National Pasta Day is October 17th, and rice noodles may not be what you’d immediately think of. But this recipe is special, delicious, and packed with protein from tuna.

Thanks to Tonnino for the recipe (photo #1). We’re a big fan of their premium tuna in jars—plus, the regular tuna varieties are joined by those packed in flavored olive oil. Check out the Tonnino website. We’ve noted the different flavors below.

Food trivia: Pasta isn’t Italian. Pasta dough originated in China in the form of dumplings and thin noodles (i.e., the thin pasta that is called linguine or vermicelli in Italy.

> The history of pasta.

> The different types of pasta.

> All of the year’s pasta holidays are below.

> Pumpkin pasta recipes for fall are below.
 
 
RECIPE: RICE NOODLE SALAD WITH TUNA

Tonnino offers tuna in olive oil, tuna in spring water, and 10 tuna flavors in infused olive oil. See them below.

Amazon sells the Ginger Soy Tonnino Tuna in six-packs. It’s easy enough to use all six. Or, share them with friends.

Prep time is 10 minutes, cook time is 10 minutes.

The infused oil from the tuna provides dressing, but for more dressing (which we wanted), see this ginger soy dressing recipe.
 
Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the ginger soy dressing, if desired. Set aside.

2. COOK the rice noodles according to package directions, then rinse them with cold water. Set them aside in the colander to cool to room temperature.

3. ASSEMBLE the plates: romaine, noodles, tuna.

4. GARNISH with fresh chopped herbs (cilantro, basil, and mint) & chopped peanuts or cashews
 
 
TONNINO TUNA VARIETIES

 
The difference between albacore and yellowfin tuna:

 
 
A YEAR OF PASTA HOLIDAYS 

Ready, set, get your forks!

 
And how could we leave out:

 
 
MORE: PUMPKIN PASTA & PIZZA RECIPES
FOR FALL

[1] Tonnino’s Ginger & Soy Tuna and rice noodles combine into a delicious pasta salad (photos #1 and #3 © Tonnino).

[2] Rice noodles are used instead of Italian-style wheat pasta (photo © Sun Basket).

[3] Tonnino Ginger Soy Tuna is one of 10 flavors made with infused olive oil.

[4] Cilantro and lime are also popular Vietnamese garnishes (photo © Lindsay Moe | Unsplash).

[5] Bean sprouts are optional but provide a satisfying crunch with very few calories. If you like things hot, you can also add sliced jalapeños. (photo © Connor McManus | Pexels).

[6] A similar salad with grilled shrimp. Here’s the recipe (photo Recipe Tin Eats) .

[7] And another take: Vietnamese rice noodle salad with chicken. Here’s the recipe (photo © Drizzle And Dip).

[1] Halloween fun: a DIY caramel apple kit (photo #1 and #4 © Bonne Maman).

[2] Werther’s caramels are made in regular and sugar-free versions (photos #2 and #3 © Werther’s).

[3] You’ll have some caramels left over to enjoy after the apple is a sweet memory.

[4] Bonne Maman has two limited-edition seasonal flavors: Cranberry-Cherry Preserves and Pumpkin Spice Spread. Fig preserves are available year-round.

We love this idea from Bonne Maman. The maker of yummy preserves has yet another way for customers to repurpose their empty jars: a DIY caramel apple kit.

You can adapt the idea with whatever jars you have, to create DIY caramel apple gifts and party favors.

> A large version of photo #1 is below.

> The history of caramel apples.

> The history of Halloween.

> The history of Jack o’Lantern.

> The history of Trick or Treat.
 
 
RECIPE: DIY CARAMEL APPLES

We use Werther’s Chewy Caramels, which also are available in a sugar-free version.

We chose Granny Smith apples with stems, which have more appeal; but it’s purely optional.

The recipient will need to contribute a bit of milk or cream.
 
Ingredients For 1 Apple

 
We taped the stick to the back of the jar, and tucked a note into the jar with these instructions:
 
Instructions

1. CHOP the pecans.

2. RINSE and thoroughly dry the apple. Remove the stem and insert the stick into the center of the apple.

3. COVER a plate with parchment paper or wax paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

4. MELT the caramels in a microwave-safe bowl with a tablespoon or two of milk, cream, or evaporated milk. Let the melted caramel sit for a couple of minutes to cool.

5. DIP the apple in the caramel.

6. REFRIGERATE the apples for 15 minutes, or until the caramel has firmed up. Then roll it in the chopped pecans and lightly press the pecans into the caramel.
 
 
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

There’s a special treat for lovers of triple-crème cheeses (the creamiest made—up to 75% butterfat).

The folks at Murray’s Cheese have enhanced one of the great triple-crèmes—St. Stephen from Four Fat Fowl—as a limited edition for the fall season (photo #1).

St. Stephen (the dairy is located in Stephentown, New York) is made in the Hudson Valley of New York, in small wheels blanketed with white, pillowy, absolutely edible rinds (photo #2).

Underneath the blanket is a silky paste with rich notes of sweet cream and sun-dried wheat.

Sometimes, Murray’s cheesemongers will tweak St. Stephen into what we at The Nibble call a torta or torte: a filling (sundried tomatoes and pesto; herbs, spices, nuts, etc.) between layers of cheese.

A memorable one for us was around Valentine’s Day 2022 when we purchased a torte of St. Stephen wrapped around a Pralus 45% cacao milk chocolate bar.

 
And now…
 
 
INTRODUCING BUTTERED PUMPKIN TRIPLE-CRÉME CHEESE

Murray’s latest torte (our word, not theirs) is the beautiful Buttered Pumpkin: St. Stephen x pumpkin spice (photo #1).

The silky triple-crème cheese has a filling made from some unaged St. Stephen cheese, blended with fall spices and annatto, a natural vegetable-based food coloring.

The result: a gorgeous burst of autumnal color and aroma in the center of a splendid cheese.

That warmth of spice mingles with the creamy paste, “like a bite of pumpkin pie made savory” says Murray’s.

They recommend serving it with Effie’s Oatcakes (photo #3) and spiced pecans.

But we’re happy to eat it plain, bite by bite, alone or with a glass of bubbly or Port.

Yes, happiness is a round of Buttered Pumpkin, all to oneself, all eight ounces of it.

Well…we could split it with a friend. Maybe.

Get yours here before it sells out.
 
 
YEAR-ROUND ST. STEPHEN TRIPLE-CRÉME CHEESE

For a regular wheel of St. Stephen, (photo #2) head here.

Murray’s suggests pairing it with:

 
It would not be too indulgent to order a wheel of each.
 
 
MORE EXCITING HALLOWEEN CHEESE

 
 
MORE TO DISCOVER

> The history of cheese.

> A year of cheese holidays.

> The history of pumpkin.

> The history of Halloween.

> The history of Jack o’Lantern.

> The history of Trick or Treat.
 
 
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] This Buttered Pumpkin tort was made by Murray’s Cheese, using a base of St. Stephen triple-crème from Four Fat Fowl (photos #1, #2, #3, and #4 © Murray’s Cheese).

[2] St. Stephen, a celestial triple-crème.

[3] Effie’s Oat Cakes are a real find. They’re a Nibble Top Pick Of The Week and a perennial favorite (our review).

[4] Mimolette, what a Jack o’Lantern would look like if it were a cheese.

[5] One of our favorite goat cheeses, Coupole from Vermont Creamery (photos #5 and #6 © Vermont Creamery).

[6] Bonne Bouche, Coupole’s brother cheese. Both of these award-winning cheeses have wrinkled, Geotrichum rinds (completely edible) and a smooth, delicate paste (interior).

[1] Flaky angel biscuits will have everyone wanting seconds, or thirds (photos #1, #2, and #3 © Crown Publishing).

[2] You need a biscuit book! Here’s the link to order.

[3] Jalapeño-Cheddar biscuits (photo © McCormick).

[4] Grate a block of sharp cheddar (photo © Szakaly | Panther Media).

[5] Look for canned jalapeños that are plain, not pickled (photo © Ortega Products).

[6] You only need one stick of unsalted butter (photo © Go Bold With Butter).

[7] You’ll have a bit of buttermilk left over. Here’s what else you can do with it (© Wisconsin Dairy).

[8] Use all-purpose flour (photo © King Arthur Baking).

[9] Test your baking powder before beginning to bake. See the footnote† below (photo © Handle The Heat—check the website for great recipes).

[10] Test your baking soda before beginning to bake. See the footnote‡ below (photo © Arm And Hammer).

Biscuits have survived some pretty lowly roots to take their rightful place in the kitchens of those of us who crave the light, fluffy, multi-layered, steamy hot, oven-fresh, lightly browned rounds of delight.

By this, we mean homemade biscuits.

You’ll find more than 70 biscuits, both savory and sweet, in the new biscuit cookbook, Still We Rise, A Love Letter to the Southern Biscuit. A review follows.

So even if you’ve gotten by with baking supermarket biscuits-from-a-tube, give homemade biscuits a chance.

> Make delicious Jalapeño Cheddar Biscuits with the recipe below.

> The history of biscuits.

> The different types of biscuits.

> Check out all of the “official” biscuit holidays, below.
 
 
STILL WE RISE: 70 SWEET & SAVORY BISCUIT RECIPES

Need some help selecting a biscuit to bake? Still We Rise (Clarkson/Potter), from well-known author and Chef/Owner of Atlanta, Georgia-based Bomb Biscuits, Erika Council, has more than 70 recipes for you.

(Bomb Biscuits recently received a Bib Gourmand award from the prestigious Michelin Guide. Bib Gourmand is awarded to restaurants that offer delicious food at a moderate price. Here are the deets.)

Her devotion to what began as a flat disc baked multiple times until rock-hard (“hardtack”) for seafarers to dunk into whatever was at hand through months at sea, revels in biscuits of every sort. Basic Angel, Quick, Buttermilk, Sour Cream, and more.

Ms. Council then moves on to savory biscuits, like the Cheddar-Jalapeño version below, Bacon-Cheddar, Sour Cream and Onion, even Red Curry Basil Biscuits, and sweet biscuits for dessert, including Cinnamon Sugar, and Pecan, Honey Roasted Peach, Afternoon Tea Biscuits with Bourbon Butter to indulge in.

There is also a chapter about favorite spreads like Deviled Ham, Pimento Cheese, and Apple Butter, as well as a cookbook-within-a-cookbook filled with ideas and recipes for biscuit breakfasts, lunches, and brunches that are lusciously beyond the usual fare.
 
 
Everything You Need To Know

Ms. Council provides thorough information about how ingredients become biscuits with well-explained chapters about flours, fats, liquids, leavening agents, other essential ingredients, the tools you need (not many), and the science that supports the successful baking of these long-overlooked culinary pleasures.

How-to photos help ensure ideal results for you at home, and while biscuits are always best when just out of the oven, they are freezable, so think about making a few dozen to have at hand for the holidays.

The book is filled with Ms. Council’s store of knowledge—she was born into a family of stellar southern cooks–but the most enjoyable parts are her reminiscences about family and friends, the stories she tells, and her own sparkling charm.

She freely shares the many tips she has discovered along her path to the Bomb. Among the most helpful ones for beginners are:

 
There’s something glorious about the hands-on, sticky, floury process of biscuit making that ends up being a delightful way to spend a nothing-urgent morning.
 
 
For Entertaining & Gifting

Nestle a dozen or so in a cloth napkin and add them to your Thanksgiving table. Guests will be adoring.

Speaking of the holidays, consider this book as a gift to those who love baking.

This is a book for people who are much into homemade, people who want to try new things (i.e. biscuits that don’t come out of a can), or who love the romance of the South and its cuisine.

Anyone who tries these recipes will be rewarded with some very tasty morsels.

> Get your copy here.

Here’s a tasty bit to get you started: Erika Council’s Jalapeño Cheddar Biscuits. The recipe follows, but first, some tips:

While almost all of the biscuits in the cookbook are delicious plain or with butter, you can elevate the Jalapeño Cheddar Biscuits:

 
 
RECIPE: JALAPEÑO-CHEDDAR BISCUITS
 
Ingredients For 6 to 8 Biscuits

 
________________

*We used 4 fresh jalapeños, seeded and diced.

Preparation

1. ADJUST the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 450°F.

2. PLACE the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl and whisk to combine.

3. USING the slicing side of a box grater, slice the butter into the flour. Toss the sheets of butter in the flour. Add the cheddar and jalapeños and toss gently to combine. Then lightly work the butter pieces between your fingers or use a pastry cutter to break them up and coat them with flour. Stop when the dough resembles coarse sand and there are still some small visible pieces of butter.

4. ADD the buttermilk and stir gently with a spatula until the dough forms a ball and no dry bits of flour are visible. The dough will be shaggy and sticky.

5. TURN the dough onto a lightly floured surface and lightly dust with flour. With floured hands, pat the dough into a 1/2-inch thick, 11 x 6-inch rectangle. Fold the ends of the rectangle toward the center, one on top of the other, to create a trifold.

6. DUST the top lightly with flour, press out the same size rectangle again, and repeat the folding. Repeat this process a third time. After the third folding, pat the dough to a 1/2-inch thickness.

7. CUT out the biscuits using a floured 3½-inch biscuit cutter. Be careful to press down and do not twist the cutter.

6. PLACE the biscuit rounds 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather the scraps, re-shape them, and pat the dough out to a ½-inch thickness. Cut out as above.
Discard any remaining scraps.

7. BAKE for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the pan once halfway through, until the tops are golden brown. Serve immediately.

Notes

 
–Rowann Gilman
 
 
BISCUIT HOLIDAYS

 
And For Man’s Best Friend:

 
________________

†To test if your baking powder is still active, spoon 1/2 teaspoon in a bowl and pour 1/4 cup of boiling water over it. If the mixture bubbles, the baking powder is good.

‡An opened box of baking soda peaks at about 6 months. Old baking soda may not produce as much leavening action, so your recipe may not turn out as well. If you’re not sure, buy a new box. Pour the old contents down the drain, where they’ll have a bit of a cleansing boost.

October 8th is International Pinotage Day. What’s Pinotage, you may inquire? You wouldn’t be alone in asking.

Pinotage is the flagship grape of South Africa, a red wine grape that is native to the country.

The term refers to both the grape and the wine made from that grape.

The history of Pinotage is below, but as a brief introduction, the variety was produced by crossing Pinot Noir and Cinsault*. It’s considered South Africa’s signature wine grape.

In addition to producing varietal† wines, Pinotage is also commonly blended with other varieties, producing what is referred to as a Cape Blend in South Africa.

The grape produces deep red wines with smoky dark fruit flavors and earthy accents of bramble. The wines are high in tannins.

Here are the Wine Enthusiast’s reviews of the top Pinotage wines.

> The history of wine.

> The history of Pinotage is below.

> The world’s major red wines.

> Red wine holidays.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF PINOTAGE

The Pinotage crossbreed was created in South Africa in 1924 by Abraham Izak Perold, a Ph.D. chemist and the first Professor of Viticulture at Stellenbosch University, in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

He was attempting to combine the best qualities of the robust Hermitage grape (the earlier name for Cinsaut) with the less hardy Pinot Noir, a grape that makes great wine but can be difficult to grow.

Perold planted four seeds from his cross in the garden of his official university residence at Welgevallen Experimental Farm. Then, he apparently forgot about them.

In 1928 Perold left the university to take a job with KWV wine cooperative. The garden became overgrown.

The university sent in a team to clean up the garden. In an instance of being in the right place at the right time, Charlie Niehaus, a young lecturer who knew about the seedlings, happened to pass by. He rescued them from the prospect of the trash heap.

The young plants were moved to Elsenburg Agricultural College, where in 1935, Perold’s successor, C.J. Theron, grafted them onto another rootstock.

Perold saw the newly grafted vines when he visited. The vine that was doing best was selected for propagation and was christened Pinotage.

The first Pinotage wine was made in 1941 at Elsenburg. In that same year, Pinotage vines were planted at the Kanonkop Wine Estate, producing wines that can mature up to 25 years and have achieved world fame.

Pinotage began to win awards in South African wine competitions. This early success, and its easy viticulture, prompted a wave of planting during the 1960s.

The wine has had its critics, some calling the wine’s pungent aroma reminiscent of paint, nail polish remover, or burning tar.

The grape has seen its plantings rise with the current fashion in South African wines.

In the post-Apartheid early 1990s, when the world’s wine market opened to South Africa, winemakers ignored Pinotage in favor of more internationally recognized varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah [source].
 
 
Pinotage Today

Towards the end of the 20th century, the grape’s fortunes began to turn. By 1997 it commanded higher prices than any other South African grape.

But more than 40 years after completely dismissing the grape, many in the U.K.’s wine trade (one of South Africa’s main export markets) still malign it.

However, perceptions are slowly changing, especially among younger members of the British wine trade [source].

Beyond South Africa, Pinotage is now grown in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Israel, New Zealand, Switzerland, the U.S. (Arizona, California, Michigan, Oregon, and Virginia), and Zimbabwe, and German winemakers have recently begun experimenting with the grape.

Celebrate International Pinotage Day by trying a bottle!

*Cinsault, also spelled Cinsaut, is a red wine grape used in Rhône blends and Provençal rosés. The grape itself delivers fresh, punchy reds that are floral, fruity, and somewhat smoky. Its heat tolerance and productivity make it important in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France. It is often blended with other grapes, such as Grenache and Carignan, to add softness and bouquet.

†A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single, named grape variety, and that typically displays the name of the variety on the wine label. There are numerous varietal wines, but examples of some of the most popular include Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Merlot.