Instead of giving a friend a bottle of wine as a birthday, congratulatory or holiday gift, take him or her to a wine tasting. Share the experience and the memories, and build your wine knowledge together. If your budget allows, you can add a bottle of wine as a surprise at the end of the tasting. Most cities have regular tasting events and classes. If you don’t know where to find them, ask at wine stores.
For some pointers on wine, visit our Wine Section.
September 27, 2009 at 6:10 pm
· Filed under Recipes, Snacks
Like things spicy? Try the Deviled Chex Mix.
Photo courtesy of Chex.
Earlier this year, Chex asked America to create the most Chex-ilicious party mixes, and the five finalists are awaiting America’s vote at ChexRecipeContest.com. Go get the five recipes, have a tasting party and cast your vote for:
Buffalo Chex Mix, inspired by buffalo wings, includes hot sauce, ranch dressing and celery seed.
Chexicago Party Mix, which combines caramel, cheese popcorn and cheese crackers for a sweet-and-salty effect.
Chex Pumpkin Pie Crunch has pumpkin pie spices and pecan halves, perfect for the holidays.
Deviled Chex Mix, a spicy blend of chili powder, coriander, cumin, curry and paprika.
Lemon Rosemary Chex Mix, with almonds, is a light and buttery take on Chex Mix
Each recipe takes just 15 minutes to prepare. We’ve been making Chex Mix since high school and while the original is still a favorite, these winners are fun. We’ll certainly be making one of them for the holidays. (That’s the hint to our favorite recipe, although everyone at THE NIBBLE voted for a different recipe.)
Most people prefer sweet butter at the table, but there’s a contingent that favors salty. A solution to please everyone: Serve sweet butter and provide a cellar of delicious sea salt. Salt butter lovers can sprinkle a few grains on their butter, and enjoy the superior flavor and crunch of the sea salt over commercial salted butter. In fact, some award-winning salted butters are made by blending creamery butter with sel gris or another fine sea salt, and some top restaurants serve sweet butter with sea salt on top. Be artistic with black or red lava salts.
Read about the one salt butter we love: from Vermont Butter & Cheese. It’s perfect—just a touch of salt in an exceptional artisan butter. Butter lovers: It’s worth sending for if you can’t find it locally.
September 27, 2009 at 7:00 am
· Filed under Kids, Organic
Parents who insist on the best for their children have two new choices in the popular all-natural Mac & Cheese from Annie’s Homegrown.
Lower-Sodium Mac & Cheese presents the classic kids’ favorite with 25% less sodium than the leading brands.
5-Grain Elbows & White Cheddar blends durham wheat with four ancient whole grains: amaranth, kamut, quinoa and spelt. It contains 8g or more of whole grains per serving, an it’s also USDA-certified organic.
Our investigative adult palates preferred the slightly more sophisticated taste of the 5-Grain variety, but we’re betting the nuances will be lost on kids. They’ll only note that the 5-Grain is white, not orange. Try the tip from Annie’s Homegrown to substitute yogurt for the milk for a tangier taste.
Annie’s Homegrown has also launched new Organic Cheddar Snack Mix Bunnies: crunchy Cheddar bunny crackers, buttery bunny crackers and pretzels, with a light seasoning of Organic Valley Cheddar cheese. Visit Annies.com to learn more.
Save some for the kids! A favorite snack mix, USDA-certified organic. Photo by Hannah
Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.
One of our favorite salad greens, not served often enough in the U.S., is the classic French frisée (curly endive). A salade frisée (frisée salad) is traditionally served with crumbled Roquefort cheese and lardons, which are crisp, browned chunks of pork belly (you can substitute bacon or pancetta). Toss the salad with a classic vinaigrette. For even more panache, add some fan-sliced red pear and a few toasted walnut halves.
