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


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RECIPES: Cooking With Beer

You can make almost anything with beer—from bread to ice cream to some of these more obvious beer recipes, compliments of Gordon Biersch. These recipes are made Gordon Biersch Marzenwith Märzen or Märzenbier, an amber-red (auburn), smooth, mildly sweet, Vienna-style lager with a malty aroma. It originated in Bavaria where it was originally brewed in March (Mär zen) and laid down in caves before the summer heat made brewing impossible. At the end of September, any remaining kegs were consumed during the two-week Oktoberfest. While some brewers make a Märzen that is seasonal to the Oktoberfest, others, like Gordon Biersch, brew it year-round.  

Märzen is Gordon Biersch’s sweetest brew. Company co-founder Dan Gordon describes it as the “universal donor,” meaning that it goes well with just about anything. Some strongly-flavored beers can turn bitter if you cook with them, particularly if you use them to boil or braise. Weizens (wheat beers) are too light to cook with, and hoppy beers like pilsners don’t reduce too successfully.

If you can’t find Märzen, you can substitute any slightly sweet and malty lager, a darker lager or, in season, festbiers and Oktoberfest brews.

Barbecued Märzen Ribs Recipe

Beer Batter Onion Rings Recipe

Märzen Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Märzen Mustard Recipe

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PRODUCT REVIEW: Martine’s Sugar-Free Chocolate

Martine’s sugar-free almond bark
doesn’t skimp on good ingredients;
sweetened with maltitol, the only thing
it’s missing is regular sugar.
  It takes a true master of chocolate to make delicious sugar-free versions of his or her art, and who better to take on the challenge than Manhattan’s own Martine Leventer, creator of Martine’s Chocolates? We’ve already raved about her top-notch gourmet chocolate in a past review, but we are delighted to report that she makes excellent sugar-free chocolates, too, from the fine Belgian chocolate of Callebaut. They are perfect for people who have been searching for a high-quality gourmet chocolate that’s so good, it’s easy to forget that it’s sugar-free. (Please note that this is not a low-calorie product, and should be consumed by people who need to restrict their intake of sucrose. Those on restricted diets should consult with their healthcare advisors before consuming any sugar substitutes.)

Martine Leventer experiments with every one of her chocolates until she is satisfied, so we aren’t surprised that her sugar-free line meets high standards. After careful investigation, she found that maltitol was the only artificial sweetener that did not leave an aftertaste. That may be why her sugar-free chocolates leave plenty of folks fooled (including us!), in a good way. Martine’s sugar-free chocolates have the same charm as their sugared counterparts; both are made with fine Belgian Callebaut chocolate and hand-crafted with elegant molds.

Read the full review on TheNibble.com.

 

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RECIPES: White Bean Dip & Bruschetta

If you keep a can of white beans in the pantry, you can whip up a bean dip in five minutes. It’s handy to do this, because when guests drop by, you look like a kitchen magician, when all you’ve done is toss some ingredients into the food processor.

Variations: After you’ve made the basic recipe, try variations with your favorite flavors: anchovy, basil, chive, green or black olive, jalapeño, parsley, roasted red peppers, sundried tomato, etc. These flavors are easy to add with Amore Pastes. Add two tablespoons to the food processor.

Then do even more, by making bruschetta with your bean purée, or you can use Cool Beans dip, a NIBBLE Top Pick. It makes a delicious, garlicy snack, cocktail pairing or first dinner course.

White Bean Dip Recipe

White Bean Bruschetta Recipe

Find more articles and reviews of bean products in THE NIBBLE’s Rice, Beans & Grains section.

 
Bean purées can scooped, spread or
spooned.
 

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GOURMET GIVEAWAY: Burger Trivia

America’s favorite food began its life not
in America, but in somewhere far, far
away. Find out where by taking THE
NIBBLE’s trivia quiz.
  Like burgers? Enter this week’s Gourmet Giveaway: The lucky winner of our burger prize will get to enjoy a gourmet burger buffet for eight. The winner will receive eight flavorful 5-ounce gourmet burgers from Omaha Steaks with sweet onion-flavored poppyseed buns, herb roasted potato wedges and a delicious blend of sweet yellow and white whole kernel corn. Retail value $67.99. This and other gourmet gifts are available at DelightfulDeliveries.com. Enter the Gourmet Giveaway by answering a few fun trivia questions about burgers; you don’t have to answer correctly to win. Find articles, recipes and reviews of more meats in the Gourmet Meat & Poultry Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine.
 

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TOP PICK OF THE WEEK: Cool Beans

Travelers to Provence and Italy have likely been served an appetizer dip and spread made of white beans. A purée of slow-cooked beans, flavored with lemon, garlic and fresh herbs, is delightful for dipping crudités and breadsticks and for spreading on bread and crackers. In Morocco, a spicier version called bissara, made with fava beans, is seasoned with cumin, paprika and cayenne. Both variations are far more elegant than the popular black bean dip of Tex-Mex cuisine. White bean spread can be the base of canapés, can add complexity to sandwiches and can serve as a side with duck, lamb, pork or veal.

Given the popularity of hummus, a purée of chickpeas and tahini, white bean dip should appeal to many American palates. It looks like hummus, can be substituted for hummus and can be flavored in the same way, providing plenty of tasty variations (chive, garlic, jalapeño, olive, sundried tomato, etc). White bean dip may even have a broader appeal, because, composed of white beans and olive oil, it lacks the more exotic sesame flavor provided by the tahini.

  Serve Cool Beans white bean dip any way
you would enjoy hummus…and in many
more ways.
Yet, aside from making it at home or encountering it at a good restaurant here and there, where does one find white bean dip? For those who want to open a jar and dig in, the two brothers who founded Cool Beans have made it easy for you. Their jars of white bean dip require no refrigeration and are easy to keep on hand for company, as a healthy gourmet snack, or if you just want to add some oomph to a sandwich. Now, the retailers of America will have to do their part and put it on the shelves. Until white bean dip is as prevalent as hummus, you can order it online. The dips are all-natural, low-sodium, lowfat and certified kosher. Read more about Cool Beans dip and spread in the full review.

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