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Gourmet Giveaway: Nancy’s Frozen Hors d’Oeuvres & Desserts

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Spinach Feta Stars are irresistible. Photo
courtesy of Nancy’s.

With the holidays upon us, Nancy’s is the quick, simple, go-to source for delicious hors d’oeuvres.

From soufflés and quiches to deli spirals and mushroom turnovers, Nancy’s wide variety of hors d’oeuvres and desserts makes sure there’s something for every taste bud.

New this season are the 12-count Spinach Feta Star hors d’oeuvres (shown in the photo), Petite Chocolate Tarts and Petite Pecan Tarts.

Not only are Nancy’s frozen hors d’oeuvres delicious delicious (we loved nibbling on them at THE NIBBLE), but they couldn’t be easier to prepare. Some are heated in the oven for five minutes while others just need some time out of the freezer to thaw out before they’re ready to serve.

The only bummer is that these wonderful party foods are only available from October through January each year. But the good news is, you can stock up the freezer now!

  • One winner will receive six coupons redeemable for six Nancy’s products of his or her choice, available in supermarkets nationwide. Approximate Retail Value: $30.00.
  • To Enter This Gourmet Giveaway: Go to the box at the bottom of our Hors d’Oeuvres & Cocktail Snacks page and enter your email address for the prize drawing.

 

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CONTEST: Design A Wine Bag & Win A Trip To Las Vegas

Is wine your bag?

Design the winning wine tote and you could be headed to Las Vegas and a $2,000.00 shopping spree.

Enter George duBoeuf’s Fashion your Bag contest, download the bag template and start designing. All the information you need is on the website.

There’s only one catch:

You’ve got to upload your design online by 11:59:59 a.m. ET on 12/31/09, or mail it in to be received by January 7, 2010.

Perhaps you can make it a group activity with your more create family members, after all the Christmas gifts are open.

duboeuf-wine-tote

Can you design a better wine tote? If so,
enter the contest!

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CELEBRATION: The Feast Of The Seven Fishes On Christmas Eve

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We’re having Chef Daniel Boulud’s
tuna tartare, topped with caviar, at
our Feast Of The Seven Fishes. Here’s
the tuna tartare recipe.

While the Feast of the Seven Fishes may have roots in Southern Italy, today it is a purely an Italian-American tradition. The Christmas Eve dinner is celebrated with a feast of—you guessed it—seven different traditional fish dishes (although some ambitious families may go for eight, nine or more).

The tradition of eating seafood on Christmas Eve dates back to medieval times, to the Roman Catholic tradition of abstaining from meat or milk products on Fridays and specific holy days. Fish, typically fried in oil, was most often substituted.

Thus, traditional dishes for The Feast Of The Seven Fishes include baccalà (salted cod fish), calamari and fried fish and seafood (oysters, scallops, shrimp, smelts).

For a gourmet Feast Of The Seven Fishes, consider this seven-course dinner: (1) oyster shooters or oysters on the half shell, (2) seafood chowder, (3) marinated seafood salad (calamari, octopus, shrimp, green and black olives, onion) over greens, (4) angel hair pasta with lobster in a tomato cream sauce, (5) squid ink pasta with scallops and red caviar, (6) your favorite salmon dish, (7) your favorite shrimp or lobster dish.

Why seven dishes? No one knows with certainty. Of course, the number seven has many meanings in Western tradition, including the number of Sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church. We may have to wait for the next Dan Brown novel to uncover the mystery.

Consider creating your own seven fish dishes on Christmas Eve. You don’t have to adhere to Italian specialties or make a full dinner out of it. Try seven appetizers on a “mezze plate,”* such as calamari salad, cocktail shrimp, crab cakes, crab dip with crudités, tuna-olive tapenade, seafood paté and smoked salmon or gravlax. Make the Feast Of The Seven Fishes a holiday tradition in your home.

*Mezze, pronounced MEH-zee, are Middle Eastern appetizers served either before or with dinner, generally with pita. Several mezze are served at the same time, in what is called a mezze platter. Examples include baba ghannouj (eggplant dip), falafel, feta cheese, hummus, kalaj (baked halloumi cheese in pastry), moutabal (grilled eggplant), and sambousek, spicy carrots and tabouleh. Up to 50 varieties can appear on a mezze table—a Middle Eastern “antipasto.”

 

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TIP OF THE DAY: Wine & Beer Gifts

Make a gift of a wine-tasting course or a home microbrewery kit even better: give it in tandem with a subscription to a relevant magazine (for wine, we love Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate—subscribe at eRobertParker.com).

The recipient will enjoy being able to build on his or her expertise on an ongoing basis.

Pilsnergeneric

Forget the stein: This is the classic
Pilsener glass.

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TIP OF THE DAY: Pomegranate Sangria For National Sangria Day

[1] Make pomegranate sangria for your guests (photo © Pom Wonderful).

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[2] Make pomegranate sangria for your guests (photo © Pom Wonderful).

 

There’s nothing more festive than a holiday punch bowl.

Historically, Christmas meant gathering around the wassail bowl for good cheer. “Wassail” is Middle English contraction of the toast, wæs hæil, “be healthy.”

Medieval wassail was a mulled beer or mead, heated and topped with slices of toast (a.k.a. sops)—a piece of bread provided for nourishment (think of it as a precursor of crackers and cheese). Today, mulled cider is made with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg.

You can fill your punch bowl with mulled cider, or go more modern with this pomegranate sangria recipe. You don’t need a punch bowl. A pitcher is fine.

If you want a mulled cider recipe, we’ve got some nifty choices (and history) for you as well.

P.S. December 20th is National Sangria Day. National Mulled Wine Day is March 3rd.

 
RECIPE: POMEGRANATE SANGRIA

Sangria is a type of punch. While “punch” evokes the image of a large bowl of drink, the word actually refers to the five ingredients in the original recipe.

While Americans often serve sangria from a pitcher, the Spanish way, feel free to fill up a punch bowl.

Ingredients

  • 18 ounces pomegranate juice
  • 750ml bottle dry, fruity Spanish white wine
  • 6 ounces apricot brandy
  • 6 ounces cream sherry
  • 1 ounce simple syrup
  • 1 ounce Prosecco or other sweet sparkling wine
  • 1 lime, sliced into wheels
  • 1 lemon, sliced into wheels
  • 1/2 orange, sliced into wheels
  • 1/2 grapefruit, sliced into wheels
  • Block of ice for punch bowl
  •  
    For The Garnish

  • Arils from 1 pomegranate
  • Red apple wedges
  • Green apple wedges
  • Orange wedges
  • Grapefruit wedges
  • Cava Spanish sparkling brut
  •  
    Preparation

    1. MAKE the ice block in advance. A large block melts much more slowly than cubes, keeps the punch colder for longer and reduces the dilution. Make it by filling a cake pan with water and freeze the night before. You can also fill a balloon with water; tie off the balloon and place it in a bowl in the freezer the night before.

    2. MAKE the sangria. Remove the arils from the pomegranate (some stores sell arils already removed). Place all ingredients into a sangria pitcher. Refrigerate and let stand 2 hours before serving.

    2. PLACE in a punch bowl; or for individual servings, pour sangria over a glass with ice cubes and top with a fruit garnish. Finish each serving with a splash of Cava Spanish sparkling brut.

      

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