One of the new styles—we have it in front of
our kitchen sink! Photo courtesy Wellness
Mats.

In the search for holiday gifts that will be used and treasured, we recommend WellnessMats.

Anyone who spends a lot of time standing on a hard kitchen floor will be thrilled. Every person who’s stood on our WellnessMat has expressed intent to purchase one.

The anti-fatigue floor mats are ergonomically engineered and medically proven to provide unsurpassed comfort, safety, relief and support while you stand. If only the Earth were paved with wellness mats: No more back pain, leg pain, knee pain, foot pain (at least, for those moments when standing on a WellnessMat).

Mario Batali, Todd English, Guy Fieri, Duff Goldman and Top Chef Sarah Grueneberg are all fans. Even people who are in tip-top shape and don’t spend hours in front of the stove or sink will appreciate the pillowy comfort.

WellnessMats come in just about every size, color and pattern that a decorator could desire. There are also choices for the bathroom, garage, grill, laundry room, workplace and for fitness. There are even mat covers, so you can change the look with the seasons.

Prices vary by size. Our 3’ x 2’ mat, shown in the photo, is $129.95—the best money you can spend for kitchen comfort.

See the choices on WellnessMats.com. You can buy them online for the best selection, and at fine retailers such as Williams Sonoma and Sur la Table. WellnessMats come with a seven year warranty (you can’t puncture them with stilettos), and are 100% made in USA.

Back in the day when we still seriously dieted, we created what we called a luxury salad—absolutely delicious and “luxurious” because the ingredients were relatively costly.

Whenever we’re feeling diet-minded—or simply want to detox from the rich foods we eat all day, we whip one up. If you can get to a club store, artichoke hearts and hearts of palm are more affordable.

Hearts of palm are best chilled or at room temperature, and thus best with cold dishes. Add chopped hearts of palm to:

 
Some people serve hearts of palm on a crudités platter with dip or deep fried with dipping sauce. But that, to us, covers up the delicate flavor of the hearts of palm, which at best need only a light touch of vinaigrette.
 
 
KAREN’S LUXURY SALAD RECIPE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

Just combine and serve!
 
 
WHAT ARE HEARTS OF PALM

Hearts of palm are the edible hearts of young palm trees— the edible inner portion of the stem. Palm branches are harvested and cut; the bark and leaves are removed to expose the tender inner core.

Hearts of palm have a smooth, firm consistency, a snap to the bite, and a delicate flavor reminiscent of artichokes (they can be used as a substitute for artichokes in a recipe).

The hearts can be white or pale yellow, depending on whether the palms are wild or cultivated.

[2] Artichoke hearts. These are from La Tienda (photo © La Tienda).

[3] Marinated mushrooms (photo © Taste Of Home).

Hearts of palm have only 50 calories per cup, are a great source of dietary fiber, and are a good source of protein, ribolavin, potassium, vitamin C, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, copper, and zinc. The only caveat: They can be packed in water with a high sodium content.
 
 
WHERE DO HEARTS OF PALM COME FROM?

Due to poaching in Brazil, Ecuador is now the largest producer and exporter of hearts of palm. Costa Rica is the largest exporter of to the U.S, and Hawaii also produces some palm hearts.

They are also harvested from Florida’s official state tree, the Cabbage Palm.
  

Cranberry jelly is easy to figure out, but what is the difference between cranberry sauce and cranberry chutney? How about cranberry conserve? Cranberry relish?

So there is an official difference, even though one person’s conserve may be another person’s chutney.

There are textbook terms, and then there are mis-uses by people who inherited the misuse or weren’t likely to do culinary research. In olden times, the distinctions weren’t codified; hence, Boston Cream Pie is a layer cake, and cheesecake is a cheese custard pie.

Sometimes, people choose names that they think have more sales appeal. We’ve received pies called crumbles (a pie has a bottom crust, a crumble does not), jams called preserves (the difference), buttercrunch called English toffee (the difference), etc., etc. So if you care about being correct, look it up.
MARINA’S CRANBERRY CHUTNEY

Marina’s Cranberry Chutney is made from cranberries, sugar, onion, oranges, raisins and walnuts, seasoned with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt and cayenne.

Her prime business is raising pork, and the lovely layering of flavors in her cranberry condiment is a beautiful complement to pork or poultry.

Given the multiple fruits, raisins, nuts and lack of vinegar, we’d call it a conserve, not a chutney. But to paraphrase Shakespeare’s Juliet: What’s in a name? That which we call a chutney by any other name would taste as good.

The onion is a delightful touch and the cayenne is so subtle that heat-avoiders won’t even know it’s there. Sold in 16-ounce jars for $5.99, it’s available from Marina’s website, CircleBPork.com. It’s available on Amazon for $6.99.

Beyond sipping as an after dinner drink or mixing into a cocktail, what else can you do with chocolate liqueur?

Dorda is named after the owner of Chopin Vodka, Tad Dorda, who began making it for his own enjoyment. Photo courtesy Podlaska Wytwórnia Wódek Polmos.

There are three types of chocolate liqueur: liqueur, cream liqueur, and crème de cacao.

CHOCOLATE LIQUEUR HISTORY

Chocolate liqueur has been around for centuries. In the historical record, the earliest mention is a French reference to producing chocolate en liqueur, in 1666. In New England prior to the American Revolution, a “chocolate wine” was popular, made from chocolate, port, sherry and sugar.

Recipes for chocolate liqueur appear in a 1789 French manual, an 1803 French pharmacy manual and an 1825 American cookbook. Recipes are prevalent throughout the 19th century and into the early 20th century.*

Here’s a modern chocolate liqueur recipe if you want to make your own. Remember: The better the chocolate, the better the liqueur.

Today, you can find chocolate liqueur in dark chocolate, milk chocolate, mocha, and white chocolate, as well as infused with other flavors such as mint, orange, raspberry. If you’re looking for something else: Go ahead, make it!
 
*Source: Wikipedia.
  

So even if you’re not Jewish, think of celebrating this once-in-a-lifetime (many lifetimes, actually) double holiday by adding a Hanukkah tradition.

Here’s an easy switch recipe: challah stuffing. This recipe is courtesy TheShiksa.com, one of our favorite recipe bloggers. It adds sausage, and uses a slow cooker, which saves oven space.

Prep time is 35 minutes, cook time is 4 hours 30 minutes.

RECIPE: CHALLAH STUFFING

Ingredients For 8-10 Servings

Challah stuffing. Recipe and photo courtesy
TheShiksa.com.

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Cut the challah into ½ inch cubes. Spread the cubes out across two baking sheets. Place the trays in the oven for about 12 minutes, switching trays on racks halfway through cooking. The challah cubes should be toasted and slightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

2. HEAT 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high. Add sausage to the pan and cook until browned. Transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon and reserve for later. Variation: If you don’t want to include sausage, skip that step and begin by first sautéing the onions, carrots and celery in 6 tablespoons of olive oil, then continue the recipe as written, omitting the sausage.

4. POUR 2½ cups of chicken broth into the pan along with 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of black pepper. Remove from heat. Reserve remaining chicken broth.

5. HEAT the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a clean skillet over medium high heat. Add sliced mushrooms to the skillet. Sauté for 10 minutes, until the mushrooms begin to brown and shrink in size. Remove from heat. You may need to cook the mushrooms in two batches depending on the size of your skillet.

6. COMBINE in a very large mixing bowl the challah cubes, sausage, vegetable/chicken broth mixture, mushrooms and herbs. Stir to blend all ingredients, making sure the challah cubes are evenly moistened. Add the beaten eggs to the mixture and stir until they are fully incorporated into the stuffing. The mixture may seem dry now, but wait to add more broth until it’s had a chance to cook—the liquid will slowly be absorbed by the bread.

7. SPRAY the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray; then pour in the challah mixture.

8. SET slow cooker on high heat and cover the pot. Cook for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and stir to redistribute the liquid throughout the stuffing, then check the stuffing for dryness. If it still seems dry, drizzle a little more broth over the top of the stuffing and stir again. Return the lid and reduce heat to low.

9. COOK on low for 4 hours, checking and stirring every hour to make sure the stuffing isn’t too dry. If it is, add more broth—carefully, as it can easily go from the right texture to overly wet and mushy. After 4 hours, stir, taste, and add more salt or pepper, if desired. Switch to warm setting until ready to serve.