We eat lots of Mediterranean foods, often with pita bread from the supermarket that isn’t as flavorful as we’d like it to be. So when we spotted Canterbury Naturals flatbread mix, “just add oil and water,” we eagerly set out to bake our own flatbread (not with pockets like pita, but hopefully more exciting).

We were not disappointed! Warm from the oven, we proudly served our eight handmade, individual-size flatbreads, highly seasoned with a “Mediterannean” herb mix of basil, bell pepper, chile, fennel, garlic, marjoram, onion, oregano, parsley and thyme. Once they cool down they get a bit dry (like pita), but can easily be warmed in the microwave. After two days of storage in our Fresh Vac food storage containers, they still warmed up nicely.

While there are recipes aplenty to make flatbread from scratch, don’t underestimate the convenience of a packaged mix. It was easy, delicious and impressive! We mixed the package ingredients into a dough with some olive oil and water, kneaded it briefly, let it rise for 30 minutes, divided and rolled the dough into eight flat pieces, brushed the tops with olive oil and sprinkled them with the seasoning blend. The flatbreads baked for six minutes and cooled for a few minutes. Aside from the rising and cooking time, prep was no more than 10 minutes, using one bowl and one cookie sheet.

Impress your friends and family with home-baked flatbread. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

In addition to Mediterranean Savory Herb, the mix is available in Parmesan and Sundried Tomato. The attractive boxes make a nice house gift or stocking stuffer for your favorite cook. The product is certified kosher by KOF-K.

Tanteo Tequila is the first spirit to become a Top Pick Of The Week—it’s that special. We tasted the three superpremium tequilas infused with chocolate, jalapeño and tropical flavors at a show filled with foods from big-name chefs. We were dazzled by Tanteo.

Made with 100% blue agave tequila, Tanteo uses all natural ingredients to infuse the tequila, and it’s a magical marriage. These are sipping tequilas and cooking tequilas—you’ll love flavoring sauces, desserts and marinades with them (more ideas in the full review). Pair them with mains or desserts that have similar flavor profiles. In terms of mixed drinks: If the possibilities aren’t endless, they’ll keep you busy for quite some time. The company offers recipes to start you off.

Tanteo tequilas are a great addition to your bar and a gift that recipients will be talking about for a long time. They can be the hit of holiday parties.

Tantalizing tequila in three irresistible flavors. Photo courtesy of Tanteo Tequila.

Twice the size of a typical Anjou, Bartlett
or Bosc pear, one juicy Royal Riviera pear is
at least two fruit servings. Photo by
Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

We taste so many refined carbs in the course of our work day that we were thrilled to receive a gift box of Harry & David’s Royal Riviera pears, in season through February. Enormous, creamy, juicy and good-for-you, they’re a treat for the family or a gift for friends and clients who prefer the healthy life to receiving boxes of fudge. (We’re omnivores—send it all!)

How big are Royal Riviera pears? Helped by a lush rainfall this season, ours weighed about 13.5 ounces each, had a diameter of 3-1/2 inches and had “hips” (measured around the broadest part) of 11-1/4 inches! Grown in Harry & David’s orchards in Southern Oregon, they are the descendants of Anjou pears, believed to have originated in the vicinity of Angers, France. The variety was introduced to England early in the 19th century and came to America around 1842.

We enjoyed our Royal Rivieras with some of our favorite blue cheeses from Harry & David’s Oregon neighbor, Rogue Creamery (co-owner David Gremmels is one of the greatest American cheesemakers). We had his cheeses in our fridge, but a gift box of this “pear-ing” is available through Harry & David, along with pears-only from $29.95 and up. Should you be so fortunate as to receive too many pears to eat up as hand fruit, the variety is excellent sliced into salads, baked (plain, like baked apples, or in a tart) and poached (one of our favorite desserts).

For a better Bloody Mary or turkey chili, try
Blue Crab Bay Co.’s Sting Ray. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

There’s a reason why all-natural Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer is the best-seller at Blue Crab Bay Company. It’s a very thick, rich and flavorful blend of tomato juice and clam juice, seasoned with Chesapeake Bay Seasoning (inspiring!) and lots of freshly-grated horseradish. It makes a kickin’ cocktail mixer and Virgin Mary as well as a great cooking sauce (see Jim’s Bloody Mary Chili recipe, below; a recipe brochure is included with the bottle).

For gift giving, pay an extra dollar to have the 25 fl. oz. bottle “dressed” with weathered fishnet and a nautically tied cord.

Jim’s Bloody Mary Chili

Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 2 cups Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer
- 2 cans (15 ounces) chili beans, drained
- 1 jar (12 ounces) roasted red peppers
- 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
1. In a medium pan, heat olive oil. Sauté onion and garlic until golden brown and remove from pan.
2. Brown turkey in pan, season with salt and pepper if desired.
3. Add onion and garlic back to the pan. Add all other ingredients. Cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, for at least half an hour or until flavors develop.
4. Prior to serving, stir in cilantro or use as a garnish.
5. Serve with favorite toppings (sour cream, grated cheese, hot chiles, etc.) Serves 4-6.

Get ready for some fine turkey chili and Bloody Marys. While it may seem early to plan ahead for Super Bowl chow, it’s the right time for a pre-pre-game Fall Harvest party.

Say you like to snack on cookies. And chips. And pretzels. And chocolate. But you can’t just sit down with bags of all three. What’s a girl to do?

If you’re Sara Snacker (legally, Sara Leand), your entrepreneurial journey began in college, where you built and ran a snack company out of your college dorm room, selling cookies and treats across the campus as well as to local merchants. She had to put the business on hold when it started taking too much time away from her studies (and her roommate kept eating all the supplies—oink, but who can blame her).

After more than a dozen years in the entertainment industry as a television agent and producer (she executive-produced shows for E!, Lifetime and TLC), Ms. Snacker, now a wife and mother, is back in the sweet snacks business. Her first product (more to come in a few weeks) is the thing to grab if you can’t choose among shortbread, potato chips and pretzels and chocolate.

A buttery, crumbly cookie is packed with pieces of crunchy chips and pretzels, then dipped in your choice of white or dark chocolate. That’s the Chip n’ Etzel. (Or is that the Cookie Chip n’ Choc n’ Etzel? We’re not sure, but Chip n’ Etzel, though it sounds different, hits only two of the four snack foods.) It’s a bit sweet, a bit crunchy, and a teeny bit salty.

The Chip n’ Etzel combines four favorite
snacks in one. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

Whatever it is, it’s a soft and lovely treat that’s perfect with coffee, tea, cocoa or a glass of milk. Or nothing at all.

In Morocco, father and son share a glass
of mint tea. THE DVD provides a beautiful
tea experience, available in DVD with
a companion book.

Tea lovers can enjoy a profound and breathtaking journey through the world of tea with Scott Chamberlin Hoyt’s film on DVD, The Meaning of Tea. A wonderful gift for anyone who wants to see first-hand exquisite tea plantations, how tea leaves are hand-plucked from the plant and turned into the beverage we drink, the DVD, $24.95, can be enjoyed and shared over and over again.

The film takes you through China, India, Japan and Taiwan. It also talks to tea-drinkers in far-away Morocco, England, France, Ireland and even Tea, South Dakota, who enjoy the tea that comes from half a world away. Unveiling tea’s mysteries, the film contrasts ancient rituals and bonds, such as that expressed by a tea planter who would “dishonor his ancestors” if he could not continue growing tea. Then, there are the youth to whom the cultural heritage is unimportant, expressed by Taiwanese teens who disparage their grandmothers’ tea-drinking but enjoy spitting the tapioca balls in bubble tea at each other, and young adult Japanese who prefer coffee because “it’s Western and cool.”

The hanging question is the future of tea, still the second-widest-drunk beverage in the world thanks to its ingrained presence in the high-population countries of China and India. But as fast food and soft drinks enter those cultures, the influence on younger generations has already had its impact. There is continually growing disinterest towards a long-renowned and honored refreshment whose place and rituals are now largely ignored.

Contrasted against this sea change are the seriousness of purpose of people who have spent their lives working in the tea industry and consumer tea lovers. Two middle-aged brothers who sell Pashmina scarves in India remonstrate that they could survive without anything on a desert island including water, but not without tea. A Moroccan man describes the ritual and pleasure of searching in the market for the perfect bunch of fresh mint with which to make his tea, and the satisfaction of brewing the perfect pot of tea with it.

Experiencing the bonds that so many people have to tea is an emotional and cultural ride we’d like to take again. This handsomely-shot, wonderfully-edited 74-minute DVD includes 45 minutes of special features. There’s a companion book with 150 photos that explores tea through the words of tea growers, tasters, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, scholars and experts from eight countries. Get the DVD and invite friends over for tea. It will be a memorable experience!

Get free shipping through October 31 plus
a new Bloody Mary recipe. Photo courtesy
of RicksPicksNYC.com.

Our favorite pickle perfectionist, Rick’s Picks, is offering FREE SHIPPING in the contiguous U.S. (that’s the same as the Lower 48) through the end of the month, on orders of 4 jars or more. (It’s very easy to devour one jar at a sitting—they’re so divine and very low-calorie and healthy). You can pick four pickled peppers, or any of Rick’s fabulous Picks, for your own gourmandizing or for gifts, and can have them shipped now or later—just get the order in by October 31 to qualify.

Enter coupon code: octoberfree (all lower case) when you order at RicksPicksNYC.com to get the free shipping. We love all the products, but go batty for the Phat Beets (the top seller), the Green Tomato Condiment (formerly called GT 1000s, curried green tomato pickles), Windy City Wasabeans in a soy-wasabi brine, Smokra (pickled okra seasoned with smoked paprika) and … heck, we may as well list everything.

Enjoy the screaming good Bloody Mary recipe below for Halloween, which features Rick’s Picks’ Mean Beans, a spicy dilly bean (cayenne joins the traditional dill and garlic seasoning). Low in calories—just 20 per 7-bean serving—the brine is used in the Bloody Mary, and you can toss fresh string beans from the store into the remaining brine to make new pickles. As with all of Rick’s Picks, there’s no hidden sugar.

Rick’s Picks Mean & Bloody

Ingredients:
- 1 ounce vodka
- 3 ounces tomato juice (see our review of the best)
- 2 dashes Worcestershire
- 1/2 teaspoon prepared horseradish
- 2 dashes Tabasco or to taste
- A dash of freshly-ground pepper
- 1 quarter lemon, squeezed
- Generous splash of Mean Beans brine (try other dilly bean or pickle brine if you don’t have Mean Beans—but it won’t be as good!)
- Mean Beans to garnish

Preparation:
1. Combine ingredients. Shake or stir.
2. Pour over ice. Garnish and serve.
3. Have extra Mean Beans on hand for demanding guests.

We know it’s fall when we receive our John & Kira’s chocolate catalog with photos of their exquisite Calabacita Figs—a perennial NIBBLE favorite and Top Pick Of The Week. This is an exquisite gift for your favorite connoisseur. The bite-size, organic Spanish figs are filled with silky Valhrona chocolate ganache highlighted with a touch of whiskey, then hand-dipped in 58% cacao Valrhona and tucked into a reusable wood box for beautiful gift-giving.

We use the word “perfect” a lot, but in our book, there’s nothing more perfect than serving these at the end of dinner with coffee or an after-dinner brandy or whiskey (try a smooth Irish whiskey like Jameson or Tullamore Dew). The only problem is our desire to eat the entire box; others may be able to restrain themselves by enjoying one at a time.

Buy them at JohnAndKiras.com, 1.800.747.4808.

White chocolate-covered figs are also
available in dark chocolate. Photo courtesy of John & Kira’s.

Halloween Cat Lollypop Box from See’s
Candies. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE
NIBBLE.

See’s Candies has created a special black cat to cross the path of lucky trick-or-treaters. This one is filled with butterscotch, chocolate and vanilla lollipops. Tasty enough to be enjoyed by hard candy lovers and their kids, they’re also certified kosher (dairy) by KSA (although it should be noted that strictly observant Jews don’t observe Halloween since it’s a pagan ritual.)

The black cat box is a keeper, to be enjoyed as Halloween decoration for years to come. For $10.90, it’s a purr-fect gift for Halloween celebrants of all ages. Pick one up at your local See’s Candies or purchase online at Sees.com.

Instead of a birthday cake, consider a platter of cupcakes. Beloved by children and adults alike, they eliminate the need to cut a cake, have built-in portion control and can provide guests with their favorite flavors and special needs (chocolate or vanilla cake, different icings, some Splenda-based cupcakes for those who can’t have sugar, gluten-free cupcakes for those who can’t have wheat). If you don’t have a cake stand or cupcake holder, arrange highly decorated cupcakes on a round tray (try topping with chocolate medallions or marzipan figures). You can leave an unadorned cupcake in the center to hold the candle(s).