THE NIBBLE » Gourmet News

TRENDS: Humane-Certified Meat & Poultry

Editorial Assistant — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:46:42 +0000

If you’re passionate about animal care, ask
your grocer to stock these products.

Ten billion farm animals are raised for food each year in the United States. You know that USDA-certified organic meat sets certain standards for animal welfare: The animals have daily access to pasture or other free-range grazing and eat organic-certified feed. If family-farm raised, they also tend to be farmed by people who care about their animals.

But for those who are very concerned with animal welfare, there’s an even stronger certification from organizations that only focus on the topic. The certifications include American Humane Certified, Certified Humane and Animal Welfare Approved. (Whole Foods has its own “Animal Compassionate” program.)

Their mission is to protect livestock—cattle, hogs, sheep and poultry—from inhumane treatment, both on the farm and in transit.

These programs are voluntary and are open to livestock producers who meet the rigorous standards of raising and handling their animals. Those who are certified are permitted to use the program’s certification label on their products. The programs provide third-party, independent verification that certified producers’ care and handling of farm animals meet the science-based animal welfare standards of the certifying organization.

The concept of certifying animal foods as being humanely raised is relatively new, and not all animal welfare scientists agree on what standards are appropriate. Thus, differences exist among the programs, most significantly, whether factory-farming systems should be approved in addition to family farms. Some programs admit family farms only.

Learn more about the American Humane Certified program at AmericanHumane.org.

Also check out Certified Humane Raised And Handled Program at CertifiedHumane.org.

Visit THE NIBBLE’s Gourmet Meats Section for our favorite meat and poultry products.

GOURMET GIVEAWAY: Marie Callender’s Pies & Pie Crusts

Editorial Assistant — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:15:58 +0000

Marie Callender’s pies will take care of your
desserts. Photos courtesy Marie Callender.

What would you do if you had access to one free pie a month for an entire year? Would you host more dinner parties? Provide the dessert for the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner? Pass off a Marie Callender pie for one of your own at a potluck?

Regardless of what the winners choose to do with their 12 Marie Callender’s pies that are the prizes in this week’s Gourmet Giveaway, they’ll be eating a lot more delicious pie!

Take some stress off yourself this holiday season by serving Marie Callender’s pies, which are packed with flavor and enveloped in a flaky lattice crust. Or, if you prefer your own homemade fillings, save some time by using Marie Callender’s Deep Dish Pie Shells for the crust, which come in a heavy gauge baker’s pie pan for better baking.

Whether you choose to redeem your prize as one pie a month, one every few weeks or all 12 at once for a pie-eating contest, this week’s Gourmet Giveaway prize will deliver more than 100 sweet slices.

Four winners will each receive 12 certificates valid for one complimentary fruit pie, cream pie, pie shell or 2-pound cobbler from supermarkets nationwide. Select a complete pie or just the pie crust to make an “almost homemade” pie without having to fuss with the crust. Approximate Retail Value: $90.00.

To enter this Gourmet Giveaway: See THE NIBBLE’S Gourmet Pies & Pastry Section section and click on the link at the bottom of the page. Enter your email address for the prize drawing by Monday, November 23th at noon Eastern Time. Good luck!

Learn more about Marie Callender products at ConAgraFoods.com.

FOOD HOLIDAYS: Sign Up For Our Tweets

admin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:42:00 +0000

The “Tweety Bird” of the 21st century. Image
via GraphicAlerts.com.

Every day is a different official food holiday. We’ve compiled all the food holidays here, and keep adding to them weekly as we receive notice of new holidays. It’s a great reference article.

If you’d like to get the daily food holidays via Twitter, along with a link to a relevant tidbit, article or recipe, sign up for Twitter.com/TheNibble.

We post other items to Twitter that we don’t post to the blog (and vice versa), although we do post our articles to both.

We look forward to tweeting with you!

CONTEST: Be The Jelly Belly “Big Bean”

admin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:28:14 +0000

If you possess a love of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans and “Big Bean” dreams, endless imagination and a thorough understanding of manufacturing, marketing and Research and Development—you could join fourth-generation candy man Herman Rowland Sr. for a day at the helm of Jelly Belly Candy Company. That’s the grand prize in the “Be the Jelly Belly Big Bean” sweepstakes, and it comes with a “paycheck” of $10,000 (no small beans!).

Visit the website BetheBigBean.com to get training in the workings of a candy plant and test your ability to handle the pressure of management, while making and packing as many Jelly Belly beans as possible.

The sweepstakes launches today and runs through July 31, 2010. If you don’t want to run the company, there’s an Instant Win game for a chance to score one of thousands of great Jelly Belly prizes.

Visit our Gourmet Candy Section for our favorite ways to satisfy your sweet tooth.

How many flavors can you name? Photo courtesy of Jelly Belly.

TIP OF THE DAY: Sundae Celebration

Editorial Assistant — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:40:27 +0000

Serve your sundae in a cookie cup. Photo
by Marcin Bania | IST.

November 11th is National Sundae Day, so why not make something special?

We’re starting with a S’mores Sundae—chocolate ice cream, marshmallow creme, crumbled graham crackers and chocolate sauce. To celebrate the season, we’re following with a Gingerbread Sundae—cinnamon, ginger and vanilla ice creams with cubes of fresh-baked gingerbread, topped with whipped cream, candied ginger and chunks of Chocolove’s crystallized ginger and dark chocolate bar. (The truly indulgent can add caramel sauce). Whatever your favorite flavors, combine them, indulge and enjoy!

See some of our favorite ice cream brands, including cinnamon and ginger flavors.

See all the different types of ice cream and frozen desserts in our Ice Cream Glossary.

Discover our favorite graham crackers.

Check out Chocolove’s chocolate bars.

FOOD HOLIDAY: National Vanilla Cupcake Day

Editorial Assistant — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:59:53 +0000

It’s National Vanilla Cupcake Day. Invite friends over tonight for TV and a bake-along. Here’s a recipe for a yummy vanilla cupcake with cream cheese frosting.

The name “cupcake” is derived from the teacup. Before the advent of muffin tins, where they are baked with a paper or foil liner, cupcakes were often baked in individual tea cups (as well as ramekins). They are frosted and often decorated with sprinkles, candies, rosettes, coconut and other toppings. In recent years, cupcakes have moved beyond children’s party fare and have become popular with pastry chefs and consumers as sophisticated alternatives to large cakes at weddings and other celebrations, where cupcake “trees” stack the cupcakes in the shape of a large, tiered cake.

Check out all the different types of cake in our Cake Glossary.

Find more of our favorite cakes and recipes in our Gourmet Cakes Section.

Happiness is a vanilla cupcake. Photo by Ben Phillips | IST.

GOURMET GIVEAWAY: Oregon Dukkah

Editorial Assistant — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:21:26 +0000

Imagine being able to use the same seasoning to garnish your soup, sprinkle atop salads or vegetables, bread chicken and fish or shake over ice cream. Well, look no further than this week’s Gourmet Giveaway prize: Oregon Dukkah.

Dukkah is a versatile Egyptian dry seasoning mixture of chopped nuts or chickpeas, plus a variety of flavorful seeds, spices and herbs. It can turn a simple dish—like a side of vegetables—into something dazzling.

But, serve it with a bottle of wine and instruct guests to “dip like an Egyptian”: Serve dukkah the classic way, in a bowl with a bowl of olive oil and sliced bread. (Dip the bread in the olive oil, then in the dukkah. Yum!)

The Prize: All 5 Flavors Of Oregon Dukkah

One winner will receive one of each flavor of Oregon Dukkah: Coconut, Smoky Hot, Sweet, Traditional and Zesty. The whole line contains hazelnuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, and some variation of spices, so you can use this Egyptian favorite on anything from appetizers to desserts. Be the first on your block to “dip like an Egyptian.” Approximate Retail Value: $27.50.

“Dip like an Egyptian” with dishes of dukkah
and olive oil and a basket of bread. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

Check out our review of Oregon Dukkah, made with Oregon hazelnuts. Find out how you can use dukkah in some tasty recipes.

To Enter This Gourmet Giveaway: See THE NIBBLE’S Salts, Seasonings, Herbs & Spices Section. Click on the link at the bottom of the page by noon on Monday, November 16th, to enter your email address for the prize drawing. (Privacy is observed; your email address will not be used for any other purpose.)

FOOD HOLIDAY: National Pecan Month

Editorial Assistant — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:47:03 +0000

November is National Pecan Month. Celebrate with some of our favorite pecan products:

Charleston Cookie Company’s pecan chocolate chip cookies (a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week)

Daphne pecan tarts, frozen and ready to defrost and serve (another Top Pick)

Lula Belle’s yummy pecan toffee

And a pecan brownie recipe from chocolatier Chuck Siegel of Charles Chocolates.

See the rest of the November food holidays.

This Southern belle makes wonderful pecan
toffee with your choice of dark, milk or white
chocolate. Photo courtesy Lula Belle.

NEWS: Emeril Joins The Gourmet Burger Lineup

Editorial Assistant — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:33:09 +0000

Emeril Lagasse is about to debut a gourmet burger restaurant named Burgers And More, or … BAM! The restaurant, set to open November 22nd in the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, will specialize in burgers made from a blend of prime and grass-fed beef. Burgers And More will also have an ample nonbeef burger menu, including crab, mushroom, salmon and turkey, along with hand-cut French fries, condiments made from scratch, malts and shakes and local draft beers. (We’re ready for a crab burger with a craft brew right now!)

Asked if he planned to replicate the burger concept elsewhere, Lagasse said he didn’t yet know: “We’ll have to see how it goes.” As the burger generally ranks on surveys as America’s favorite food, it should go well.

Chef Lagasse joins other celebrity chefs who find that the margins are higher (and more fans are to be made) in selling burgers over foie gras…although Daniel Boulud has done both with his pioneering gourmet burger stuffed with shorts ribs and foie gras, available at NYC’s Bistro Moderne.

“The Piggie,” at DBGB Kitchen & Bar in New
York City, features a beef burger on Boston
lettuce topped by pulled pork, with jalapeño mayonnaise. Photo by T. Schauer © DBGB.

Burger Gourmania

Other chefs with burger restaurant concepts include Bobby Flay, Hubert Keller and Laurent Tourondel. “Top Chef” contender Richard Blais’s menu at Atlanta’s Flip Burger Boutique includes 30 rotating burgers, with a daily choice of 8-10 beef burgers, three vegetarian burgers, three pork burgers, and three “alternative meats,” lamb, duck and venison. Numerous others, like Chef Boulud, have added gourmet burgers to their casual restaurant menus. Boulud’s recently-opened DBGB Kitchen & Bar in New York (a favorite of the NIBBLE staff) offers three kinds of gourmet burgers, one of which is pictured above, a happy marriage of burger, pulled pork and jalapeño on a Cheddar cornbread bun.

Make better burgers at home with these burger-making tips.

If cheeseburgers are your thing, check out these gourmet cheeseburger recipes.

GOURMET GIVEAWAY: 10 Sterno Buffet Kits For Easy Entertaining

Editorial Assistant — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:40:40 +0000

The Sterno Buffet Kit is ready to party!

The holidays are just around the corner, and with them come parties! When hosting a party, however, the last place you want to be is hovering over the stove in the kitchen. You’ve got guests to entertain! So why not put your trust—and your food—in one of Sterno’s newest products: Sterno Buffet Kits.

Each kit contains a water pan to keep the food temperatures and textures uniform, and Sterno’s gel fuel, which is a safe and reliable heating solution. The kits also include a newly designed folding rack for easy storage along with standard-sized pans so the rack can be used over and over again. Using the buffet kits will ensure you have everything needed to easily and conveniently warm and serve food so you’ll have more time to simply enjoy entertaining. Lasagna, anyone? Chili? Meatballs? Gosh, we’re hungry already!

Ten winners will receive both a full- and a half-size Buffet Kit. Each kit comes with a reusable wire folding rack, an aluminum water and food pan and one can of Sterno gel fuel. The full-size kit also includes an additional food pan and gel fuel, plus plastic serving utensils. Ideal for both indoor and outdoor entertaining, new Sterno Buffet Kits are available just in time for your holiday entertaining needs. Approximate Retail Value: $32.00/set.

To Enter This Gourmet Giveaway: See THE NIBBLE’S Entertaining Guide section and click on the link at the bottom of the page. Enter your email address for the prize drawing by Monday, November 9th at noon Eastern Time. Good luck!