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


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PRODUCT: Chocolat Rouge Wine

December 8, 2012 at 8:30 am · Filed under Giftable, Wine

Chocolate and red wine pair well together. So the inspired producers of ChocolatRouge wines have created a line of dessert wines that blends rich chocolate flavors into quality red wine. Instead of the traditional dessert wine technique, which uses late harvest, sugar-laden grapes, ChocolatRouge infuses chocolate flavors into dry red wine.

We tried two of the three bottlings. We enjoyed both; one in particular has made it onto our personal holiday gift list.

Dark Red Blend: We’ll use the vintner’s description, “reminiscent of chocolate-dipped red berries with a soft velvety finish.” The chocolate notes are subtle; if you didn’t know the chocolate was there, you might think it was a conventional red dessert wine.

While Dark Red Blend is charming, our favorite is Milk Chocolate Flavors: We ordered a case for holiday gifting

Milk Chocolate Flavors: Looking like chocolate milk in a wine bottle, this treat is a chocolatey, creamy and rich. It reminds us of a chocolate shake blended with some red dessert wine…

 
Dessert wines made with chocolate. Photo courtesy ChocolatRouge.com.
 
…so much so, that the next time we open a bottle of red dessert wine, we’re going to blend in some chocolate milk to see if we can achieve something similar. Unfortunately, the contents of Dark Red Blend were consumed by THE NIBBLE team before we had a chance to make and add chocolate milk.

While Milk Chocolate Flavors is also a dessert wine, it’s an anytime chocolate treat.

We didn’t have the third variety, Sweet Red Blend; but based on our satisfaction with its two siblings. we’ll certainly pick up a bottle when we come across it.

The ChocolateRouge website has recipes for lovely winetails (wine-based cocktails): Café, Cherry Cordial, Julep, Milky Way, Orangette, Red Velvet, Spiced and Winter Sangria. But we enjoyed drinking both bottles chilled, straight up.

There’s a store locator on the website.

You can also order it on Amazon.com for $12.99/bottle.
  

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TIP OF THE DAY: Cooking Ingredient Substitutions

December 8, 2012 at 8:25 am · Filed under Cooking & Baking


Need buttermilk for a recipe? Check out the
substitution below. Photo courtesy Wisconsin
Milk Marketing Board.

   How many times have you started to make a recipe, only to find out you don’t have enough (or any) butter, honey, flour or other ingredient?

Don’t panic: A perfectly good ingredient substitution is as close as your browser. Just look up “ingredient substitution” and the item for which you need a substitute.

In many cases, you’ll never notice a flavor change. In others, the flavor will be a bit different but just as good (for example, a basil accent instead of parsley).

No saffron? Use turmeric. No soy sauce? Use Worcestershire. No beer? Use chicken broth.

Here are some of the most common ingredients you may need to substitute:

COOKING INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS

  • BAKING POWDER: 1 teaspoon baking powder = 1/3 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • BROWN SUGAR: 1 cup brown sugar = 1 cup white sugar plus 2 tablespoons molasses
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  • BUTTER: 1 cup butter = 1 cup margarine or 7/8 cup vegetable oil
  • BUTTERMILK: 1 cup buttermilk = 1 or 2 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar plus enough milk to make 1 cup
  • CHOCOLATE: 1 square unsweetened chocolate = 3 tablespoons cocoa plus 1 tablespoon butter or other shortening
  • EGG: 1 egg = 1 heaping tablespoon soy flour plus 1 tablespoon water
  • FLOUR, ALL PURPOSE: 1 cup all-purpose flour = 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • FLOUR, SELF RISING: 1 cup self-rising flour = 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 salt and enough all-purpose flour to make 1 cup
  • FLOUR, THICKENER: 1 tablespoon flour = 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch or 2 teaspoons quick-cooking tapioca
  • HERBS: 1 tablespoon fresh herbs = 1 teaspoon dried herbs; if you don’t have the particular herb, use what you do have
  • HONEY: 1 cup honey = 1-1/4 cups sugar + 1/4 cup water
  • HOT PEPPER SAUCE: 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce = 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper + 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • KETCHUP: 1 cup ketchup = 1 cup tomato sauce + 1 teaspoon vinegar + 1 tablespoon sugar (or, use a noncaloric sweetener for “diet ketchup”)
  • LEMON JUICE: 1 teaspoon lemon juice = 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
  • MILK: 1 cup whole milk = 1/2 cup evaporated milk + 1/2 cup water
  • ONION: 1 tablespoon of dried minced onion = 1/4 cup raw minced onion
  • YOGURT: 1 cup yogurt = 1 cup buttermilk

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    Do you have a favorite go-to ingredient substitution? Let us know.

      

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Autographed Champagne Bottles

    December 7, 2012 at 8:24 am · Filed under Giftable, Wine

    With a gold felt-tipped pen, you can turn a Champagne or wine bottle into a memento of friendship and good times.

    It’s the concept of a guest book ported to a bottle. With the gold ink, date an unopened bottle of Champagne and record the occasion (e.g., Christmas Party, 12.9.12).

    Next, have party guests or the members of your family gathering sign the bottle of Champagne. Then:

  • You can keep it as a memento.
  • You can have a prize drawing for it.
  • You can save it to serve next year…or in 5 years, 10 years, and so on.
  • You can turn the empty bottle into something else (see below).

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    We use the gold (and silver) metallic ink marker pens from Sakura, available in stationery stores or online.

    		  
    Autograph a Champagne bottle as a memento. Photo courtesy Moet et Chandon.

    WHAT TO DO WITH THE AUTOGRAPHED BOTTLE

    What to do with the bottle after you’ve drunk the Champagne? We scoured the Internet for ideas:

  • CANDLE HOLDER. Over the years, you can “collect a set.”
  • DECORATIVE LIGHT. Fill with white Christmas lights (see how).
  • INCENSE BURNER. Drill holes to turn it into an incense burner (the smoke drifts out of the holes and the neck).
  • KNICKNACK. Add it to the knicknack shelf.
  • LAMP. With the right shade, it could be quite lovely (go to a lamp store, not Walmart).
  • VASE. Showcase a lily or gerber daisy.
  • WALL HANGING. Have someone saw the bottle in half and hang one or both pieces on a wall.
  • WATER PITCHER. Buy a decorative bottle stopper, fill with water and keep the bottle in the fridge (or use it just for parties).

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    Or, simply recycle the bottle and enjoy the memories.

    WRITE YOUR MESSAGE ON GIFT BOTTLES

    Use the gold pen to write any message on a bottle, from Congratulations! to Happy Birthday to Wishing You Health And Good Cheer in 2013.
      

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