January 9th is National Bean Day, so we’re featuring a bean that Asian cultures use in sweet recipes: The azuki bean (also spelled adzuki, and also called red beans and red mung beans).

The Lady M Red Bean Mille Crêpes Cake, filled with azuki beans, is a luxurious cake for today, the Lunar New Year, or Valentine’s Day.

To make things perfectly authentic, the beans come from Hokkaido, Japan.

The cake, which serves 10-24 people (or one person who likes to eat large slices, several days in a row), is made from azuki beans, the bean used in red bean ice cream, and other Japanese desserts.

Lady M’s classic handmade crêpes are layered with silky whipped red bean pastry cream and topped with a delicate dusting of powdered sugar.

But fear not, today we have a magnificent cake for the gourmet: Lady M’s Red Bean Mille Crêpes Cake

We’ve reviewed other flavors of Lady M Crêpes Cake, one of our favorite cakes.!

Head to Lady M to get yours!
 
 
WHAT ARE AZUKI BEANS

The azuki bean, also spelled azuki bean and aduki bean, and called red bean or red mung bean in English (Vigna angularis), is an annual vine widely cultivated throughout East Asia for its small red* bean.

In East Asian cuisine, the azuki bean is commonly sweetened before eating, often boiled with sugar, producing red bean paste.

It also is common to add flavoring to the bean paste (chestnut is popular).

Red bean paste is used in many Chinese dishes, including ice cream and mooncakes, baozi, and red bean ice. It can be used as a filling or topping for various types of waffles, pastries, baked buns, and biscuits/cookies.

They are also used to make a hot, tea-like drink.

> The different types of beans.

> The history of beans.

> The history of Mille Crêpes Cake.
 
 
AZUKI BEAN HISTORY

Like other types of beans and peas, they are part of the legume family, Fabaceae. Like other family members, they share nutrition and health benefits.

There are at least 60 varieties of adzuki beans, grown in more than 30 countries (the largest producer is China) ‌[source].

The wild ancestor of today’s cultivated azuki bean is believed to be Vigna angularis var. nipponensis, which grows wild across Japan, Korea, China, Nepal, and Bhutan.

The evolution of var. angularis from var. nipponensis, the variety used in the Lady M cake, occurred around 50,000 years ago.

Archaeologists have found evidence of domestication around 3000 B.C.E.

Domestication of azuki beans necessitated a trade-off between yield and seed size. Cultivated azuki beans have fewer but longer pods, fewer but larger seeds, a shorter stature, and also a smaller overall seed yield than wild varieties [source].

There are at least 60 varieties of azuki beans, and they’re grown in more than 30 countries, especially China. ‌

 

[1] A slice of the wonderful Red Bean Mille Crêpes Cake from Lady M (photos #1 and #2 © Lady M).

[2] Red Bean Mille Crêpes Cake.

[3] Azuki beans. There are also white, black, gray, and variously mottled varieties (photo © Kandarian Organic Farms).

[4] Homemade red bean paste. You can purchase it ready-made at Asian grocers and online (photo © Midori | CC-BY-SA-3.0-License).

You can buy dry azuki beans at many Asian supermarkets or other specialty stores. If you’re buying canned azuki beans, check the label to see if they are sweetened/

Like other legumes, azuki beans are healthy substitutes for meat. You can:

 
In Japan, a savory dish of glutinous (sticky) rice and azuki beans is eaten for good luck during occasions on birthdays and for weddings.

Azuki beans are found in many Japanese sweets and desserts, including anpan (filled sweet rolls), jellies, mochi, and pancakes.

In Chinese cuisine, azuki beans, whole or mashed into pastes, are found in mooncakes, tangyuan (rice balls served in a hot broth or syrup), steamed buns, steamed rice dumplings, and sweet soups.

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[1] Savory mini cheesecake hors d’oeuvre with an Italian cracker (taralli) base, cream cheese or goat cheese filling, and a topping of Mortadella. The recipe is below (photo © Veroni).

[2] Mortadella (photo © DeLallo).

[3] Taralli, used for the base of the cheesecake, is a popular snacking cracker (photo © Evegniy Alekseyev | Pexels).

[4] Look for taralli at any shop that carries imported Italian foods, or find them online (photo © Gabriela Taylor | CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 License).

[5] For a tangier cheesecake, use goat cheese instead of the more mild cream cheese (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

How about a special appetizer that goes so very nicely with a glass of Champagne on Valentine’s Day? We recommend these savory mini cheesecakes.

They’re topped with pink-hued mortadella, although you could substitute prosciutto, serrano ham, and even add some salmon roe (caviar) for a surf-and-turf.
 
 
WHAT IS MORTADELLA? 

Originating in Bologna, Italy, mortadella (photo #2) is a large Italian sausage made of finely ground, heat-cured pork, which incorporates at least 15% small cubes of pork fat (principally jowl fat, the hard fat from the neck of the pig), plus sliced pistachio nuts.

It is delicately flavored with spices, including whole or ground black pepper, myrtle berries, nutmeg, coriander, pistachios, and/or olives. While it is a sausage, it falls under the category of cold cuts, sandwich meats sliced thin and served cold.

> Check out the different cuts of pork and pork products.
 
 
WHAT ARE TARALLI? 

Also called tarallini, taralli are the traditional, ring-shaped biscuits of the Puglia region of Southern Italy (photos #3 and #4). Every town in Puglia offers its own version.

They are first boiled, then baked, so that they crunch like a pretzel—but they taste like a wine cracker. You can find them in flavors such as black pepper, fennel, rosemary, and Mediterranean blend (onions, oregano, tomato), and as a more recent touch, as you can see in photo #3, poppyseeds.

Use taralli as a snack cracker, for dipping (its natural sweetness would go well with honey mustard), or serve it with hard or soft cheeses. Taralli also make delicious croutons for soups or salads.

 
RECIPE: SAVORY MINI CHEESECAKES TOPPED WITH
MORTADELLA 

Serve these as hors d’oeuvre or plated as an appetizer with a side of mesclun salad. With its intense fragrance and taste, mortadella is a wonderful topper.

Thanks to Veroni for the recipe.
 
Ingredients For 4 Servings

For The Base

 
For The Filling

 
For The Toppings

 
Preparation

1. MIX the crushed taralli and melted butter in a bowl; stir to combine. Place the mixture in 4 small round-shaped molds or cupcake molds and put them in the fridge. In another bowl…

2. MIX the soft cheese with lemon juice, freshly chopped marjoram, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Add the cream cheese mixture on top of the taralli base.

3. PLACE the mini tarts in the fridge until they are ready to serve. Then decorate them with sliced ​​mortadella and chopped pistachios.
 
 

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*Marjoram substitutes: fresh basil, herbes de Provence, dried oregano, fresh sage, fresh summer savory, or fresh thyme.
 
 
 
 

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A special treat for Valentine’s Day: heart-shaped mini latkes, just write to enjoy with caviar and crème fraîche.

Linda’s Heart Shaped Gourmet Latkes are currently available out-of-state through California Caviar (they are sold at retail and delivery in California).

Linda’s ships the rest of the line (not heart-shape) out of state through Goldbelly.

Head to California Caviar, and pick up some red caviar as well:

 
 
 
> The different types of caviar and roe.

> The history of latkes.
 
 

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[1] Heart-shape latkes (photo © Linda’s Gourmet Latkes).

[2] Salmon roe on classic blini with crème fraîche (photo © Petrossian).

[1] Espressio: a box of chocolates with your personalized video. Here, the Chef’s Collection (both photos © M Cacao).

[2] A box of caramels.

We haven’t tasted the chocolate, but we love this idea from M Cacao: the Espressio(sm) chocolate video box.

The Expressio is a custom chocolate video box. It’s the first-ever box of chocolate with your own personalized video embedded in the lid.

Just upload a personal video or images for a slideshow, and you’ve created an unforgettable (and delicious) gift! The box with your video is a keeper when the chocolate is gone.

Espressio is available in fouur chocolate assortments:

 
At this year’s official backstage GRAMMY® Gift Lounge on February 5th, presenters and performers get a chance to record their own personalized message—in a box of chocolates—just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Head here to get your own box(es) of Expressio.
 
 
ABOUT M CACAO CHOCOLATE 

Developed by forward-thinking chocolatiers, M Cacao creates handcrafted chocolates and unique gifts for the culinarily curious.

Combining classic French pastry techniques with the modern artistic approach of a robotics engineer, M Cacao celebrates the world with expertly crafted flavors and textures, turning high-quality chocolate into an experience.
 
 
> The history of chocolate.

> The different types of chocolate: a glossary.

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

How about a Bloody Mary party for Valentine’s Day? Check out the articles and recipes below

The Balsamic Bloody Mary is a new take on flavoring the popular drink, which is one of the Top 10 cocktails nationwide.

The recipe is from Carandini, one of the oldest noble families in Modena. They’ve been making vinegar since 1641, and the recipe that uses its finest vinegar, Emilio Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI*, a premium, high-density vinegar that spikes boozy creations with bracing acidity.

The balsamic adds a rich depth of flavor to the Bloody Mary.

National Bloody Mary Day is January 1st.

> Bloody Mary history.

> There are 16+ more Bloody Mary recipes below.

> The history and different types of balsamic vinegar.
 
 
CARANDINI’S BALSAMIC BLOODY MARY 
 
Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

Combine all ingredients. Stir to blend thoroughly and serve over ice.
 
 
25+ MORE BLOODY MARY RECIPES

 
 
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*PGI stands for Protected Geographical Indication, a designation for products that are closely linked to a certain geographical area. With a PGI designation, at least one of the stages of production, processing, or preparation must take place in the specific area before the mark can be used on a product. In the case of balsamic vinegar, production must take place in or around Modena, Italy.

†In photo #1, the Balsamic Bloody Mary uses a garnish of cherry tomatoes and sundried tomatoes. But there are so many garnish options. Check out these and these.

[1] Balsamic Bloody Mary (photos #1 and #2 © Carandini).

[2] Cardandini Emilio balsamic vinegar is available nationwide and on Amazon.

[3] Bloody Mary oyster shooters. Here’s the recipe (photo attributed to Chowhound).

[4] Bacon Bloody Mary, with bacon-infused vodka, garnished with a black pepper rim, a caperberry, and a slice of bacon (photo © Bacon Bourbon USA).

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