[1] Sfoglini artisan pasta makes beautiful shapes like these reginetti, ribbon-shape pasta, shown here with black truffles. It’s a gourmet’s fantasy realized (all photos © Sfoglini Pasta except as noted).

[2] The Pasta-Of-The-Month Club delivers two boxes of artisan pasta each month.

[3] The famous dish Cacio e Pepe, madw with trumpet pasta. Here’s the recipe.

[4] Flower shaped rye trumpets are made from stone ground organic whole rye flour, grown in New York’s Hudson Valley.

[5] These cuttlefish spaccatelli are made with black cuttlefish ink. Cuttlefish and squid are cousins. Here’s the difference. Spaccatelli, sometimes called strozzapreti (“priest’s collars”), resemble a rolled-up scroll.

[6] One of our favorite shapes, zucca, Italian for pumpkins, have eye appeal and are a shape to sink one’s teath into.

[7] Malloreddus, sometimes called gnocchetti sardi (small Sardinian gnocchi), are popular Sardinian pasta in the shape of thin ribbed shells. Malloreddus is derived from the Latin for “small morsel.”

For a pasta lover with a good palate, there’s no better gift than artisan pasta made with old-school Italian techniques: the best wheat, traditional bronze dies and plates, slow-drying at a low temperature to preserve both flavor and nutrients. (The original pasta noodles were hung over rods and lines to air dry.)

The result: great flavor and an appropriately rough texture that makes the sauce stick.

Sfoglini (sfo-LEE-nee) pastas are made with organic grains grown on North American farms and milled in the U.S.

It’s our Top Pick of The Week.

The dough is extruded through bronze dies, slow-dried, and packaged in New York’s Hudson Valley, an artisan food mecca.

The wheat and other grains are the best in North American. The grains are organic, and include conventional semolina plus einkorn, emmer, rye, spelt, and whole-grain flours.

In Italian, a sfoglina is someone who makes sfoglia, a family of Italian pastas.

A sfoglina (sfo-LEE-na) is historically seen as a middle-aged woman who kneads and spreads out the dough with a rolling pin on a pastry board.

At Sfoglini, there are two men who carry on the tradition: chef Steve Gonzalez and creative director Scott Ketchum.

Every sfoglina from the old country would be proud of their work.
 
 
ARTISAN PASTA VARIETIES

Oh, what a choice of shapes, flavors, and grains! Where to begin? We had to use the “eeny, meeny, miney, mo” technique.

While it may be relatively easy to eyeball this list, when you see all the boxes on the website, the going gets tough.

Semolina Shapes

 
Semolina Ribbon Pasta

 
Other Grains/Blends

 
 
GIFT SETS & PASTA-OF-THE-MONTH CLUB

There are a number of gift sets, including a Kids Pasta Craft Kit, Lobster Dinner Kit and Ultimate Mac & Cheese Kit.

There’s also a pasta-of-the-month club, for 3- or 6-month subscriptions.

Each month’s contents are a surprise, including one box of Sfoglini organic semolina pasta, one box of Sfoglini specialty pasta (think grains, flavors, and limited editions).

Recipe cards are included with each box, with inspiration for scrumptious dishes. You can add ingredients and choose sauces to customize each recipe.

In order to keep the boxes vegan, the Cuttlefish Spaccatelli, made with cuttlefish ink, won’t be included.

Thus, vegans, vegetarians, and those with seafood allergies can enjoy each box of pasta without worry.

(There are no gluten-free options.)

There are also quite a few recipes on the website.
 
 
BUY THEM AT SFOGLINI.COM & FINE RETAILERS NATIONWIDE.
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PASTA
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF PASTA
 
 
 
 
CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

With its fresh, lively flavor and light-to-medium body, rosé has historically been a warm-weather wine. But many Americans have taken to drinking it year-round, and Hampton Water, marketed by Jesse Bongiovi, Jon Bon Jovi’s son, and partner Ali Thomas, has become a popular brand.

 
Hampton Water is a French wine, grown and produced in the region of Languedoc, on the southeast coast of France.

But given an American name and cachet, sales have been great!
 
 
THE STORY

The story is that Jon Bon Jovi was in the Hamptons with his son and Mr. Thomas one evening, and offered them some rosé.

“You’re drinking ‘Hampton Water,’” Mr. Bongiovi told his father, referencing an ongoing joke that rosé is the water of the Hamptons.

Bon Jovi latched on to the name “Hampton Water,” and…fast forward…

Bongiovi and Thomas found a vintner and importer, designed the label, and put together the brand.

And why not? The volume of still rosé wines in the U.S. has increased by 118% from 2015 to 2020, while wine volume overall has grown only 1.5% during the same time period.

It’s a great time to make rosé!

In the south of France, dry rosé wine is the all-occasion wine—no surprise, since Provence, Languedoc’s neighbor, is the world base of dry rosé production. There, vin rosé is paired with all the foods, all year round.

In fact, dry French rosé outsells white wine in France!

Hampton Water is from a classic French blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvèdre, and Syrah grapes.

We found the style to be medium-bodied, with aromas of cherry and strawberry and touches of citrus and minerality.

Consider it as a gift for a rosé lover, a Hamptons lover, and of course, a Jon Bon Jovi lover. We’re certain that more than a few people hit the trifecta here.

Here’s a store locator.

Plan a celebration: National Rosé Day is the second Saturday in June.
 
 
> WHAT IS ROSÉ WINE & ROSÉ WINE TERMS

> ROSÉ FOOD PAIRINGS
 
 
ROSÉ RECIPES

 
 
________________

*In the second phase of voting, the 50 most voted wines in each category are judged in person by professionals.

[1] Rosé is now a year-round wine in the U.S. (both photos © Hampton Water | Facebook).

[2] Rosé on a cold day? Why not!

[3] Dive into a glass, anytime.

[4] Enjoy a casual sip at sunset…

[5] …Or fancy, with oysters.

December 4th is National Cookie Day, and it’s also the time when happy bakers are whipping up dozens of Christmas cookies. Here’s a roundup of some of our favorite recipes, below. But first…
 
 
THE HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Modern Christmas cookies can trace their history to recipes from medieval northern European biscuits (cookies), when many “modern” ingredients became available for the first time: almonds, black pepper, cinnamon, clove, ginger, mace, molasses, and nutmeg, along with dried fruits from southern climates, such as apricots, citron, and dates.

These ingredients were still costly, and only for Christmas would many families be able to afford to bake with them. This led to special Christmas cookies. Unlike pies or cakes, cookies had a long shelf life and could be easily given as gifts to friends and neighbors.

This led to the creation of spiced butter cookies as well as gingerbread, krumkake, lebkuchen, pepparkakor, pfeffernüsse, and springerle.

Decorating the cookies with icing began in the 1600s, when bakers used a mixture of sugar and egg whites to top the cookies. The cooled frosting looked like ice.

While gingerbread cookies existed, the first gingerbread men were created in the royal kitchens of Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533-1603), who had the cookie molded into the shapes of her favorite courtiers.

Christmas Cookies In The U.S.

The earliest examples of Christmas cookies in the U.S. were brought by German settlers in Pennsylvania (the “Pennsylvania Dutch” in the 1700s. But it wasn’t until the period between 1871 and 1906 that import laws made cookie cutters from Germany widely available, including those with holiday images that were designed to hang on Christmas trees [source].

While holiday cookies are often cut into the shape of angels, candy canes, Christmas trees, holly leaves, reindeer, stars, and other seasonal themes, some are conventional round cookies or bars in holiday flavors (eggnog, cardamom-spice, gingerbread, peppermint, etc.).
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF COOKIES

> THE 8 DIFFERRENT TYPES OF COOKIES
 
> A GLOSSARY OF COOKIES
 
 
CHRISTMAS COOKIE RECIPES

Not all of these are shaped like stars or spiced like gingerbread, but they represent holiday traditions in the U.S. Check out:

 
 
Happy Baking!

[1] Christmas tree brownies. Here’s the recipe (photo © Orange Glad | Facebook).

[2] Stacked snowman cookie. Here’s the recipe (photo © Lila Loa).

[ ] Chocolate mint Christmas cookies. Here’s the recipe (photo © Wisconsin Dairy)

[ ] Peanut butter cup Christmas tree. Here’s the recipe (photo © Delish).

[ ] Iced peppermint butter cookies. Here’s the recipe (photo © Wisconsin Dairy).

[1] Creamy eggnog pie. The recipe is below (photo © Taste Of Home).

[2] Store-bought eggnog can be found in conventional versions as well as with plant milks (photo © Kemps).

[3] Eggnog French toast. Here’s the recipe (photo © Driscolls).

[4] Spiced eggnog cheesecake. Here’s the recipe (photo © Charlie Palmer Holidays).

[5] How about an eggnog Martini? Here’s the recipe (photo © Cedar Mill Liquor).

December 24th is National Eggnog Day, but we didn’t want to wait until then to share this recipe and many more below. “Eggnog on a plate” is what Florence Shaw calls her creamy eggnog pie. It delivers the rich, wonderful flavor of a glass of eggnog. And it’s so easy to make, especially if you purchase the eggnog and the pie crust. There is no alcohol in this recipe, just some rum extract.

Spell it egg nog or eggnog, whether you’re drinking it or enjoying this eggnog pie, eggnog cheesecake, eggnog fudge, eggnog French toast, or any of these recipes, you’re in for a treat.

> The History Of Eggnog
 
 
RECIPE: EGGNOG PIE
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. SPRINKLE the gelatin over the water in a small bowl; let stand 1 minute.

2. COMBINE in a saucepan, the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in the eggnog until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the gelatin until dissolved.

3. REMOVE from the heat and cool to room temperature. Stir in the extracts; fold in the whipped cream. Pour into the crust.

4. REFRIGERATE until firm. If desired, dust the pie with cinnamon or nutmeg.
 

MORE EGGNOG RECIPES

 
 
EGGNOG-FLAVORED FOOD RECIPES

 
 
> DECEMBER 24TH IS NATIONAL EGGNOG DAY

Tea has grown in popularity, and you may come across a number of tea-of-the-month subscriptions. But none will deliver better tea than this sone from In Pursuit Of Tea, an acclaimed purveyor of fine tea.

But a benefit with this subscription is: The fine tea is available in tea bags. (With other tea-of-the-month clubs, it’s loose tea, which not everyone wants to deal with.)

Each month, a box of the finest teabags—12 bags—will arrive. The 12 months of tea highlight the flavors, fragrances, and leaf types that make each type of tea unique:

 
Whether for yourself or as a gift, these teas will bring delight, cup after cup.

Sign up for your subscription here.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF TEA
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF TEA BAGS
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TEA

[1] Gourmet tea for people who prefer tea bags to loose tea (photos © In Pursuit Of Tea).

[2] Each month, a box of 12 tea bags arrives.