Here’s a tasty first course in Christmas colors. It’s one of the many recipes on TheAmazingAvocado.com.

RECIPE: ROASTED BEET, AVOCADO & GRANNY SMITH APPLE TOWERS

Ingredients For 6 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 375°F. WASH and scrub the beets. Pat dry.

3. CUT the avocados in half lengthwise and remove the pit and skin. Place the flat side down on a cutting board. Slice horizontally. Squeeze lemon juice on to prevent browning. Cut Granny Smith apple the same way, but leave skin on. Squeeze lemon juice on to prevent browning.

4. COOL beets until you can handle them. Slip their peels off using your fingers or a paring knife. Slice crosswise. Stack on plate alternating beets, apples and avocados.

5. SPRINKLE crumbled goat cheese over top. Garnish with parsley and pine nuts if desired. Drizzle the used olive oil from roasting and the rest of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

But what about the health benefits* of the red wine in the sauce? Since the healthful compounds are in the grape concentrate, not in the alcohol itself, cooked wine without alcohol still appears to have some health benefits. Here’s the full article.

And that bit of news inspired today’s tip: Use red wine (or other liquid) to deglaze a pan. This is no 30-minute undertaking: You can do it in three minutes.
 
 
WHAT IS DEGLAZING?

Deglazing is the simple process of creating a pan sauces after you sauté a protein: fish, meat or poultry.

You simply add a cold liquid (beer, brandy, broth/stock, cooking water, fruit juice, vinegar, wine, etc.†) into the pan and scrape up the flavorful roasty bits of protein, called fond, that are stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Fond is the French word for bottom—in this case, the small, tasty bits on the bottom of the pan. Fond is concentrated flavor: Why scrub it away in the sink when you can turn it into something delicious? Deglazing is simply combining the fond with a liquid to create a sauce.

Note that fond comprises roasted brown bits. If you you have burned protein on the bottom of the pan, don’t use it: The sauce will taste burned.

“Fond” is also the French word for stock:

1. REMOVE the cooked fish, meat or poultry to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

2. POUR off most of the fat in the pan. Turn the heat up to high and add the cold liquid. (NOTE: If using alcohol, remove pan from heat when adding). The liquid will shortly begin to boil.

3. SCRAPE up the fond with a wood spoon or spatula, as the liquid boils. When all the fond is incorporated, turn down the heat. The sauce is ready.
  
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*Red wine, in moderation, provides antioxidants, including resveratrol, that may help prevent heart disease by increasing levels of “good” cholesterol and protecting against artery damage. Resveratrol is a polyphenol compound found in red wine and certain plants that has antioxidant properties with possible anticarcinogenic effects. Here’s the scoop from the Mayo Clinic.

†Don’t use cream or other dairy, which can curdle in the heat.

This beautiful craft is defined by spacious
comfort. Photo courtesy Holland America
Line.

Looking for a great family or couples gift? Explore the culinary world on a cruise, from March 9-16, 2014.

Designed by our friends at CruiseGourmet.com, this cruise was created for people who enjoy cooking demonstrations and relaxing at sea. The itinerary explores the Mexican Riviera, round-trip from San Diego, aboard Holland America’s beautiful M.S. Veendam.

Your group host is the personable and hospitable Arie Boris, editor-in-chief of CruiseGourmet.com. He’ll be joined by celebrity chef Hector Santiago, an alumnus of Bravo TV’s “Top Chef” season six.

When you’re ready to take a break from Chef Hector’s cooking demonstrations or dining in the ship’s luxurious dining rooms and lounges, there are:

 
CHECK OUT THE DETAILS HERE.

A partial view of the culinary theatre on the M.S. Veendam. Photo courtesy Holland America Line.

Then, when you’re ready, call 1.800.828.4813 to reserve your stateroom.

Mention THE NIBBLE and receive $100 per person off the registration fee.
  

How do you make Oreo cookie even better?

Turn them into penguins!

These adorable Oreo penguins aren’t inexpensive: 12 cookies are $42.95 at MackenzieLtd.com.

But if you’re game to make your own, head to the store for the ingredients to make your own.

RECIPE: PENGUIN OREOS

Ingredients

1. MELT dark chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted and smooth. Dip Oreos completely in the chocolate and set on wax paper to harden, about 10 minutes. We used tweezers to hold an edge of the cookie. Then, after we set the cookie on the wax paper, we added a dab of chocolate to the small “naked” spot.

2. HARDEN and when the chocolate has set, melt the white chocolate in the same manner. Transfer into the plastic storage baggie. Cut a small corner off the bag and draw the “vest” on each cookie. Don’t worry if your lines aren’t as perfect as the professional version—they used specialty tools to achieve perfection.

3. CREATE the beaks and feet. After the white chocolate has set, melt another batch of white chocolate and use food color to make it orange. Transfer to the other plastic storage bag to pipe the beaks and feet. (Unless you’ve got a great hand, it’s best to omit the bow tie.)

4. CREATE eyes by dabbing white and dark chocolate with a toothpick. Let harden and store in an airtight cookie tin between sheets of wax paper until ready to serve.

Well not you, exactly. But for an online payment of $34.99, you can send them a shipping box from USA Sharp that includes four knife guards plus prepaid, insured priority shipping labels for quick and easy USPS turnaround.

Then, just slip the knives into the knife guards and drop the box in the mail. The company promises a 24-hour turnaround, which means that the USPS will return the sharpened knives within 3-5 business days.

And sharpen your own knives, while you’re at it.

USA Sharp is a family knife sharpening service that founded in the 1930s by an immigrant to Massachusetts who hand-wheeled a pushcart around town. His granddaughter has taken to the Internet to sharpen knives from kitchens and foodservice operations nationwide.

And that’s a good thing, since no matter how good (or average) your knives, if you don’t sharpen them regularly, it’s harder to cut. Worse, you run the risk of the blade slipping off the food and into your flesh. Using a sharpening steel or gadget at home is in intermediate step until you call in the big guns (professional sharpening).

IT COULDN’T BE EASIER

While you can get knives sharpened at local establishments and traveling trucks, there’s nothing easier than dropping your knives in the nearest mailbox.

Even if you regularly use a sharpening steel, your knives still need to be wheel-sharpened a few times a year (depending on how often you use them). Photo courtesy Inside Woodworking.

USA Sharp inspects each knife to determine which a sharpening method will create the finest hard edge.

Not only can USA Sharp sharpen the knives; they can fix most knives that have been improperly sharpened elsewhere and recondition most blades that are chipped, bent, or have broken tips.

The company also has a knife recycling program for food pantries and soup kitchens. “Retired” kitchen knives are turned reconditioned to provide the gift of sharp cutlery to the chefs who help to feed the hungry.