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


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TIP OF THE DAY: Asian Peanut Sauce

February 20, 2013 at 8:15 am · Filed under International Foods, Recipes, Sauces-Rubs-Marinades, Spreads-Dips-Salsa


For both Asian- and Western-style salads,
peanut sauce is a delicious dressing. Photo
courtesy National Almond Board.		   If you enjoy a plate of Asian sesame noodles, that yummy, peanut butter-based sauce is equally versatile as a:

  • Dip for raw vegetables (crudités)
  • Grilled chicken, fish or tofu sauce or dip for
    skewers
  • Pasta sauce
  • Rice and grains sauce
  • Salad dressing
  • Sandwich and wrap condiment
  • Steamed or grilled vegetable sauce

    •  
    While peanut butter, coconut milk or cream, garlic and soy sauce are common to all recipes, there is no one version of peanut sauce. Every region has its own signature style.

    For example, Indonesian peanut sauce uses lemongrass, tamarind juice and miso; Thai peanut sauce uses lime juice and cilantro.

     
    You can make a double batch and keep it tightly sealed in the fridge, ready to add flavor to so many different dishes. It’s a quick and nutritious snack with baby carrots or hard-cooked eggs, and delicious with leftovers (one of our favorites: mix with leftover rice; add some peas, chopped green onions and diced bell pepper).

     

    ASIAN PEANUT SAUCE RECIPE

    Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 cups peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce*
  • 1 tablespoon hot sauce†
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • Optional: 1 teaspoon brown sugar
    		•   
    Grilled fish is delicious with peanut sauce. Photo courtesy Pollen restaurant.
     
    *For more heat and colorful flecks, add red chili flakes to taste.

    †If you don’t want to buy fish sauce just for this recipe, substitute Worcestershire sauce. If you think you’ll be making peanut sauce regularly, invest in the fish sauce.
     
    Preparation

    1. WHISK together ingredients, except cilantro, in a small bowl.

    2. MIX in cilantro just before serving.

    3. FOR A THINNER SAUCE OR DIP, dilute with water, one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.

      

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Ways To Use Peanuts, Especially Flavored Peanuts

    February 19, 2013 at 8:49 am · Filed under Recipes, Snacks, Tip Of The Day


    Indian chicken salad with roasted peanuts.
    Here’s the recipe. Photo courtesy
    MyRecipes.com.    		   Peanuts are a New World crop. They are believed to have been domesticated in Bolivia or Paraguay, where the wildest strains still grow. The oldest specimens in Peruvian archeological sites date back some 7,600 years.

    While American colonists enjoyed a hearty, rich peanut soup (here’s a peanut soup recipe from Colonial Williamsburg), and Civil War soldiers snacked on “goober peas,” the majority of the peanut crop was used as animal feed until the 1930s. Then peanuts began to come into their own.

    The next burst of popularity came in the late 1960s. Until then, shelled peanuts were available in two varieties: salted and unsalted, cooked in oil. Planters introduced dry roasted peanuts, eliminating the oil slick that attached to the fingers of peanut nibblers.
     
    Progress followed with honey roasted peanuts. Other flavored peanuts trickled in to join them. Planters’ current flavored peanut lineup includes 5-Alarm Chili, Chipotle, Heat, Honey Barbeque, Honey Roasted, Roasted Onion & Garlic and Sweet & Crunchy.

    Peanuts are nutritious: They’re a good source of monounsaturated (heart healthy) fats, which helps to maintain the immune system. Unsaturated fat is good for you: It’s a component of cell membranes that is needed for cell growth and daily repair.

    One serving of dry-roasted peanuts (30 grams) contains 12 grams of unsaturated fat, 2 grams of saturated fat and 0 cholesterol. It also contains protein, folate, copper, phosphorus, magnesium, niacin and thiamine.

     

    WAYS TO USE PEANUTS & FLAVORED PEANUTS

    Sweet flavored peanuts can be used as cereal, pancake and ice cream toppers or baked into recipes. But savory flavors require a different treatment. Here are our 10 favorite ways to use savory flavored peanuts:

  • Breadcrumb enhancer: grind or finely chop peanuts and add to breadcrumbs
  • Dips: stir in chopped peanuts, especially into yogurt-based dips (curry dip, cucumber dip)
  • Hummus mix in: grind peanuts with the chickpeas, or chop as a mix-in or topper
  • Pesto: substitute peanuts for the traditional pine nuts (pesto recipe)
  • Popcorn mix-in
  • Rice/grain/pasta mix-in or garnish
  • Salad topper
  • Savory trail mix
  • Soup garnish
  • Yogurt or cottage cheese mix-in
    		•   
    Two new flavors of Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts: Onion Garlic and Honey Barbeque. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.
     
    PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY SALAD RECIPE

    As long as we’re talking peanuts and salad, try this “Peanut Butter & Jelly Salad.”

    It uses neither peanut butter or jelly, but the suggestion of them. It’s what we call “marketing”: Not only is it tasty, but it’s a way to get kids to eat more salad.

    Ingredients Per Portion

  • 1/2 cup seedless grapes, sliced
  • 1 large leaf Boston lettuce, washed and patted dry
  • Favorite greens to fill the leaf “cup” (we used a cabbage slaw mix)
  • 1 tablespoon plain or sweet flavor dry roasted peanuts
  • 2 tablespoons dressing of choice (a balsamic vinaigrette works well or ranch dressing)

    •  
    Preparation

    1. MIX grapes and peanuts with other salad ingredients. Toss to coat with dressing.

    2. FILL lettuce cup and serve.
     
    WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE USE FOR FLAVORED PEANUTS? LET US KNOW!
      

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    PRODUCT: UV Candy Bar Vodka & Candy Bar Cocktails

    February 18, 2013 at 8:50 am · Filed under Cocktails & Spirits, Recipes


    UV candy bar-flavored vodka. Photo courtesy
    Phillips Distilling Company.    		  

    Sip your candy bar, drink your dessert: Phillips Distilling Company has launched UV Candy Bar, a chocolate- and caramel-flavored vodka. It’s 17th vodka flavor in the UV Vodka line, that also includes UV Cake, UV Chocolate Cake and UV Whipped.

    And the bottles are flying off the shelf: Sales increased 81% last year. At a suggested retail price of $12.99 for a 750mL bottle, it’s an affordable treat.

    Bold, unique and sweet, dessert-flavored vodkas can indeed substitute for dessert. Just a shot can be a sweet conclusion to dinner: No high-calorie dessert necessary.

    While we enjoyed drinking shots, the vodka can be mixed into many cocktails, including a riff on the famous White Russian. Here are two recipes to start you off.

    EASY CANDY BAR COCKTAIL

    Ingredients

  • 1 part UV Candy Bar Vodka
  • 2 parts milk or cream
  • 1 piece butterscotch candy
    		•
     
    Preparation

    1. SHAKE all ingredients in a cocktail shaker.

    2. Serve over ice in a rocks glass.

     

    HARDCORE CANDY BAR COCKTAIL

    Ingredients

  • 1 part UV Candy Bar Vodka
  • 1 part plain vodka
  • 1 part triple sec or other orange liqueur
  • 1 part amaretto liqueur

    •  
    Preparation

    1. SHAKE all ingredients in a cocktail shaker.

    2. Serve over ice in a rocks glass.Hardcore Candy Bar

    		  
    The Hardcore Candy Bar cocktail. Photo courtesy Phillips Distilling Company.
     

    FIND MORE OF OUR FAVORITE COCKTAIL RECIPES.
      

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Crunchy, Savory Yogurt Parfait

    February 18, 2013 at 8:19 am · Filed under Cheese-Yogurt-Dairy, Recipes


    Pretzel nuggets add crunch to yogurt. Photo
    by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.    		   One of our favorite kitchen activities involves playing with ingredients: What can we do with them that hasn’t been done before?

    That’s how we developed our Pretzel Yogurt Parfait. We were inspired by a bag of pretzel nuggets (alternatively, crush regular pretzels with a rolling pin) and memories of Yo Crunch yogurt, variously mixed with cereals, cookie pieces and candy bits.

    We love crunch, as do most Americans: That’s why crunchy chips of all kinds are the biggest-volume snack.

  • We used plain Greek yogurt to make our yogurt parfait, and tucked a layer of pretzels into the center for all-the-way crunch.
  • We also tried it with strawberry yogurt, for a sweet and salty effect.
     
    There are many possible riffs on the savory yogurt parfait. The most healthful include:

    		•
     

  • A sprinkle of flax, pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds
  • Sliced or chopped almonds or walnuts (the health benefits of nuts)
  • Diced cucumber evokes tzatziki and raita
  • Diced tomatoes for color, lycopene, vitamin A (the anti-oxidant beta-carotene) and vitamin C
  • Bigger flavors from chopped fresh chives or green onions, dried jalapeño or minced pickles

    •  
    What’s your favorite savory yogurt parfait recipe?

    FIND OUR FAVORITE YOGURT BRANDS AND MORE YOGURT RECIPES.

      

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Trick Out Your Taco

    February 17, 2013 at 8:50 am · Filed under International Foods, Recipes, Tip Of The Day

    Recently we discovered Tacombi, a taco concept that began five years ago on the beaches of Mexico. There, the chef turned a converted Volkswagen microbus into a taco truck. Last year Tacombi moved shop to the Nolita neighborhood of New York City, serving tacos and Mexican beers from the different culinary regions of Mexico. Check out Tacombi.com.

    We asked chef Luis Aguilar about new directions to take a basic chicken taco. His concepts are below. But the overall tip is: Whatever “flavor” of taco you’re working on, look through the ingredients at hand and get inspired to make something you’ve never made before.

    CHICKEN TACO RECIPE IDEAS

  • Chicken marinated with achiote, orange juice, garlic and vinegar, refried bean spread, finely sliced pickled onions and chopped cilantro on top (how to pickle vegetables—it’s easy).
    		•   

    How many ways can you garnish a basic
    chicken taco? Photo courtesy McCormick.com.
     

  • Grilled chicken with roasted peppers and zucchini flowers, served over a tortilla with avocado and habanero salsa.
  • Grilled diced chicken sautéed with diced carrots, jicama, ginger, garlic, peanuts, guajillo chile and tamarind sauce, served over a lettuce “tortilla” and topped with sunflower sprouts.
  • Pollo asado with chunky roasted tomatoes and jalapeño salsa, topped with avocado slices and fresh cilantro.
  • Roasted chicken in salsa made with pasilla chiles (a smoky, earthy flavor savory), served over a tortilla with a brunoise (tiny dice) of cucumber, sesame seeds, sliced radish and a lime wedge.
  • Roasted chicken marinated with fine herbs, garlic, onions, cilantro seeds and lime juice over a tortilla with pico de gallo salsa and pickled cabbage.
  • Grilled chicken marinated with cumin, black pepper, garlic and lime juice, served over a tortilla with grilled nopal (cactus—you can find it in Latino markets and in strips (nopalitos) in jars online) and queso de cabra (goat cheese).
  • Sautéed chicken with wild mushrooms, roasted poblano chiles and onions over a tortilla, with green tomatillo salsa.
  • Shredded chicken rolled into a tortilla and fried, served with shredded romaine lettuce, slice tomato, avocado, fresh crema (you can substitute sour cream or plain Greek yogurt) and cotija cheese.

    •  
    HAVE OTHER IDEAS? LET US KNOW!
      

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