We remember the days when party guests went home with one small party favor. That got exploded into gift bags. But we think that less is more, so we tend to send guests home with a few homemade cookies or a slice of pie. This year, while there will certainly be pie “to go,” they’re also getting a pumpkin Pie Spice Popcorn Bar.

The flavors of the season—pumpkin spice, dried cranberries, pecans—are blended into a snack bar with popcorn, marshmallows, and white chocolate.

Wait a minute: Why do we say “bar,” when the recipe is called “bark?”

With all due respect, some people who write recipes often give names that they feel make it sound more exciting or more relatable, even though it may be inaccurate (and sometimes they don’t realize that it’s inaccurate—see the footnote for examples).

This is a popcorn snack bar. The original name of the recipe, from the Popcorn Board, is popcorn bark.

However, bark is a sheet of chocolate, often covered with nuts, dried fruits, candies, or even additional pieces of chocolate; then broken into pieces. This pan of popcorn is cut into proper squares.

Call it a bar or bark, we’re making it as gifts for our Thanksgiving guests to take home. (Because as stuffed as they may be as they walk out the door, they’re happy to have a treat for the following day.)

We purchased these pretty snack bags as packaging.

Don’t want to make popcorn bars?

Here are more pumpkin snacks and desserts.
 
 
RECIPE: PUMPKIN SPICE POPCORN BARK

Ingredients For 12 Three-Inch Squares

 
Preparation

1. LINE a large baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray; set aside.

2. COMBINE in a large bowl, the popcorn, marshmallows, pecans, cereal, pepitas, dried cranberries and pumpkin spice mix.

3. PLACE the chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir to combine; then microwave an additional minute. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth.

4. POUR the melted chocolate over the popcorn mixture. Mix until well coated and spread in an even layer into the prepared pan. Cool at room temperature until firm (or refrigerate).

5. CUT into squares to serve. Store in an airtight container.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF POPCORN
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF MARSHMALLOWS
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE

________________

*One example is a Welsh Rarebit. Its proper name is Welsh Rabbit, because it was a meatless dish made with melted cheese on toast, easy to make when the hunter of the house failed to come home with any game for dinner. It was changed to “rarebit” to sound more appealing to Americans. A related recipe that never crossed the pond is Scotch Woodcock, which is scrambled eggs on buttered toast spread with anchovy paste.

But if you like anchovy paste, doesn’t it sound delicious?

More misnomers: Cheesecake is not a cake but a cheese custard pie. Boston cream pie is not a pie but a layer cake—and don’t spell it “creme,” which is an American attempt to make a dessert sound more elegant. “Crème” is a French word pronounced KREM, not CREEM. Rocky Mountain Oysters are the testicles of calves, goats, or sheep. Prairie oysters are bull testicles.

On another note: Yams are a totally different tuber than sweet potatoes (the difference). The animal that roams the American West and ends up in the meat case is bison, not buffalo (the difference). Peanuts are not nuts but legumes (in the same family as peas and lentils). Cashews are not nuts, but seeds. And so on and so on.

†In some recipes you can substitute three tablespoons of white chocolate chips to replace one ounce of white baking chocolate. However, do not substitute in this recipe or others that call for melting the white chocolate. Chocolate chips contain less cocoa butter than baking chocolate or chocolate bars, and have added stabilizers to help them keep their shape in the oven.

[1] Pumpkin spice popcorn bark (photo © Popcorn Board).

[2] You can pop your own or buy it popped (photo © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog).

[3] Pecans are delicious in this recipe, but if you need to omit nuts, make it up with more cranberries and marshmallows. If it’s for Halloween, you can substitute candy corn. Or if you just don’t like pecans, pistachios are a delicious substitute (photo © American Pecan Council).

[4] Even though we’re not vegan, we think that Dandies vegan marshmallows taste better than the big supermarket names (photo © Dandies).

[5] Although this bar isn’t health food, both the popcorn and the Cheerios are whole grain foods (photo © Annette Gulick | Stock Xchange).

[1] You can use both green and purple figs in this recipe. A combination is more alluring (all photos © California Figs).

[2] Kadota figs keep their color when pickled.

[3] Mission figs, combined with Kadota figs, give the jar of pickled figs more eye appeal.

[4] All figs, be they fresh, dried or picked, can be variously paired as cocktail garnishes Here’s the recipe.

We’re almost at the end of National Fig Week, the first week of November. We’ve provided plenty of fig recipes, but we saved this one for the end. It sounds unusual—pickled figs—but it’s a delicious condiment and snack. The figs aren’t sour, they’re sweet-tart, somewhat like a sweet gherkin. It’s a charming gift to bring to Thanksgiving hosts, or those who host us at any time of the year. Thanks to California Figs for the recipe.
 
Because this recipe makes 8 pint jars that will last for 5 days in the fridge, plan to whom you’ll give them.

Truth to tell, we consumed three of the jars in one week, and we were sorry we didn’t keep more of the jars. We ran out of time to make more: Fig season is May through November.

The recipe is below, but first:
 
 
USES FOR PICKLED FIGS

First and foremost, pickled figs are a condiment. But you’ll see other uses on this list.

 
Once you taste them, your palate will lead you to even more ideas.

 
RECIPE: SPICED PICKLED FIGS

Tips:

 
Prep time is 15 minutes, cook time is 20 minutes.

Ingredients For 8 Pints

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE 1 gallon of water with tablespoon salt. Add the figs. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 15 minutes.

2. COMBINE the brown sugar and vinegar in a large nonreactive pan and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Add the cinnamon and cloves.

3. DRAIN the figs well, add to the boiling syrup, and adjust the heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer for 1 hour, until the figs are soft and surround by a thick syrup. Carefully discard the cinnamon stick.

4. PACK the hot figs into 8 sterilized pint jars, adding hot syrup to cover. Cover the jars with the sterilized lids and cool completely before using the figs. Store unused figs in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
 
> THE HISTORY OF FIGS

November 6th is National Nachos Day, a good occasion to have a nachos party. What’s that? An occasion to get together with friends and try different nachos recipes—with different types of beers, of course, and different Margaritas.

Who doesn’t enjoy a hearty plate of nachos for a snack, or even for a main course? They’re the easiest Mexican dish to make at home.

At the most minimal, you can simply cover tortilla chips with shredded Cheddar, Jack or other semi-hard cheese, with or without salsa; then use the microwave or broiler to melt the cheese.

Of course, there are more elaborate recipes.

And you can top the tortilla chips with anything you have on hand (including such luxury items as crab, lobster, scallops and shrimp).
 
 
NACHOS TOPPINGS

Our favorite add-ons to nachos:

 
For visual and flavor interest, we like to use a mix of yellow and blue corn tortillas (for Independence Day, go red, white, and blue!).

Confessions of a tortilla chip addict:

While we have our favorite brands, as long as the chips before us are crisp and not over-salted, they are very welcome.

If you want to make your own tortilla chips, here’s a recipe.

 
MORE NACHOS RECIPES

 
PLUS

 
 
> THE HISTORY OF NACHOS

[1] Carnitas nachos with shredded pork (photos #1 and #3 © Good Eggs).

[2] Double-sauce nachos, with salsa and crema (photo © Natasha Bhogal | Unsplash).

[3] Nachos with salsa verde, green salsa made with green chiles, tomatillos, and cilantro. Check out the different types of salsa.

[4] Here’s a nicely loaded plate: nachos with black beans, cilantro, crema, pico de gallo, sliced jalapeno, sliced radish, queso/cheese sauce (photo © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog).