THE NIBBLE » Easter

TOP PICK OF THE WEEK: Gourmet Easter Chocolate Gifts

Editorial Assistant — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:02:23 +0000

Good things come in small rocher nests. Rochers
are caramelized chocolate-covered almond
slivers, formed by L.A. Burdick Handmade
Chocolate into a special Easter nest filled with 8
chocolate truffles, 8 marzipan eggs and a small
chocolate bunny. Charmingly gift-boxed, it’s
memorable.

All over America, boys and girls of all ages (yes, you!) are looking with fondness, covetousness and deeper forms of desire at chocolate bunnies, marshmallow Easter eggs and other tempting paschal candy. In every town there are goodies galore that beckon. But for your calories and discriminating palate, shouldn’t you have the best?

We sought out some of America’s finest chocolatiers—artisans who not only use the best chocolate, but create the best Easter candy memories. We promise you the best candy Easter eggs, amazing bunnies and Easter baskets that will make the fussiest child or chocolate connoisseur jump for joy. We know because, for the past month, THE NIBBLE offices have been turned into Peter Cottontail’s Chocolate Testing Station.

Read the full reviews of treats from Knipschildt Chocolatier, L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolate, Pete’s Gourmet Confections (certified kosher*) and Recchiuti Confections. Then visit these confectioners online or by phone at your earliest convenience—because hippity, hoppity, Easter’s on its way (April 12, 2009, April 19 for Greek Orthodox Easter).

*All of Pete’s Gourmet Confections are certified kosher. His Easter-themed products, while not likely to be of interest to kosher observers, just happen to come from the same kosher kitchen that has treats in general spring designs as well. He also makes kosher for Passover products.

GOURMET GIVEAWAY: Win An Easter Ham

Nibble Editors — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 12:20:00 +0000

Take our Ham Trivia Quiz #2 in THE NIBBLE’s Gourmet Giveaway this week, and you may win a prize of an Easter ham. This is not just any ham, but our favorite ham from the ham artisans at Ham I Am, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week (read the review). It’s 12 to 14 pounds and feeds up to 24 people (or provides ham sandwiches for the family for a week after Easter.) Just answer four fun trivia questions about ham—you don’t even have to answer them correctly. Everyone who enters has an equal chance of winning. Take the quiz, from March 10th through March 16th for the prize, or anytime for fun. You’ll learn the 411 about what makes a great ham, in the process. Learn more and enter. Read more about our favorite hams in the Pork, Ham & Bacon Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine.		Win this 12- to 14-pound ham for Easter dinner.

TIP OF THE DAY: Buy Artisan Hams

Nibble Editors — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 13:12:34 +0000

The Chinese may have been the first to cure hams—or it might have been the ancient Egyptians. Whoever deserves the credit, thousands of years after the fact, we tasted dozens of hams to select a few that deserve the honor of gracing your table. See our favorites in the our review of the best hams in America. The comedian Steven Wright commented, “When you buy a cured ham, do you even wonder what it had?” We found an enormous difference between supermarket hams and artisan hams, which deliver rich meat flavor with much less salt. That said, quite a few of the hams in our tasting that arrived from artisan producers still needed to be “cured” of excessive saltiness, which purchasers tend to counteract by coating and baking them with sweet toppings! Why? We don’t need that excess salt or the sugar.		Kurobuta ham, Japanese black hog, which originated in Berkshire, England, was purportedly discovered by Oliver Cromwell’s troops, and is now one of the best hams available in America, if not the best. It’s produced in Iowa. What a voyage!
Many mass-produced hams are cured simply by injecting them with brine. An artisan ham is immersed in brine or dry-rubbed with spices, then lightly smoked and aged. The quality of the pig is far superior, as well. Baked ham is a traditional Easter dish. This Easter, kick up your tradition by serving the most delicious artisan ham you can find. Read more about our favorite pork products—and find some gourmet ham glaze recipes—in the Pork, Ham & Bacon Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine. You can also take our Ham Trivia Quiz.