[1] Pace yourself, and try the 15+ flavors of Wolferman’s English Muffins (all photos © Wolferman’s).

[2] Yes, please: Chocolate Chip English Muffins.

[3] Peanut butter and bananas for breakfast.

[4] English muffin pizza!

[5] It’s Pumpkin English Muffin season. There are also Cranberry Citrus muffins.

[6] English crumpets. You can bake your own with this recipe from David Lebovitz (photo © David Lebovitz).

If you love English muffins, you’re about to leave the realm of the perfectly fine English muffin, and step into English muffin heaven.

It was created way back in 1910 by Fred Wolferman, a grocer in Kansas City, Kansas, inspired by those originated by Samuel Bath Thomas in New York City (see the history of English muffins below).

Over the years, both companies expanded beyond the Original flavor, with flavors from Cinnamon Raisin to Cranberry.

But Wolferman’s two-inch-high English muffins ensure that not only will the 1910 Original be an elevated experience, but there are numerous worthy flavors for you to discover:

 
There are also Gluten-Free English Muffins, and Mini English Muffins, for those seeking portion control.

The line is certified kosher-dairy by OU.

All of the flavors we’ve tried are delightful, and the Jalapeño Cheddar makes a terrific grilled cheese sandwich.

But our latest flavor discovery is the Chocolate Chip English Muffin.

Chocolate lovers beware: They are addictive.
 
 
FOR YOURSELF, FOR GIFTING

There are numerous gift boxes available at Wolfermans.com, and you can also buy six four-packs of most flavors.

You can’t buy a single package, but you can select a mix-and-match of six flavors.

Since we live solo, we can’t possibly use six packages at once (although you can freeze them). So here’s our tasting strategy:

We found two other people in our apartment building who love English muffins. We split the order of six four-packs, so that each month we have two packages of the flavor—8 muffins—to try.

We work in alphabetical order from the list above, so there’s no need to decide what’s next.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF WOLFERMAN’S ENGLISH MUFFINS

English muffins were invented in New York City by Samuel Thomas, an emigre from England. He took the concept of the crumpet, a thinner/flatter predecessor that is covered in holes from the cooking process (photo #6). A crumpet is eaten like a single piece of toast.

Thomas made a thicker version with a different cooking process that eliminated the holes, and pierced the thicker “English muffin” into two halves (here’s the history of the English muffin).

But you can’t keep a good idea in just one town. The English muffin concept spread nationwide.

Louis Wolferman of Kansas City, Missouri founded a corner grocery store in 1888. His slogan was “Good Things to Eat,” and he sold only the finest products.

(Note that in 1888, products sold in stores were largely ingredients plus fresh-made foods like pickles, sausages and delicatessen items. The large-scale manufacture of processed foods had not yet begun—so people ate better to begin with.)

In 1910, Louis Wolferman’s son Fred began to make his own English muffins, using tuna cans as molds to form and bake them.

This was, and remains, an accepted way to make crumpets if one does not have crumpet rings. Just remove the top and bottom of the can and set them on the griddle or baking pan before pouring in the batter.

Both Fred Wolferman and Samuel Thomas baked their muffins on a fiery open griddle. Oven baking came later.

A key difference between Wolferman’s English muffins and Thomas’ is that Wolferman’s are more dense (less airy) and two inches high: hefty English muffins.

The Wolferman’s brand was acquired in 1986 by Sara Lee, who purchased it from Fred Wolferman’s great-grandson. It was next acquired in 1999, by Williams Foods, who sold it in 2008 to Harry and David Holdings, where it happily remains.

It’s not often that we know the historical origins of the foods we eat. Most, even those that evolved at the same time as the English muffin (like the brownie), are lost to history, legend and conjecture.

As you enjoy your English muffins, raise your coffee cup or juice glass to toast Samuel, Louis and Fred, and their successful ventures in muffindom.
 
 
WOLFERMANS.COM

What’s in your salad?

If it’s the same group of ingredients that you’ve used throughout the spring and summer, it’s time to expand your choices to cool weather ingredients.

Good Eggs, purveyor of premium produce in the San Francisco Bay area, created the chart below to make it easy for you to mix and match.

Just go down the rows and pick what salad appeals to you today.

Depending on where you live, you may find many other choices in specialty produce stores or farmers markets.

Check out this list of fall fruits and vegetables and you’ll find something new.

There’s so much choice, you can create different versions until spring veggies crop up.
 
 
FALL SALAD RECIPES

[1] A fall-ingredients salad of lacinato kale, Asian pear, pistachios and pomegranate arils (all photos © Good Eggs).

[2] Toss kale or spinach with two types of squash, grilled onions and a large dice of root vegetables.

[3] Mix and match: Select ingredients from as many rows as you like.

[1] Andouille sausage pizza on a handmade rectangular crust. The recipe is below (photo © Wisconsin Cheese).

[2] Sliced andouille sausage. This andouille went atop a pizza with red bell pepper and scallions. Here’s the recipe from Bell Of The Kitchen (photo © Belle Of The Kitchen).

[3] Onion confit (photo © The Vanilla Queen).

[4] Shredded mozzarella: the favorite pizza garnish (photo © Webrestaurant Store).

October 11th National Sausage Pizza Day. You could buy one, but why not make one at home?

October is also National Pizza Month. Do you need more impetus?
 
 
WHAT ARE THE TOP PIZZA TOPPINGS?

After analyzing pizza orders from thousands of restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, one survey names the top 10 pizza toppings:

1. Pepperoni
2. Mushrooms
3. Onions
4. Sausage
5. Bacon
6. Extra cheese
7. Black olives
8. Green peppers
9. Pineapple
10. Spinach

So, let’s make a pizza that combines #3 and #4.
 
 
RECIPE: ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE PIZZA

This recipe uses spicy andouille (an-DOO-ee) sausage, the classic sausage of Louisiana’s Cajun cuisine.

It’s a richly-flavored pork sausage with a serious bite of cayenne pepper.

Andouille is used in traditional Cajun dishes like gumbo, etouffée and jambalaya.

In this recipe, the spicy sausage is combined with an elegant onion confit, to bring the concept of a “sausage and onion pizza” to a new level.

 
Ingredients For The Onion Confit

 
For The Pizza

 
Preparation For The Onion Confit

The confit can be made several days in advance and stored in the fridge.

1. HEAT the olive oil in heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the onions, stirring to coat with oil and separate rings. Cook until soft over low heat, 5 to 8 minutes.

3. REMOVE the lid, keeping the heat at simmer, and continue cooking an 30 additional minutes, or until the onions are very soft and the liquid is reduced. Do not brown or scorch. Remove from the heat; set aside.
 
Preparation For The Pizza

1. PREHEAT oven to 425°F. If using a pizza stone, place it in a cold oven and then preheat. If using dough instead of a prepared crust…

2. ROLL the dough into a 12-inch to 14-inch circle or a rectangle. Place on a sheet to transfer to the stone, or place directly on a pizza pan.

3. BRUSH the edges of the dough with olive oil. Spread the onion confit over the dough or prepared crust, leaving a 1/2-inch bare edge.

4. SPRINKLE evenly with the fontina, then with the tomatoes and andouille rounds evenly over. Sprinkle the mozzarella on top.

5. SLIDE onto the pizza stone, or place the pizza pan in oven. Bake about 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Sprinkle the hot pizza with parmesan and parsley.

[1] Pasta with broccoli rabe and pistachio pesto. The recipe is below (photo © DeLallo).

[2] Homemade casarecce (photo © The Pasta Project).

[3] Pistachio nuts (photo © The Guilded Nut, a specialist in pistachios, with numerous seasonings).

[4] Broccoli rabe (photo © Imraw).

[5] Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

[6] Toasted (roasted) pistachio oil has many uses, from biscotti to salads (photo © La Tourangelle).

October is National Pasta Month. One of Italy’s popular pasta sauces is pesto.

Pesto originated in Genoa, the capital city of the region of Liguria on the northwest coast (and, as Americans know, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, in 1451).

The original pesto recipe, Pesto Alla Genovese (gen-oh-VAY-say), is a paste (pesto) of olive oil, basil leaves, pine nuts, crushed garlic, coarse salt, and Parmigiano-Reggiano or other grated hard cheese, such as Pecorino Sardo (see it in photo #1).

Pine nuts were a plentiful crop in Liguria and found their way into many recipes, including pasta sauce. Here’s (the history of pesto).

But Pesto Alla Genovese (here’s the recipe) is just a template. You can vary all of the ingredients; and in fact, you’ll get more flavor from other nuts, such as pistachios and walnuts.
 
 
PESTO VARIATIONS: MIX & MATCH

If you see ingredients below that call out to you, experiment with small batches of pesto. If you don’t like it on pasta, add mayo, sour cream or yogurt to create a dip or sandwich spread; or use it as a topping for fish, meat and poultry.

You may very well discover a combination that will become your “signature pesto.”

Cheeses

Aged Asiago, aged Cheddar, aged Gouda, aged Manchego, Cotija, Grana Padano, Pecorino Romano.

Greens

Arugula, beet greens, broccoli, broccoli rabe, chervil, cilantro, collards, dandelion greens, garlic scapes, kale, mustard greens, parsley, peas, radish tops, ramp tops, scallions, spinach, watercress,

Nuts & Seeds

Almonds, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts.

Oils

 
Also:

 
 
RECIPE: BROCCOLI RABE & PISTACHIO PESTO WITH BURRATA

Thanks to DeLallo for the recipe.

The pasta shape chosen is casarecce (photo #2), a grooved shape that holds more sauce than ribbon pasta like spaghetti and fettuccine.

While it may be harder to find it in your supermarket, it’s worth looking for. You can get it online from DeLallo.

Both parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano are used in this recipe. Here’s the difference.

The two cheeses have different flavor profiles, which makes the pesto more complex.

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. BRING a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the trimmed broccoli rabe for about 1 minute until bright green. Drain and transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking. Drain well, squeezing out as much water as you can.

Note: We blanched the rabe in a mesh strainer and removed the strainer to drain and press out the remaining water. This enables us to use the same pot of water for the pasta.

2. PLACE the blanched broccoli rabe in the bowl of a food processor, along with pistachios, garlic, parmesan and pecorino, salt, vinegar, red pepper flakes and pistachio oil. Pulse until finely chopped.

3. DRIZZLE in the olive oil, a few tablespoons at a time, scraping down the sides of the food processor as you go. Add enough oil to form a thick but creamy paste. Slightly thicker is preferable in this recipe, since you’ll likely be thinning the sauce with pasta water.

4. TASTE and add additional salt and/or pepper flakes as desired.

5. BRING the pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Set aside 1 cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta well and place it in an empty saucepan.

6. ADD the pesto and toss until evenly coated. Divide among serving bowls.

7. GARNISH with a few chunks of fresh burrata, microgreens and additional grated cheese, as desired. Because the stracciatella inside the ball of burrata will ooze out, don’t slice the burrata until you’re ready to serve it.

There are more than 360 pasta shapes in Italy. Each region developed its own varieties.

Casarecce (kah-zah-REH-chay, from casereccio, which means “homemade”) is a shape that originated in Sicily. It comprises short twists of pasta, which, with its curled edges and a groove down the middle, appear to be rolled up on themselves.

We turned to Jacqui Debono for more information on this shape.

Jacqui, from England now living in Veneto, Italy, is a pasta expert whose writing is so well researched: We’re a big fan.

Her goal is to try every single type of pasta available in Italy, cook it and write about it. She shows that there is life for American pasta lovers, beyond fusilli and rigatoni.

She shares here knowledge on The Pasta Project, a wonderful website.

“[Casarecce] look a bit like little rolled-up scrolls” says Jacqui.

Before the advent of bronze dies to extrude the shapes, casarecce were made by rolling small rectangles of dough around a thin wooden pin or metal rod.

Italians who make this shape at home still use these rods. However, commercially-produced casarecce is made using either a bronze die for artisan production, or a nylon die for mass production.

Bronze dies produce superior pasta because the pasta has a rougher surface to which sauces better adhere. Because they’re costlier and wear down faster, large operations use nylon dies.
 
 
WHY SO MANY SHAPES OF PASTA?

Italy’s many pasta shapes were largely developed to pair with the sauces of the region (or vice versa).

Thus, casarecce from Sicily (and very popular elsewhere in Southern Italy), pair best with traditional Southern Italian sauces that include eggplant, tomatoes, cheese and basil.

It is often served with the local seafood, including amberjack, bluefin tuna and swordfish.

In Sicily, casarecce is also often served with:

 
Jacqui has also created:

 
So track down those casarecci and enjoy!

> The history of pasta.

> The different types of pasta: a photo glossary.

> A year of pasta holidays.
 
 

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

October is Italian Heritage Month, previously called Italian-American Heritage Month.

It’s time to celebrate the accomplishments of Italian Americans, which in our case means the food.

Beginning some 200 years ago, Italian immigrants in the U.S. with wonderful Mediterranean flavors and their home cuisine.

Some of those recipes got enhanced with American ingredients, including lots of meat, not affordable in the Old Country). Here are some favorite dishes that are not authentic Italian.

Whether from Italy or Italian American, we love Italian food!

1. Caesar Salad

This salad was invented in by Caesar Cardini of San Diego. He started a restaurant just over the border in Tijuana, Mexico during Prohibition, in order to serve alcohol. Here’s the history of Caesar Salad.

2. Cioppino

There are numerous seafood stews made along Italy’s coast line, but this version was invented by Italian-American fishermen in San Francisco.

3. Chicken, Meatball Or Veal Parmigiana

Eggplant parm originated in Sicily, but Italian-Americans adapted it to different meats, which were easily affordable to them in the U.S. (photo #1: Chicken Parmigiana).

4. Garlic Bread

A loaf of bread, sliced mostly through and then spread spread with butter or oil and minced garlic is then toasted in the oven. But it’s definitely an American creation. In Italy is bruschetta, individual slices of bread, brushed with olive oil, with garlic and herbs, is its parent.

5. Italian Dressing

In Italy, salad is served with oil and vinegar. Adding garlic, herbs and an emulsifier is American (photo #2).

6. Fettuccine Alfredo

This rich dish, tossed the pasta, butter, cream and parmesan, was invented at a restaurant in Rome as Fettuccine all’Alfredo. However, it didn’t migrate much beyond Rome: You won’t find it at a restaurant elsewhere. Thanks to Italian-American cookes for spreading the recipe. Here’s the history of Fettuccine Alfredo.

7. Marinara Sauce

In the U.S., marinara sauce is made from crushed canned tomatoes, olive oil, onions, garlic and herbs. It is the American version of sugo di pomodoro (tomato sauce), which is made from the same ingredients plus basil.

In Italy, sugo alla marinara, which originated in Naples, means “made in the style of the sailor,” or “mariner’s sauce.” It indicates a sauce used with a shellfish dish. It’s a similar sauce that adds oregano and sometimes anchovies, capers and olives.

Neapolitan marinara sauce is believed to have originated in the mid-16th century, when Neapolitan ships returned from the the Americas with tomatoes. A possibly apocryphal story references how sailors’ wives would start a quick sauce when they saw their husbands’ boats returning [source].

8. Muffuletta

This hero-type sandwich was invented in New Orleans by Sicilian immigrants.

9. Neapolitan Ice Cream

While layered ice cream exists in Italy (think spumoni), bricks of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry together was popularized in America and named after the Neapolitan-immigrant-run ice cream shops that sold it (photo #5).

8. Pepperoni Pizza

Italian-style pizza is different from the American variety. In Italy, less is more: less cheese and just one or two ingredients. Common Italian toppings include anchovies, corn, olives, prosciutto and sausage. Pepperoni, while an Italian sausage, is an American addition (photo #3). Pizza pockets: definitely all-American.

10. Rainbow Cookies
Those three-layered cookies in Italian pastry shops were invented in the U.S. in the early 1900s.

11. Shrimp Scampi

This is splitting hairs, but scampi is the Italian name for a small member of the shrimp family, langoustines. In the U.S., large shrimp were available, and were used in a dish called Shrimp Scampi—or, Shrimp Shrimp. In Italy, langoustines sautéed in butter/olive and garlic is simply called Scampi.

12. Spaghetti and Meatballs

This Italian classic is actually “faux” Italian. Few people in Italy had the money to serve large meatballs. Little meatballs were used in some dishes, but not pasta. This dish was invented in the U.S., where beef was plentiful (photo #4).

If you find any of these dishes in Italy, it’s because they were brought back to Italy from the U.S.!

There are more Italian-American dishes, of course. Sausage, peppers and onions on a roll. Sunday Sauce. Perhaps Baked Ziti, and Penne Alla Vodka.

We love them all.

[1] While Eggplant Parmigiana came from Sicily, the use of meat-based parm occurred in the New World, where even low-income people could afford to add chicken, meatballs and veal (photo © MackenzieLtd).

[2] Born in the U.S.A.: Italian dressing (photo © Wish-Bone).

[3] Pepperoni pizza is an Italian-American favorite. (photo © Tablespoon).

[4] Those luscious, large meatballs? Strictly American (photo © Delicious Shots | Blogspot).

[5] Neapolitan ice cream was created in the U.S. by Neapolitan immigrants (photo © P. Schemp | Wikipedia).