Dried fruit and nut mixes have probably been popular since the dawn of man. It wouldn’t have taken much for a hunter-gatherer to combine some raisins from wild grapevines with crunchy nuts and deem the combination better than either food alone.
But it’s taken until recent times for fruit and nut mixes to be seasoned so deftly that the snack is better than ever. One practitioner of the art is Lambie Stout, a mom and cancer survivor from Toledo who gives 5% of the proceeds of Comfort Crunch to cancer research.
Comfort Crunch is available in four varieties including one vegan recipe (the Original). The mixes of fresh, crunchy nuts and moist dried fruits are enhanced with crystallized ginger and pepitas, chocolate-covered ginger or chocolate-covered toffee.
A healthy, indulgent snack, the chic minimalist packaging makes a yummy stocking stuffer. There’s also lovely holiday packaging that hold two bags (see the website, ComfortCrunch.com, for gift options). If you’re looking for corporate gifts, you can’t go wrong with this feel-good option.
Here’s a beautiful, fun and delicious cocktail snack that’s simple to make. We think of it as a deconstructed Bloody Mary; others call it “drunken tomatoes.” It helps if you have a jumbo martini glass, but a small pedestal bowl works nicely, too. Fill the glass with red and yellow cherry or grape tomatoes; add a quality vodka to just cover the tomatoes. You can snip in some fresh (not dried!) oregano or rosemary as a pretty herbal accent. Provide attractive toothpicks in a shot glass or other holder, so guests can spear the tomatoes, and a small bowl for discarded picks. This one is always a cocktail party hit!
Award-winning dessert lasagna by Chef Michael Stambaugh. Photo and recipe courtesy of the National Pasta Association.
November is National Pasta Month—a holiday we’d like to celebrate with a different delicious pasta dish every day. While most of us have tried the many different types of pasta, from long cuts (fettuccine) and short cuts (penne) to stuffed pasta (ravioli) and casseroles (lasagne), who has had dessert pasta? But we’re about to change that!
Treat your friends and family to the dessert lasagne in the photo plus 12 other dessert pasta recipes. (Lasagne is the correct Italian spelling—lasagna is the Americanized word.)
See our Pasta Glossary for all the different types of pasta.
Visit our Pasta Section for recipes, how to pair pastas and sauces, the history of pasta and much more.
It’s Moldy Cheese Day—yes, it’s an officially declared food holiday—so it’s time for a little mold education. If a blue mold develops on your cheese, that’s good and natural (think blue cheese). You can eat it; or if you aren’t into blue, scrape it off and enjoy the rest of the cheese. Red or black mold, however, indicates a cheese that’s past its prime. Cut it away. The rest of the cheese is still fine, though.
Celebrate Moldy Cheese Day with some delicious blue cheese: in an omelet, in your salad (crumbled into the salad or into the dressing), on your burger or steak, on a sandwich, or for dessert with a glass of sweet dessert wine.
