THE NIBBLE BLOG: Products, Recipes & Trends In Specialty Foods


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GOURMET GIVEAWAY #2 ~ House Of Balsamic Vinegar Jellies

One reader will be the envy of gourmet friends if he or she wins this elegant prize from House of Balsamic.

The balsamic jellies from House Of Balsamic are quite delicate. This week’s winner will receive three jellies:

  • Fragolina, an ideal topping for fresh cheeses, crackers or fresh fruit
  • Prelibato, delicious paired with hard and salty cheeses
  • Saporina, perfect for breads, cheeses, fruits and meats; as a spread on hors d’oeuvres, tea sandwiches, even for morning toast

Retail value: $43.50.

To see all of the delicious gourmet products from House Of Balsamic, visit HouseOfBalsamic.com.

  • To Enter This Gourmet Giveaway: Go to the box at the bottom of our Jams, Jellies, Preserves & Peanut Butter Page and click to enter your email address for the prize drawing. This contest closes on Monday, December 13th at noon, Eastern Time. Good luck!

These sweet spreads are delicious with
cheese. Photo by Katharine Pollak | THE NIBBLE.

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GOURMET GIVEAWAY #1 ~ $25.00 See’s Candies Gift Certificates

Nibble on delicious candies from See’s.
Photo courtesy See’s Candies.

Twenty lucky winners will enjoy sweet dreams with gift certificates from See’s Candies, one of America’s most beloved brands.

Choose from 100 types of candy: boxed chocolates, fudge, truffles, nut clusters and mints are just a few. See’s also makes some of our favorite sugar-free chocolates and brittle.

You can also use the gift certificate to send candy to your Valentine. Certificates can be redeemed in See’s stores or online.

Retail Value: $25.00

To start dreaming of what you’d buy if you’re a winner, visit Sees.com.

  • To Enter This Gourmet Giveaway: Go to the box at the bottom of our Gourmet Chocolate Gifts and click to enter your email address for the prize drawing. This contest closes on Monday, December 13th at noon, Eastern Time. Good luck!

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GIFT OF THE DAY: Perfect Pie Gifts

We usually don’t go gaga over pie—no one makes a pie as good as our mom. Except for the pie professionals who bake up a storm for Harry & David’s Heritage Pie Club.

These pies are so good, even Mom can’t complain that they’re ready-made. The pies arrive frozen, ready to be baked. Each month brings a different seasonal fruit in a handsome and delectable crust. The current month’s selection, Apple Cranberry Pie, is simply heavenly.

The pies are nine inches in diameter, two pounds of heaven.

Santa, please enroll us!

  • Individual Pie Gifts are $29.95

Pies so good, they’re better than homemade.
Photo courtesy Harry & David.

  • Heritage Pie Club Membership: 3, 6 & 12-Month Memberships for $85.00, $170.00 & $330.00, respectively

 

Purchase online at HarryAndDavid.com. All memberships begin in December.

Find more of our favorite cookie and dessert gifts for Holiday 2010.

 

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TIP OF THE DAY: Christmas Hors d’Oeuvres

We topped a rice cracker with roasted
red pepper, a bocconcino (mozzarella ball)
and pesto. Photo by Melody Lan THE NIBBLE.

Deck the “hors” and be sure to include some red and green hors d’oeuvre* at your holiday party. Some crowd-pleasers are very easy to make.

  • Skewer: Take long toothpicks and make a skewer of bocconcini (1″ mozzarella balls—the word means “mouthfuls” in Italian), red roasted pepper or sundried tomato, a small basil leaf and a pitted picholine olive. For a vegan dish, substitute cubes of tofu for the mozzarella.
  • Canapé: Spread thin slices of baguette or flatbread with soft goat cheese, top with a marinated roma tomato (more tender and mild than a sundried tomato, which can be substituted), and garnish with baby arugula.
  • Bruschetta: The toasted bread topped with a tomato “bruschetta” sauce and basil leaves is a perennial crowd pleaser.
  • Stuffed Peppadew: Bright red peppadews can be stuffed with goat cheese or cream cheese, skewered with other veggies and/or cheese and used to decorate food platters.

 

Add your own ideas to this selection and deck the hors!

*The French spelling places the plural “s” at the end of “hors,” not “d’oeuvre.”

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Cooking Video: Make Roast Root Vegetables Au Gratin

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: We regret that this video has been discontinued by its producer.

Root vegetables have sustained mankind through millennia of winters, because they last for long periods in cool temperatures.

Root vegetables are plant roots eaten as vegetables. Beetroot (beets), carrot, ginger, Jerusalem artichoke, jicama, parsnip, potato and sweet potato, radish, rutabaga, salsify, turnip, wasabi, water chestnut and yam are just a portion of the long list of root vegetables consumed in the U.S.

A gratin (grah-TAN) is a method of food preparation in which a protein, vegetable or starch is served with a browned crust of grated cheese. The crust may also include breadcrumbs, egg and/or butter.

Gratin originated in France and is usually made in a shallow baking dish. The main ingredient can be baked (roasted) in the oven or cooked on the stove top. In the latter case, the toppings are then added and the dish is finished in the oven or broiler. The baking dish is usually brought to the table piping hot.

For winter entertaining, one of our favorite dishes is a root vegetable gratin of carrot, parsnip, sweet potato and turnip, made in our favorite red Le Cresuset baking pan. Even people who don’t like veggies succumb to the melted Gruyère cheese topping.

In this week’s cooking video, Martha Drayton of Whole Foods Markets shows us how to make a gratin with potato, sweet potato and celery root (celeriac)—an enhancement of the popular dish, potatoes au gratin.

If you’d like to substitute other root vegetables:

  • Visit our Squash Glossary or our Exotic Vegetable Glossary for some ideas.
  • Here’s a recipe for Butternut Squash Au Gratin.
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