Sweetest Day, October 15th, was founded in 1921 by a Cleveland confectioner and philanthropist in order to do something nice for the neglected. More than 20,000 boxes of candy were distributed to orphans, newsboys, the aged and the poor. The tradition expanded to the entire Great Lakes region, with the third Saturday in October as the official date.

Over time, Sweetest Day became a celebration with loved ones, friends and colleagues: a day to make someone happy anywhere in the country.

You’ll definitely make someone happy with one of our sweet treat recommendations: outstanding products selected by THE NIBBLE editors as the best in their category. There are delicious sugar-free sweets as well.

Take a look at our best-tasting gift recommendations.

Spooky quesadillas? Sure, and they’re easy-to-make Halloween food—a light dinner for trick-or-treaters or for anyone staying at home who wants some Halloween fun (adults: enjoy them with a pumpkin ale; kids: something creepy green or blood red).

On to the spookadillas!
 
 
RECIPE: SPOOKADILLAS (MUMMY QUESADILLAS)

These mummy quesadillas look spookalicious and taste even better. Cook’s tip: If you’re making a lot of these, use a pizza wheel or kitchen scissors to quickly and easily cut the tortillas into strips.

If you like things a bit spicy, sprinkle red pepper flakes over the cheese; or use pepperjack or a jalapeño- or habanero-flavored Cheddar.

We served our quesadillas with a side of crudités: carrot and celery sticks, sliced radishes and bell pepper.

No dip is needed, but you can make an easy dip with plain yogurt and more of the salsa verde* (photo #2).

> Check out the different types of salsa.

Prep time is 15 minutes, cook time is 5 minutes.
 
Ingredients For 4 Quesadillas

 
Preparation

1. HEAT the oven to 450°F. Cover a baking sheet or pan with foil or parchment. Place 4 of the tortillas on the sheet. Cut each remaining tortilla into 12 strips, 1/4″ wide.

2. TOP each whole tortilla with 2 tablespoons salsa verde and 1/4 cup cheese. Place 2 olive halves on each for the eyes. Arrange the tortilla strips in a criss-cross pattern over the cheese. Spray the quesadillas with vegetable cooking spray.

3. BAKE for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
 
 
BUYING SHREDDED CHEESE VS. SHREDDING YOUR OWN

You’ll often read that grating your own cheese is a cost saver. Yes, but you may be saving just a penny per ounce.

At FreshDirect.com, for example, Kraft shredded cheeses are $4.49 per eight-ounce package, or $.56/ounce. Kraft Cracker Barrel Cheese varieties are $5.49 per 10-ounce block, or or $.55/ounce.

The real reason to grate your own is a broader choice of cheeses. We love the whole variety of Cabot flavored Cheddar cheeses: Garlic & Herb, Horseradish, Hot Buffalo Wing, Hot Habanero, Smoky Bacon, Tomato Basil and Tuscan. The company also makes reduced-fat Cheddars: 50% Cheddar, 50% Jalapeño, 50% Pepper Jack, 75% Cheddar and 75% Habanero, all so good that you’d never guess they were reduced-fat.

To easily grate cheese, we use this OXO Good Grips box grater. It has a detachable container that catches, measures, and stores (with a snap-on lid) the grated cheese.

To those who read ingredient lists: Shredded cheese typically contains anti-caking agents—calcium carbonate, microcrystalline cellulose or potato starch, for example—which prevent the shreds from sticking together. These are natural ingredients, unlike chemical preservatives that some consumers seek to avoid.
 
 
HALLOWEEN TRIVIA

Jack o’ Lanterns were not originally pumpkins. To keep away spirits and ghosts on Samhain, people placed candles in their windows, using hollowed-out turnips and other vegetables as the holder.

Get spooked: more Halloween trivia.
 
 
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*Spanish for “green sauce,” salsa verde is made with tomatillos, green jalapeños or other green chiles, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, ground cumin, salt and pepper. Some recipes add scallions (green onions). Salsa verde is much thinner than a tomato-based salsa roja. A salsa verde can be fresh or cooked. It can be used as a sauce for meets and vegetables, eggs, grains, used as a dip, and of course with Tex-Mex specialties from burritos and enchiladas to refried beans, tacos, tostadas and quesadillas.

[1] There creepy and they’re spooky: mummy quesadillas (photo © Recipe © Pace Salsa | Campbell’s).

[2] Homemade salsa verde. Don’t panic: store-bought is fine here (photo © Empellón Restaurant | NYC).

[3] Shredded Cheddar. There’s no honor lost if you buy it pre-shredded (photo © Darryl Brooks | Dreamstime).

[4] If you prefer Gruyère or mozzarella, go for it (photo © Kiboka | Panther Media).

[5] Hojiblanca, a delicious black olive variety (photo © Dumet AG).

Of all the infused and flavored olive oils, basil-infused olive oil is the best seller in the U.S.

We love all infused olive oils, but can find ways to use versatile basil oil every day, from breakfast through dinner.

Ways To Use Basil Olive Oil

 
 
What Is Infused Olive Oil?

Infused olive oil is extra virgin olive oil into which a flavoring has been infused—a fruit (citrus, for example), herb (basil, oregano, rosemary), or spice (garlic). When an oil is infused, the flavoring is crushed and added to the vat of fresh-pressed olive oil, or it is crushed along with the olives. It is the superior technique for producing flavored oil.

You can also find “flavored” olive oil, a less expensive preparation. Instead of using fresh fruit, herbs, and spices, an alcohol-based flavor extract or essence is stirred into the pressed olive oil. It can taste good or it can taste artificial, depending on the producer.
 
Some delicious products, like Sonoma Farm Infused Olive Oil, use essence because it enables them to bottle smaller batches and send a fresher product when retailers order. Calivirgin, on the other hand, crushes fresh basil leaves together with the olives.
 
Check out Calivirgin’s recipes using basil olive oil.

Infuse your own basil olive oil with this easy recipe.

Take “beer and brats” to the next level.
Photo courtesy National Pork Board.

Many of us have had an enjoyable afternoon or evening with beer and bratwurst, likely at a summer cook-out.

But what about taking it to the next level: pairing specific beers with specific sausages: boar sausage, chicken sausage, duck sausage, lamb sausage and venison sausage, in addition to pork-based bratwurst and other pork sausages?

We were invited to an event to do something similar, featuring sausages from some of New York City’s popular French restaurants along with craft brews.

The restaurants are part of the Tour de France restaurant Group, and the beers were paired by the company’s beer sommelier, Gianni Cavicchi.

For fall entertaining, you can do the same thing at home. Beer is a food-friendly beverage; most ales and lagers pair with most sausages. You don’t need a beer sommelier. The fun is in thinking what you‘d like to pair, then trying your pairings.

Where To Start

To decide on your menu, first cruise the sausage section of your supermarket to see which ones appeal to you. Stick with plain sausage. Added ingredients such as apples or feta will get in the way of comparing the base flavors.

Then, do some research of what beer pairs best with them and create three or four “flights.” You can create more flights, but we prefer to cap ours at four unless the guests are sophisticated beer tasters who already have an understanding of the different styles of beer. Otherwise, it’s information overload (and palate overload, too).

A flight, by the way, is a term used by wine tasters that refers to a selection of wines to be tasted and compared together—wine only or with food. At wine dinners, for example, each course is served with a flight that enables participants to decide which wine they prefer with the dish. You’re doing the same with beer and sausage. Your flights can consist of one, two or more beers per sausage “course.” Again, unless you have a sophisticated crowd, don’t serve more than two beers per flight.

Beer & Sausage Pairings

You can also provide rolls. We feel that they get in the way of tasting the sausages, but others prefer them. A green salad in a light vinaigrette provides a counterpoint to the heavy food.

Don’t forget the pretzels—hard and/or soft. Here‘s a recipe for soft pretzels.

At The Event

In The New York City Area?
The sausage and beer pairing that inspired this post will be held on Tuesday, October 11th. Here’s the ticket information.
WHAT KIND OF BEERS SHOULD YOU SELECT?
Check out the options in our Beer Glossary.

Find more beer recipes and articles in our Beer Section.

You customize the recipe by adding your favorite fresh fruits. The result can be enjoyed any time of the day, from breakfast and brunch to tea time/snack time to dessert at lunch and dinner.

We loved our first T’ART—made with fresh blueberries—so much that we couldn’t wait to bake the next one. The mix can also be used with fresh or grilled vegetables—try cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs. Just leave out the spoonful of sugar that you’d add with fruits.

At $5.99 per package, T’ART is a terrific teacher gift, stocking stuffer or party favor. Or plan a T’ART party: Give a package to several friends and challenge them to a T’ART bake-off. Taste the results for Sunday brunch, vote, and give the winner another package of T’ART.

Get your T’ART mix at AmourCreations.net.

See the full T’ART review.

Check out more of our favorite cakes and recipes.

Find out the difference between tarts and pies.