[2] The set of three canapé bread tubes from King Arthur Flour.

[3] A classic: pumpernickel topped with crème fraîche, smoked salmon and dill. Here’s the pumpernickel recipe from King Arthur Flour.

[4] For the holidays, consider canapés made with cranberry bread or pumpkin bread. Both are delicious with cheese and toasted nuts.

If your canapés sit upon everyday crackers, toast, baguette slices or mini pumpernickel squares, branch out this holiday season.

Everything old is new again, and the old-fashioned canapé bread tubes our grandmother used to make party fare are now available at King Arthur Flour.

Use them for canapés (photos #1 and #3), plus tiny tea sandwiches, festive crostini or decorative melba toast.

On the sweet side, you can make dessert bites with banana bread, chocolate bread or pound cake.

Bonus: You can also use the tubes to cut vegetable shapes.

The set of three 9″ x 3″ bread tubes (photo #2) includes one each:

 
You simply fill each tube with the dough, let it rise, cap it, bake and cool.

Then, slice the cooled loaves and top with anything you like.

For the holidays, you can bake cranberry bread (photo #4), cranberry-orange bread or pumpkin bread.

Get the canapé tube set at King Arthur Flour, $19.95. Instructions and recipes are included.
 
 
WHAT’S A CANAPÉ?

A canapé (can-uh-PAY) is a type of hors d’oeuvre: a small, savory bite on a base of bread, toast or pastry. It is a finger food, eaten in one or two bites.

Canapé is the French word for sofa. The idea is that the toppings sit on a “sofa” of bread or pastry.

Canapés are often served at cocktail parties. In the hands of a caterer, chef or creative home cook, they can be beautifully decorated works of edible art.

Here are the differences among amuses bouche, appetizers, canapés and hors d’oeuvre.
 
 
15 HOLIDAY CANAPÉ TOPPINGS

 
What’s your favorite holiday canapé? Let us know!

Most of us know tapioca as a pudding filled with little tapioca “pearls.”

But it’s so much more than that.
 
 
WHAT IS TAPIOCA?

Tapioca is a pure starch extracted from the root of the cassava (pronounced kuh-SAH-vuh, photo #1). The root is also called manioc, arrowroot and yuca. Not yucca, mind you: That’s a totally different plant and not typically eaten. The food, yuca, is similarly pronounced, but botanically unrelated.

Cassava is a woody shrub native to northern Brazil. It has been grown for thousands of years, and it spread throughout South America. It grows well in poor soil, and its starchy, tuberous root is a major food source, cooked like potatoes.

In the Tupi-Guarani* language of Brazil, the processed cassava is called tipioca; Spanish and Portuguese traders heard it as tapioca.

Tipi means residue and oc means to squeeze out. This describes how the starch is produced: Crushed root fibers are steeped in water; then the liquid is squeezed out.

Why all the effort?

The milky, bitter liquid (yare) in the pulp contains cyanide—and was used to make poison darts.

What’s left is the purified starch—tapioca—which is gluten-free, fat-free, cholesterol free, sodium-free and sugar-free. There are no added preservatives.

You can find tapioca in a variety of formats: small pearls, large pearls, jumbo pearls (or boba, which are the large black, white or otherwise-colored pearls used for bubble tea), instant (granulated) tapioca, tapioca flour, flakes and sticks.
 
 
USES FOR TAPIOCA

Beyond masking the familiar tapioca pudding, use tapioca:

 
…and now, appearing for perhaps the first time in the U.S…

 
 
TAP NYC: THE COUNTRY’s FIRST “TAPIOCA RESTAURANT”

Tap NYC has opened in Manhattan, the first of what we hope will be a casual chain of tapioca-based crêperies.

While tapioca crêpes are popular in Brazil, here they are unknown (and hey, Today Show, why didn’t you feature them in your Olympics coverage)?

The crêpes are not like France’s soft, wheat-based crêpes. Instead, the tapioca flour cooks up firm (photo #3), so it can be held like a sandwich or a wrap (photo #4).

Filling can be savory or sweet, for any meal of the day, snack or dessert.

A tapioca crêpe is a the canvas waiting for whatever ingredients you wish to add. We think of them as tapioca sandwiches, analogous to pita sandwiches or wrap sandwiches. Some examples from the Tap NYC menu:

 
We are so addicted to these terrific crêpes, along with the juices and smoothies, that we haven’t begun to explore the rest of the menu: salads, bowls, teas and coffees galore.

We have, however, enjoyed the gluten-free brigadeiros (truffles), cakes, cheese bread and tapioca pudding—a version far better than you’ve likely tasted before. And we’re not on a gluten-free diet; just a good-food diet.

The first Tap NYC location is on Manhattan’s Upper West Side: 267 Columbus Avenue between 72nd and 73rd Streets.

It’s open 7 days from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. (6 p.m. on Mondays). Learn more at TapNYC.com.

TAP NYC is the undertaking of two Brazilians living in Manhattan, who dearly missed their tapioca crêpes.

Thank goodness for their desire to share this food not only with homesick Brazilians but all of us natives.

And for those who live nowhere near Tap NYC: You can buy the tapioca (photo #2) and make your own. It couldn’t be easier!

________________

[2] A package of premium tapioca starch available from Tap NYC.

[3] Just add water to the tapioca and cook it in an omelet pan. Top with the desired ingredients and flip over like an omelet (photos #2, #3, #4 and #5 courtesy Tap NYC).

[4] The finished sandwich.

[5] A sweet variation: strawberries and chocolate.

[2] Santa’s Coal marshmallows are a spin on cookies and cream (photos #2 and #3 XO Marshmallow).

[3] Peppermint marshmallows are seasonal special. Imagine melting them in hot chocolate!

1. MINI MELANIE CAKE TRUFFLES

Cake truffles have been hot for the last five years, at least. But most of them don’t have the panache of these cake truffles from Mini Melanie bakery in Brooklyn.

The dark chocolate ganache in the center of the cake truffle is infused with Kim Crawford Wines’ Sauvignon Blanc. The truffles are then coated in dark, milk or white chocolate, topped with 24 karat gold leaf, and accented with mini gold sugar dragées.

For those who have never eaten gold before, it’s a novel experience, and a delicious one.

For an even more elaborate gift, pair a box of the Mini Melanie cake truffles with Kim Crawford’s limited edition 2017 Holiday Bottle (photo #1).

A dozen truffles in a beautiful box are $42. Get yours at MiniMelanie.com.

What Is Edible Gold?

Edible gold is 24 karat gold leaf: a beautiful yet flavorless, odorless and nontoxic form of gold. It’s pure gold leaf that’s been hammered into sheets as thin as possible, and used as a garnish for cocktails, desserts and other foods.

It’s the same gold leaf that is used in gilding art, picture frames, ceilings and cathedral domes.
 
 
2. XO MARSHMALLOWS

All you need is love…and marshmallows, say the marshmallow artisans at XO.

Handcrafted in small batches, they’re all natural, gluten free and egg free.

In addition to a delicious vanilla marshmallow, there’s a specialty flavor for everyone:

 
A colorful box of 12 marshmallows is $7.95.

We ate them from the box, but they can be served:

The company also has gourmet S’mores kits, marshmallow cream and hot chocolate.

3. MICHEL CLUIZEL iCLUIZEL 8.1

Eat your mobile phone; or at least, a box that looks like a mobile phone with eight chocolate “apps” inside (photo #4).

The apps are bonbons of 70% dark chocolate, with chocolate ganaches flavored with caramel, coconut, coffee, chocolate, praliné, nut-orange, raspberry and tea.

The bonbons are dairy-free: no milk, butter or cream. iCluizel is $18, at Cluizel.us.

Paris-based Michel Cluizel is one of the world’s greatest chocolate makers. Here’s our review of the brand.
 
 
4. BEE HARMONY PREMIUM RAW HONEY

The nice twist with these premium raw honeys is that they are gathered from different regions and localities of the U.S.

Give a bottle of honey from California, Dakota, Florida, Georgia, Great Lakes, Hawaii, Midwest, New York or Texas.

If you prefer to go regional, there are honeys gathered in the Northeast, Pacific Northwest and Southeast.

If you want the classics, there are Berry Honey, Blueberry Honey, Clover Honey, Orange Blossom Honey and Wildflower Honey, all raw and American-sourced.

Bee Harmony Honey is dedicated to using “Beesponsible” practices (a.k.a. responsible beekeeping) and encouraging consumers to join the “beevolution” by taking steps to help keep honeybees a healthy and thriving part of our world.

This includes buying raw, ethically sourced honey. Ethically sourced means that the bees’ welfare is paramount.

A 13-ounce jars range from $9.99 to $11.99 Get yours at BeeSponsible.com.

What Is Raw Honey?

Raw honey comes straight from the beehive: There’s no pasteurization or other processing, which remove nutrients.

[5] Don’t buy generic honey. The good stuff is varietal honey, from a specific locale (photo Beesponsible).

[2] Create a Caprese wreath on a platter. Here’s the recipe from the Daily Mail.

[3] This Caprese wreath uses the smallest mozzarella balls, called perlini (photo courtesy Country Living).

Is there anything blander than out-of-season tomatoes? The good news is that you can improve tomato flavor. Or, don’t by out-of-season tomatoes in the first place.

If you need bright red color in the off-season, use these alternatives:

 
 
HOW TO MAKE BLAND TOMATOES TASTE BETTER

If you truly must have slices of tomato, here are three tricks to make them better.

 
 
HOW TO MAKE A TASTY CAPRESE SALAD

With its red and green colors, Caprese salad is a natural during the holiday season.

If the Caprese salad in photo #1 makes you want to dig right in, here’s the recipe.

This recipe substitutes basil pesto and fresh parsley for the traditional fresh basil. We’re fine with pesto as an extra condiment, but if there isn’t fresh basil, it isn’t a Caprese. The mozzarella and tomatoes demand it!

In other words, substitute the parsley in the photo with basil.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the mozzarella slices atop the tomato slices and arrange them on the plate as desired. drizzle with oil and balsamic vinegar.

2. DECORATE the plate with stripes of balsamic glaze and pesto.

3. GARNISH with the julienned sundried tomatoes, shredded basil, and olives.

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*Pimiento (pim-YEN-toe) is the Spanish word for a particular sweet chile pepper similar to a red bell pepper. It’s heart-shaped, about 3 to 4 inches long by 2 to 3 inches wide. In the U.S., it is largely spelled pimento. Here’s more about pimento.

†Balsamic glaze is balsamic vinegar that has been reduced into a syrup. The benefit here is that it will hold a straight line; i.e., it isn’t runny like vinegar. You can buy it or make it. Here’s more about balsamic glaze.
 
 

What are those jumbo grapes you occasionally find in the market?

They’re muscadine grapes, Vitis rotundifolia, a species native to the warm, humid climate of the southeastern and south-central United States.

The vines are well adapted to their native warm and humid climate. The grape has been extensively cultivated since the 16th century.

Today there are more than 300 muscadine cultivars grown in the U.S. When ripe, the different varieties are green, bronze, red or black.

Today’s crops include common (natural) grapes and patented grapes, which are hybrids bred (and patented) to enhance qualities.

Like other grapes, muscadines are a rich source of polyphenols, powerful antioxidants.

Muscadines naturally have thicker skin, so the fruit was not popular as a table grape. Instead, the variety was, and is, typically used in making jelly, juice and wine.

Modern breeding of patent grapes has made the skin readily palatable, and it is these grapes that have sprung up in food markets in the last few years.

Food Trivia: Fans of older novels may have come across characters drinking scuppernong wine. It is a dry red table wine made from the bronze variety of muscadine. In the South, bronze muscadine grapes are called scuppernong, after the Scuppernong River in North Carolina, where they were originally bred. The other colors are called muscadine.
 
 
WAYS TO USE MUSCADINE GRAPES

You can use muscadines anywhere you use other grapes, although in situations requiring a fork, you may need to cut them in half to spear them.

 
 
COMMON AMERICAN GRAPES

While immigrants brought their own varieties from Europe (known as Old World grapes), America had a ready supply of indigenous grapes.
 
Concord Grapes

Native to eastern North America, the wild vines of Vitis labrusca were first cultivated in the mid-19th century in Concord, Massachusetts, by crossbreeding them with the common European wine grape Vitis vinifera.

Concord grapes have a sweet, candy-like flavor and a “foxy” aroma. They’re the flavor Americans think of as “grapey”.

What’s “foxy?” The term refers to a distinctive note found in some wines: a sort of wild, musky, animal aroma. The grapes are often called “fox grapes.”

The aroma is unusual, but not unpleasant. One wine writer commented that it reminds him of the scent of a fur coat.

The quality is often found in American grape varieties like Concord or Catawba, and the aroma of the wine is usually accompanied by a grapey flavor.

Concord grapes are known to most Americans as the grape used to make grape jelly and purple grape juice. They are the most common source of the grape flavoring in candies and sodas.

Concord grapes are also used to make sweet wines. Their deep purple color makes them a popular choice for sacramental wines and Kosher wines.

[2] On the vine (photo courtesy Stark Bros).

[3] Add them to the roasting pan with any protein (here’s the recipe from Steelehouse Kitchen).

[4] You can freeze the grapes as a snack, and/or frost them with sugar (here’s the recipe for sugar-frosted grapes; photo and more recipes from Spoongood.

Other cultivars of the species Vitis labrusca are used to make dry wines.

Before the Concord grape became prominent, Catawba was the most planted grape in early 19th-century America. It was and is used to make white and rosé sparkling wines, as well as juice, jams and jellies.
 
Isabella Grapes

Isabella is another cultivar derived from Vitis labrusca. It is used as a table grape, and to make juice and wine.

A dark grape originating in the southern United States, it has spread around the world.

It is widely planted in South America, and is one of the most popular grapes in the former USSR, grown in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova, used to make dry red wines.
 
 
To learn more about native American grapes, just Google. Here are two articles for starters: