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


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PRODUCT: Applegate Naturals Reduced Sodium Bacon

April 11, 2013 at 4:48 pm · Filed under Meat & Poultry, Recipes, Vegetables-Salads-Herbs

If you haven’t yet had Applegate organic and natural meats, you’re in for a treat. The quality is superb, and Applegate franks are our app-solute favorites.

Another product on our “special indulgences” list is Applegate’s Natural Sunday Bacon: packed with old fashioned country bacon flavor but without added nitrites or chemical preservatives.

Made from select cuts of antibiotic-free pork and seasoned with natural ingredients like sea salt, Applegate bacon is smoked for hours over hardwood.

And now, there’s an even healthier version of Applegate’s Natural Sunday Bacon: Reduced Sunday Bacon, which delivers the same great taste with 25% less sodium.

 

New, delicious and 25% lower in sodium. Photo courtesy Applegate.com.
Learn more about Applegate products at Applegate.com.

Then, whip up some BLTs or make this tasty salad:

RECIPE: BLT SALAD WITH AVOCADO & BUTTERMILK DRESSING

This pretty composed salad is like an avocado BLT without the toast. Homemade buttermilk dressing is a creamy treat.

The recipe serves 4 to 6.

 


An avocado “BLT” salad. Photo courtesy
Applegate.com.

  

Ingredients

Dressing Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons chopped chives
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper

    •  
    Salad Ingredients

  • 1 package (8 ounces) Applegate Sunday Bacon
  • 1 head iceberg lettuce, cored and cut into 6 wedges
  • 3 avocados, pitted, peeled, and cut into thick wedges
  • 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
  • 2 tablespoons chopped chives
    		•
     
    Preparation

    1. COOK the bacon until crisp, according to package instructions. Remove from heat, drain briefly on paper towels, then chop into 1- to 2-inch pieces.

    2. PREPARE dressing. Place the buttermilk, olive oil, chives, vinegar and mustard in a large jar; seal tightly and shake well to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and shake again to combine.

    3. ASSEMBLE salad: Arrange the lettuce, avocado, tomatoes and bacon on a large serving platter or individual plates. Shake the dressing well and spoon some over the salad, saving some for people to add more if they like. Garnish the salad with the remaining chopped chives.
    Find more recipes at Applegate.com.

      

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Ways To Season Chicken

    April 11, 2013 at 8:16 am · Filed under Cooking & Baking, Meat & Poultry, Salts-Seasonings-Herbs-Spices, Sauces-Rubs-Marinades

    You don’t want a bland chicken, so dig out
    the spices and season away! Photo courtesy Butterball.

    		   Barbecue sauce is the number one food that THE NIBBLE receives over the transom (and old publishing expression that means unsolicited). Barbecue sauce is expensive and totally unnecessary. Our mother rotisseried a wonderfully delicious, plump bird several times a week, using only garlic salt, onion salt and pepper. No bottle of barbecue sauce ever crossed her threshold.

    Of course, there are many options between those two extremes: numerous different ways to season a chicken, drawing from just about every cultural influence. It can be as simple as trussing the bird, then sprinkling or basting with your favorite flavors. Or, you can be as imaginative as you like. Here are some suggestions that leave out the sugar, so you can enjoy a broiled, grilled or roasted chicken as the lower-calorie protein it is.

    Here are tips from Chef Johnny Gnall, starting with a…

     

  • Basic Roast Chicken. If you prefer a simple bird, just sprinkle salt and pepper over it. But not your mother’s S&P: Use sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, with one of these varietal peppercorns. Basting the chicken with melted butter during roasting will also add a lot of flavor; and drizzle some fresh lemon juice on the cooked bird to add a bit of freshness and lightness (and counterbalance the rich butter. For added flavor, stuffing the cavity with half a peeled onion and a lemon that has been cut in half. (You can use this trick for any roast chicken recipe.)
  • Asian Seasoning. Stuff the inside cavity of the bird with a half a head of peeled garlic and a 1-inch knob of ginger. Baste the skin with your favorite Asian marinade or dressing (we like the Palcha line of Thai-fusion dressings), or make your own with this easy recipe.
    		•

     

  • Southwestern Seasoning. Take 4 tablespoons of your favorite barbecue rub (here are 10 barbecue rub recipes) and mix in 1 to 2 tablespoons of ground coffee. The ground coffee flavor will not be prominent; in fact, few people will know it’s there. Yet, it will enhance the other flavors while adding a delightful earthiness, as it does in a good chili recipe.
  • Spicy Seasoning. If you enjoy your foods heavily spiced, simply add some dried herbs along with your favorite spice combinations. For example, mix equal parts (or your preferred proportions) of chili powder, cumin, dried oregano, dried thyme and paprika. If you’re feeling more adventurous, you can blend in a stick of melted butter or oil to create a wet rub and basting paste.

    •  
    MAKE YOUR OWN SPICE RUB

    If you want to use a spice rub but don’t have one on hand, it’s easy—and far more economical—to create your own out of the spices you have in your pantry. You can use a simple ratio of two parts salt to one part each of any other spice(s). Johnny’s favorite is two parts salt to one part each of chipotle chili powder, coriander, cumin and light brown sugar.

    		  
    There’s need to buy spice rub: It’s a combination of the spices you probably have in the cabinet. Photo by Elena Elisseeva | IST.
     

    WE’RE NOT ANTI BARBECUE SAUCE, by the way. Find our favorite barbecue sauces and rubs in our Rubs, Marinades, Sauces & Glazes Section.
     

    HOW MANY PARTS OF THE CHICKEN CAN YOU NAME?

    Check out our Chicken Glossary, which covers the different parts of chicken, the history of chicken and much more.

      

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Ways To Use Jelly

    April 10, 2013 at 8:43 am · Filed under Jam-Peanut Butter, Recipes, Tip Of The Day


    Use jelly as a cake filling, or melt and drizzle
    it over an unfrosted cake. Photo courtesy
    HarlequinCandy.Blogspot.com.    		   Beyond breakfast, look to jelly, jam and other fruit spreads for recipes and entertaining. They can be paired with just about anything to add a bright, sweet kick.

    Chef Mark Dowling of LearntoCook.com has tutorials, recipes and tips to teach the basics to home cooks and families, including how to tailor each flavor of fruit spread to specific recipes and occasions. Here are some of his suggestions:

    Jelly

    Jelly combines fruit juice, sugar, pectin (a thickening agent) and acid into a clear spread that will hold its shape, even out of the jar. Jelly has a translucent color.
     
    Pair jelly with cake. Adding jelly to a slightly sweet, pound cake or angel food cake contributes color and flavor. Heat the jelly to melt it, before drizzling it on top of your favorite dessert.

    Jam

    Jam is a thicker mixture than jelly and is made with chopped or crushed fruit, as well as pectin and sugar. Despite the soft chunks of fruit, jam will spread easily.

    Pair jam with bread, toast and scones. Either bake jam into your favorite scone or muffin recipe by adding a 1/2 cup of jam, or serve it on top with clotted cream.

     

    Marmalade

    Marmalade is most often a citrus spread that uses the peel and pulp of the fruit; sugar is added but marmalade does not contain pectin. It is cooked for a long time, and when finished, displays the different parts and textures in a clear suspension.

    Pair marmalade with salads and proteins. Vinaigrettes sweetened with a bit of marmalade are delicious atop side salads of bitter greens, such as arugula and kale. Marmalade is also excellent in a marinade or to glaze chicken.

    Fruit Butter

    Fruit butter is made by slow-cooking a mix of fruit and sugar until it is opaque, smooth and spreadable, with rich fruit flavor.

    Pair fruit butter with your favorite cheese. Enjoy fruit butter on top of tangy brie cheese, wrapped and baked in puff pastry or on crostini with creamy goat cheese.

    		  
    Smucker’s Naturals, tasty new fruit spreads. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.
     
    What a perfect segue into …

    SMUCKER’S NATURAL FRUIT SPREADS

    The famed maker of preserves has launched a new line of fruit spreads, called Smucker’s Natural. We enjoyed all four flavors: Concord Grape, Orange Marmalade, Red Raspberry and Strawberry.

    And as now have four open jars in the fridge, we’re going to implement Chef Dowling’s suggestions, above.

     
    CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF JELLY & JAM IN OUR GLOSSARY.
      

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