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THE NIBBLE’s Gourmet News & Views
Trends, Products & Items Of Note In The World Of Specialty Foods
This is the blog section of THE NIBBLE. Read all of our content on TheNibble.com,
the online magazine about gourmet and specialty food.
Archive for Holidays & Occasions
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November 20, 2009 at 8:15 am
· Filed under Entertaining, Thanksgiving, Vegan
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According to a 2009 Vegetarian Resource Group/Harris Interactive survey, about 3% of the U.S. adult population is vegetarian. If you’ve invited a vegetarian to enjoy your turkey dinner, plan ahead with these tips from nutrition expert Gary Null.
If you don’t know if certain guests eat meat and other animal products, phone or email ahead of time. Then you can plan to have a main-course option to offer, such as a Tofurky (a tofu turkey) or our favorite, the Celebration Roast from Field Roast Grain Meat Company, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week. (By the way, this also works for guests who may have food allergies or medical restrictions, such as low cholesterol/no butter.)
In fact, most vegetarians do not expect the host to make special accommodations. They may even offer to bring a vegetarian dish that they and others can enjoy. But providing a few things they can eat (crudités before dinner, potatoes and other sides made without butter, for example) will make for a better experience. Don’t hesitate to discuss options with them.
A vegetarian does not eat any type of animal flesh, whether from fish, fowl or other animals, although some individuals choose to eat dairy and/or egg products. This includes lard, chicken and beef stock and some prepared salad dressings.
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With the vegan Celebration Roast, you still get leftovers for sandwiches the next day. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE. |
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A vegan (pronounced VEE-gun) eats no animal-derived products, including honey, gelatin (used in desserts and marshmallows) and red food dyes derived from cochineal. If there is an animal-derived ingredient in a dish, no matter how small the amount, be certain to let your guest know.
Most importantly, the Thanksgiving dinner table is not the time to discuss why someone is a vegetarian. Some choose this diet for ethical or animal rights reasons. Others may be motivated by religious, environmental and/or health considerations. Some simply don’t like meat. If you really want to know why your guest has made this choice, ask another day—and if anyone else brings up the topic, steer the conversation to reasons everyone should be thankful!
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November 19, 2009 at 8:13 am
· Filed under Cookies/Cake/Pastry, Entertaining, Recipes, Thanksgiving
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For Thanksgiving weekend, how about some apricot pumpkin bread, delicious for breakfast, brunch, snacks and tea sandwiches. This recipe is courtesy of B & R Farms, apricot growers who sell their delicious products at California farmers markets and to wholesalers. For more recipes, visit brfarms.com.
APRICOT PUMPKIN BREAD
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup salad oil (we like olive oil)
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoons each: baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, ground ginger
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup chopped dried apricots
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B & R Farms apricots drying in the California sun. Photo by Shannon Grissom, courtesy B & R Farms. |
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to at 350°F.
2. In large bowl, beat together egg, sugar, pumpkin, oil and orange juice.
3. In another bowl, mix flour with baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger and add to egg mixture.
4. Stir in nuts and dried apricots. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for about an hour until toothpick comes out clean.
5. Cool 15 minutes, release from pan and serve warm with butter, cream cheese or apricot preserves. (Cream cheese and apricot preserves makes a great sandwich! Serve it with a cup of black tea; Earl Grey or Assam would be especially nice.)
Find pumpkin pie recipes in our Gourmet Pies & Pastry Section.
Find recipes for pumpkin cupcakes, banana bread and carrot cake in our Gourmet Cakes Section.
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October 31, 2009 at 7:36 am
· Filed under Cocktails & Spirits, Entertaining, Halloween
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The Bloody Eyeball Martini. Photo courtesy of Kris Plazek. |
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While the kids are out trick-or-treating, you deserve a treat, too. Our Halloween cocktails with gin include the Bloody Scream, Ghost, Satan’s Whiskers, Swamp Demon and Witches’ Brew. But they’re only the top of the menu—we’ve got a whole Halloween Lounge going.
Check out the Bloody Eyeball Martini and the Bloody Brain.
Halloween Brandy Cocktails include Awake From The Dead and Pumpkin Eater Cocktails.
Coffee lovers can sip away at these “black” cocktails with Kahlúa: The Drac-Kahlúa, Kahlúa Black Cat and Kahlúa Cryptini. (They’re very dark brown, but you can add a drop of McCormick black food coloring to make them truly black.)
There’s a lovely bloody effect with Vampire Elixir from Grey Goose Vodka. The company also offers a bright orange Pumpkin Martini.
What are you waiting for? Start mixing!
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October 30, 2009 at 7:58 am
· Filed under Christmas, Cookies/Cake/Pastry, Entertaining, Recipes
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Back in the 17th century, sugar was costly and shortbread was considered an expensive luxury, a treat reserved for special celebrations, Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. Imagine how over-the-top-indulgent those party-goers would think us if they had these dipped shortbread fingers!
We thank the folks at Walkers Shortbread for this festive yet easy recipe. Serve it for dessert with ice cream or with coffee and tea when guests stop by during the holiday season.
Ingredients
1 package (5.3 ounces) Walkers Shortbread Fingers
1 bar (8 ounces) of chocolate—bittersweet and/or white (or double the recipe and make one batch of each)
A selection of toppings: chopped nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts or pistachios or walnuts); chopped candied fruit; crystallized ginger; mini chocolate (or other flavored chips); grated coconut; zest of orange or lemon; or your own favorite toppings)
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Dip shortbread fingers: It’s easy, fun—and impressive! Photo courtesy Walker’s Shortbread. |
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Preparation
1. Microwave chocolate in medium microwavable bowl on HIGH for 2 minutes. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth.
2. Dip shortbread fingers into the melted chocolate. Immediately roll in chopped nuts, coconut, mini-chocolate chips, slivered almonds, etc.
3. Or place plain dipped chocolate shortbread onto waxed paper and let cool. Then drizzle with contrasting chocolate. Serves 4.
There are many more recipes available at www.walkersus.com. Enjoy!
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October 28, 2009 at 10:00 am
· Filed under Cookies/Cake/Pastry, Halloween, Recipes, Thanksgiving
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Fall is the time to bake up a pumpkin storm, so let’s add to the list with a delicious pumpkin cupcake with pumpkin cheesecake (cream cheese) frosting.
Created by cupcake blogger Stefani Pollack, the cupcakes are made with healthier graham flour and bits of graham crackers, yielding a far more rich-tasting, graham-y cake with a muffin-like texture—no delicate little cup of fluff.
Check out the recipe.
Read about the invention of graham flour and graham crackers.
Find more of Stefani’s recipes at Cupcake Project: An Experimental Cupcake Blog.
For another yummy combination of pumpkin and cheesecake, check out our Pumpkin Mocha Cheesecake Recipe, an elegant special-occasion dessert.
Make some pumpkin mousse.
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Holiday flavors: graham flour (used to make graham crackers) and pumpkin cheesecake frosting. Photo courtesy Stefani Pollack | Cupcake Project. |
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October 22, 2009 at 7:40 am
· Filed under Cookies/Cake/Pastry, Halloween, Recipes, Thanksgiving
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We love pumpkin cheesecake: So many recipes, so little time! This recipe is on the lighter side—pumpkin mousse—which makes it a better option after a heavy dinner. Think ahead to Thanksgiving, but try it out for Halloween.
The recipe was created by Andrea Watman, Creative Director at Zabar’s in New York City. Another twist is the gingersnap cookie crust, which brings even more holiday flavor into the recipe.
Try the pumpkin mousse cheesecake recipe.
No mousse for you? Here’s a full-strength mocha pumpkin cheesecake (cheesecake with a coffee bean-graham cracker crust and a mocha glaze).
Find more cheesecake recipes, including Burnt Caramel Cheesecake Brûlée, Cranberry Cheesecake, Irish Coffee cheesecake, Mango Cheesecake, Mascarpone Cheesecake, Rosemarie Brie Cheesecake and Sour Cream Topping Cheesecake.
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Pumpkin mousse cheesecake is lighter than other recipes. |
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October 21, 2009 at 7:24 am
· Filed under Entertaining, Halloween, Tip Of The Day
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Scatter miniature pumpkins and gourds to dress up the dining table from October through Thanksgiving weekend. They also can be used to hold place cards: Either cut a slit on the top with a sharp knife to insert the card, or use strong double-stick tape to affix it.
See our favorite Halloween chocolates, which can be used as table settings.
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October 20, 2009 at 7:12 am
· Filed under Halloween, Tip Of The Day
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The easiest way to scoop out a pumpkin is with an ice cream scoop. Whether you’re removing only the pulp and seeds or all the fruit, a large scoop makes the job go faster. If you’ll be turning the pumpkin into a Jack o’lantern, you can make the vegetal scent fragrant by sprinkling cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice inside. The lit candle will diffuse the scent, and you can refresh the spices each day when you light the wick. Try cinnamon today, nutmeg tomorrow, then cloves, then allspice.
Add more pumpkin fragrance to your Halloween with scented candles.
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October 19, 2009 at 7:57 am
· Filed under Candy, Halloween
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Chocolate Bellboy Skull from Woodhouse Chocolate. |
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Here’s what we want in our trick-or-treat bag:
The Browniepops Halloween collection, chocolate-dipped sea salt caramel apples from Cocoa Dolce, pumpkin marshmallows from Pete’s Gourmet, burnt caramel Halloween bonbons from Recchiuti Confections, monster cookies from Rolling Pin Productions, the chocolate skeleton bride and groom from Sahagùn Chocolates, the chocolate-covered Halloween strawberries from Secret Spoon, Woodhouse Chocolate’s “bellboy” chocolate skulls and John & Kira’s fig pumpkins (see the post below).
Are we gluttonous? No, just obsessed with the best—and we share generously!
Take a closer look at these Halloween treats.
See more of our favorite gourmet candy.
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