The clamp-style bag clip is great for bags of potato chips, cookies and other packaging with a long, foldover top. These are generally made from sturdier materials that don’t cinch neatly at the neck—which is why the bag clips were invented.

But there are other foods in softer packaging—bags of bread, produce bags and such. For these types of foods—anything in bag that you’d twist close—the Fish Clip is the better bag.

The jaws of the fish open wide, then cinch tight and lock in place. It accommodates a broad variety of package necks, including the smallest (like the bread bag) to the largest cereal bag.

The clips are magnetic so they can tread water on the fridge until needed. Or, use them for non-food purposes—on filing cabinets, to neaten cable cords—a more colorful substitute for velcro ties.

Fun and really useful: the Fish Clip. Photo courtesy Shrockie.com.

Kids will love them, too. Girls may find themselves appropriating the clips as pigtail holders.

Think of them as small gifts and stocking stuffers. You can buy them online at Amazon.com.

Today is National Raspberry Cream Pie Day. We’d never had a raspberry cream pie, so we whipped one up. The only baking is of the pie shell or tart crust. The pie is served chilled—refreshing on a hot day.

You can substitute any berry. We also enjoy a strawberry cream pie, blueberry cream pie, or mixed berries (you can get very artistic arranging the colors and textures).

RASPBERRY CREAM PIE RECIPE

Ingredients

A raspberry cream tart, bursting with fresh fruit. Photo by Amber B | IST.

Preparation

1. COMBINE. In the top of a double boiler, mix sugar, flour and salt. Stir in milk. Cook 15 minutes over hot water, stirring constantly until thick. Add egg yolks, stir and cook 3 minutes.

2. ADD. Add butter and allow mixture to cool. Stir in vanilla. Add to pie shell and let set in the fridge for a half hour or more.

3. VARIATION. You can also add raspberries to the cream filling, for a double raspberry cream pie. Add the raspberry purée along with the vanilla to the cooled cream mixture.

3. GARNISH. Cover the top of the pie with the raspberries. It’s best to begin at the edges and work your way in. In this way, if you run out of berries, the ungarnished center will look “normal,” not a mistake.

CREAM PIE VS. CREAM PIE

What’s the difference between cream and creme? Just the spelling.

Creme is an Americanization of the French word for cream, crème? (pronounced KREHM), most likely adapted to make the dish sound more special. But why mispronounce another language’s word for cream?

Unless it’s a French recipe, such as Coeur à la Crème, stick to cream.

PIE VS. TART

We made a raspberry cream tart instead of a pie? What’s the difference between a pie and a tart?

It’s interesting enough that we created an article about it. Check it out!

Yanni cheese doesn’t melt when grilled or
fried: It just becomes soft and luscious.
Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

If you’re trying to cut back on cheese, don’t buy Yanni Grilling Cheese from Karoun Dairies. It’s addictive, and you’ll be back at the store the next day to buy more—much more.

This oh-so-delicious comfort food can be baked, grilled, microwaved or pan-fried. It’s made for grilling without melting.

Karoun makes original and jalapeño flavors. The jalapeño is only mildly spicy and provides an excellent counterpoint to the creamy cheese. In fact, we find ourselves adding a pinch of crushed chili flakes to the original variety.

You won’t run out of ways to serve yanni, from appetizers and salads to burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Check out the full review, which includes our favorite uses, this week’s recipe and cooking video on how to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich.

Prepare to discover a new favorite comfort food.

Find more of our favorite cheese reviews and recipes.
 

Recently, NIBBLE writer Leah Hansen joined a group of journalists on a press trip to Belgium. She came back very excited about the country, and used her camera to capture tips from everyday life.

DECORATE DAIRY

For a cheese board or a buffet, use fresh herbs to decorate cheese—and butter, too.

Press fresh herbs or flowers into soft or semi-soft cheeses before serving.

Lavender (in the photo) and rosemary look pretty and add a layer of aroma and hint of herb flavor. Don’t limit yourself to these choices, though: Use your eye and your palate to find herb-cheese pairings that please.

You can turn cheese decorating into a party activity. Give each person or small group a Camembert or baby Brie to decorate. Provide some fresh herbs and whatever you have on the spice shelf. Serve the cheeses with fruit for dessert.

Use fresh herbs from the market to decorate butter and cheese. Photo by Leah Hansen | THE NIBBLE.

Switch out the mayo for some fresh,
unsalted butter on a ham sandwich. Photo by
Leah Hansen | THE NIBBLE.

HOLD THE MAYO

In Belgium and France, butter is the condiment of choice on a ham sandwich.

The flavor of unsalted butter with ham on French-style bread (you need good bread!) is very elegant. Try it. We add a bit of Dijon mustard as well.

Plan your own trip to Belgium to enjoy the history, the cuisine, and lots of great beer and chocolate. These websites will get you started:

BELGIAN WAFFLE TRIVIA

In Belgium, there is no such thing as a “Belgian” waffle. Every region has its own style of waffle (called a gauffre, pronounced GO-fray or GAW-fray) based on two major styles: the Brussels waffle and the Liège waffle.

 
Check out all the types of waffles in our Pancake & Waffle Glossary.

THE NIBBLE team is off to Washington, D.C. for the Fancy Food Show—to find more great product recommendations. We’ll be back at our desks on Wednesday morning.

Blog.TheNibble.com is on hiatus until then. But you can find plenty to amuse yourself with at TheNibble.com.

How about learning more about one of your favorite products?

Be back soon!

For lunch or a light dinner on Valentine’s Day, try this Strawberry Steak Salad.

Sliced fresh strawberries, which look like little red hearts, unite with grilled skirt steak, a spring mix salad, avocado, mascarpone cheese, chopped tomatoes and cucumbers in a blush wine or raspberry vinaigrette.

A lighter dinner gives you more room for desserts and chocolate!

Baking up a storm? Pay close attention to the flour specifications.

It’s important to note that in a recipe, “sifted flour” is not the same as “flour, sifted.”

In the first instance, you sift the flour, than measure out what you need. In the second, you measure out what you need, then sift it.

Baking is chemistry: slight deviations can create disappointing results.

Don’t pack flour into a measuring cup: You can end up with 20% more flour than intended. Instead, use a measuring cup that is exactly one cup to the brim. Fill to overflowing with a scoop or spoon, then level it off with a knife.

Photo courtesy King Arthur Flour.

And be sure to use the right flour. The wrong type of flour (or too much flour) can result in a tough, dry product. Too little flour can cause a cake to collapse.

Put your baker’s thinking cap on and you’ll be fine.

Thanks to Chef Louis Eguaras for this tip.

Now that we’re into winter squash season, expand your use of squash beyond a dinner vegetable. Squash can be sauteed, steamed, oven roasted, grilled, mashed, puréed and made into soup.

But don’t overlook savory or sweet squash soufflé and squash pie (pumpkin is a squash, but you can make pies with butternut squash and other varieties). Add squash to stews and casseroles. Season it with your favorite spices (we like nutmeg and cinnamon) and fresh herbs. Make squash fries (like sweet potato fries).

Acorn and butternut squash are delicious vegetables that also can be puréed into a dip or hors d’oeuvre.

SQUASH DIP RECIPE
1. Bake or steam a 2-pound squash.
2. Place the flesh in a food processor with 1 tablespoon orange juice, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon orange rind and 1/2 teaspoon allspice. Blend on high for one minute or until smooth.
3. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.

Autumn Comfort Mac & Cheese incorporates
butternut squash, pancetta, cavatappi and a
variety of cheeses. Photo courtesy Tillamook Cheese.

4. Spoon or pipe into vegetable chips (Terra Chips are excellent), potato chips or mushroom caps; or serve with crudités.

Try these squash recipes, too:

Dessert Recipes

Check out our Squash Glossary, THE NIBBLE’s most popular article.

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How cool is Avocado Jell-O? Photo
courtesy Avocados From Mexico.

The popularity of guacamole suggests that most of us really like avocados.

We like them so much, we eat a half at breakfast or lunch, straight from the skin. Sometimes we’ll sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar. But just like any fruit, avocados are delicious as is.

But limiting our intake to guacamole and salads, we weren’t taking full advantage of the fruit.

So we browsed through the recipe section of AvocadosFromMexico.com and discovered scores of recipe ideas—from Avocado Jell-O to Avocado Caprese Salad.

As good as a regular Caprese salad may be—slices of tomato and mozzarella plus fresh basil—it’s even better with slices of avocado added to the recipe.

Tonight, we’re making the Layered Guacamole Dip with roasted garlic hummus, sour cream and chopped cherry tomatoes. Maybe we’ll try the Avocado Margarita with it.

There’s also an Avocado Pie!

Expand your repertoire of avocado dishes. Check out the appetizers, beverages, breakfast recipes, desserts, dips, mains, salads, sandwiches and wraps and soups.