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

B & R Farms apricots drying in the California
sun. Photo by Shannon Grissom, courtesy
B & R Farms.

Add truffle flavor to a dish with some of this brilliant juice, available at specialty food shops. Created by soaking Italian and French truffles in a brine, it’s an easy way to introduce the heady flavor of truffles to a dish.

We use it in sauces, soups and stocks where we don’t want the added fat from our other favorite truffle-enhancement, truffle butter, another delicious and affordable solution. Truffle oil is yet another option (and great to spray on popcorn).

Truffles, glorious truffles. Photo by Kelly
Cline | IST.

When tomatoes are out of season—or you just don’t have any at hand—simply substitute roasted red peppers (pimientos) or marinated sundried tomatoes. Both are available in jars, and can be kept on your shelf ready for sandwiches, salads, plate garnishes, hors d’oeuvres, pastas and any need you have for flavor and color.

Try peppadews too, a cherry pepper-sized African fruit that looks like a small, round red bell pepper and is available in mild and hot styles. They can be stuffed for hors d’oeuvres and even used as cocktail garnishes. But warning to carb counters: Their sweetness comes from added sugar.

Use sundried tomatoes, roasted red peppers
and peppadews to add flavor and color to
sandwiches and dishes when tomato season is over. Photo courtesy Peppadew.com.

Try your turkey and swiss “half and half.”
Photo courtesy Sargento.

When serving sandwiches, offer a variety of condiments and recommend that diners mix and match: one half of a roast beef, ham or turkey sandwich with chutney, one half with Roquefort Dijon mustard, for example. It’s like having two different sandwiches, and just one way in which specialty condiments transform everyday foods into gourmet treats.

We love the Dijon mustards of Laurent du Clos so much, we can eat them from the jar—especially the amazing Roquefort mustard. Other favorites include the Saffron Aïoli mayonnaise from Restaurant Lulu and the fabulous flavored mayos from The Ojai Cook—all Top Picks Of The Week.

Grow your own with seeds from
EvergreenSeeds.com.

A sweet radish without the peppery bite, its color and mildness make it a lovely surface for hors d’oeuvres and a beautiful garnish (sliced, quartered, or julienned).

“French Kisses,” prunes stuffed with foie
gras. Photo courtesy of Dartagnan.com.

Looking for a special-occasion cocktail snack? You can buy “French Kisses” gourmet delights ready-made from Dartagnan.com, or make them easily (and more cost-effectively) yourself.

1. Buy plump, pitted prunes and mousse de foie gras (duck or goose liver mousse—or substitute less expensive chicken liver mousse).
2. A classic preparation is to first marinate the prunes overnight in Armagnac (you can substitute Cognac); but it gives quite an alcohol punch to the prunes and we think it interferes with the foie gras flavor. Try it with half the batch to see what you think, or marinate lightly, for an hour (or eliminate this step altogether).
3. Then, with a pastry bag or small spoon, stuff each prune with mousse and serve on a tray.

These tasty tidbits are perfect with Champagne or sweet sherry, or as part of a first course on an assorted hors d’oeuvres plate. We could make an entire dinner of them!

Flavored balsamic vinegars do more than create tasty salad dressings, marinades and glazes. They can make sophisticated desserts: drizzle cherry, strawberry and raspberry balsamics over berries and other fresh fruit, over vanilla ice cream, and even slices of fresh goat cheese. You can reduce the vinegar and add stock to make a sauce for duck or pork.

Or, drizzle it onto a duck or pork sandwich (add some arugula!). Perk up a soup, stew or casserole by adding a spoonful. Look for fruit balsamics at fine supermarkets and specialty stores. Try some in a cocktail!

One of our favorite fruit balsamics has been the Cherry Balsamic from Restaurant LuLu Gourmet Products. But we just discovered this family of flavored balsamics from Lucero, in Blueberry, Fig, Peach, Red Apple and Wild Cherry. We’ve just started dressing, mixing and cooking with the line and will report back in a full review in the December issue of THE NIBBLE webzine.

Lucero balsamic vinegars are made by a third-
generation family producer in California’s Sacramento Valley. Photo by Evan Dempsey |
THE NIBBLE.

Roll goat cheese in your choice of coatings; here, cocoa and hazelnuts. Photo courtesy of Romanicos.

These are one of our favorite, fun-to-make hors d’oeuvres. Take a Montrachet log or other soft chèvre (goat cheese), cut it into slices and roll the slices into truffle-size balls. (If you don’t want to hand-roll them, you can press all of the cheese into a small bowl and use a melon baller to scoop them). Chill the balls to make them easier to roll in toppings.

Pick four or five coatings with varied flavors and textures—finely chopped pistachios, macadamias, almonds or walnuts; black, white or toasted sesame seeds; shredded coconut or sweet curry powder; Hungarian paprika and garlic powder; a mixture of fresh herbs; unsweetened cocoa powder (you can add a pinch of ginger); or other favorite flavors. You can layer flavors as well—cocoa and nuts, for example.

The coating process works best on waxed paper. Arrange the “truffles” on a plate. They’ll look like a beautiful box of bonbons—and each topping will make the chèvre taste different.

Enjoy this yummy hot chocolate recipe, courtesy of top chocolatier Larry Burdick. Per serving:

1. Mix 1.5 cups milk, 2 heaping teaspoons of top quality cocoa powder, 1/4 cup of ground dark chocolate with 60% or higher cacao content (chop and grind a good dark chocolate bar in a spice mill or a food processor) and ground nutmeg and/or cinnamon (fresh-grind using a microplane grater for great flavor).
2. Heat the milk to just below boiling.
3. Whisk in the cocoa powder and ground chocolate.
4. Add nutmeg and cinnamon to taste—we like a lot of each.
5. If you like “Aztec” spice, add some chili powder, too.

Rich and spicy! Photo by Melody Lan | THE NIBBLE.

It’s National Deviled Egg Day, so here are tips to make perfect boiled eggs. (1) Test eggs for freshness: A fresh egg will sink in a bowl of water. Raw eggs that float are over the hill. (2) Fresh eggs peel more easily, but make sure they’re more than 3 days old. (3) To avoid a green ring around the yolk, don’t overcook.

Try this technique for easy-to-peel eggs with beautiful yellow centers: Place eggs in a pot of cold water, add a teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and remove from heat; let sit for 13 minutes. Drain and immediately place eggs in an ice water bath until completely cooled. They should be perfect, and you can proceed with your favorite deviled egg recipe.

Deviled eggs topped with a piece of Smokra,
pickled okra from Rick’s Picks. Photo courtesy Rick’s Picks.