, as we called her, had the best food growing up, but thinking about the apple sauce takes me back to happy times in her kitchen.

Do you have a favorite food from childhood that immediately takes you back? Let us know!!

03/10/2023

https://www.youtube.com/

We are proud to begin our Culinary Instruction video series this week!! Our plan is to release a video most Thursdays on our YouTube channel linked above.

The most common question we receive is "How do I season or use salt properly?" And the best way to start on that journey is to start simply, with a recipe probably as old as time itself. Just a few ingredients (try to use Parmigiano Reggiano instead of Parmesan and fresh basil over dried), and you have a meal ready in under 30 minutes; and that includes prep.

You know you have the seasoning down when you taste test the final dish and ask yourself if the all the flavors used are clear and present. If it is bland or does not taste cohesive, then a little salt is your friend.

If you have any questions about the video, recipe, technique, etc, let us know.

Have an idea for a culinary technique that you would like to see? Let us know in the comments and we will look to get it added to our schedule.

And join us next Saturday, March 18th at our shop at 1309 Taft Hwy 37377 for our potluck. We will serve coleslaw and pulled chicken BBQ sandwiches and drinks. All that we ask is that you bring a dish to share with others. We want everyone to visit and have a good time. We need more of that sometimes.

03/08/2023

Want a quick and easy "win or confidence builder" recipe in the kitchen? Look no further than our Blog post today at sweetmerryberry.com for Ricotta cheese!! Oh, and it just happens to be delicious, too. Ricotta is something no one should ever buy in the store since that stuff they sell is Ricotta in name only. Quick, easy, and ready in 30 minutes to an hour (depending on how long you let it drain). And yes, it has many uses beyond using it in lasagna. Place on toast with a drizzle of honey for a nice morning snack. The whey left behind after it drains is great to use for cooking oatmeal or rice (be aware though, that it will be a bit lemony and sweet).

Did you make the recipe? Let us know how it turned out.

I will just come out and say it; store-bought Ricotta cheese is not great. No flavor, too much salt at times, etc. And it is too bad, since Ricotta is great for many day to day uses. Ricotta on toast with honey is delicious. Ricotta on a grilled peach with a reduced balsamic drizzle is refreshing on...

03/06/2023

Ever think to yourself, "How do they do that?" when it comes to a cooking or baking technique/recipe? There are many ways for you to learn the processes the pros utilize in the kitchen.

Obvious place to start is YouTube videos. Of course, you have to possess a discerning eye when it comes to them. Sometimes, the person explaining the process skips steps or the recipe as written is flawed. It can be frustrating finding the right one. We will be releasing our first video this week detailing how to balance flavors and how sometimes, we overlook great recipes only because they are simple. We promise not to skip steps.

Secondly, you can take one of our scheduled class. Our new class schedule will be out this week. Let us know if there is a class you are hoping to see and we will check to get it added.

Lastly, you can contact us for a private lesson (either 1-on-1 or small group) at either our shop or at your location. Maybe you have a special event coming up and instead of paying someone else to create it, you want it to come directly from your hands. We can get you there and you will look like a professional!!

So stop asking yourself, "How did they do that?", and instead let us help you say "I CAN do that!!"

03/03/2023

Need a quick Hors d'oeuvres for an event and heating up the stove is a bridge too far? Look no further than putting together some Caprese skewers. In minutes you can have them put together and look like a culinary genius. Few tips and recipe.

Buy good Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Oftentimes with food ingredients you get what you pay for. If you are unsure, look for a California olive oil since they typically have olives sourced from one place instead of from 5 different countries which can throw the flavors off when blended.

Same with Balsamic Vinegar. Cheap Balsamic are acrid and bitter. A good one should have a smooth taste that is a balance of sweet acidity.

Large crystal sea salt is the best salt to use although Kosher is fine

Do not skimp on the fresh cracked black pepper. It lends a great accompanying note to them

For the mozzarella balls, we prefer the ones stored in their brine versus in an herbed oil. The herbed oil is commonly cheap oil that does not taste great. They will still work, but we drain them of all the oil before using.

Recipe:
Skewers
Basil Leaves
Cherry Tomatoes
Mozzarella Balls
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar

Skewer in any combination you prefer. We prefer Cherry tomato, basil, 2 mozzarella balls, basil, cherry tomato.

Drizzle Balsamic. We prefer to drizzle it on top of the mozzarella balls since they tend to soak up some of it.

Drizzle Olive oil. We drizzle this over the tomatoes and basil.

Sprinkle with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Taste test a skewer to see if your seasoning is balanced. Adjust as needed.