Panettone makes great French toast! Photo by Gabriel T | Sxc.
Did you get a panettone for Christmas? Panettone is the Italian version of fruitcake, a fluffy, sweet yeast bread dotted with raisins, candied lemon and orange peel (called pan dulce in Latin America). In Italy, this tall, dome-shaped, airy Christmas yeast bread, which dates to Medieval times, is very popular for the holidays. The classic accompaniment is a sweet hot beverage or a sweet wine such as spumante or moscato (but any dessert wine will do). Some Italians add a side of crema di mascarpone, a cream made from mascarpone cheese, eggs and Amaretto (or substitute zabaglione). If you have more panettone than you can enjoy, cut it into slices and freeze it: After seconds in the microwave, it’s deliciously warm and fluffy again. We enjoy it toasted—buttered for breakfast or made into a luxurious piece of French toast, and for dessert with a scoop of vanilla or rum raisin ice cream. And it makes one heck of a bread pudding (there’s a recipe in Giada’s Family Dinners, by Giada de Laurentiis).Merry Christmas from all of us at THE NIBBLE.
If you haven’t yet gotten gifts for your favorite organic food fans, print out our review of Liz Lovely Cookies, wrap it in a recyclable box (or send an email with a link to the review, saying “Here’s what I got you for Christmas—they’ll arrive fresh-baked in January”), and point out that the gift will be arriving when the onslaught of holiday baking is over. Then, they’ll be able to properly focus on these delicious, jumbo organic cookies. Liz Lovely Cookies taste like Vermont, the state in which they are lovingly made. Although these soft, chewy jumbo cookies are not health food, each bite seems wholesome and healthy. Nevertheless, you’ll feel good giving these organic and Fair Trade Certified cookies to kids or adults, and eating half a cookie (the suggested portion size) yourself. The line is also certified vegan (dairy free, egg free) and is trans fat free and low sodium. The sugar level is relatively low as well. For grab-and-go convenience or lunch boxes, the cookies are packaged two to a bag to “share the love and make a friend.”
You can send the variety pack, including Cowboy Cookies (oatmeal chocolate chip with hard chocolate icing piped across the top and totally covering the bottom), Cowgirl Cookies (soft chocolate chip cookies, one step above eating cookie dough), Ginger Snapdragons, Mochadamia Mountain and Peanut Butter Classics. There’s a Green Gift Basket in a totally recyclable gift package: Everything is reusable (the tin tub, the ribbon, the tissue) recycled and/or recyclable (the card is printed on recycled paper). It’s certain to be a popular gift—and sharing those cookies will help make new friends! Find more of our favorite organic foods in the NutriNibbles Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine.
For guests who need a lift, this cocktail was made with sparkling grapefruit Hiball energy drink instead of regular soda.
Instead of relegating non-drinking guests to an evening of mineral water, create a special alcohol-free cocktail menu to make their evening festive. Give it a sophisticated name for cachet. One option is the “Great Wall,” a combination of brewed jasmine tea and ginger ale. Brew a pot of jasmine tea and cool it in a pitcher like iced tea (1 teaspoon of tea per 2/3 cup water). Then mix 2/3 cup tea in a tall glass with 1/3 regular or diet ginger ale, ice, and a twist of lemon. This special drink will make your guest feel special, too…and also is a good option for guests who’ve reached their limit with regular cocktails. You can find seasonal cocktails with a kick in the Cocktails & Spirits Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine.
The Italian Trade Commission is offering a scholarship to study Italian cuisine, to someone seeking to change careers. The recipient will study at New York City’s Italian Culinary Academy, sister school to The French Culinary Institute and alma mater to chefs such as The Food Network’s Bobby Flay, Blue Hill’s Dan Barber, WD-40’s Wylie Dufresne and Top Chef’s Lee Anne Wong, among others. But you need to hustle your toque: The application deadline is January 8th. For information on how to apply, visit (quickly!) ItalianCulinaryAcademy.com or telephone 1.888.324.CHEF.
Apply for the scholarship, and your cuisine may reign supreme.
