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


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GOURMET GIVEAWAY: MaryAnna’s Sweet Tea

Cool off this summer with a refreshing beverage, like the bottled tea made from this week’s Gourmet Giveaway prize-sponsor: MaryAnna’s Sweet Tea.

As we noted last week, MaryAnna’s all-natural bottled sweet tea tastes like fresh-brewed. The teas are made with filtered water, premium tea and cane sugar.

The Summer Sweet Tea has just the right amount of lemon juice to brighten the flavor without making it “lemony.” The Berry Sweet Tea is flavored with raspberry; the effect is one of fresh, infused berries.

Both flavors will be hits with your family and guests. Grown-ups can also enjoy MaryAnna’s Sweet Tea as a mixer, with gin, tequila or vodka.

Cool off this summer with MaryAnna’s sweet
tea. Photo by Katharine Pollak | THE NIBBLE.

  • THE PRIZE: One winner will receive a mixed case of MaryAnna’s Sweet Tea, which includes six bottles of each of the two flavors. Approximate retail value: $24.95.
  • To Enter This Gourmet Giveaway: Go to the box at the bottom of our Gourmet Tea Section and enter your email address for the prize drawing.
  • To learn more about MaryAnna’s Teas, visit MaryAnnasTea.com.
  • Here’s a review of five more of our favorite bottled teas.

 

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TIP OF THE DAY: Grilled Banana S’mores


Bananas
[1] It’s easy to turn ripe bananas into banana s’mores (photo © Aldi)

Mini Chocolate Chips
[2] Mini chocolate chips (photo © King Arthur Flour).

 

For a cookout, our favorite dessert is a watermelon carved into a basket, filled with fresh fruit salad.

But that takes time and good carving skills. So here’s another way to wow family and friends: banana s’mores.

The banana takes the place of the graham crackers, and you melt the chocolate and marshmallows on the grill.
 
 
GRILLED BANANA S’MORES

Ingredients Per Serving

  • Ripe banana
  • Chocolate chips
  • Mini marshmallows
  • Optional: vanilla or chocolate ice cream
  • Foil
  •  
    Preparation

    1. SPLIT a ripe banana down the middle. Fill the center with mini marshmallows plus chocolate and/or peanut butter morsels.

    2. WRAP the banana in foil, punching a hole in the top for steam to escape.

    3. GRILL for five or more minutes until the marshmallows and chocolate melt. Remove and serve—with a spoon, with the optional ice cream.

    4. A scoop of vanilla, chocolate or banana ice cream atop the banana s’mores also hits the spot.

    If you love s’mores as much as we do, check out these s’mores recipes—all with the traditional graham crackers.

     

      

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    PRODUCT: Rishi Iced Tea

    We sampled hundreds of different foods during our first day of the Fancy Food Show.

    In-between all that eating, you really need some refreshment!

    Some people drink water; we head for the thirst-slaking tea. The iced black Peach & Passion tea from Ahmad Tea of London was a delicious relief; we downed three cups! You can find the tea on Amazon.com.

    And Rishi’s Citron Green “tropical” green tea offered soothing notes of lemongrass, lemon myrtle, fresh orange blossom, tangerine and jasmine flowers. A complex and exciting combination of flavors, it was voted “Best Green Iced Tea” at the 2006 World Tea Expo.

    The tea is organic and Fair Trade Certified, and is available at Rishi-Tea.com.

    Find more of our favorite teas in our Gourmet Tea section.

    Rishi’s Citron Green and Ahmad’s Peach
    & Passion are two standout iced teas.
    Photo courtesy Rishi Tea.

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Red, White & Blue Recipes

    How many red, white & blue recipes can
    you devise? Share them here!

      Plan ahead for at least one red, white and blue recipe for July 4th.

  • You can start the day with plain or vanilla yogurt, topped with raspberries and blueberries.
  • For lunch, make red, white and blue potato salad (keep skins on red-jacket potatoes with your favorite recipe, sprinkle top with crumbled blue cheese) and decorate the bowl with a perimeter of blueberries.
  • Use blue and red tortilla chips with your regular nachos recipe, along with white Cheddar or other good white melting cheese. Sprinkle some blue cheese or goat cheese (it‘s very white) atop the red salsa.
  • For appetizers or snacks, make a white bean dip and garnish the perimeter of the bowl with a few raspberries and blueberries.
  • For dessert at dinner, top ice cream with strawberry or raspberry purée and whipped cream, sprinkled with blueberries. You can make a parfait by layering the ingredients in a sundae glass or wine goblet. (See our Ice Cream Glossary for ice cream terms.)
  •  

  • Or, add any red and blue berry combination to cake, cupcakes, sorbet and any white cheese. Use toothpicks to anchor berries for a red, white and blue “centerpiece cheese” on a cheese tray.
  • Instead of macaroni salad, make a pasta salad with white pasta, halved red cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes) and garnish with blue cheese and/or blueberries.
  • You can also find red and white-striped ravioli to serve with red sauce or white Alfredo sauce and blue cheese.
  • Serve pink lemonade with blueberries and raspberries. You can freeze blueberries and raspberries in the ice cubes, and sprinkle a few of each in the drink for a dramatic effect.
  • For dessert, how about a watermelon “napoleon?” cut slices of watermelon into squares. Make a three-decker napoleon, filling the layers with whipped cream and berries.
  • For more Independence Day food and beverage ideas, select the July 4th category in the column at the right.

    And please share your own ideas!

      

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    NEWS: Off To The Fancy Food Show!

     

    In two hours, THE NIBBLE staff will assemble at the Fancy Food Show, our “home” for the next three days.

    Our goal: to find the best new foods and beverages to review.

    The Fancy Food Show is like culinary Disneyland—you’re surrounded by enticing exhibits and you can’t hope to see it all. We’ll be tripping the light fantastic—or more realistically, the hard concrete floor of New York City’s Javits Center.

    We anticipate fewer posts to www.thenibble.com/blog and less publishing on TheNibble.com until the latter part of next week. Don’t think we’re slacking off; food shows are hard work!

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