THE NIBBLE BLOG: Products, Recipes & Trends In Specialty Foods


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EVENT: Third Annual NYC Food Film Festival, June 13-19

Foodies & Filmies Alert: The Third Annual NYC Food Film Festival is right around the corner. From June 13-19, a series of films based on food, screened in various locations in New York City, will offer attendees a variation of “dinner and a movie”—you’ll get to taste the foods inspired by the films. Debuting June 13, with a gala opening at the Astor Center, ticket holders can sample the Cruze Family Farm buttermilk featured in the film “Buttermilk: It Can Help.” Some of the festival screenings are FREE. But if you would like to watch Ron Mann’s “Know Your Mushrooms” while you enjoy mushrooms in various preparations by acclaimed New York City chef Brad Farmerie, of SoHo’s Public, along with Harry Hawk’s famous aged rib eye cheese steaks (June 14th) you will need to pony up $85. We had a taste, and if you’re flush, it’s worth it. For more information, visit NYCFoodfilmfestival.com. nyc-food-film-festival-230

A free film screening, al fresco.

Some of the screenings:

  • “Eat or We Both Shall Starve,” about a Mississippi catfish joint; an exposé on Malaysian street food (“Street Chows”) and a nail-biting super-short thriller about a stalk of celery and a knife (“Celeriac”).
  • “Food Cops” about a hamburger and a hot dog hunting for a criminal on the streets of New York and “Sandwich Thief” where a fight over a sandwich leads to an unexpected conclusion.
  • Much more—see the website.

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GIFTS: Father’s Day

PHOTO: The recession has even taken a bite out of chocolate gifts. But seriously, folks, it’s part of the Financial Crunch Stimulus Package, a fun gift for a chocolate-loving dad.

Financial Crunch Chocolate

With less than two weeks to Father’s Day (Sunday, June 21), you can get inspiration from our gift selections. There’s something at every price range (mostly very recession affordable), including:

  • Bentley’s wonderful pecan caramel popcorn, not sticky-sweet
  • Gary West’s meaty, high-protein steak strip snack packs
  • Paumanok Preserves’ Incredible Onion Conserve and Gracious Garlic Gelée (not to be missed!)
  • Philadelphia Distilling’s Bluecoat Gin, a truly exciting, handcrafted award winner
  • Sanani’s super-smooth Mocha coffee from Yemen
  • Sweet Assets’ Financial Crunch Chocolate Stimulus Package

All items are available online; shipping costs offset your time and gas money. See our Gift Finder Section for even more gift ideas.

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TOP PICK OF THE WEEK: Squirrel Brand Gourmet Nuts

Categorizing Squirrel Brand as just a nut company is simplifying things a bit too much,” says the company website. “We prefer to consider ourselves as more of a sensory experience.” While we normally skip over glowing marketing statements, in this case, we totally agree.

In its earlier days, Squirrel Brand was not targeted to gourmets, but to folks looking for a simple bag of fresh, salted peanuts. Old radio commercials on the company website urge the average Joe to enjoy them, and tell parents to buy a bag for the kids.

Today, average Joe has been left behind; he would not be too interested in the sophisticated, transcendent truffled almonds which we think are to die for—a fusion of California nuts and Ritrovo’s Italian truffle salt. Meyer Private Reserve cashews from Brazil are dusted with a delicate blend of five peppercorns from the Pacific Rim that accents—never overwhelms—the fine cashew flavor. The same seasoning is available on “blistered” Virginia peanuts, roasted with a special technique for extra crunchiness. And yes, there are the sweet offerings—Crème Caramel Pecans, Crème Brûlée Almonds—and the “plain” nuts, including mixed nuts and pistachios salted with Fleur de Sel.

pepper-cashews-3002
Aromatic, artisan-peppercorn Meyer Private
Reserve Cashews are the cashew version of
Steak-au-Poivre.

Squirrel Brand opens your eyes to a category called “gourmet nuts”—not just the best quality nuts, but the best quality handled by master roasters and flavored by great palates. With Father’s Day coming up, you don’t have to go nuts or squirrely figuring out how to treat Dad to something special. Just hop over to Squirrel Brand and shell out for something special. Read the full review, including recipe ideas and serving suggestions.

Check out:

Shop igourmet.com

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PRODUCT REVIEW: Laura’s Handcrafted Graham Crackers

graham-crackers-3-3001Old-fashioned goodness: Laura’s Handcrafted Grahams. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky|THE NIBBLE CAPSULE REPORT: One might lust after the perfect graham cracker without knowing that graham crackers were actually invented to control lust, by The Reverend Sylvester Graham (1794-1851), an eccentric Presbyterian minister from Connecticut. The Reverend believed that physical lust was the cause of maladies, from biggies, like consumption, spinal disease, epilepsy and insanity, to everyday indispositions such as headaches and indigestion.

His “cure” was to suppress carnal urges, for which he prescribed a strict vegetarian diet and the avoidance of alcohol, tobacco and refined white flour. Toward this end, he invented the eponymous graham flour, from whence came the graham cracker. Graham flour is a form of whole wheat flour in which the bran and germ layers are returned and mixed in, producing a coarse, brown flour with a nutty and slightly sweet flavor. (Grape Nuts cereal is made of graham flour.)Many graham crackers have followed, but today, the commercial version is a pallid affair. For graham crackers with gusto, try the homemade taste of Tiny Trapeze, reviewed by THE NIBBLE a few years ago,

and Laura’s Handcrafted Graham Crackers, a recent discovery. As cookies go, these are not a diet disaster: Both brands weigh in at about 50 calories apiece. Two cookies with a glass of milk or a cup of tea or coffee can be extremely soul-satisfying. The Reverend would approve.

Gifts for Dad - Free Shipping on $99+ at Chefs

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TIP OF THE DAY: Dressing The Cheeses

  • Dress up your cheese plate with cheese condiments. See our list of the many different ones, from the familiar like nuts and dried fruits, to mostarda and wine jelly.
It’s National Cheese Day, so invite a few friends over for a cheese-tasting party. Many people dress up the cheese tray with fruits and nuts—but why not dress up the cheeses themselves? Soft and semisoft cheeses like chèvres and blues lend themselves to toppings. Press finely- or coarsely-chopped nuts into the tops—pistachios and almonds go well with most cheeses. Or try chopped sun-dried tomatoes moistened with just enough olive oil to hold their shape, a dry pesto or sweet or savory chutneys. You don’t need to dress up every cheese on the platter, but one or two will add pizzazz to your total presentation.

Learn more about cheese condiments.

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