Should we use imported fresh fruits, or consider frozen domestic fruits?

Quick-frozen fruit, picked at the peak of ripeness, is a better bet than fruit that has been traveling for weeks in the hold of a ship.

Out of season, get your fruit in the freezer section, not in the produce department. The frozen fruit will deliver much more flavor.

Don’t thaw the fruit before baking. Just add an additional 5 to 10 minutes of baking time.

Have Some Pie Right Now

Take a look at our lovely Pie Glossary, and plan to bake a pie you haven’t tried before.

Find pie recipes in our Pie & Pastry Section.

Drinkin’ o’ the green: a delicious milkshake. Photo courtesy McCormick.

Our first mint milkshake recipe, from McCormick, makes three servings; prep time is just five minutes.

EMERALD MINT MILKSHAKE RECIPE

Ingredients

Preparation

1. Place ice cream, milk, peppermint extract and green food color in blender; cover. Blend on high speed until smooth.

2. Pour into glasses. Top with whipped cream and sprinkles, if desired. Serve immediately.

*You can make green whipped cream, too. Make a conventional whipped cream recipe, adding several drops of food color before beating. Add it drop by drop, until you reach the desired color.
THE NIBBLE’S ADULT ST. PATRICK’S DAY MILKSHAKE

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. Place whiskey, liqueur, ice cream and green food color in blender; cover. Blend on high speed until smooth.

2. Pour into glass. Top with whipped cream/green whipped cream and sanding sugar, if desired. Serve immediately.

Find more St. Patrick’s Day recipes.

Give the cake pop trend some St. Patrick’s Day spirit and bake a batch of these tempting treats.

They look pretty on the outside, but the surprise is on the inside: green cake!

This recipe, from McCormick, is all you need for a St. Patrick’s afternoon tea—along with tea, of course, and perhaps an Irish Coffee Martini, traditional Irish Coffee or an Irish whiskey cocktail.

You can also bake Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes, Irish Coffee Cheesecake and the Emerald Isle Cheesecake Bars we’ll be posting tomorrow.

This recipe makes 4 dozen cake pops or 24 two-pop servings. Prep time 45 minutes, cook time 35 minutes.
 
 
RECIPE: CAKE POPS FOR ST. PAT’S

You can vary the colors for any occasion.

 
Preparation

1. Bake the cake. Prepare cake mix as directed on the package, adding food color. Bake as directed on the package for a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.

2. Make cake balls. Crumble cake into a large bowl. Add marshmallow creme; mix until well blended. Shape into 1-inch balls. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

3. Coat in chocolate. Melt coating wafers as directed on the package. For each Cake Pop, dip 1/2 inch of lollipop stick into the melted coating. Insert the dipped end of the lollipop stick halfway into the cake ball. Let stand until the coating is set. Dip each cake pop into the melted coating. Shake gently to remove excess coating.

4. Decorate. Sprinkle or roll cake pops in green sprinkles if desired. Place cake pops in styrofoam blocks. Let stand until the coating is set.

5. Serve. Serve in short glassware or a short vase, in the styrofoam or other holder. If you don’t have a styrofoam block, use upside-down foam egg cartons or a cardboard box to hold the cake pops. You can also poke holes with an ice pick in a melon, squash, or rustic (crusty) bread loaf.

*COOKING NOTE: Confectionary coating is used for candy making and coating. It is packaged in wafer form and is available in a variety of colors and flavors, including milk and dark chocolate. It can be found in the cake decorating aisle of craft and party stores.

Find more of our favorite cake by pulling down the menu in the right column.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

Yesterday we provided step-by-step instructions on how to poach the perfect egg.

In this video, Alton Brown demonstrates it. Join him and poach a few.

Know the different types of eggs? There are many more options than “white” and “brown.”
Check ’em out.

Discover more about eggs, plus recipes, in our Eggs Section.

Considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef, Jiro Ono is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a small, nondescript, sushi-only restaurant located down a flight of stairs on the concourse of a Tokyo subway station.

The restaurant serves only sushi and a few beverages—no appetizers, no miso soup, no desserts. The decor is classic sushi bar plainness: white walls, wood booths, tables and sushi bar. Customers must use a shared public bathroom outside the restaurant.

Yet despite the humble surroundings—a total lack of ambiance—Sukiyabashi Jiro is the first sushi bar to be awarded the top honor, three stars, by the demanding reviewers of the Guide Michelin. The reviewers famously give two stars for memorably great food and the third star for great ambiance.

The Real Message

We love sushi; it’s our favorite food. Yet for us, the inspiration of the film is not how to make beautiful sushi. It’s about the work ethic of a master craftsman who never stops seeking perfection.

At an age where most people are long retired, Jiro—who was hospitalized after a heart attack at at age 70 but never slowed down—gets up early in the morning and works a long day. He samples every piece of fish, trains his small staff of five (including his son) and stands behind the sushi bar to carefully mold and present his sushi. He’s there when the restaurant closes, after dinner service.

Jiro’s eldest son Yoshikazu, the traditional heir to his father’s business, is a bit like Prince Charles: past 50, diligently doing his job, respecting his venerated parent and no doubt wondering when he will get to run the show. His younger brother Takashi already has a larger, glamorous sushi bar in a fashionable neighborhood.

Follow the film to a theater near you on the official website.

Love sushi? Learn all about it in our beautiful Sushi Glossary.