Wedding season is year-round at Marcel’s – as we have fun with our customers helping to pick out the perfect gifts for their bridal showers and wedding gifts. A wedding gift is special – it should be a gift that surpasses the ordinary. At Marcel’s, we enjoy helping you select this perfect gift. We want you to find something that celebrates two people starting a new life together, a gift they will cherish forever.

Yes, we have a Bridal Registry! Couples are welcome to set up an appointment and create their wish list. After the wedding, we are committed to helping the couple complete their list by giving them 10% off any remaining items on their registry. It’s easy to view their registry online, then give us a call or come into the shop and we will help you select the perfect gift, have it giftwrapped and shipped anywhere you need!

So let’s talk about those One of a Kind special gifts. One of my favorites is a vase from Simon Pearce that has their invitation engraved on the front – Beautiful! Simon Pearce also has hand blown champagne flutes – toasting with these through the years will be so elegant.

Perhaps you would like to give a gift card. Marcel’s gift cards can be used to register for a cooking class together – so thoughtful and fun!

Think about those memorable gifts you received or inherited from your family. My Grandmother gave me her hand carved wooden salad bowl and I still cherish and use it today! We also have salad bowls and charcuterie boards that are handcrafted, making a unique one of a kind gift. Le Creuset Dutch ovens are popular shower gifts – just add a hand written recipe card with your gift to make it special.

Weddings are joyous and we here at Marcel’s, are always ready to ensure you feel great about your gifting! We look forward to helping you find the perfect cherished gift for you next gift giving occasion.

Summer is finally here!  With all the rain and cold that we had in June, it felt as if it would never arrive.  It is here in its full glory- scorching hot days and warm humid nights.  When I was young, those were the type of days that would send us racing through the streets when we heard the distant music of the ice cream trucks.  The entire neighborhood would go running into the house to beg their parents for money so that we could buy the frozen treats that would cool us off and make us so happy. It was so hard to choose:  a drumstick, ice cream sandwich or Dreamsicle??  It was hard to imagine that anything could ever taste so delicious!

As an adult, there is still nothing better than ice cream on a hot summer day or on the patio at night, although my tastes have evolved a bit from the ice cream truck days.  I now know that ice cream can be made from fresh ingredients and with flavors that are only limited by your imagination – cookie dough, chocolate marshmallow, coffee, mint chocolate chip, etc.  And homemade ice cream- whether it be from a favorite little shop, a restaurant, or made at home-is the ultimate treat.

The flavors are fresh and make you think of berry fields, campfires with s’mores and chocolate shops. I have also discovered that ice cream, with an adult beverage, can be a fun dessert.  A Berry Prosecco ice cream float is as simple as adding fresh berries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream to a glass and topping it off with Prosecco.  How fun is that?

Making ice cream at home has definitely become much easier than the days churning for hours.  There are a variety of new ice cream makers on the market that allow you to eat a fresh, frozen treat within an hour of thinking of your favorite flavor, which is even quicker than hearing that first sound from the ice cream truck!   Marcel’s carries many of the items that you need to help you make these treats at home.

On Saturday, July 27, Marcel’s will have Guest Chef, Alissa Wallers of the French Pastry School, churning ice cream and making all handmade toppings in the hands-on cooking class, The Ice Cream Bar.  Think Bourbon Vanilla and Coffee ice cream with salted caramel sauce or blueberry compote.  How about a chocolate wafer ice cream sandwich cookie?  What a fabulous way to beat the summer heat and experiment with recipes and flavors.  Kids 12 and older are welcome to join this class so you can start some new family traditions – much better than chasing the ice cream truck!

Marcel’s will also be having a Neighborhood Happy Hour and Grown Up Ice Cream Social on Sunday, July 28 from 2-4 pm.  Come join us for some fun, adult ice cream drinks and a snack to beat the heat.  There is no cost for this event, but please pre-register.

Happy summer and here’s to a big scream for ice cream! 

It’s time to kick off the outdoor entertaining season! Put up the umbrella, heat up the coals, set out the plates and ice the drinks. Invite someone over and you’ve got a party. There doesn’t have to be a special reason to gather. It can be simply because you’re my neighbor, because we’re friends or family, because we’ve been meaning to have you over…

At our place this summer, meals will center around our new Kamado Joe Ceramic Grill. We’re dreaming up the many ways to enjoy it’s high heat searing and the low temperature smoking capabilities. We have visions of perfectly seared steaks and burgers, but also grilled pizzas, smoked ribs and pulled pork (already requested for Memorial Day weekend). I’m even envisioning the Kamado Joe as my outdoor oven to bake some sourdough loaves one day. And how about some smoked snapper tacos? (Be sure to check on my progress as the summer moves forward).

Just remember, summertime meals needn’t be tricky, complicated or take hours to prepare. Nor do you need to fall into a grilling rut. Try sprinkling a new rub on that chicken or brush a marinade over those veggies. One of our family favorite rubs is the TOSA blend by Lemaster Family Kitchen in Logan’s Square. TOSA stands for Taste of Southeast Asia. Just this past Sunday, we enjoyed the chicken and vegetable kebabs with saffron rice that I’m sharing here. The meal is simple, fast, healthy and tasty.

So, call your family and friends and share a simple meal in your own backyard. Slow down, linger at the table, enjoy one another.

Ever wonder what a chef can’t live without in his kitchen? Or the tool, pan, knife that she reaches for every single time? Well, wonder no more. We have polled each of our chefs to share with us the kitchen items they simply must have! From Monday, 3/25 through Sunday 3/31  we’re offering any of our CHEF FAVORITES at 20% OFF. How’s that for a spring break deal you simply can’t resist! 

Chef Jamie Bordoshuk loves reaching for the Shun 8″ Chef Knife whenever he’s creating something delicious in the kitchen. Super sharp, lightweight, easy to hold for lots of chopping, slicing and dicing, this knife makes prep work a breeze! 8″ Chef’s Knives of any brand will be on promo this week.

“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.” – Ruth Reichl

I am the newest member of the Marcel’s retail team: a group of women that love all things culinary and are passionate about cooking. Shortly after learning the retail ropes and just when I started to feel comfortable; I was informed I was scheduled to do a Food Demonstration. A reallife food demo with a TV monitor, surrounded by customers watching and listening to my every word.

I must confess, being a lover of all things food and entertaining, it is something I’ve dreamt about. Standing alone at my kitchen counter pretending to be some variation of the Barefoot Contessa. That said, just the thought of it gave me anxiety. Pretending alone in my own kitchen was one thing – but real customers, an audience other than my family? What if my food tasted horrible? What if I didn’t have enough? What if I couldn’t talk and cook at the same time? Despite some serious trepidation, I came up with a recipe that I thought would be good and began planning.

The day finally arrived. My food was prepped, my recipe tested and it was time for my own little cooking show to begin (still scared to death mind you). The customers showed up, they asked interesting questions, and liked my dish (Root Vegetable Salad with Fried Eggs)! In fact, one tiny patron (age 4) said, “excuse me but can I say something, this is very artistic.” Literally out of the mouths of babes. My fear melted away and I knew I was hooked.

Almost every Tuesday a member of the retail staff at Marcel’s does a food demonstration. We prepare simple, fast and delicious food designed for busy people. The team member’s name and dish appears on our quarterly calendars for you to pick and choose which demonstration best fits your schedule. There is no charge and no sign up. And you get to leave with a new recipe!

All you need to do is show up, sit down, maybe learn a tidbit or two and taste. 

My fondest memory of food always centered around making mandoo (aka. Korean dumplings or potstickers). Perhaps that’s the reason I love to eat them so much.  However making them always seemed like such a chore. I didn’t appreciate the labor of love that my mother always put into the vat of filling she made every holiday season, particular for New Year’s Eve.   

Our entire family would gather around lunchtime every New Year’s Eve and devour a big bowl of rice cake soup (made with pure bone broth, of course) to satiate us before beginning the process of filling hundreds of dumplings. My mother made the dough early in the morning and portioned it out into big round dough balls. My father and uncles would each take turns rolling out each rested dough ball into the largest round sheet of dough that covered our entire kitchen table. Then, using an upside down stainless steel rice bowl, cut out each individual dumpling wrapper from the gigantic sheet of dough. With a pile of dumpling wrappers ready to go, my aunts and all of us kids would gather around the huge bowl of mandoo filling and begin the process of filling each wrapper to make the prettiest dumplings around. We would have contests to see who could fold the prettiest dumplings. My older brother always won. To this day, he’s still the best dumpling maker.

Because our extended family was so big, we often needed to make several hundred mandoo to enjoy in our dumpling rice cake soup, a Korean tradition always consumed on New Year’s Day. Plus a bag of frozen mandoo for each family to take home and enjoy at a later time. It was the highlight of my entire year, more so than Christmas or Thanksgiving. You see, New Year’s Eve was the one time a year that our entire family gathered together to laugh, tell stories, and make dumplings for hours on end, much like the scene in the movie… Crazy Rich Asians.

Dumpling making was always a family tradition and one that involved all of the children. That is why, though I don’t like to have other people cook with me in my kitchen because truthfully, I can’t stand to have the mess, I try to include my three children in the mandoo making process and see who folds the prettiest dumplings. Although, these days we don’t roll out our own dumpling wrappers anymore – store bought ones suffice just great, I still take the time to make mandoo for those special occasions. Though one thing does remain. When we make mandoo, we still make at least a hundred or more.

I might be one of the newest members of the Marcel’s retail staff, but I have been a Marcel’s supporter for many years.  You cannot help but look twice at the eye-catching window displays (how about that Snow family and the gorgeous Simon Pearce trees!!), walk into the store and are greeted by the aromas coming from the chef’s cooking classes, you are immediately hooked.

My first class experience at Marcel’s was a private party in 2012.  I was working at another retail store in town (aka AliKat) and we decided to hold our Christmas party in mid-November.  Holiday retail hours can be brutal and exhausting, so beginning the season early with a fun party seemed like a good idea…especially in case any Scrooge-like temperaments emerged as the season progressed!

We gathered with spouses and significant others on a Saturday evening with Chef Paul. He worked out a delicious menu for us to prepare and we read the recipes with anticipation…Beef Tenderloin Medallions, Wild Mushroom Ragout, Brussel Sprouts with Anchovies, Capers and Walnuts…what?  Brussel sprouts…??

He inquired as to how many of us liked the tiny cabbage-shaped veggie ….. and of course, no one raised their hand.  He assured us that after preparing this recipe we would all become Brussel sprout converts.  We smiled politely at his statement though I know we were all very doubtful.  We followed his instructions for our cruciferous side dish while secretly looking forward to the Baby Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese frosting dessert that was to follow.  But guess what? After roasting those little cabbages and tossing them with Chef Paul’s amazing dressing, we all were in agreement that it was our favorite part of the meal. We unanimously said YES to Brussel sprouts.

Many of us served them at our Holiday table the next week, and in my family it has officially become our most requested side dish.  So if you are like so many and turn your nose up at the thought of Brussel sprouts on your menu, do yourself a favor and give these a try.  I promise you will love them and you might just have a new family favorite.

And when you stop in to thank Chef Paul, please pick up the new schedule of classes for the next quarter.  I know you will enjoy a fabulous evening making new friends, learning new cooking techniques and discovering new tastes no matter which class you choose.

We are a few days away from many peoples’ favorite holiday – Thanksgiving. We celebrate with our families and gather around tables across our community – we are thankful for our bountiful harvest and blessings.  It is a wonderful day and meal. But …yes there may be some stress for cooks out there on this final countdown.  I am lucky to work with many talented cooks that have shared some ideas with me – I have added a few of my own to allow you more time relaxing with family and friends.

First of all, a few things can still be purchased: 

• Appetizer – order a Cheese & Charcuterie Board from Marché.
• Dessert – order a delicious locally baked Pumpkin Pies from Marché. Call (630) 790-8890 no later than Saturday, November 17^th.  
• At Marcel’s we are stocked with brining mix and bags for your turkey and we are always available for your last minute kitchen and meal prep needs.

The few days leading up to Thanksgiving can be used to chop ingredients – yup this could take hours so go ahead and start early.  My co-worker Sharon chops the onions, celery and carrots and places them in labeled zip lock bags for time saving minutes on the big day.

Let your slow cooker do some extra work for you. Use it to keep extra side dishes or an extra turkey breast warm.

The day before, make many of your side dishes.  Bake your potatoes the day ahead and use the Powder Horn Potato recipe below.  It is one of our family’s favorites.  Did I mention that at our house it is all about the sides?!

Set the table early. My sister-in-law is so organized that she sets out her serving dishes/utensils and labels each one with a sticky note for use on the big day. This way you know what will go where and whether or not you need to make a last minute trip to Marcel’s for that one servingware piece still needed. One year we took old family photos/school pictures and made them into place card settings. Make it FUN because now you are ready and will have time for the details.

All of us here at Marcel’s are very thankful for our loyal customers and we wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!