What happens when two of Italy’s prominent brands get together? One gives the other a fashion makeover.
Disaronno, Italy’s best selling liqueur and international fashion house Moschino have launched a special edition holiday bottle concept, “Moschino Loves Disaronno.”
Moschino has adorned the classic Disaronno bottle with a red and black heart pattern (actually more appropriate for Valentine’s Day gifts, so buy them now while you can). A great gift for amaretto fans, it’s also a collectible for the fashionistas with whom you exchange gifts.
The limited edition bottle is available now for $24.99 at stores nationwide, or through 1-877-spirits.com.
Profits from the Disaronno and Moschino project will support the charity Fashion 4 Development, an African initiative sponsored by the United Nations, with the aim of developing creative strategies for sustained economic growth and development in countries worldwide.
ABOUT DISARONNO LIQUEUR
Limited edition for the holidays (or buy in advance for Valentine’s Day). Photo courtesy Disaronno.
The legend of Disaronno dates back to 1525, when Renaissance artist and Leonardo da Vinci pupil Bernardino Luini was commissioned to paint a fresco in the town of Saronno. To portray the Madonna of Miracles, he chose as his muse a beautiful local innkeeper. She repaid the honor by giving the artist a flask of the fragrant and delicate amber liquor known as amaretto di Saronno.
There are numerous brands of amaretto. But with its distinctive square stopper, Disaronno is the world’s best-selling Italian liqueur.
Amaretto is enjoyed neat (a popular pairing with after-dinner coffee), on the rocks, or in cocktails. To celebrate this festive collaboration, Disaronno has created a special cocktail:
A holiday sour, garnished with currants (often mis-identified as “Champagne grapes.”) Photo courtesy Disaronno.
RECIPE: HOLIDAY SOUR
Ingredients For 1 Drink
3 parts Disaronno or other amaretto liqueur
1 part lemon juice
7 muddled cranberries
Ice
Champagne, prosecco or other sparkling wine
Garnish: currants, lemon wheel, rosemary sprig or other favorite
Preparation
1. SHAKE the ingredients with ice and strain into a flute.
People who love to bake love the holidays. And then there are those once-a-year-bakers who only pull out the mixing bowl in November and December.
No matter which end of the spectrum you’re on, here are some tips from the American Egg Board:
TIP #1: COOKIES. If you’re making molded cookies (bells, candy canes, stars, wreaths, etc.), make sure they hold their shape. Chill the dough before cutting your cookies into shapes, and put them on a baking sheet that has been cooled in the freezer for a few minutes beforehand. This will ensure that the cookies hold their shape when baking. (Check out the different types of cookies.)
TIP #2: COOKIES & CAKES. Put a spin on your favorite classic recipes. Add dried cranberries or cherries, crushed candy canes, mint chips, toffee chips or other season-inspired mix-ins. Here’s our recipe for Cranberry or Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies with white chocolate chips.
Flourless chocolate cake is gluten-free. Photo courtesy American Egg Board.
Switch up chocolate chip cookies with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. Photo courtesy Cherry Marketing Institute.
TIP #3: GLUTEN FREE OPTIONS. Make a flourless chocolate cake. Moist and fudgy, it’s always a hit. Here’s a recipe for a delicious chocolate-orange flourless cake from the American Egg Board.
TIP #4: SOUFFLÉS. Make sure your special soufflé doesn’t turn into a souf-flop. Separate whites from yolks carefully before beating and ensure that no hint of yolk gets into the whites. Then let the whites stand for a few minutes; they whip up better at room temperature.
TIP #5: GIFTS. Homemade baked goods are always a popular gift. These days, few people need another “incidental” gift item—candle, mug, refrigerator magnet, water bottle, whatever. Your homemade cookies are much more welcome.
QUESTIONS? The experts at the American Egg Board are happy to help.
Shoot your baking and cooking questions to the Incredible Edible Egg Facebook page or tweet @incredibleEggs; they’ll be happy to provide a solution.
Droga Chocolates was launched in 2007 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founder Michelle Crochet grew up addicted to her mother’s homemade rocky road candy, which replaced walnuts with roasted, salted peanuts long before salt and chocolate became the rage.
Michelle became a food buyer for Williams-Sonoma, and subsequently decided to join the ranks of Bay Area food-preneurs, ultimately pairing with a business partner, Lisa Albani. They consider themselves “the perfect ingredients for a sweet and successful business.”
We tasted their holiday wares, and have a few requests for Santa:
GINGERBREAD MEN
We could eat an army of these gingerbread men. Photo courtesy Droga Chocolates.
The Jolly Gingerbread Cookie really hit the spot. As soon as we finished one, we wanted another (our gift set from Droga, while generous, included only one of the ginger guys).
In a coat of milk or dark chocolate, the artisan gingerbread, a cookie 6 inches long and 6.5 ounces, is $12.50 in a cellophane bag and ribbon. There are also smaller “gingerbread boys” for $6.95.
Two excellent flavored salt caramels. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE
SALT CARAMELS
We taste a lot of salt caramels, and not that many turn our heads. Droga’s East vs. West Salt Caramel Set hit the spot, and made us sad that there were only four caramels in each box. We could have eaten dozens of:
NYC City Caramels: chocolate espresso caramels in dark chocolate and hint of black salt.
LA City Caramels: lemon ginger caramels in dark chocolate and hint of pink salt
A four-piece box of each flavor, $13.95.
Any of these would make a more-than-welcome stocking stuffer or party favor.
MORE GOODIES
Larger portions, gaily boxed, include:
Big Bite Brittle
Money On Honey Caramels, with intense, rich honey flavor
Peppermint Peppies, dark and white chocolate with crushed peppermint
Rebel Rocky Road (Mom’s recipe)
Nutty Puddles, a turtle-like confection of roasted almonds and honey caramel
Most of the world’s farmers live in poverty. They’re forced to accept whatever brokers want to pay them for their crops.
Fair Trade ensures that farmers are paid fair value for their crops. This affords a minimum standard of living, money for adult (instead of child) labor and the ability to farm with sound (sustainable) agricultural practices.
Fair Trade is the trademarked term of nonprofit organization that audits transactions between U.S. companies offering Fair Trade Certified products and the international suppliers from whom they source. It is one of several organizations working all over the world to certify fairly traded goods. Here’s more on Fair Trade.
In the case of the the world’s greatest chocolatiers, an elite group, Fair Trade is a moot point. The chocolatiers are already paying top dollar to secure the limited supply of the world’s ultra-finest cacao beans.
But there’s a lot of chocolate, even in the premium category (not the mass marketed bars), that comes from farmers who sometimes have to sell their crops for less than it costs to grow it.
Special holiday flavor bars and foil-wrapped dark and milk chocolate coins. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.
If only all farmers had the ability to emulate the Kuapa Kokoo farmers’ co-op in Ghana. The name means “good cocoa farming.” Instead of exclusive ownership under a corporate board of executives or a family who has handed down the business from generation to generation, the business is actually owned partly by the 40,000 small farmers who grow, harvest and partially process the cacao.
The cooperative works at improving the social, economic and political well-being of its members. Women cacao farmers play significant roles at all levels of the organization, and the co-op encourages environmentally sustainable production.
Christmas tree boxes filled with chocolate Christmas trees. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.
And, their cacao beans are used to make the Fair Trade Certified line, Divine Chocolate.
DIVINE CHOCOLATE FOR THE HOLIDAYS
This very reasonably priced line, beautifully packaged, offers a nice choice stocking stuffers, teacher gifts or office gifts. Each purchase supports these farmers and their excellent mission.
If you like, you can use the gift to teach your family, friends and colleagues about supporting Fair Trade, and. They’ll feel good about every bite.
There’s something for every chocolate-lover in Divine Chocolate’s collection:
Advent calendar, $4.55
Chocolate bars: holiday special 38% Milk Chocolate With Spiced Cookies and 70% dark chocolate with hazelnuts and cranberries, plus 13 year-round flavors, $3.99
Chocolate coins in milk or dark chocolate, 1.75 ounce mesh bag, $3.99
Christmas tree box filled with Christmas tree chocolates, 3.5 ounces, $8.49
Dark Chocolate Mint Thins and Ginger Thins, $8.49
There are savings with the purchase of multiple pieces of the same item, as well a gift baskets with an assortment of products.
See all the holiday specials and the entire product line at Divine Chocolate.com.
This time of year, we get recipes every day for turkey leftovers. For us, nothing beats a turkey sandwich…or two…or six.
To keep from getting bored after your second turkey sandwich, plan ahead.
Plan for different breads. Alternate baguette, brioche, crusty peasant bread, hero rolls, pita a sweet bread like King’s Hawaiian or a tortilla wrap.
Switch the condiments. Aïoli (garlic mayonnaise, or try the orange aïoli recipe below), Baconaise, cheese sauce (you can use a jar of queso dip), cranberry mayonnaise (mix mayo with cranberry sauce), Dijon mustard, gravy, horseradish mayonnaise (blend), Russian dressing, wasabi mayonnaise.
A “Thanksgiving hero.” Photo courtesy Earl Of Sandwich.
Vary the garnishes. Try arugula or watercress, bread and butter pickles or hot and sweet pickle slices, olives, pickled onions (quick pickling recipe), pimento, sliced tomatoes, sliced radishes or stuffing.
What do you put on your turkey sandwich?
RECIPE: ORANGE PEEL AÏOLI
Blend together:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 teaspoon Valencia orange peel
1/2 teaspoon chopped chives
Do you have a favorite twist on a turkey sandwich? Let us know!
