The Nibble Webzine Of Food Adventures -

REVIEW: Matiz Olive Spreads

December 10, 2007 at 8:09 am · Filed under Condiments

Tapenade is a versatile ingredient—here, used with chopped tomatoes to make a quick bruschetta.		We used to have lots of time to make tapenade: to purchase olives, anchovies and capers (we put tuna in our recipe, too), blend everything in the food processor and serve the dip freshly-made with wine, beer and cocktails. These days, we’re lucky if we get home 15 minutes ahead of our guests. That’s why we were happy to run across these olive spreads from Matiz España, a company that specializes in sourcing and importing specialty gourmet products from Spain. They’ve scored three artisan olive spreads from the Catalan region: Traditional Olivada, Hot Olivada (just a bit of heat) and Sweet Olivada. They’re great for hors d’oeuvres, dips, bruschetta, enhancing sandwiches and more (we’ve used them to fill omelets and to accent goat cheese). The products are all natural, free of preservatives or chemical additives, gluten free and non-GMO. Read the full review.
Tapenade is the word given to olive spread in Provence, the region of southeastern France that is adjacent to Italy. The olives can be puréed or finely chopped, with capers and olive oil; some recipes, like ours, add tuna. The name comes from the Provençal word for capers, tapéno. Serve it with slices of baguette and/or crudités. Read more about our favorite dips in the Salsas, Dips & Spreads section of THE NIBBLE online magazine.

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December 10, 2007 at 7:38 am · Filed under Cookies-Cake-Pastry, Giftable, Top Pick Of The Week

It’s not easy to find artisan fancy cookies these days. Aside from needing the requisite talent to make perfectly, uniform cookies (uneven drop cookies like oatmeal and chocolate chip are much easier), the high rents, low margins, inability to find good help and the willingness of customers to settle for more prosaic cookies have driven many would-be fine cookie artisans away from such a labor-intensive enterprise. Claire Rich has persevered, finding a way to practice her craft without the overhead of a storefront bakery or café. Her cookies are handmade in small batches, using top-quality ingredients. An assortment of cookies, about two inches in diameter, comprises refrigerator cookies, rolled cookies, sandwich cookies and yes, a couple of drop cookies because people want their oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip (read about the different types of cookies).		The Chocolate Cookies are simple and elegant.
Their handmade yet elegant visual appeal denotes something special, whether for a personal gift or party fare. Or, consider them an educational gift, for people whose cookie experience has been limited to sad, commercial fare. Read the full review in THE NIBBLE online magazine.

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December 10, 2007 at 7:35 am · Filed under Contest, Cookies-Cake-Pastry, Kosher Nibbles

Chocolate peanut butter chip cookies (or your favorite chip flavor) are this week’s prize.		This week, THE NIBBLE’s Gourmet Giveaway is giving away two dozen of America’s favorite cookie—chocolate chip! These yummy cookies are from Solomon’s Gourmet Cookies of Chicago (certified kosher by CRC—read our full review). The jumbo cookies are available in regular (no nuts), chocolate chip pecan, peanut butter chip, chocolate peanut butter chip, white chocolate chip and chocolate white chocolate chip. The winner can choose two dozen of the same flavor or an assortment. What do you have to do to enter? Simply click over to THE NIBBLE online magazine, to our weekly Gourmet Giveaway, and take the Chocolate Chip Cookie trivia quiz—four quick questions. You don’t have to answer correctly to be eligible to win—everyone who answers the four trivia questions will be entered into the prize drawing.
You can read the history of the chocolate chip cookie, and find more of our favorite cookies, in the Cookies & Brownies Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine.

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