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


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GOURMET NEWS: Lager Week

December 11, 2008 at 8:00 am · Filed under Beer & Hard Cider, Holidays & Occasions, Recipes

  This is Lager Week, so invite your friends to a magnificent beer and food pairing beer dinner. Start with some overall beer and food pairing tips. Then an appetizer of:

–Spicy Steamed Mussels, paired with an American sour wheat or farmhouse ale.

-For the fish course, Wood-Grilled Trout With Mission Fig Compound Butter is delicious with an India Pale Ale or an amber ale.

-Kebabs are always fun, and these Pear & Lamb Kebabs With Harpoon Winter Warmer-Rosemary Pan Sauce are wonderful with a seasonal winter ale like Harpoon, or a highly hopped brown ale.

-For those whose palates demand beef, Indonesian Beef Rendang, spiced with ginger, tumeric and coriander, calls out for Spiced ale or imperial brown ale.
-Now for that lager. The Cheese Course offers a wealth of choices that pair with lagers.

-But there’s still dessert—heavenly Vermont Maple Syrup- and Porter-Poached Apples. What beer to drink with it? Porter, of course!

We plan to serve this dinner on New Year’s Eve. See the many different types of beer in THE NIBBLE’s Beer Glossary—you can print it out, cut up the definitions, and turn it into a game, and every time someone can’t correctly define one of the beer terms, he or she doesn’t get to take another sip!

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CONTEST: Your Party Recipe Or Tip Could Win $400 In Gourmet Food

December 10, 2008 at 9:35 am · Filed under Contest

Enter your best party recipe by 4 p.m. P.T. on Tuesday, December 16, and you could win a $400 gift certificate to MarxFoods.com, an online resource for the country’s finest gourmet foods (and yes, imported ones, too). Use it to throw a holiday party, or to stock your larder with truffles, fine spices, artisan oils and vinegars, exotic meats and game, or our favorite ravioli from Nuovo Pasta, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week (filled with everything from lobster to short ribs—read our review).

Just go to http://marxfoods.com, click the Blog link at the top of the page, and enter your recipe or tip on the blog. The $400 winner and two runners up, who will receive $50 gift certificates, will be selected on Wednesday, December 17. Blog visitors will then vote for the winners from December 17 to Sunday, December 21; winners will be announced on Monday, December 22.
From the top: Portabella & Asiago Ravioli,
Gorgonzola & Sundried Tomato Girasole and
Roasted Vegetable Pansotti from Nuovo Pasta,
available on MarxFoods.com.
 

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RECIPES: Exciting Recipes With Cheese

December 10, 2008 at 9:00 am · Filed under Cheese-Yogurt-Dairy, Recipes


Buttermilk Blue Cheese ice cream with a poached
pear is one of our favorite desserts—it’s thrilling. 		  You can compose an entire dinner of cheese dishes, from appetizer to dessert, as we’ve done here, inspired by our visits to the famous Parisian restaurant Androuet. There, the menu consists entirely of cheese dishes (onion soup with Saint-Nectaire, fried Camembert, ravioli de chèvre, Roquefort tart, Issau Iraty raclette and dozens more) or plates of cheese (you can select from more than 100 types). Here are eight recipes, popular in America, that have been developed with cheese by master chefs across the country for the award-winning cheesemaker Roth Käse, of Wisconsin. The recipes incorporate seasonal ingredients and flourishes, but most can be enjoyed year-round.

–Creamy Artichoke Dip With Gorgonzola & Fontiago
–Poached Pears On Frisée With Macadamia Crusted Buttermilk Bleu Affinée
–Mexican-Style Chicken Soup With Queso Fresco
–Tartlette Of Rofumo, Prosciutto, Pears & Arugula
–Pork With Fontina, Prosciutto & Sundried Tomato Sauce
–Gruyère Soufflé With Endive & Apple Salad
–Sweet Potato Risotto With Fontina
–Buttermilk Blue Ice Cream With Poached Pears
Learn more about cheese by skimming through our Cheese Glossary.

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GOURMET TRAVEL: Truffle Camp, January 2009

December 9, 2008 at 9:30 am · Filed under Travel, Vegetables-Salads-Herbs

Foodies with funds can give themselves a nice holiday gift: a 3-day trip to Truffle Camp with Chef Ken Frank, executive chef and owner of the Michelin-starred La Toque restaurant in Napa, California, who features a truffle menu at his restaurant. For three days, eight truffle fans will have the rare opportunity to immerse themselves in everything there is to know about the prized delicacy. Truffle Camp includes three days of dinners and luncheons—all with truffles and wine, of course, including a farewell breakfast of truffle omelets—side trips to a local farm and winery (with wine tasting), hands-on experience preparing truffle dishes with Chef Frank, plus lodging in the Westin Verasa Napa, the new resort where La Toque restaurant is located. You can attend camp from January 11-14, 2009 or January 18-21, 2009. Happy campers will need to fork over $2,900 per individual based on single occupancy or $4,800 per couple based on double occupancy.  You’ll leave with a goodie bag and recipes to help create truffle specialties at home. For more information about the Truffle Camp, visit LaToque.com. Santa baby, just slip the tickets under the tree for me. Been an awful good girl!  
Costlier than gold: the Périgord truffle of France
and the white Alba truffle of the Piedmont, in
Italy.
See photos of gorgeous truffles and learn all about these fungus “jewels” in our uber-informative article on truffles.
Console yourself with the affordable wonder of D’Artagnan Truffle Butter.
Check out D’Artagnan’s mousse of duck foie gras, packed with black truffle pieces and spiked with Sauternes. Nice for holiday entertaining (or gifts).
Enjoy the affordable indulgence of Tsar Nicoulai’s Truffled Whitefish Caviar, American Caviar infused with truffle flavor.
Make foie gras French toast with black truffles.
Get Elizabeth Luard’s book about truffles.

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RECIPES: Holiday Cocktails

December 9, 2008 at 9:00 am · Filed under Cocktails & Spirits, Holidays & Occasions, Recipes


It’s a pumpkin pie in a glass.		 This holiday season, start your guests off with the same flavors that end the meal—pie! These cocktails take advantage of seasonal flavors to perfectly complement your cocktail hour—or dessert.

Caramel Apple Pie Cocktail

The seasonal flavors of this sweet cocktail come from butterscotch schnapps and real apple cider. For more pie flavor, you can dip the rim in graham cracker crumbs.

Ingredients Per Cocktail

-1 ounce tequila
-1/2 ounce butterscotch schnapps
-1 ounce apple cider
-1 teaspoon lemon juice
-Apple slice garnish
-Graham cracker crumbs for rim (optional)

Preparation

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Add tequila, schnapps, apple cider and lemon juice.
3. Shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass. If desired, first moisten rim of glass and dip into graham cracker crumbs.
4. Garnish with notched apple slice.
Pumpkin-tini

You can try different rims for different flavors. This recipe calls for cinnamon, but you could use graham cracker crumbs, shredded coconut, cocoa powder—or a blend.

Ingredients Per Cocktail

-1-1/2 ounces vanilla vodka
-1-1/2 ounces crème de cacao
-2 tablespoons pumpkin purée
-1-1/2 ounces milk

Preparation

1. Shake milk and pumpkin purée to combine.
2. Pour in vodka and crème de cacao, and shake over ice.
3. Strain into cinnamon-rimmed martini glass.

Learn how to plan a cocktail party.
Find more winter cocktail recipes in THE NIBBLE’s Cocktail Section.

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