[1] Peanut Pretzel Toffee: Resistance is futile (photo © Taste Of Home).

[2] Honey roasted peanuts. If you don’t like peanuts, substitute your nut of choice (photo by J. Irkaejc | Panther Media).

[3] Mini pretzels (photo © Lisa Fotios | Pexels).

April 26th is National Pretzel Day, an easy holiday to celebrate. Just open the bag! But if you’d like something sweet-and-salty, make this Peanut Pretzel Toffee recipe. It’s delicious for a coffee break, and for a homemade gift.

The recipe was created by Barbara Estabrook of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, and shared with us by Taste Of Home.

There are more pretzel recipes below, including pretzel-crusted tuna!

> The history of toffee.

> The history of pretzels.
 
 
RECIPE: PEANUT PRETZEL TOFFEE

If you’d like to add heat, stir in some chile flakes, or use spicy peanuts instead of honey-roasted.

 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. LINE the bottom of a greased 9-inch-square baking pan with foil. Grease the foil with 2 teaspoons of butter. Sprinkle the peanuts and pretzels onto the foil.

2. COMBINE the sugar, water, honey, and remaining butter in a large heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.

3. COOK for 4 minutes without stirring. Then, stirring constantly, cook 2-3 minutes longer or until the mixture is caramel-colored (a candy thermometer should read 300° for the hard-crack stage).

4. REMOVE from the heat and immediately pour the mixture over the peanuts and pretzels in the pan.

5. SPRINKLE with the chocolate chips and let stand until the chocolate begins to melt. Spread the chocolate evenly over the toffee. If desired, sprinkle with salt.

6. COOL for 15 minutes at room temperature. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. Break the toffee into pieces and store it between layers of wax paper in an airtight container.
 
 
MORE PRETZEL RECIPES

In our field, we learn something new every day—and we love to discover. Recently, we came upon beer salt, which, to the uninitiated, is exactly what it sounds like: salt to shake onto the top of a beer bottle, can, or glass. Meet our Top Pick Of The Week: Twang’s line of flavored kosher salts.

First, we thought: a lime wedge in a Corona bottle, yes; a salt rim on a Margarita, absolutely; drinking shots of tequila with salt on the dorsal side* of one hand (to lick) and a wedge of lime held in the other hand (to suck), certainly—especially if you’re a fan of Ernest Hemingway.

But who thought of actually salting beer?
 
 
BEER & SALT: A MEXICAN TRADITION

The ritual of putting salt and lime into a beer is a well-known Mexican-inspired tradition. The longtime practice crossed the border in 1986, when Roger Trevino Sr., having observed the practice in Mexico, created three flavors of Twang’s beer salt in San Antonio. (The innovation was adding flavor to the salt.)

While beer and salt was well-known in border towns, it wasn’t until Twang lime and lemon-lime beer salts appeared that salting a beer grew in popularity throughout the Lone Star State and beyond.

Instead of placing the salt and lime juice inside the beer, old school, Trevino placed Twang on the rim of the beer and called it “dressing your beer.” People learned to ask the bartender for a beer, dressed.

It took the better part of 40 years for this information to end up on our desk! Blame it on our location, New York City. Not only is it far away from Texas, but it’s a salt-concerned city that requires chain restaurant menus to state the amount of excess salt in each portion, to save consumers from ingesting too much salt.

But now we know, and we can choose. To paraphrase Proust, the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes [source].

Beer + salt: As a salted-rim Margarita fan, we like it! Dress our beer, please, Mr. Bartender.

While a salt rim is a natural with Mexican beers, we’ve enjoyed it with more complex craft beers. Truth to tell, we didn’t have a bottle of Bud on which to try it. But in our [perhaps jaded] opinion, beer salt can only improve the pallid American mega-beer brands.
 
 
BEYOND BEER SALT

Over the decades, Twang has expanded into flavored salts for food, cocktail rimmer blends, Michelada mix, and more.

After you read about the products, celebrate Cinco de Mayo using one of the Twang-A-Rita cocktail rimmer blends to create the Red Clay cocktail recipe below (photo #6).

Are you ready to dress your canned cocktail or juice (photo #2)? And your popcorn (photo #4)? And your ice pop (photo #5)?
 
 
TWANG PRODUCTS

Twang’s small-batch products are made with all-natural colors and flavors, quality kosher flake salts, and pure cane sugars.

Twang Beer Salt

Dress (i.e., salt) your beer, be it in a bottle, can, or glass. It’s easy to carry the pocket size (photo #1) to your favorite watering hole.

 
Twangerz Flavored Salts

Use these flavorful blends for topping a broad assortment of foods and snacks. They’re also “eating salts”: from the shaker to the fingers to the mouth!

 
Twang-A-Rita Rimming Salts

Add a salty-sweert rim to cocktails, fruit juices, and anywhere you’d like some seasoning.

 
Reserve Michelada Cocktail Mix

Twang introduced bottled Reserve Michelada Clásica Mix after years of research (photo #3). Add it to a glass of beer for an instant Michelada. You can even add it to an open can or bottle—just drink a bit of the beer first, to make room for the Michelada mix.

And don’t forget the rimming salt.

 
 
> VISIT TWANG.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION & TO ORDER.
 
 
RECIPE: RED CLAY TEQUILA COCKTAIL

This recipe (photo #6) was created at the B-Side Cocktail Lounge, at JdV by Hyatt Hotels in Baltimore.
 
Ingredients For 1 Drink

[1] A beer stein with a pocket-size bottle of Twang Beer Salt (photos #1 through #4 © Twang).

[2] You can use the Twangerz flavored salt rimmers on canned cocktails, of hard seltzer, juice, etc.

[3] Make a great Michelada at home.

[4] The flavored salts can also season popcorn, other snacks, salads, and other foods.

[5] Ice pops, too. In Mexico, ice pops are commonly flavored with sweet-salty heat.

[6] The Red Clay cocktail, made with a rim of Safari Spice Twangarita (photo © DJ Impulse).>

1. POUR the Twangarita Safari Spice salt onto a plate. Wet the entire rim of the cocktail glass with the lime wedge. Dip the rim of the glass into the salt and rotate until the rim is fully covered.

2. COMBINE the lime juice, simple syrup, Cointreau, red bell pepper, and serrano chile in a cocktail shaker and muddle to extract the pepper flavor. Add the tequila and ice and shake vigorously/

3. STRAIN into the rimmed cocktail glass. Garnish with a dehydrated or fresh lime wheel.

________________

*Did you know that your hands have a dorsal side? The palm side of the hand is considered the front of the hand and is referred to as the palmar side. The back of the hand (what we erroneously called the “top” or “front” of the hand) is called the dorsal side. The word “dorsal” refers to something that is towards the back of something. The side of your hand that palms, or grasps, something, is the front. Another example: The dorsal fin of fish and marine mammals is the fin on their back. Hence, dorsal pertains to the back of something. Also see: tennis backhand.
 
 

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

[1] No matter what cut of steak you’re cooking, a homemade steak sauce adds palate excitement (photo © Tom’s Kitchen Chelsea).

[2] More restaurants are slicing the steak in the kitchen, making it easier for the diner to cut bite-size pieces (photo © Barbacoa | Boise).

[3] How about a sliced porterhouse (photo © The Jones Family Kitchen | Belgravia).

[4] Chimichurri tops a line of sliced steak (photo © Roast Restaurant).

[5] An extra treat: a choice of two ormore steak sauces (photo © The Jones Family Kitchen | Belgravia).

A word about National Steak Day, a new holiday created by a cloaked group of steak restaurants and online sellers of beef*. We can’t find who set up the website, which proclaimed the holiday on April 25th, 2019. It may have originated in the U.K. It may have only been held in 2019.

The timing isn’t great for National Steak Day. April 27th is National Prime Rib Day. And an earlier, risqué holiday, proclaims Steak and a [Sexual Act] Day on March 14th. June is National Steakhouse Month.

Questions notwithstanding, we’re taking the day to present five updated steak sauce concepts from chefs nationwide.

The goal of the chefs was to give the classics some trend-forward flavor. Via Flavor & The Menu, a website for chefs to find inspiration for their recipes, we present, in alphabetical order:
 
 
5 STEAK SAUCE RECIPE UPDATES
 
 
1. CHIMICHURRI SAUCE: The garlic-parsley-vinegar assertiveness of this Argentinian classic cuts through the richness of steak (here’s a recipe). For a contemporary version:

 
 
2. HORSERADISH SAUCE: To the classic, creamy horseradish heat (here’s a recipe), add:

 
 
3. HOLLANDAISE SAUCE: This classic French mother sauce is creamy and unctuous but a bit bland. Bearnaise sauce, a secondary mother sauce, kicks up the flavor by adding tarragon and shallots to a wine reduction.

But hollandaise can be the base for any bold flavor.

 
 
4. BORDELAISE SAUCE: This classic red wine sauce can be tweaked with:

 
 
5. PEPPERCORN SAUCE: This lightly creamed, peppery sauce with brandy accents, can be modernized with the addition of:

 
 
Take the plunge and make a new steak sauce. Creativity is contagious!
 
 
> CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT CUTS OF BEEF. <
 
 
 
 
________________

*To take part in National Steak Day your business will need to offer at least one steak at a 25% discount on April 2019, or a special menu/offer with added value for the customer. Your business will have its own dedicated webpage which will showcase your steak offer. Customers will be able to download vouchers to redeem your offer(s).

Every year for Earth Day, April 22nd, we try to implement one small thing to help save the planet. For years, we’ve been carrying empty cans and bottles back home to recycle. We established a “Saturday seek-out” to find leftovers and produce from the past week that is about to expire, and we eat them before they become food waste, a major contributor to climate change.

This year we discovered For Good compostable food wrap and zipper bags. If you’ve been hearing about the dangers of microplastics, the impact of plastic bags on the environment, and some dangers of plastic food wraps, you need to take a look at the products from For Good.

For Good is a family of sustainable, compostable household staples. The brand has wraps and bags that break down into carbon and water, leaving no trace of microplastics. You can get earth-friendly, feel-good:

 
They are as sustainable as they are functional and convenient. They are:

 
One percent of every purchase goes to providing nutritious meals to food-insecure communities.

HEAD TO FOR GOOD AND ORDER SOME BETTER-FOR-THE-EARTH SUPPLIES.

There’s free shipping on your first order

[1] For Good’s compostable food wrap (both photols © For Good).

[2] There are compostable zipper bags in three sizes.

*FSC, the Forest Stewardship Council is an international non-profit, multistakeholder organization established in 1993 that promotes responsible management of the world’s forests.

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

[1] A toast to Queen Elizabeth (photo © AG Photographer | Canstock Photo).

[2] There are two matcha holidays: February 6th in Japan and May 2nd in the U.S. You can celebrate both (photo © Matcha Co. | Unsplash).

[3] Hibiscus iced tea with blueberries (photo © Blueberry Council).

April 21st is the birthday of England’s Queen Elizabeth, born in 1926. It’s also National Tea Day in the U.K., created in her honor. But there are many more national tea holidays in the U.S., and others to celebrate worldwide.

In fact, a list of 24 tea-related holidays follows.

So, fellow tea lovers: get ready to celebrate year-round, guided by the list that follows. There’s at least one holiday in every month except July.

(July is National July Belongs to Blueberries Month, so perhaps some blueberry iced tea—photo #3?)

The holidays originated in the U.S., except as noted.

But no matter what country or people established the holiday, you can celebrate alongside them.

For National Caffeine Awareness Month (March), celebrate with decaffeinated tea or herbal tea.

> The history of tea.

> The history of iced tea.

> The history of tea bags.

> The history of afternoon tea.

> The different types of tea and terminology: a photo glossary.
 
 
THE YEAR’S 24 TEA HOLIDAYS & RELATED DAYS

 
________________

*The Nibble created Afternoon Tea Day in honor of Anna, Duchess of Bedford, who created the custom of afternoon tea. She was born on September 3, 1783. Here’s the story of afternoon tea.

**Tea for Two Tuesday is dedicated to enjoying tea with a friend, family member, loved one, or colleague. The day was created by Holiday Insights in 2016.

†There are two Japanese Tea Days celebrated in Japan, plus other tea days.

‡International Tea Day was established by the world’s tea-producing countries in 2004, to draw attention to the impact that the tea trade has on workers and growers. Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam.