Feast your eyes on the exotic Elefante Green Gold™ pineapple, a delicious and better-for-you food gift. (Gifts include those you give to yourself.)

This dazzling emerald green-skinned pineapple is taller, thinner, and larger than an average pineapple. Plus:

 
Each three-pound pineapple comes packaged in a beautifully decorated box with an incredible tactile feel, all while being 100% recyclable.

It’s also adorned with a special second label that immerses the reader in Ghanaian culture and symbolism.

The Elefante Green Gold is a variety native to West Africa. It’s grown in Ekumfi Abor in Ghana, a few hours west of Accra, Ghana’s capital.

The name, pronounced ela-font-tay, translates to elephant. The pineapple is grown in an area of Ghana where elephants roam.

Here’s more about Elefante Farm.

The farm specializes in ethical pineapple cultivation and creating sustainable farming communities.

> June 27th is International Pineapple Day.

> The first Tuesday in October is National Fruit at Work Day.

> The history of pineapple.
 
 
THE SUGAR LOAF PINEAPPLE

This variety, the Sugar Loaf pineapple, is native to Ghana and considered extremely rare and exotic. Ghana’s climate is ideal for pineapple cultivation.

The “Sugar Loaf” name truly reflects the taste (the sweetness has subtle flavor notes of honey).

Elefante Green Gold is the proprietary, trademarked name of the pineapples grown on Elefante Farms.
 
 
GET YOUR PINEAPPLES

This is an easy way to send a delicious food gift that’s different, special, and affordable. They’re available year-round.

> Just head to Melissa’s Produce.

The Elephante pineapple will keep at peak for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

[1] The beautiful Elefante Green Gold pineapple (all photos © Elefante Farms).

[2] The pineapple arrives in a lovely gift box. The core is completely edible—no waste.

[3] An Elefante Green Gold Pineapple growing on its stem.

[1] Chef Ina Garten adds smoked salmon to her deviled eggs, with a topping of salmon roe (photo © California Caviar | Facebook).

[2] Durkee’s Famous Sauce, used by our mother and grandmother (photo © B & G Foods).

[3] Egg yolks mixed with mashed avocado create a creamier egg stuffing (photo © Avocados From Mexico).

[4] Piping the egg mixture creates special effects (photos #4 and #6 © D’lish Deviled Eggs Cookbook).

[5] Chop the yolk mixture finely and use a large open star tip to pipe it mixture (photo © DeLallo).

[6] Use vegetables in season, from asparagus in the spring to pumpkin in the fall.

November 2nd is National Deviled Egg Day. We have some of our favorite deviled egg recipes below.

For the simplest approach, we like chopped sweet gherkin and a bit of juice plus Durkee Famous Sauce.

Or for a special treat, a heaping topping of salmon caviar. We garnish both versions with a bit of fresh dill.

Our mom and grandmother always used Durkee Famous Sauce in deviled eggs. Here’s more about it.

Below, some famous chefs add surprising ingredients to their deviled eggs.

> The history of deviled eggs.

> More deviled egg recipes.
 
 
HISTORY OF DURKEE’S FAMOUS SAUCE

This popular tangy sandwich spread has been around for more than 100 years. It was even served in the Lincoln White House! [source]

The E.R. Durkee & Co. Spice Dealers was founded in Buffalo, New York, in 1857, by Eugene R. Durkee. Durkee’s Famous Sauce was patented that year.

At the Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, the company, now Durkee Famous Foods, had a booth for visitors to try their wares.

Their stand-out product was, and remains, Durkee’s Famous Dressing and Meat Sauce, which, according to a pamphlet from the Exposition, was made from a “secret formula [which uses] vinegar, in which 12 different spices have been steeped for six months.”*

This vinegar is then combined with eggs and other ingredients “to complete one of the most fascinating dressings ever produced:” a thick mustardy, tangy-vinegary, mayonnaise-based sauce (some say, a cross between Dijon mustard and mayonnaise).

Attention housewives: Men, an earlier advertorial pamphlet said, were especially fond of the tangy flavor [source].

Eugene Durkee died in 1926, leaving everything to his daughters. Since the 1980s the company has had a series of owners. Most recently, in 2016, it was sold by ACH Food Companies, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods, to B&G Foods.

In addition to deviled eggs, Durkee’s Famous Sauce is great on a BLT, club, or turkey sandwich (“Turkey and Durkee”) as well as:

 
While the sauce has fallen out of fashion, you can find it on Amazon.

And here’s a copycat recipe from Morton’s Steak Bible Cookbook should you like to make your own. Blend until smooth:

 
 
FAMOUS CHEFS’ SURPRISE INGREDIENTS FOR DEVILED EGGS

Thanks to Taste Of Home for the scoop here.

Sunny Anderson: Fried Onions. The Food Network host is all about texture in her deviled eggs, so she tops them with fried onions for a crisp, delicious bite. To spice things up, she adds minced jalapeños to the yolk mix.

Anne Burrell: Truffle. Burrell brought deviled eggs back to the culinary scene in 2008 when she introduced a truffle deviled egg on the menu of her Manhattan restaurant Centro Vinoteca. Her recipe calls for truffle oil in the yolk mix, topped with finely chopped black truffle peelings.

Ree Drummond: Pickles. Drummond uses chopped pickles and relish, plus a splash of pickle juice to set her deviled eggs apart.

Joanna Gaines: Brown Sugar Bacon. Gaines’s recipe uses bacon coated in brown sugar, cooking it until crispy. The sweet and savory pieces are chopped and sprinkled on top as a garnish.

Ina Garten: Smoked Salmon & Salmon Roe. Garten mixes cream cheese and smoked salmon into the yolks for a rich, creamy filling. She then tops the deviled eggs with salmon roe.

Robert Irvine: Green Apple. Irvine cooks shallots in butter and adds parsley and Dijon mustard to the yolk mix. But his secret ingredient is minced green apple, which adds a refreshingly sweet twist. Each deviled egg is garnished with lemon thyme or mint.

Aida Mollenkamp: Avocado and Proscuitto. This “green eggs and ham” recipe uses mashed avocado to give the egg yolk mixture a creamy, delicious flavor and green color. Mollencamp then tops the deviled eggs with prosciutto.

The Neelys: Barbecue Sauce. Pat and Gina’s secret ingredient for deviled eggs is barbecue sauce, smoky and sweet.

Rachael Ray: Anchovy Paste and Parm. Ray gives her deviled egg recipe a Caesar salad twist, using anchovy paste and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Michael Symon: A Symphony Of Ingredients. Symon mixes ketchup and Sriracha chili sauce and balances the heat with crème fraîche, cilantro, bacon, Dijon mustard, and lime.

Ming Tsai: Tea. Tsai boils the eggs with lapsang souchong tea leaves, a smoky Chinese black tea. The whites of the egg take on a rich, smoky, herbal flavor. He mixes the yolks with mayonnaise, chipotle, green onion, and jicama.
 
 
__________________

*The ingredients on the package today: Soybean Oil, Water, Distilled Vinegar, Sugar, Mustard, Salt, Whole Egg Solids, Food Starch-Modified, Xanthan Gum, Spice Extractives.

†Substitute 1/4 to 1/5 of the mayo with Durkee’s.

We’ve made pumpkin Martinis with pumpkin-flavored vodka, and with pumpkin spice syrup.

But this year’s version uses actual pumpkin purée and other ingredients that make it a fusion of pumpkin pie with a cup of coffee.

> October 1st is National Pumpkin Spice Day.

> October 26th is National Pumpkin Day.

> June 19th is National Martini Day.

> The history of the Martini.

> The history of coffee.

> The history of pumpkin.

> More pumpkin spice recipes.

> Make your own pumpkin liqueur.
 
 
RECIPE: PUMPKIN ESPRESSO MARTINI

 
Ingredients Per Drink

[1] A Pumpkin Espresso Martini (photo © Bonefish Grill).

[2] Patrón XO Coffee Liqueur (photo © Patrón Tequila).

1. PREPARE the espresso or coffee. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.

2. ADD the ingredients to the cocktail shaker, adding the espresso last so has less time to melt the ice.

3. PLACE the lid on the cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 15-30 seconds to create the foam.

4. STRAIN into a Martini glass. Garnish as desired and serve.

[1] Pumpkin pie hummus for dessert or a sweet snack (both photos © Once Again Nut Butter).

[2] Once Again Maple Almond Butter is available year-round online.

How to turn hummus into pumpkin pie? Once Again Nut Butter gives it a shot, with this recipe with maple, honey, and pumpkin pie spices.

Serve it as a dessert hummus or a sweet snack with banana chips, cinnamon pita chips, or other dippers.

The brand’s Maple Almond Butter substitutes for the tahini in conventional hummus recipes.

The result is a delicious dip and spread.

> The history of hummus.

> The history of pumpkin pie.

> The history of almonds.
 
 
RECIPE: PUMPKIN PIE HUMMUS

We also tried this concept using store-bought plain hummus. The texture and flavor vary, but it still works.
 
Ingredients

 
For Serving

 
Preparation

BLEND all the ingredients together. Serve with your favorite dippers, or spread over Biscoff speculoos cookies.

For 30 years, Once Again has been producing delicious organic and gluten-free peanut butter and natural nut butters—almond, cashew-sunflower—plus tahini and chocolate spreads.

Once Again Natural Creamy Maple Almond Butter with Natural Vanilla Flavor, used in this recipe, is certified gluten-free, peanut-free, vegan, kosher*, and paleo.

If you can’t find it locally, you can purchase it on Amazon.

And, it makes a better-for-you foodie stocking stuffer or party favor.
 
 
__________________

*Certified kosher by BVK Kosher, Vaad Hakashrus of Buffalo.
 
 

This potato-pumpkin side dish is easy to make because it uses instant potatoes: There’s no peeling or slicing. Thanks to the Idaho Potato Commission for the recipe.

You can plop these tasty patties atop a salad or serve them as a side with a main course.

> The history of pumpkins.

> The history of potatoes.

> The different types of potatoes: a glossary.
 
 
WHAT ARE PEPITAS

Since this recipe contains pepitas, it’s a Food 101 learning moment.

The word pepita is often used interchangeably for pumpkin seed, but there is a significant difference.

A pepita is the edible seed of a specific variety of pumpkin, the Styrian pumpkin. This is also the seed used to make pumpkin oil.

Pepitas are dark green and have no hulls.

Pumpkin seeds, on the other hand, refer to the larger, white seeds with hulls found inside the jack o’lantern pumpkins for Halloween.

The variety, bred to be uniformly tall and wide, is known as Howden Field pumpkin.
 
 
RECIPE: MASHED POTATO, PUMPKIN & PEPITA PATTIES
 
Ingredients For 8 Patties

 
Preparation

1. WHISK 2 cups of the potato flakes in a medium bowl, with the milk, pumpkin, 2 eggs, the pepitas, and the seasonings. Mix until well blended; set aside.

2. WHISK the remaining 2 eggs in a small bowl. Place the remaining 1 cup of potato flakes into a pie plate.

3. HEAT a 10″ skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly spray with cooking spray.

4. SCOOP the reserved potato pumpkin batter with a ¼ cup measuring cup into your clean hands and form into 2½˝ wide patties.

5. DIP each patty into the beaten eggs, then into the potato flakes, coating both sides. Repeat until you have enough to fill the skillet.

6. FRY the patties in the hot skillet, cooking until golden brown on each side. Coat the skillet with more cooking spray if the patties begin to stick.

7. TRANSFER the cooked patties to a platter. Continue to form and fry patties until all the batter is used. Serve the patties warm or at room temperature.
 
 
__________________

*If you don’t have either Cajun or Creole seasoning, you can approximate by blending 6 tablespoons paprika, 4 tablespoons garlic powder, 2 tablespoons black pepper, 2 tablespoons cayenne (add more for more heat), 2 tablespoons dried basil, 2 tablespoons dried oregano, 2 tablespoons dried thyme, 2 tablespoons onion powder, and 2 tablespoons white pepper. Store the remainder in a tightly-capped jar.

†Pepitas can also come from a related cultivar.

[1] (photos #1, #2, and #3 by Jonathan Melendez © Idaho Potato Commission).

[2] The recipe suggests a side of cranberry sauce. We added Greek yogurt, too.

[3] Pepitas, unlike pumpkin seeds, have no hull (photo © The Nibble).

[4] Mashed potato flakes, a.k.a. instant mashed potatoes (photo © Idahoan Foods).