Image courtesy Dunkin’ Donuts.

To celebrate, there are two contests.

THE NIBBLE’s Gourmet Giveaway

THE PRIZE: One winner will receive a $60.00 gift card, good at any Dunkin Donuts location or online.

TO ENTER: Go to the box at the bottom of our Gourmet Pies & Pastry Section and enter your email address for the prize drawing.

DEADLINE: This contest closes on Monday, March 8th at noon, Eastern Time. Good luck!

Dunkin’ Donuts’ “birthDDay” celebration (that’s DD for Dunkin’ Donuts) includes the return of the “Create Dunkin’s Next Donut” contest. If your idea is chosen, you’ll win $12,000 and the honor of having your creation sold at participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants nationwide. Create and enter your donut at DunkinDonuts.com.

A dozen finalists will be chosen to travel to Dunkin’ Donuts University, the company’s worldwide training center in Massachusetts. The grand prize winner will be announced—when else?—on National Donut Day, June 4th.

Dunkin’ Donuts has also created a full line of commemorative retro packaging, vintage-themed tee shirts and retro Dunkin’ Donuts Cards at DunkinDonuts.com, as well as at participating DD shops (while supplies last).

– National Celery Month
– National Flour Month
– National Frozen Food Month
– National Nutrition Month
– National Noodle Month
– National Peanut Month
– National Sauce Month
– National Caffeine Awareness Month

In addition to the declaration of entire months as food holidays, almost every day of the year has its own food holiday—for example, today, March 1st, is National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day.

While we used to publish all of the holidays in this blog, they’re now part of THE NIBBLE’s Tweetstream. Sign up for them at Twitter.com.

These holidays are part of a long article on monthly food holidays that we created in 2005, and are among the most popular of the 20,000 pages on TheNibble.com. (More than a few people have begun tweeting on the same topic after seeing ours.)

It’s National Caffeine Awareness Month.
Become more aware in our Coffee Glossary. Photo by Mac Pale | SXC.

Panna cotta with raspberry coulis. Photo
by Kelly Cline | IST.

What do you think of when you hear the word “sauce?” Pasta sauce? Mushroom sauce? Worcestershire sauce?

How about dessert sauce?

From coulis to Crème Anglaise to hard sauce to zabaglione, take a look at all the different types of dessert sauces in our Dessert Sauce Glossary.

Then plan some saucy desserts to celebrate National Sauce Month.

• Not into desserts? How about barbecue sauce?
• Or, go for the pasta sauce.
• Reduction sauce is another favorite.
• Find the best soy sauce.
• Make dinner easily with simmer sauces, like these tasty Indian sauces.

Preserved lemon is a condiment made of lemons that have been pickled in a brine of water, lemon juice, salt and sometimes, spices (they’re pickled lemons). The lemons then ferment at room temperature for weeks, or even months. The result is a concentrated and earthy lemon flavor without too much tartness. Preserved lemons are popular in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Moroccan cuisines.

Preserved lemons can be purchased in specialty food stores and on Amazon.com; or you can make your own with this preserved lemon recipe.

Bay leaves are the aromatic leaves of the bay laurel plant. Fresh or dried bay leaves are used to flavor soups, stews and braises. They are quite pungent, so one leaf is often enough to flavor an entire pot. When dried, the fragrance is herbal and slightly floral, with a flavor that is sharp and somewhat bitter.

Enliven tortellini with bay leaf and
preserved lemon. Photo courtesy McCormick.

Recipe: Lemon-Bay Tortellini With Spinach & Wild Mushrooms

Bay leaves and preserved lemons combine into an aromatic mix of bitter, salty-tart and bright, slowly coaxed flavors. This sophisticated recipe for combines familiar tortellini ingredients—spinach mushrooms—with the bay leaf and preserved lemons.

What else to do with the bay leaf/preserved lemon combination? If you’ve never made a Moroccan tagine, this is the year to try one! Then, use let your palate guide you to more new recipe ideas.

• Find more flavor trends recipes. 

Instead of generic “wine and cheese,” serve
different wines (or beers) in the same
category and turn your event into a “tasting.”
Photo courtesy Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

But what if your friends prefer wine or beer?

Instead of making a random selection at the store, focus on selecting bottles for a beer or wine tasting.

Pick up to a dozen different kinds of a single beer (amber ale, IPA, stout, chocolate beer and ale) or wines from a particular region (New Zealand, South Africa) or a particular grape varietal (zinfandel, shiraz, semillon).

Guests not only enjoy the Academy Awards, but discover new favorite beers or wines in the process.

• What cheeses should you serve with the beer or wine? See our Beer, Wine & Cheese Paring Chart.
• If you’d rather focus on the cheese, here’s how to host a cheese-tasting party.