THE NIBBLE BLOG: Products, Recipes & Trends In Specialty Foods


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TIP OF THE DAY: Ways To Use Fresh Goat Cheese

Fresh goat cheese is one of our favorite foods. We’re always looking for new ways to use it. Since it spreads and melts easily, that’s not hard to do.

It’s called chèvre (SHEV) in French, which is the word for both the goat and its cheese.

  • Bagels and sandwiches. Use goat cheese instead of cream cheese. It’s delicious with smoked salmon. Layer it on sandwiches (we love goat cheese and grilled vegetables); toss it into wraps. Take a look at this tuna salad with goat cheese.
  • Dessert. If you’re a cheesecake lover, try this goat cheese cheesecake recipe: excellent! If the grill is hot, make grilled peaches with goat cheese and honey. Or make goat cheese frosting for cakes and cupcakes.
  • Dips, spreads and toppings. Just blend fresh goat cheese with herbs and spices. A simple recipe: blend with fresh thyme, cracked pepper and a bit of olive oil. Chives, dill, oregano and parsley are delicious additions.
  •  

    One of our favorite first courses: beet and goat cheese Napoleons. Here‘s the recipe. Photo courtesy Ile de France.

  • Eggs. Fold into omelets or scrambled eggs. Add crumbled goat cheese on top of any egg mixture as it begins to cook.
  • Fish, meat and poultry. Goat cheese melts easily and is delicious with mains. Melt it over broiled or grilled fish for a tangy new topping (try this goat cheese stuffed salmon). Add some creaminess to steaks and chops. Take a look at this pork tenderloin with goat cheese.
  •  


    What’s better than a cheese soufflé? A goat
    cheese
    soufflé! Here’s the recipe. Photo
    courtesy Ile de France.
     
  • Fruit. Goat cheese and fruit ise a simple but sophisticated dessert or snack. It’s as easy to serve as putting goat cheese and grapes on a plate. Many other fruits, from apples to pears, are perfect matches.
  • Pasta, Pizza, Risotto. Fresh goat cheese melts into hot pasta, creating its own sauce. Add diced tomatoes, vegetables and cracked pepper. Toss onto pizza before or after it goes into the oven. Make goat cheese mac and cheese. Or both! Add goat cheese to risotto along with the Parmesan.
  • Salad. Goat cheese is delicious in a green salad with vinaigrette. You can crumble it or top the salad with sliced disks from a log (here’s hot to fry disks of cheese for the salad). It’s delicious with grapefruit, in endive leaves, with spinach and beets…. Now we’re getting hungry!
  • Soup garnish. Top soup with a crumble or disk of goat cheese, or make herbed goat cheese mousse. Check out this gazpacho topped with goat cheese.
  •  

  • Quiche. Goat cheese pairs well with the bell peppers, nions, tomatoes and other ingredients of quiche recipes.
  •  
    There’s much more, of course. Check out all the delicious goat cheese recipes from Ile de France.

      

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    FOOD FUN: Peanut Butter & Jelly Sushi Rolls Recipe

    We love the fun concepts of Lee Zalben, proprietor of Peanut Butter & Co like these peanut butter and jelly sushi rolls.

    The man lives for peanut butter, and how to serve it in new and creative ways. He posts a different idea every day at the Nutropolitan Museum of Art.

    > National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day is April 2nd.
     
     
    RECIPE #1: PEANUT BUTTER SUSHI RECIPE

    Ingredients

  • Whole wheat bread, white bread, or cucumber wrap
  • Jam or jelly
  • Peanut butter
  • Optional soy sauce substitution: honey or strawberry purée
  •  
    Optional Inclusions

  • Apple, carrot and/or celery sticks
  • Chopped nuts
  • Flax, pumpkin or sunflower seeds
  • Mini marshmallows
  • Raisins or other dried fruit
  • Rice Krispies
  •  
    Preparation

    1. ROLL the bread flat with a rolling pin.

    2. SPREAD with a thin layer of peanut butter and jam.

    3. SPRINKLE with 1/2 teaspoon inclusions and gently roll into a tight log. Slice into 2-inch “sushi rolls.”
     
     
    MORE WAYS TO MAKE PEANUT BUTTER SUSHI

  • A maki using a tortilla wrap (recipe)
  • Peanut Butter and jelly swirls in white bread (recipe)
  •  
     
    SUSHI LOVER?

    Check out all the types of sushi in our Sushi Glossary.
     
    ___________________

    *Here’s how to shave a cucumber to make a cucumber wrap.

     


    [1] Peanut butter and jelly sushi rolls (photos #1 and #3 by Andrea Hernandez for I Love Peanut Butter).

    Pumpkin Seeds (Pepitas)
    [2] Add nuts or seeds for crunch and nutrition (photo of pumpkin seeds by Elvira Kalviste © The Nibble).


    [3] Go for “cucumber sushi” with peanut butter.

     

     
     

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    PRODUCT: Limonitz Sparkling Lemonade

    It’s tart and sweet and lightly fizzy with a hint of mint.

    It’s a refreshing soft drink and a delicious mixer for beer, gin, tequila, vodka or iced tea.

    It’s Limonitz.

    “Itz lemonade only better,” says the website. Except that itz British-style lemonade. North American lemonade isn’t carbonated; U.K. lemonade is.

    But itz a treat however you define it. For perfection, we’d add some fresh mint, as the family originally made the drink. At home it was called “Daddy’s Lemonade.” After years as a special family tradition, they decided to bottle it.

    Limonitz is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union (OU) and certified organic by the USDA.

    Additional flavors are coming out this summer. We can’t wait.

    For more information visit Limonitz.com.

     
    The new soft drink in town. Photo courtesy Limonitz.
     
      

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Chilaquiles For Breakfast


    Chilaquiles with avocado. Photo courtesy
    Avocados From Mexico.
     

    Still looking for something special for Father’s Day breakfast? How about chilaquiles (chee-la-KEE-lace), a traditional Mexican breakfast or brunch dish.

    While there are numerous regional variations, here’s a typical recipe: Corn tortillas are cut into quarters and lightly fried. Next comes green or red salsa or mole sauce, then fried eggs.

    Pulled chicken can be added; the dish is topped with shredded queso fresco and/or crema, Mexican sour cream. Sliced raw onion, avocado or other garnish can be added. A side of refried beans typically completes the dish.

    Don’t confuse chilaquiles with the Tex-Mex dish migas, scrambled eggs mixed with chopped green onions, shredded Cheddar and crushed tortilla chips or tortilla strips.
    This recipe is courtesy Avocados From Mexico, which has many delicious avocado recipes on its website.

     

    RECIPE: CHILAQUILES WITH AVOCADO AND EGGS

    Ingredients For 4 Servings

     

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 8 six-inch corn tortillas, quartered
  • 1-1/2 cups red salsa
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and cubed
  • 2 small radishes, thinly sliced
  •  

    Preparation

    1. HEAT oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortillas. Carefully stir and turn tortillas to coat them with oil until crisp, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat.

    2. FRY eggs in a separate skillet. As eggs are finishing…

    3. RETURN tortillas to medium heat. Pour salsa over crisp tortillas, turning to coat until they are slightly soft but still chewy. Top tortillas with fried eggs, avocado and radishes.

     
    Avocados are a delicious breakfast food: plain, on toast or with eggs. Photo courtesy Avocados From Mexico.
     

    TIP: If you want the tortillas to remain crisp, hold the salsa and pour it over the other ingredients immediately before serving.
      

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    FOOD FUN: Deconstructed Crab Cake


    Save calories and carbs with a
    “deconstructed” crab cake. Photo courtesy
    Wild Mushroom Restaurant | Texas.
      Crab cakes are a popular item on menus nationwide. The crab is good for you, but the fat for sautéing is less so.

    You could place the crab cake(s) on a large bed of salad for a healthy offset. Or you could make these “deconstructed” crab cakes from Chef Jerrett Joslin of The Wild Mushroom Steakhouse in Weatherford, Texas.

    Chef Joslin takes the components of crab cakes and works them into an uncooked crab cake:

    DECONSTRUCTED CRAB CAKES RECIPE

    Ingredients

  • Fresh lump crab or other crab meat
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper
  • Fresh parsley, chopped
  • Aïoli (garlic mayonnaise) and/or chimichurri sauce for garnish; you can substitute chile, curry or other flavored mayonnaise
  • For The Salad

  • Baby arugula, cleaned
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon or lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon or lime zest
  •  

    Preparation

    1. MAKE aioli, if desired (recipe).recipe)

    2. PLACE crab meat in a bowl, chopping as necessary so that it can be easily mounded. Add fresh parsley to taste.

    3. MIX 1 tablespoon of olive oil with 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard. Use as needed to bind crab mixture so that it can be molded, using a metal mold, cookie cutter or table spoons.

    4. TOSS arugula with vinaigrette, just enough to lightly moisten.

    5. PLACE the crab cake on a plate, then top with He then arranges the ingredients on top of a bed of arugula that has been tossed with citrus vinaigrette.

    The result is a new take and presentation on the favorite dish. You can save calories by substituting a spicy vinaigrette for the aïoli.
     
    TYPES OF CRAB MEAT

    You don’t need to use the costliest jumbo lump crab meat: Use what you can afford. From most costly to least costly, they area;

  • Jumbo Lump or Lump Crab Meat
  • Lump or Backfin Lump Crab Meat
  • White Crab Meat
  • Claw Crab Meat
  •  
    The most expensive crab meat, jumbo lump, is beautiful to look at. But if it‘s getting mashed in a recipe, save you money and buy a less expensive grade. Photo courtesy Miller’s Crab.
     
    Here’s more on the different types of crab meat.
      

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