*The classic recipe contains basil, olive oil, Parmesan and Pecorino cheeses, pine nuts, garlic and salt.

The good news is, no matter how much exciting food you’ve tasted in a specialty food category, there’s always more to discover. So we smacked our lips when we came across Le Grand Pesto, an all-natural line of artisan pesto sauces and tapenades made by a couple in Canada. Since then, we can’t imagine life without Le Grand Pesto Lemon Confit & Pumpkin Seed Aromatic Sauce—it may ensure our cult status among foodie friends who credit us with the discovery (try it with fish, seafood, pasta, vegetables and anything that lemon takes a shine to).

We’ve been snacking on spoonfuls of the five other flavors, in between using them as a condiment on everything from eggs to sandwiches to soups and salads. Just try enlivening that Caprese salad or cheese pizza with Spicy Olive & Sun-dried Tomato Tapenade. Squirt a spoonful of 4 Nut & Cheese Pesto into a bowl of tomato soup or onto pear slices. Try

-Educate people who want to learn more about artisan cheese
-Support the artisan cheesemaking community and its sustainability
-Celebrate and enjoy the creations of the artisan cheesemakers
-Eat a heck of a lot of great cheese that is hard to come by

Over the four day festival weekend, you’ll explore handcrafted cheeses, foods, wines and beers from California and beyond. At the second annual festival in March 2008, more than 1,700 attendees met more than a dozen international award-winning cheesemakers and learned how to taste, buy, serve and enjoy distinctive artisan cheeses from the experts.

Visit THE NIBBLE’s Cheese Section for reviews of our favorite artisan cheeses.
Discover the meaning of “turophile” in our Cheese Glossary.
Learn the History Of Cheese.
Take our Cheese Trivia Quiz.

*At Coney Island, New York City, in 1871. See the History Of The Hot Dog.

Linz gave us the Linzertorte (Linzer Torte is the English spelling), and gets additional honors, too: The Linzertorte is the oldest-known torte† recipe in the world. The earliest-found written version dates to a manuscript from 1653. This doesn’t mean that the torte did not exist prior to then, just that it is the first proof as to the approximate date and place of its origin. As with any item, it is likely to have developed some time prior to its first-known written record.

†As opposed to a cake, a torte replaces all or most of the flour in a typical recipe with ground nuts. Almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts are most often used.

Over time, the exceedingly popular Linzertorte, an almond or hazelnut short crust filled with jam, was made into tartlets and cookies. And now, we can celebrate because Let Them Eat Cake, an artisan baker in New York City, has created a spectacular dessert or gift that’s delicious year-round, but perfect for the holidays. It looks like a beautiful, round cake, but has been pre-cut into 12 slices. The raspberry jam gleams through the heart-shaped cutouts, and the surface glistens with crystalline sanding sugar. For the dining table, buffet, workplace or picnic, the cookie can be eaten with a fork or with the fingers. Available in raspberry, apricot or chocolate filling, only a grinch would overlook this opportunity to celebrate. Read the full review on TheNibble.com.

“Beer in the U.S.,” a report from Beverage Marketing Corporation, an industry research company, noted that per-capita consumption of beer in the country in 2007 hit 22 gallons (and if you don’t drink beer, think of how much the other guy is drinking). “While the decreases in the early years of the 21st century were in the order of one or two tenths of a gallon from one year to the next, they became a steadily recurring phenomenon,” the company said in the report.

Find some of our favorite craft beers in THE NIBBLE’s Beer Section.
Learn more about beer in our Glossary of Beer Terms.
Learn the best Beer & Cheese Pairings.
See a six-course Beer & Food Pairing Dinner menu with recipes.
Check out these Tips for Serving Beer.

After the constant media coverage and the long lines at the polls this election year, you deserve a treat. We suggest everything made by The Sticky Toffee Pudding Company.

Americans enjoy many blessings.

One of them is that Englishwoman Tracy Claros moved to Texas and started a delightful specialty food company, The Sticky Toffee Pudding Company, making British-style puddings, which are like warm, individual cakes (learn more about puddings in the main review).

Tracy makes four puddings:

 
We can’t name the winner—the three flavors tie for first place.

How wonderful is it to have before you a sumptuous dessert, about which even Gordon Ramsay could have no complaint?

Simply remove the individual portion from the wrapper, place the cup in the microwave for 40 sections, invert the pudding and its sauce onto a plate and garnish at will.

You may devour it in only slightly longer time than it took to warm. Or you may have more restraint than we do. No refrigeration is required, although refrigerating (or freezing) extends the shelf life.
 
 
> Read the full review.

> National Sticky Toffee Day is January 22nd.

> The difference between butterscotch, caramel, and toffee.

> The history of Sticky Toffee Pudding.

[1] Tasting even better than it looks, Sticky Ginger Pudding is perfect for the holidays—although we wouldn’t turn it away on a blazing August afternoon (photo © The Sticky Toffee Pudding Co.).

[2] Here’s the recipe for this delicious Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake (photo © The Baker Chick).