For the holiday season and beyond, here’s a fun breakfast or snack item from Applegate.

They take a savory chicken sausage, place it on a stick, and dip it in a fluffy, crispy pancake coating.

Fully cooked and ready to heat, they go from the freezer to the microwave to the plate in under 2 minutes, or 15-20 minutes in an air fryer or oven.

For kids and adults alike, they’re a fun and tasty way to start your mornings.

Each stick has 7g of protein and is made from Humanely Raised* chicken.
 
 
PART OF A HEARTY BRUNCH

We served the sticks as an “appetizer” for weekend brunch, followed by a course of scrambled eggs, whole grain toast, and a bowl of berries with a yogurt garnish.

We set out ramekins of Dijon mustard and maple syrup as condiments for the sausage sticks, but they’re just fine plain.

A glass of Sauvignon Blanc paired nicely, as did black tea† and herbal sage tea, which you can purchase or brew from fresh sage leaves‡.
 
 
FOR SNACKING

Pair with:

 
 
GET YOUR PANCAKE & CHICKEN SAUSAGE STICKS

Roll your grocer’s shopping cart to the frozen sausages and pick up a few boxes of Applegate Pancake & Chicken Sausage Sticks for a quick and easy breakfast in minutes.

> Here’s more about them.
 
 
PLUS…

> The history of sausages.

> The history of chicken.

> The history of pancakes.

> The different types of pancakes: a photo glossary.

[1] A chicken sausage is wrapped in a pancake and skewered on a stick (photos #1 and #2 © Applegate Farms).

[2] All the fun of a corn dog with better nutrition.

[3] Sage tea is a delicious pairing with the entire brunch menu. Bonus: It’s an herbal tea, caffeine free, with the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K (photo © Republic Of Tea).

*Certified Humane is a certification for chicken treated ethically from birth to slaughter. It is overseen by Humane Farm Animal Care, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Requirements include:
>Housing: Chickens are not kept in cages, crates, or tie stalls. They are free to move around and do what comes naturally, such as flapping their wings and dust bathing.
> Feeding: Chickens are fed a quality diet without antibiotics or growth hormones.
> Handling: Animals are minimally handled to reduce stress.
> Lighting: Chickens are exposed to periods of light and darkness to mimic natural lighting.
> Beak trimming: Beak trimming is prohibited.
> Space requirements: Chickens are given minimum space requirements.
> Labeling: The chicken is labeled with the Certified Humane Raised and Handled logo. The logo has three tiers: “barn raised,” “free range,” and “pasture raised.”
†English Breakfast Tea is a good pairing, as are the individual teas that typically make up the English Breakfast blend: Assam, Ceylon, Kenya, and Keemun.
 
‡Sage tea recipe: Rinse a bunch of fresh sage, crush the leaves lightly with your hand, and steep them in boiling water. You can also make your own blend with basil, lavender, mint, or other sweet herb. You can toss the leaves directly into a teapot, or use a tea ball/spice ball.

[1] For yourself or as gifts to your favorite cheese lovers, head to a great cheese store or to Perrystead Dairy. You can pick the cheeses yourself or send a gift card (photos #1, #2, #3, #4, and #7 © Perrystead Dairy).

[2] Intergalactic, the gold medal winner. The wrinkles are a signature of Geotrichum candidum†.

[3] The silver medal winner, The Real Philly Schmear Cream Cheese, is in another galaxy than the original Philadelphia Cream Cheese.

[4] Atlantis, a bronze medal winner, is a semi-soft cheese washed in seawater and speckled with bits of seaweed.

[5] Moonrise, a bronze medal winner, is a washed rind cheese made with a rare dual-coagulation process (photos #5 and #6 © Murrays Cheese).

[6] Intergalactic with great crackers and your favorite jam or preserves is a real treat.

[7] For yourself or for gifting. Front row: Moonrise, Treehug, Intergalactic. Back row: The Real Philly Schmear, Atlantis.

Perrystead Dairy is a unique Philadelphia cheesemaker, focusing on creating original new styles of cheeses. It’s the pioneering urban creamery in the City of Brotherly Love.

And we love their cheeses, which are our Top Pick Of The Week. And we’re not the only ones to laud them.

The creamery* has been racking up awards for its artisan cheeses at competitions worldwide.

Its major international and domestic awards tally is 20 in only three-and-a-half years since its founding!

Two weeks ago, four Perrystead cheeses won gold, silver, and bronze medals at the annual World Cheese Awards held in Viseu, Portugal.

The industry’s most important cheese competition, the World Cheese Awards is conducted by The Guild of Fine Food in the U.K. It takes place in a different host country each year.

More than more than 4,700 cheeses were entered in this year’s competition.
 
 
THE WINNING PERRYSTEAD CHEESES

All are made with milk from grass-fed cows in Pennsylvania.

Intergalactic (A Lightly-Aged Cheese): Gold Medal

This delight is Perrystead Dairy’s signature cheese (photos #2, #6, #7). Truly is out of this world, this cube-shaped cheese with a Geotrichum rind† has won at four major competitions this year alone.

The soft, creamy, flavorful lactic cheese is made from curds coagulated with Iberian cardoon thistle flowers rather than animal rennet. Vegetarian rennet means that the cheese is acceptable to vegetarians.

Aged for 14 days, the cheese is herbaceous and creamy, with a hint of tang, olives, and grassiness. It has a melt-in-your-mouth wrinkly geotrichum rind (you must eat it!), followed by a gooey creamline and a fluffy center core.

“Intergalactic is a wink at our American melting pot,” says owner and cheesemaker Yoav Perry. “We use Portuguese thistle rennet, we coagulate it like Loire Valley goat’s milk [but with cow’s milk instead], and we age it like it’s an alpine Robiola.” Perry says. “Interdisciplinary plus lactic equals intergalactic.”
 
 
The Real Philly Schmear (A Fresh Cheese): Silver Medal

A fresh spreadable cheese with the texture of lightly-whipped cream cheese, The Real Philly Schmear has a creamy, old-world buttermilk tang, reminiscent of France’s fromage blanc.

If you don’t know fromage blanc, it has half the fat and twice the protein and calcium of cream cheese.

Beyond spreading it directly onto bagels, toast, and crackers, you can enhance it with minced fresh herbs or a drizzle of honey.

It may not be the economical way to make cheesecakes, dips, fillings, frostings, garnishes (for grains, soups, etc.), salad dressings, sauces, or even ice cream, but it sure is luxurious (photos #3 and #7).
 
 
Atlantis (A Semisoft Cheese): Bronze Medal

A tribute to Plato’s fictional island, this semisoft cheese is washed in sea water and speckled with seaweed varieties from the North Atlantic (because you can’t figure out where Atlantis was—all we know is that it was in the Atlantic Ocean, somewhere west of the Pillars of Hercules (which flank the Strait of Gibraltar).

With a deep umami flavor, Atlantis is herbaceous with notes of apples, asparagus, nori, and a light, sea-like salinity (the latter two not surprising given the seawater and the seaweed—photos #4 and #7).
 
 
Moonrise (A Washed-Rind Cheese): Bronze Medal

This washed-rind cheese is made in a rare dual-coagulation process using both traditional French calf’s rennet and Iberian cardoon thistle flowers (photos #5 and #7).

This combination of rennets ties the milk proteins together in a unique form, making the cheese silky while releasing unique flavor and aroma compounds.

It has the pungent aroma of a washed-rind cheese, and those of us who love them do eat that aromatic (some say funky) rind.

It’s a great melter‡ too!
 
 
GET YOUR PERRYSTEAD CHEESES

Head to Perrystead.com. Or…

See if your favorite local cheese shop has them.

Check out online e-tailers (should that be cheese-tailers?).
 
 
> The history of cheese.

> The different types of cheese: a photo glossary

> A year of cheese holidays.

> The 2024 World Cheese Awards winners.

> The top 14 winners. (The 4,786 entries were assessed by a panel of 240 judges to name 104 Super Golds, which were then by a “super jury” to find the top 14 cheeses in the world.)
 
 
ABOUT PERRYSTEAD DAIRY

For more than 18 years, Yoav Perry, the founder of Perrystead Dairy, has been dedicated to mastering cheesemaking. It began as a hobby that grew into an obsession, and then a business.

Seeking to create cheeses beyond the classics—his own proprietary recipes—he needed to find different ingredients than were readily available from most cheesemaker suppliers.

Tracking down hard-to-find cheese cultures, rennets, and molds for his cheeses turned into an import company that supplied and consulted for artisan cheesemakers in more than 30 countries.

In the process, he gained deep expertise in bacterial cultures, fabrication methods, and aging practices.

When he moved to Philadelphia, Yoav found a wealth of fine artisan dairies within driving distance of the city. He felt that the time was right to start his own creamery*.

In addition to great milk, Philadelphia also offered fine cheesemongers (distributors), world-class chefs, and a foodie culture.

Following pandemic-related delays, he began to sell cheese in March 2021.

It’s the only certified operation within the city limits to make artisan cheese.

The creamery is located in Fishtown, a neighborhood northeast of Center City that attracts creative types, and is known for nurturing culinary, art, and music trends.

The neighborhood’s name derives from a key occupation of its original residents: Early settlers were fishermen who plied their trade on the Delaware River.
 
 
ABOUT THE GUILD OF FINE FOOD

The GFF has been championing independent food and drink retailers, and the producers, wholesalers and distributors that supply them, since 1995.

Its mission is to raise the bar for great food and drink.

Committed to supporting and encouraging business across the sector, the Guild advocates for the needs of the independents, celebrates their excellence, and creates a network of relationships between retailers, producers, and food lovers.
 
 
________________
 
*The difference between a dairy and a creamery: A dairy is any place that processes and distributes milk and milk products. It typically owns its herds of milk animals. A dairy can sell only the milk (including buttermilk, cream, condensed and evaporated milks), and/or can it turn their milk into other products: butter, cheese, ice cream, yogurt, etc. A creamery, on the other hand specifically focuses on the production of these other products from milk purchased from a dairy. A creamery does not have its own herds. [Note that while it’s called Perrystead Dairy, the company is in fact a creamery.]

A farmstead cheese is one that is made on the farm by the farmer, using only the milk from the farmer’s own herd or flock. The cheese must be made on the farm where the animals are raised.

†Geotrichum candidum is a yeast-like fungus or mold it is widely used in the production of cheeses: on bloomy rind cheeses such as Brie and Camembert; on certain goat cheeses, where it creates a brain-like pattern; on washed rind cheeses such as Saint-Nectaire; and on Alpine cheeses such as Tomme de Savoie. It’s not all beneficial, though: The fungus/mold can cause sour rot on certain fruits and vegetables.

‡Great melters: Cheeses that melt well are essential when you want a smooth, creamy melted cheese texture for dishes like casseroles, gratins, grilled cheese sandwiches, fondue, nachos, pasta dishes, pizzas, and quesadillas. Some popular melty cheeses are Cheddar, Colby, fontina, Gouda, Gruyère, Havarti, Monterey Jack, mozzarella, and provolone. Note that names of cheeses (and other foods) are capitalized if they are named after their area of origin (city, region, country). Other examples of capitalized cheeses (but not “melters”) include Asiago, Brie, Camembert, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Taleggio.

Note that we don’t mention the two most popular melters in the U.S.: American cheese and Velveeta. They’re not real cheese. The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations defines them as “pasteurized processed cheese.” They’re a blend of natural cheese bits and other ingredients. Ingredients include milk, dairy fats and solids, emulsifying agents, whey protein concentrates, and food coloring. They are only required to be 51% real cheese.

December is National Pear Month. World Pear Day is December 2nd. So celebrate with this delicious recipe for Bourbon Poached Pear Bread Pudding.

Pears poached in Bourbon…cubes of sweet brioche bread…a custard of eggs, milk..and the warm spices of the season: Who can resist?

Plus, it’s perfectly seasonal, from the beginning of fall through the holidays.

Whether it’s for dessert or a Kaffeeklatsch* the flavors in this Bourbon Poached Pear Bread Pudding have broad appeal.

For adults, a shot of Bourbon on the side or in a cup of tea or coffee only adds to the festiveness.

And yes, you can also add the shot to a glass of milk, perhaps with a touch of nutmeg.

Even more festive: a glass of this Bourbon Milk Punch recipe.

> How to tell if a pear is ripe.

> The history of pears.

> The different types of pears.

> The history of Bourbon.

> The history of bread pudding.

> More bread pudding recipes, both sweet and savory.
 
 
RECIPE: BOURBON-POACHED PEAR BREAD PUDDING

 
Thanks to Colavita for the recipe.

 
Ingredients For The Bourbon Poached Pears

 
For The Bread Pudding

 
For Serving

 
Preparation
 
1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Spread the brioche cubes onto a baking sheet in a single layer and toast them for 10 minutes, or until they’re golden brown and crunchy.

2. COMBINE the water, Bourbon, and sugar in a small sauce pot and bring to a boil. Once you no longer smell alcohol, add the chopped and halved pears and turn the heat to low.

Allow the pears to poach until they’re al dente, about 7 minutes (the texture should be a bit harder than a ripe pear). Strain and set aside to cool.

3. WHISK together in a large mixing bowl the eggs, milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and 1/2 of the nutmeg. Add the toasted brioche and poached pear, gently tossing to coat.

Set aside for 5-10 minutes to allow the bread to soak up the wet ingredients.

4. BUTTER or oil a 9″ x 11″ baking dish. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and nestle the two halves of the other pear into the pudding, making sure to brush the cut surfaces with EVOO.

5. BAKE for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle. While the pudding rests for 2-3 minutes…

6. WHISK the heavy whipping cream and remaining nutmeg into a soft whip. Serve family style or plated, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce/cajeta/dulce de leche.
 
 
________________
 
*The Kaffeeklatsch originated around 1900, when German housewives would take a break during the day and gather at each others’ homes to drink coffee and chat. Kaffee is German for coffee and Klatsch means chat or gossip.

†Cajeta is a version of dulce de leche made with goat’s milk. Goat’s milk gives cajeta a unique flavor, a thicker consistency, and generally a darker color.
 
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] The Bourbon Pear bread pudding with a garnish of poached pears (photo © Colavita).

[2] Bosc pear are a good choice for poaching (photos #2 and #3 © Good Eggs).

[3] Anjou pears are equally good for poaching. Anjou pears can be either red or green, and the color doesn’t affect the flavor or texture. The two varieties are similar in taste and can be used interchangeably in recipes.

[4] Colavita has many delicious dessert recipes that use their extra-virgin olive oil instead of butter, making them good for vegans, the lactose intolerant, and those who don’t want the cholesterol of butter (photo © The Fresh Market | Facebook).

[5] Dulce de leche can be purchased, but here’s a recipe if you want to make your own (photo © Karolina Kolodziejczak | Unsplash).

[6] You can serve a shot of Bourbon with the dessert or one of these Bourbon cocktails (photo © Bib & Tucker).

December 1st is National Peppermint Bark Day, celebrating one of our favorite holiday treats. Every year we purchase it from Enstrom, our favorite brand after tasting every one we could get our hands on over the years.

It’s a symphony of white chocolate, dark chocolate, vanilla cookies, chocolate cookies, and crushed peppermint. This perfect combination yields a confection that’s delicious with hot or iced coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and milk.

Enstrom sells it in a gift box. Williams-Sonoma has a private label version in a tin, made for them by Guittard.

What makes one peppermint bark better than the next? It’s all about the quality of ingredients and the ratio.

We love the combination of chocolate and mint, so every so often, we whip up this really easy recipe from scratch.

Our own personal touch is using Starlight chocolate mints (photo #5) instead of red-and-white peppermints.

But yesterday, we made a new recipe, compliments of our colleague Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet Blog. Prep time is just 10 minutes!

Something about the combination of creamy chocolate slabs, festooned with crunchy red and white striped mint confections seems to strike a chord with everyone, young, old, jolly, and curmudgeonly alike.

This bar looks beautiful, but the real beauty is in its simplicity. If you’ve forgotten to get someone a holiday gift, or need a last-minute contribution for a party, make some peppermint bark.

The recipe follows.

> Ways to use extra bark, below.

> More peppermint bark and chocolate bark recipes.

> The history of chocolate bark.

> All of the chocolate holidays.
 
 
RECIPE: THREE-COLOR HOLIDAY PEPPERMINT BARK

Hannah made the top of her peppermint bark look like tree bark, by using this wood-grained chocolate bar mold. We didn’t have time to order them, so we piped a bunch of Christmas trees. You can use any decor and any shape, if you want to create something other than rectangles and squares.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. SET out three candy bar molds that can hold approximately 2 ounces each; set aside.

2. WHISK together in a medium bowl the melted cocoa butter, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla, mixing thoroughly until completely smooth. Pour about 1/3 of the mixture into the molds, dividing it equally among them.

3. DIVIDE the remaining mixture in half, pouring the other half into a second bowl. Into the first bowl, add the ground candy cane, beet powder, and peppermint extract. Once smooth, pour it into the molds, right on top of the first white layer.

4. WHISK the cocoa into the second bowl, and pour it on top of the white layer, filling the molds. Use a toothpick to gently swirl all three colors together, marbling the layers without completely blending them. Carefully…

5. MOVE the molds into the fridge and let them rest, undisturbed, for 1-2 hours or until set.

6. POP the bark out of the molds, wrap them in plastic, and store in a cool place.
 
 
WAYS TO USE CHOCOLATE BARK

If you don’t want to eat it plain,

 
________________
 
*The Toll House Cookie was created by accident in 1924 when Ruth Graves chopped and mixed a chocolate bar into cookie dough, thinking it would melt into a chocolate cookie. Here’s the whole story.

[1] This recipe was made in both rectangular bars and squares, but you can use any chocolate mold you have (photos #1 and #2 © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog).

[2] Large bars (photo #1) make a more impressive gift, but smaller pieces are better for serving.

[3] Enstrom Peppermint Cookie Bark is our favorite, and a great holiday gift for a chocolate lover (photo © Enstrom).

[4] Use some of the bark to garnish ice cream (photo © Williams-Sonoma).

[5] We use Starlight Chocolate Peppermint Candies in our own recipe for peppermint bark (photo © Snackivore Store | Amazon).

[1] Extra Dark Pretzels from Uncle Jerry’s are our new favorite (all photos © Uncle Jerry’s Pretzels).

[2] The eight-ounce bags are perfect for gift bags, stocking stuffers, and party favors.

[3] We lost our heart to these Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites, in dark or milk chocolate. If you’re a fan of chocolate-peanut butter cups, just wait until the salty crunch of pretzels is added.

[4] All chocolate-covered pretzels are available in dark and milk versions.

[5] A great suggestion: Serve the pretzels with a dish of peanut butter for dipping.

[6] Clockwise from top left: Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites, Caramel Pretzel Bites, Pretzel Bark, Chocolate-Covered Specials. All are available in both dark and milk chocolate.

[7] Our “happy plate”: Chocolate Covered Specials, Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites, Caramel Pretzel Bites.

Uncle Jerry’s Pretzels are handmade in the land of the Pennsylvania Dutch: Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Hard pretzels are among the most recognizable Pennsylvania Dutch foods*.

They’re a legacy of German settlers who came to Pennsylvania in the 18th century and became known, erroneously, as the Pennsylvania Dutch**.

So get ready to take a bite of our Top Pick Of The Week, in sizes just right for gift bags, party favors, and stocking stuffers.

> The history of pretzels.

> The history of chocolate-covered pretzels.

> A year of pretzel holidays, below.
 
 
UNCLE JERRY’S ARTISAN PRETZELS

Uncle Jerry’s Handmade Pennsylvania Dutch Pretzels is a family business that has been crafting artisan pretzels for more than 30 years in rural Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It’s still run by Uncle Jerry, now with his daughter, Misty.

German immigrants, known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, brought pretzels to central southeastern Pennsylvania in the 18th century. Pretzels became a popular snack at markets and county fairs, and pretzel bakeries began to emerge. In fact, the region became known as the Pretzel Belt. More trivia:

 
But we’re here today to rave about Uncle Jerry’s contribution to this family of crunchy snacks.

You’ll taste the tradition that goes into every Uncle Jerry’s pretzel.
 
 
What’s Special About Uncle Jerry’s Pretzels?

While it seems as if the recipe for pretzels is pretty simple, we wondered tasted something special in Uncle Jerry’s pretzels.

Why, we asked, are Uncle Jerry’s Pretzels are so much more delicious than even the ones from our local farmers’ market?

Thus spake the Pretzel Oracle:

 
There may be another ingredient in the “secret sauce”: the local well water in Lancaster County.

 
 
OUR PERSONAL PICKS FROM UNCLE JERRY’S PRETZEL COLLECTION

While everything made here is delicious—whether sweet or savory (i.e., salted), we settled on three favorites for stocking stuffers: one savory and two sweet.

Extra Dark Pretzels. Until we tasted these, we’d never given a thought about what happens if you bake pretzel to the “well done” stage. Now, we only want well-done pretzels!

Called Extra Dark, this slower-baked-for-a-longer-time version of Uncle Jerry’s Specials (his name for traditional pretzels with the classic medium brown finish) rocked our world. As good as the Specials are, Extra Dark has an even crispier, crunchier texture due to the magic of Maillard.

While all pretzels undergo a Maillard reaction‡‡, Extra Dark is ultra-Maillard. We’re sure Dr. Maillard would have loved them. (Check out more about the Maillard Reaction in the footnote.)
 
Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites. These crunchy pretzels (the Specials) are dipped in smooth, creamy peanut butter, then enrobed in dark chocolate or milk chocolate.

OMG, so much more exciting than our former fave, the peanut butter cup!
 
Caramel Pretzel Bites. After devouring all of the Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites, we headed over to their caramel cousin. Covered in homemade caramel then enrobed in dark chocolate or milk chocolate, they’re sprinkled with a touch of sea salt.

Please note that due to the challenge of shipping chocolate in hot weather, the chocolate-enrobed pretzels are seasonal items, from mid-October through mid-April.
 
And There’s More.

 
What are you waiting for?
 
 
GET YOUR UNCLE JERRY’S PRETZELS

> Head to UncleJerrysPretzels.com.
 
 
PRETZEL HOLIDAYS & RELATED CELEBRATIONS

**“Dutch” is a misspelling of “Deutsch,” the German word for…German. The term is more properly “Pennsylvania German.” The so-called Pennsylvania Dutch have nothing to do with Holland, the Netherlands, or the Dutch language. They originally came from German-speaking areas of Europe.

***Why use these additives? It’s a matter of consumer tastes. Malt syrup, a type of sugar, adds a subtle sweetness and a richer, slightly malty taste. Oil helps to create a soft, chewy interior and a shiny, slightly crisp exterior.

†Pretzel Sunday, Bretzelsonndeg is celebrated on the fourth Sunday during Lent in Luxembourg. Pretzel Sunday marks the middle of the Lenten season and can fall on any date between March 1 and April 4. The holiday celebrates love with pretzels and eggs. Men give their sweethearts a pretzel as a token of their love (pretzels are symbolic, representing lovers’ interlocking arms). If the woman reciprocates, she gives the man an egg on Easter Sunday. If the woman is not interested, she gives the man an empty basket. Roles are reversed in leap year. The tradition dates back to the 18th century. The Luxembourgish expression De Kuerf kréien (to receive a basket) means “to be dumped.”

‡Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany begins in mid- or late-September and runs until the first Sunday in October.

‡‡Maillard Reaction. The brown caramel color and deeper flavor that occurs in certain foods—from caramels to barbecued, roasted and seared meats, to roasted coffee beans, to toasted bread, nuts and marshmallows—comes from a reaction between natural sugars and amino acids. This produces brown-colored compounds called melanoidins, which provides not just a brown color but a deeper flavor. It’s a form of non-enzymatic browning that usually requires heat. It’s called the Maillard (my-YARD) reaction after the French physician and chemist Louis Camille Maillard, who first described it in 1912.