Growlers are the new “in” and green
packaging for microwbrews. Photo courtesy
SimpleSteps.org.

Thanks to the growth of craft beer, there’s a growler resurgence in the United States. You can find them at breweries and brewpubs that sell take-out beer: Take-home growlers are filled from the tap. Some homebrewers use growlers as well, as an alternative to kegs or standard bottles for carbonating and storing beer.

In the old days growlers had hinged porcelain gasket caps. Today a screw-on cap is as likely (and less expensive). A properly sealed growler will hold carbonation indefinitely, like any other sealed beer bottle.

And it’s more economical to buy beer in a growler than go through many smaller bottles. Most places that sell growlers will re-fill them for you.

Expect to see more growlers (glass jugs, not tin pails) as craft beer fans demand to take home brews on tap.

One of the newer Whole Foods Markets in our area sells a reusable growler filled with your choice of beers on tap—a constantly changing selection. When the growler is empty, bring the growler back for a refill and pay for the beer only.

In addition to being able to try fresh microwbrews that aren’t available in bottles, the idea of reusable bottles that can be refilled time after time—instead of going into landfill every time—is appealing. In fact, Whole Foods market now offers 32-ounce growlers in addition to the 64-ounce.

• Discover more about beer, our favorite beers and our Beer Glossary.

The Pink Princess Cupcakes Kit is one of a series of cupcake mixes (along with Fancy Fairy and Magical Mermaid) that provides an adult-child baking-and-bonding opportunity.

There is unusual fun in making these cupcakes: A special blend of ingredients for both the cake and the icing magically changes the batter and frosting colors from white to pink when mixed (hot pink for the cake, pale pink for the frosting). This is sure to delight young participants, and was a treat for us older folks, too.

As far as baking goes, this is a good opportunity to demonstrate to kids how to use a mixer to combine wet ingredients (supplied by you) and the dry ingredients from the kit, and turn them into yummy cupcakes. The lavender paper tote box contains enough Pink Vanilla Cupcake Mix, Pink Princess Pink Vanilla Frosting Mix and Enchanted Confetti Sprinkles to make 12 cupcakes.

At $5.95 apiece, you can also use the totes as party favors. They’re available at KidsCookingShop.com.

Throw a Pink Princess Cupcake tea party.
Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

In fact, the Pink Princess Cupcakes Baking Kit is part of a series of products from Barbara Beery, bestselling children’s cookbook author and founder of Batter Up Kids Cooking.

Her latest Pink Princess cookbook, The Pink Princess Cupcakes Cookbook, has creative cupcake decorating ideas with beautiful full-page color photography. You don’t have to be a pastry chef; the decoration ideas are all within the reach of the typical mom. The volume serves as a “menu options book” to let your little princess pick out exactly what she’d like to have at her party.

• Also check out the Pink Princess Cookbook and the Pink Princess Tea Parties.
• If you want additional decorating ideas, possibly for another theme party, check out Ms. Beery’s Pink Princess Cupcakes Cookbook. Each of the recipes outlines a different theme—mermaid, fairytale and s’mores to name a few—but all are suited for little princesses.
• Find more cupcake ideas in our Gourmet Cakes Section.

Decorated sheets of parchment are a gift
idea for a cheese-loving friend. Photo
courtesy MurraysCheese.com.

So keep cheeses in the warmest part of the refrigerator: usually the top shelf. You can also use the vegetable bin at the bottom.

Except for aged, dry cheeses like Parmesan, most cheeses should be wrapped in parchment—not plastic—so they can breathe. Fine cheese stores will typically wrap your selections in parchment paper. Don’t toss the paper—reuse it to rewrap the leftover cheese.

Of course, the best tip is to buy only the amount of cheese that you need; but we all fear “running short,” especially when planning a cheese plate for guests.

• If you’d like to buy cheese parchment paper for yourself or a cheese-loving friend, Murray’s Cheese sells the brightly-designed sheets in the photo.
• Learn all about cheese, see reviews of our favorites and find exciting cheese recipes in our Gourmet Cheese section.

Essentially, this is a basic cookbook that mines the current vampire craze by titling recipes with vampire themes: Embrace The Darkness Frittata, Frightful Filet Mignon Caesar Salad, Suffering Suck-O-Tash, and so forth.

There are also “Tasty Tidbits” about vampires, such as:

Curiously, some legends make mention that a stake is only to be hammered into the vampire’s chest in one blow, for if it’s struck twice, the revenant can reanimate and return to its vampiric state. So remember that, when you’re faced with killing a vampire.

A revenant, by the way, is a person who returns after a lengthy absence, or one who returns as a spirit after death—a ghost, for example. (Are the undead “spirits?”)

A cookbook for those obsessed with all
things vampire.

If you’d like to teach someone to cook, or encourage him or her prepare feasts for their friends, a gift of “Love At First Bite” could be in order.

The reason other people might be interested is the list of some 100 cocktails at the end of the book that will keep you going for many Halloweens to come: Black Death, Devil’s Blood, Howl At The Moon and Satan’s Whiskers, to name a few.

You can buy it on Amazon for less than $10.00.

Start with the right meat. These burgers
are from Ottomanelli Brothers.

While most of us love burgers, many of us don’t know how to cook them properly.

For example, making dense patties and pressing down on them as they cook is a sure way to get a less-juicy burger.

And while most experts agree that the best burger comes from sirloin or chuck, not all “ground chuck” is created equal. Your chuck could come from a nine-year-old dairy cow instead of a two-year-old steer.

Take a look at these tips for better burgers, and soon you’ll be grilling like a pro.

While you‘re at it, check out the history of the hamburger, a true American sandwich.