Limited-edition Lime Wheat Thins. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

“Taste the bold lime flavor,” beckons the entire back side of the new, limited edition Wheat Thins.

Fans of Wheat Thins, those crunchy little cracker squares from Nabisco, might note that lime and salt are also flavors of that popular drink, the Margarita. In fact, we received two boxes of Wheat Thins from the manufacturer, along with two Margarita glasses (we enjoyed them with a beer, instead).

Wheat Thins are one of the few foods we enjoyed in grade school that are still on our grocery list. We like them instead of chips with a beer, with soups and salads (use them instead of croutons), and as a better-for-you snack, with or without a nonfat yogurt dip.

Wheat Thins are made with whole grain flour. Each serving of 14 crackers (30g) equals 20g of whole grains. That really helps toward the 48g RDA recommended by the USDA (more about whole grains).

Nutritionists recommend that we consume at least 3 servings of whole grains daily. It’s fun when Wheat Thins is one of those servings.

Bet you can‘t eat just one of King’s Hawaiian
sweet dinner rolls. Photo by Elvira Kalviste |
THE NIBBLE.

Most Americans are not familiar with Portuguese sweet bread. But if the Taira family of Hawaii has its way, every home will be feasting on their version of it: King’s Hawaiian Original Sweet Bread.

A rave in Hawaii, where people line up around the block to purchase it and tourists send gift boxes of the bread back to the mainland, King’s Hawaiian is now produced on both coasts of the Continental U.S., ready to reach a grocer near you.

When you see it, grab it: the dinner rolls, hamburger rolls, hot dog rolls, sandwich rolls and the round loaves that are just perfect to slice into French toast or scoop out to turn into a bread bowl for dips.

Sweet and buttery, a fluffier cousin of brioche, we’re hooked.

Read the full review.

CHECK OUT THE MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF BREADS IN OUR BREAD GLOSSARY.

FIND MORE OF OUR FAVORITE BREADS & BREAD PRODUCTS IN OUR GOURMET BREADS SECTION.

April is National Grilled Cheese Month, a sandwich we love so much we could eat a different recipe every day.

We’re beginning our “grilled cheese coverage” with two creative recipes from Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company, an artisan creamery.

The first gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches is called the French Connection, because it uses the creamery’s Lille cheese, patterned on the French cheese Coulommiers a member of the Brie family. The difference between the two is that Coulommiers is smaller with a thicker rind and a nuttier paste than Brie. But you can use any of these cheeses to make this delicious sandwich. The addition of fresh basil is simply delightful.

RECIPE: BRIE, STRAWBERRIES & BALSAMIC
GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH

Ingredients For 2 Sandwiches

This sandwich combines creamy, sweet, tart and fresh and is splendid. Photo courtesy Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company.

 
Preparation

1. CLEAN strawberries 30 minutes before making sandwich. Wash, pat dry, hull and quarter the strawberries. Combine them with the balsamic vinegar and sugar in a bowl and gently toss. Let the ingredients sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or longer. When ready to make sandwich…

2. BUTTER sliced bread. Place bottom bread slices butter-side-down and layer the cheese and basil leaves. Top with the strawberry mixture and the top slices of bread.

3. TRANSFER to a hot skillet and cook until cheese is melted and bread is nicely browned. Serve immediately.

Add Brussels sprouts to your grilled cheese—
really! Photo courtesy Vermont Farmstead
Cheese Company.

And now for something completely different: grilled cheese with Brussels sprouts. This creative combination rocks! TIP: Never overcook Brussels sprouts or any of the cruciferous vegetables family (broccoli, cabbage, etc.): It breaks down chemical compounds that create the infamous unpleasant sulfuric aroma and flavor.

This recipe was created with Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company’s BrickHaus Tilsit. Tilsit or Tilsiter cheese is a versatile, semi-hard cheese originally produced by Danish settlers in Prussia. It is now commonly produced in Switzerland. You can substitute Havarti or Monterey Jack cheese.

TURKEY, TILSIT & BRUSSELS SPROUTS GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH

Ingredients For 2 Sandwiches

 
Preparation
 
1. BLEND aïoli ingredients in bowl and set aside.

2. ADD 1 tablespoon butter to a heated skillet; once melted, add the Brussels sprouts and 2 cloves of garlic. Stir while cooking until Brussels sprouts are slightly wilted, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. TRANSFER cooked Brussels sprouts to a bowl and set aside.

4. WIPE out the skillet. ??Butter one side of each slice of bread and place butter-side-down. To construct, lay sliced bread butter-side-down and layer with cheese, turkey and cooked sprouts.

5. SPREAD the top slices with aïoli and close the sandwiches. Place butter-side-up on the bottom half of the sandwich.

6. CAREFULLY place sandwiches in skillet and grill over medium-high heat until cheese is melted and bread is nicely browned. Serve immediately.
 
Stay tuned for more gourmet grilled cheese!
  

Nice enough, but you can make a meatball
sub that soars to new heights. Photo
courtesy Earl of Sandwich.

As popular as meatball submarine sandwiches are, they’re pretty ho-hum. Even if you make the tastiest meatballs and marinara sauce, there’s still room for improvement.

Today‘s tip: Play around with different ingredients until you create your meatball sub masterpiece. You can turn the search into a build-your-own party buffet for the Final Four, Memorial Day, Father’s Day or just because it’s party time.

Your first decision: what to put in the meatballs (a basic meatball recipe is below). Every ingredient counts, as does the quality of the meat and cheese.

Next decision: bread and toppings. Beyond the supermarket-variety “hero rolls,” consider:

 
Next, what to layer atop the meatballs:

 
*The difference: The product called Parmigiano Reggiano can only be made from local milk in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy, where it is carefully monitored for quality by a supervising consortium. The related product made in the U.S. is called Parmesan. More about Parmigiano Reggiano.

†Oregano is the exception to the rule: It tastes as good fresh or dried.

You can also elect to “go global” with creations like these (and others that spring from your mind):

 
EASY MEATBALL TEMPLATE

Ingredients

A glamorous and flavorful chicken meatball sub. Photo by Jill Chen | IST.

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 450°F.

2. PLACE ground meat in a large mixing bowl and with your knuckles or a large wooden spoon, punch a well into the center of meat. Fill the well with all of the other ingredients. Mix all ingredients until well combined.

3. DIVIDE mix into 4 parts, and divide each part into 4 meatballs. Place on a nonstick or parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 12 minutes. Cut one meatball open to check doneness.
 

EASY PARMESAN SAUCE RECIPE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MICROWAVE cream cheese, milk and cheese on medium (50%) for 6-8 minutes or until sauce is smooth. Stir every 2 minutes.

3. BLEND in seasonings. Serve.

Bruschetta and crostini are popular hors d’oeuvres that are easy to make. They also can be served as a first course or a light meal, with salad and/or soup.

BRUSCHETTA VS. CROSTINI: WHAT’S THE
DIFFERENCE?

The answer, in brief, is the size of the slice, plus grilling versus toasting. Bruschetta (three or four inches in diameter) are cut from a baguette and grilled; crostini (about two inches in diameter) are cut from a thinner loaf and toasted.

Bruschetta (pronounced broo-SKEH-tuh) are grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with any variety of items. The toppings can be as simple as extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, to diced tomatoes and basil, to almost any spread, vegetable, cured meat or cheese—even fruit.

Bruschetta originated in the Tuscany region of Italy, where it is commonly served as a snack or appetizer. It may have been the original garlic bread.

You can top bruschetta—grilled bread—with anything, including rosy grapefruit. Photo courtesy Sunkist Growers.

Some American manufacturers and others in the food industry misuse the term, using it to refer to the topping only and selling jars of “bruschetta” (it should be bruschetta topping). Show your superior knowledge and don’t allow the term to be distorted: The word bruschetta refers to the grilled bread, not the topping.

Crostini (cruh-STEE-nee) are croutons: not in the American sense of small cubes tossed into soup or salad, but thin slices of toasted bread.

Smaller than bruschetta, the slices are typically cut from a ficelle, a thinner baguette one to two inches wide (the word is French for “string). The slices are brushed with olive oil, toasted and then topped with spreadable cheese, pâté or other ingredients. Plain crostini are served with soups and salads, like melba toast, or set out with cheese.

Crostini American-style: BevCooks.com used
a regular loaf of whole grain bread for
appetizer- or meal-size portions. Also
consider rye bread. Here’s the recipe.

While lovely grapefruits are still in season, make this colorful and flavorful Grapefruit Bruschetta recipe from Sunkist (photo above).

We especially like it with a Sauvignon Blanc, which often has complementary grassy/herbal or grapefruit notes. You can use any type of grapefruit, but rosy-fleshed varieties make the most beautiful presentation. Makes 8 servings.

RED GRAPEFRUIT BRUSCHETTA

Ingredients

Preparation

 
Here’s another variation of grapefruit bruschetta that cooks the grapefruit topping.

 
MORE BRUSCHETTA RECPIES

 
BIGGER BRUSCHETTA

Turn bruschetta into open-face sandwiches for lunch by using regular loaves of bread. Cut the slices in half, as the blogger BevCooks.com did in the photo above, with the most delicious-looking bruschetta we’ve seen in a while.

You can also make “breakfast bruschetta” by placing eggs and breakfast meats atop the toast. Add a dab of garnish (diced tomatoes, fresh herbs, sliced green onions, a strip of roasted red pepper…). Does ketchup count as a garnish? Sure: This is America.

Beautiful baguettes from Maison Kayser in
New York City. The artistic flair of the bakers
adds to the visual appeal, but the taste’s
the thing. Photo courtesy Maison Kayser.

There’s a lot of bad bread in America: spongy, flavorless, aroma-less, a waste of carbs masquerading as “good bread.” This is especially true when you have expectations for a specialty loaf like a baguette.

The longest of loaves, a baguette is narrow with a very crusty, amber-colored outside and a delicate, tender crumb (inside). A baguette is three or four inches in diameter and can be up to a yard long, although it is typically about two feet in length. (See our Bread glossary for the different types of bread, including the different types of French bread).

If you live in a large city, you can buy a baguette in any food-centric neighborhood. But is it great, passable or merely “masquerading” as a baguette?

This article is a tutorial from Maison Kayser, a boulangerie and pâtisserie* that has people standing in line for its baguettes in Paris and at a number of global outposts.

“Good bread doesn’t lie,” says founder Eric Kayser. “It says everything about the quality of its ingredients and the know-how of its creator.”

Executive master baker Yann Ledoux of Maison Kayser in New York City gave us this valuable lesson in understanding great baguettes:

All ingredients are not created equal, even when they’re as seemingly simple as flour, water, salt and levain (sourdough starter). (There’s more about Maison Kayser’s levain and flour later in this article.)

And all training is not equal: The best bread bakers have extensive training from masters, and bring their own passion and commitment to quality and to creating loaves that lead to lines of customers snaking around the corner.

Ledoux attributes these percentages to the creation of a great baguette:

 
*A boulangerie is a bread bakery, a pâtisserie is a pastry shop. Traditionally in France, the two crafts are separate, as each requires a different artisan skill set.

†Each municipal water supply imparts unique undertones of flavor.

HOW TO BUY THE BEST BAGUETTE

You can tell a lot just by looking at the baguette. If you want to follow this lesson closely, pick up all the different baguettes you can and compare them to each other. You can turn it into a wine and cheese party and demonstrate this information.

Start By Looking

A Great Baguette

 
A Mediocre Baguette

THE TEXTBOOK PERFECT CRUST & CRUMB

Bread is divided into the external crust and the internal crumb. Cut a six-inch piece from the baguette in half and examine the crumb.

Crumb

The perfect crumb should have small air holes that are present consistently throughout the baguette. It should have a certain level of elasticity, so when you press it with your fingers it always returns to its original shape and form. If it does not return, it is because the crumb is either too dense (not fermented enough), too moist (not baked enough) or too hard (not fresh enough).

The texture of the crumb should have a creamy color, taste and smell of hazelnut and have a hint of acidity that brings a balance and enhances the flavors within the baguette.

If the holes in the bread are vastly varied in size, if the color is cream rather than white, if you can smell the delicious aroma of the levain and hear a crisp crunch while squeezing the crust, then (voilà!) you have the best baguette.

The inside, called the crumb, of a great baguette. Photo courtesy Maison Kayser..

The crust should have a beautiful consistent golden brown (amber) color throughout the entire baguette, except at the scoring, where the color is slightly lighter.

Sourdough Starter (Levain)

What sets a great baguette apart is the use of homemade, mineral-rich, natural liquid levain, which achieves a richer balance and flavor than commercially purchased starters. At Maison Kayser there is no commercial yeast or pre-mixed dough arriving in freezer containers from Paris: Everything is made from scratch on the spot.

Although baking with liquid levain is a timely process, it is an essential element of a true artisanal, hands-on process to enable the sourdough to reach its full potential. At Maison Kayser, the liquid levain is constantly monitored by a trained baker and tested for acidity, texture and aroma. As a result, the baguette has a stronger flavor, a slight hazelnut taste in the crumb and an appealing—we say “beguiling”—aroma. As importantly, the baguette made with liquid levain bestows a longer shelf life (how often has the afternoon’s baguette become brick-hard by evening?).

Baker’s secret: In addition to the organic flour sourced in upstate New York, Maison Kayser uses a little bit of Gaude flour imported from France. Made from roasted corn, Gaude gives the bread the nutty, sourdough flavor and creamy, yellowish hue, rather than the stark white of too many American baguettes.

Fermentation

“Greatness cannot be rushed,” says Yann Ledoux, and the best baguette doesn’t rush things. The proper method involves a longer and slower fermentation or rising of the dough. Each of Maison Kayser’s baguettes takes 12 hours from mixing to baking.

Artistry

Great bakers enjoy creating a “signature” baguette. Eric Kayser likes to create different signature baguettes based on the neighborhoods in which his bakeries are located. For example:

 
FOOD TRIVIA

While it is the longest loaf, baguette means “a small rod” in French.

‡Maison Kayser is located at 1294 Third Avenue, between 74th and 75th Streets.
  

Forget the saltines, the Triscuits, the wheat thins and the Ritz.

Go artisan with Effie’s new semolina crackers.

An artisan cracker, handmade in small batches with superior ingredients, is a little thing that makes a big difference. Whether for snacking, garnishing or turning into canapés, people who know good food appreciate the nuances of flavor.

Of the three flavors—Roasted Garlic & Coriander, Sea Salt & Lavender and Sunflower Seed & Sesame Seed, we favor the Lavender—but we favor anything with lavender. All three flavors are equally delicious with cheese, dips, salads and soups.

Read the full review, which also answers the question: What is semolina?

SEE ALL OF OUR FAVORITE GOURMET CRACKERS IN OUR BREADS & CRACKERS SECTION.

Effie’s Lavender & Sea Salt semolina crackers. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

Yesterday, the idea of a “salad sandwich” popped into our head. We were evaluating potential ingredients for lunch: Stonefire naan, an Indian flatbread we love; hummus; cooked chicken breast; and an assortment of salad ingredients including arugula, bell peppers, onions and romaine.

Our first thought was to make a basic salad topped with sliced chicken breast and a piece of naan on the side. Then we thought of cutting the large slice of naan in half and making a chicken sandwich with hummus, instead of mayonnaise or other spread.

Then, our minds ran to our favorite shrimp tostada salad, which we order every time we get to Zócalo Mexican restaurant in Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal.

It piles salad greens and grilled shrimp, with a light olive oil-lime juice dressing (see recipe below), atop a tostada. The lettuce and tortilla create a crunchfest; there’s an excellent balance of protein from the shrimp, and just enough dressing to moisten the greens without wetting the tostada.

Have your salad atop a delicious specialty
bread. Photo courtesy Stonefire Naan, a
NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week.

So we spread some hummus across the entire piece of naan, whipped up some lime juice dressing, tossed it with the greens and diced chicken, and scooped it, drained, onto the naan. We sat down with a fork, knife and a bottle of Sam Adams Whitewater IPA and had a delicious open-face salad sandwich lunch.

It was so enjoyable, in fact, that we’re making it again today. This time we’ll toast the naan and use some curry mayonnaise, to convert yesterday’s fusion food into an all-Indian theme (just add curry powder to regular mayo).

We found naan at Whole Foods Markets and
Trader Joe’s. Photo courtesy Stonefire Naan.

By the way, we checked the Web before writing this, and didn’t find much on “salad sandwiches” (just links to egg salad sandwich, tuna salad sandwich and the like). The only related item was this New York Times recipe for Greek salad on an English muffin. But it’s just a basic recipe, not advocacy for a new way of eating salad.

So maybe the “salad sandwich” trend starts here! Let us know your favorite salad sandwich concepts—what kind of salad atop what kind of bread—and be part of the new movement! Challah? Cornbread? Crispbread? Fruit bread? Garlic bread? The world’s many flatbreads? We can’t wait to try other combinations.

LIME JUICE SALAD DRESSING

Ingredients

Optional Ingredients For Spicy Dressing:

 
Preparation

1. MIX ingredients thoroughly. We prefer to emulsify them in a blender or with a small inversion blender. We’ve even used a milk frother wand.

2. DECIDE if you want to dress the salad before topping the bread. If you do, you can drain the excess dressing so the bread doesn’t get soaked. If you want to eat the dressing-soaked bread (we liked it!), drizzle it over the salad instead.
 
CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BREAD IN OUR BEAUTIFUL BREAD GLOSSARY.

If you’ve been to Turkey, you’ve probably eaten a simit or two (called gevrek in some parts of the country). They are one of the national breakfast foods of Turkey, baked fresh throughout the day in neighborhood bakeries and sold to the public by food cart vendors (or simply from a tray carried on the vendor’s head!).

Simit falls somewhere between a roll and a bagel: the crumb is less dense and less moist than a bagel crumb, and the exterior is more crusty. It’s coated with lots of sesame seeds: It isn’t simit without the sesame seeds, which deliver texture, flavor, lots of fiber and heart-healthy linolenic acid and omega-3s.

Simit, which has been called the “Turkish bagel,” is popular in parts of the Middle East, Greece amd the Balkans. And Simit + Smith, which launched last month in New York City, is hoping they’ll become as beloved in America…

Have your turkey and Jarlsberg cheese on a simit. Photo courtesy Simit + Smith.

Not just as breakfast food, served plain or with jam or cheese and a glass of tea, as in Turkey. Simit is easily Americanized into a sandwich and an anytime snack. It’s the next imported food waiting to be discovered. With fillings from classic Middle Eastern (black olive paste and kasseri cheese) to classic American (smoked salmon and cream cheese), they’re a hit. The Nutella and banana sandwich is a revelation.

And who knew that tea grows in Turkey (in the mountains in the north)? The tea at Simit + Smith is so delicious—floral and honeyed—we wanted to buy the foodservice-size bag (which isn’t for sale…yet).

With half the calories of bagels and a no sugar (yes, there’s sugar in most bagels), we hope that simit becomes trendy and then a fixture in America’s multicultural food scene. You can check the expansion on the Simit + Smith website.

Smoked salmon on a simit: No bagel
required. Photo courtesy Simit + Smith.

If you’ve traveled a bit, you may have encountered simit by other names: koulouri in Greece, gevrek in Bulgaria and Serbia, gjevrek in Macedonia and covrig in Romania, among other names. (In Turkish, gevrek means “crisp.”)

Simit’s size, crunchiness and chewiness vary slightly by region. If you like things sweeter, head to Devrek, where the simits are made with molasses.

If you’re passing through Manhattan, head to the Upper West Side or the Financial District and have a simit or two (here are the locations). All the sandwiches are delicious, and the Nutella and banana is a must-have.

If you’re full, get it to go.

We love this nut-tricious snack idea: An open-face peanut butter sandwich topped with trail mix. Use whole wheat toast: whole wheat for extra nutrition and toast for extra crunchiness. Cut into squares for easier snacking. Our beverage of choice: a glass of nonfat milk.

Open face sandwich on whole wheat toast, a layer of smooth peanut butter and a layer of trail mix.

The recipe concept comes from Lee Zalben, proprietor of the restaurant Peanut Butter & Co. in New York City. He’s developed a different PB sandwich recipe for every day of the year—and for more than one year. You can see all of his creative of ideas online at the Nutropolitan Museum Of Art.

MAKE YOUR OWN TRAIL MIX

You don’t need ready-made trail mix: Make your own using the nuts, seeds, raisins and other dried fruits you already have”

Top a slice of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and trail mix.Photo by Andrea Hernandez | Peanut Butter & Co.

 
One of our favorite combinations: dates, dried cherries, figs, pistachio nuts.

After you’ve made trail mix, use it on everything from cereal toppers to ice cream, pudding and yogurt garnishes to baked goods ingredients (mix into brownie, cake and cookie batter).

Do you have a signature trail mix ingredient or favorite combination? Pleas share!