Dukkah can also season many different types of foods as a sprinkle, mix-in or crust. While food trend predictors have cited dukkah as a top new U.S. food flavor for the last couple of years, it hasn’t hit home yet. Let’s hope that Americans, hungry for something new and affordable, will take it to heart and table. Be the first in your neighborhood to discover dukkah; mix some up this weekend and invite the gang to bring the wine.

September is National Honey Month. Honey and truffles are a match made in heaven: A jar of good truffle-infused honey is a true pleasure. The earthy truffle melts into the rich sweetness of the honey. Serve it with hunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and crusty bread for dessert, with fresh strawberries or over vanilla, coffee or strawberry ice cream (you can add chopped hazelnuts as a topper). For an hors d’oeuvre, drizzle truffle honey over crostini that have been spread with a triple-crème cheese, or pair it with salty foods like prosciutto. You can also use truffle honey to caramelize chicken or duck skin. Any honey can be infused with truffles (or truffle flavor), but generally a mild honey is used, so the flavor of the truffles shines through.

• Learn more about pairing honey with food.

Involve the kids in meal planning. Let them pick out dishes that appeal to them, and develop their interest in cooking and entertaining. Younger children can be offered simple choices—should we have A or B, and which side dishes. Older children can browse through cookbooks—check out Rachel Ray’s 30-Minute Meals For Kids. Discuss dishes with kids at the table: how they like this sauce or spice or food pairing compared or cooking technique compared to others, what foods they might be interested in trying. The next step is to identify regular dishes they may enjoy taking charge of—salads, perhaps, and prepping other ingredients. Check to see if there is a kids’ cooking class in your town. Involving kids in food preparation and teaching basic cooking skills teaches the joy of cooking, lets the kids help out the family in an important way, impresses their friends and ensures that when your children leave home, they know how to do more than order take-out.

• Cause lunch room jealousy with these cool lunches for school.
• Treat your little gourmet with the Nibble’s food gifts for kids

Although we were able to remove the Trojan horses bestowed upon us by these talented computer types with too much time on their hands, TheNibble.com was down for so long because, after your site is cleaned up, you have to re-apply to Google to reinstate the site as safe and remove the warning.

In terms of why there are people in the world who get their kicks from damaging the property and livelihood of people they don’t even know…we recall from Psych 101 that it has something to do with not getting love and respect as a child. Treat your children well.

Horrors! No one could visit TheNibble.com for
two days…except those willing to forge past this warning page.

[1] Is there any salami more wonderful than truffle salami? Nope! (photos © Creminelli Fine Meats).

[2] How about sopressata?

Shoppers at Seattle’s Pike Place Market already know how special Creminelli salami and sausages are. They are carried by fine food stores nationwide, although not necessarily identified as Creminelli. It’s time for the rest of America to learn the name and demand this delicious line of specialty meats. The Creminelli family has been producing artisan meat products in Italy since the 1600s, according to family lore.

But more recently, in 2007, master artisan Cristiano Creminelli brought the family’s recipes and techniques to America.

The pork-based salami and sausages will be a revelation to Americans for whom Old World artisan traditions have long since disappeared.

If you have enjoyed fine charcuterie in Italy and long to return to taste them again, they are now ready to visit you, via express delivery (or your local retailer).

All of the Creminelli meats are handmade with choice cuts from select pig breeds raised on small family farms and fed with organic white grains.

You can taste the difference—even the fat in the well-marbled pork tastes exceptional. Organic spices complement the beautiful flavor of the natural pork without getting in the way of it.

You know you are eating recipes made with skills passed down from generation to generation.

Certain products are simply not to be missed: the truffle salami, made with real truffles, and the Piemonte sausage, redolent of fresh rosemary, are two we don’t want to be without again.

Pair them with the simplest foods—bread, cheese, pasta—and fireworks begin. But there’s much, much more to revel in here.