-By Kristin V. Montalvo

The Country Living Collection from Heritage Family Specialty Foods, Inc. will debut an expansion of the already popular gourmet food line to now include organic and all-natural dry mixes. Just as the original Country Living Collection was created to save time in the kitchen, the new dry mix items offer the at-home baker easy and delicious ways to serve quality, gourmet goods, such as Hickory Barbeque Dip, Asian-Style Seafood Rub, and Natural Hometown Bakery Cobbler Topping. All mixes feature many natural and organic ingredients, and are pre-measured, seasoned and stirred, lacking only perishable ingredients such as butter, eggs and milk. For more information, visit www.hfsfoods.com.



White Toque has expanded its appetizer line with two new products: Pear & Brie Purses and Raspberry & Brie Puff. The Pear & Brie Purses have a new recipe to give customers a higher-quality product by making it all-natural. The sweet and savory combination of the poached pear and brie results in a delightful flavor. The purse shape gives a unique elegant look to the appetizer. The Raspberry & Brie Puff combination will surprise you with the softness of the brie and the sweet texture of the raspberry that forms a superb taste. The Raspberry & Brie Puff is also made with fillo dough in the shape of a puff circle that keeps the flavor together until it melts in your mouth. These two new appetizers will be a great addition and bring a distinctive look to your freezer product selection. For more information, visit www.whitetoque.com.


Leaning Oaks Vineyards Wine Sauces were developed to produce a unique wine product that would allow the aroma and flavor of wine to be experienced. The Zinfandel Wine Sauce is made from Zinfandel or Primitivo, one of the world's oldest and finest red wines. Hearty, rich, with a taste of pepper and spice, and a hint of berries and dark cherries. The aroma is bold and very forward with a subtle sweetness. Use in recipes as a glaze to accompany pork, lamb, duck or heavy beef cuts. Drizzle on crepes or ice cream with cinnamon or shaved dark chocolate. Use in place of vinegar for a softer, less acetic salad dressing. Also available: Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay Wine Sauces. For more information, visit www.leaningoaksvineyard.com.


Dessert & Passion introduces its nut-free, real dairy cream eclairs and profiteroles with chocolate sauce -- a dessert of the highest quality without any allergy dangers. Many sizes available: 5 eclairs, 10 mini eclairs and 20 profiteroles with chocolate sauce. Also available in Club pack: 10 eclairs and 50 profiteroles with chocolate sauce. For more information, call 450-759-6361 or visit www.dessertpassion.ca.


Imported by Mini Italia, this delicious traditional Italian instant risotto from Aromatica is ready in just one minute in the microwave or on the stove simply by adding a little water. This product is very different from the other risottos presently on the market that require 10-12 minutes of cooking time on the stove. One hundred percent natural with no preservatives or artificial coloring/flavoring. Flavors include: Risotto with Saffron; Risotto with Asparagus; and Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms. For more information, call 514-727-4016 or visit www.miniitalia.ca.


Now you can indulge in baked goods that are not only guilt-free, but good for you, too. Made with whole-wheat flour, the vitamin-packed VitaMuffins from Vitalicious contain seven grams of fiber, are low in fat and have only 100 calories per 2-ounce serving. Flavors include Deep Chocolate, BlueBran, CranBran, and MultiBran. For more information, call 212-233-6030 or visit www.vitalicious.com.