[1] For single portions or a fun family approach, pack salads into mason jars—not big ones, since the fork has to reach the bottom! (photo California Avocados).

[3] Spinach and bacon layered salad layered with peas, red bell pepper and cheddar, with ranch dressing (photo courtesy Kraft).

[3] Classic layered salad with blue cheese dressing. A year-round favorite, in the winter, exchange the chopped tomatoes for pimento or red bell pepper.

[4] Add protein for a luncheon salad; here, ham and hard-boiled eggs (photo courtesy McCormick).

[5] Cruciferous layered salad: broccoli and cauliflower florets with leafy crucifers—arugula, kale, mustard greens, etc.—and ranch dressing (photo courtesy Hidden Valley).

[6] Beans and grains combine in this tasty salad. The recipe is below (photo courtesy Whole Foods Market).

We’re two days into winter, it’s gray outside and the produce department of our supermarket isn’t providing much inspiration.

A solution: layered salad. Layering the ingredients in a glass bowl provides an more eye-appealing presentation for crunchy, good-for-you ingredients.

For red color, skip the out-of-season tomatoes and choose from beets, mild red peppers (Anaheim, Italian sweet chili peppers), peppadews, pimento, radishes, radicchio, red bell pepper, red cabbage, red grapefruit, red onions, red potatoes or sundried tomatoes…and perhaps a garnish of pomegranate arils.

A yellow or orange layer is also welcome: canned corn, carrots, orange or yellow bell peppers, sweet potatoes, winter squash, yellow beets…and cheddar cheese.

And toss in the other ingredients groups below. You’ll have an eye-appealing, nutritious treat instead of the same old salad.
 
 
1. PICK YOUR BASE

 
2. ADD A CHEESE

 
3. ADD A GRAIN OR LEGUME

 
4. ADD A FRUIT

 
5. SALAD IDEAS

Think beyond your regular salad ingredient combinations. Add to your base greens of choice (or eliminate the base greens as desired):

 
6. FOR A MAIN COURSE SALAD, ADD:

 
7. PICK A DRESSING

Your favorite dressing is the right dressing. Our favorites include:

 
 
RECIPE: BARLEY & BEAN SALAD WITH HERB PESTO

You can skip the salad greens and serve a grain and bean salad, with a pesto dressing to stand in for the greens (photo #6).

We adapted this recipe from Whole Foods Market.

Ingredients

For the Salad

 
For The Herb Pesto Dressing

1. MAKE the herb pesto: Blend all of the pesto ingredients in a food processor with 1 tablespoon water. Cover and refrigerate.

2. MAKE the salad: Bring 2 cups water to boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the barley, lower the heat and simmer, covered, until barley is tender and most of the water has evaporated, about 35 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool.

3. LAYER the barley, beans, tomatoes, avocado and corn in a large (2-quart) bowl, preferably glass. Top with the pesto. Toss at the table and serve.
  

We haven’t begun holiday shopping yet. But we’re not worried. Our list isn’t huge; and since no one we know needs any material possession we can afford, we long ago settled on disposable gifts—i.e., food.

This year we have three favorites (and might we add, we’re gifting all three to ourself, as well).
 
 
1. HONEY BAKED HAM

We received a gift of a Honey Baked Ham from the producer, and now proclaim it our favorite ham (photo #1).

There is no saltiness; salt in our opinion plagues many hams on the market. Instead, there’s a very light dusting of brown sugar, a perfect complement to the rich, juicy ham.

Hams are available in five sizes, from 6 pounds (serves 8-10) to 10 pounds (serves 18-22).

The hams are spiral cut on the bone. Not only is serving a cinch, but the bone is a bone-us (bad pun) waiting to be used in cooking beans, collards and kale, hearty soups, even Asian congee.

Lean cuts of premium pork are slowly roasting over hardwood chips for more than 20 hours. They are finished with the sweet-and-crunchy signature HoneyBaked Ham glaze.

We’re now a devoted customer, and promise that any ham-lover you gift one to will be most appreciative.

The hams are available at select retailers, but we find it convenient to buy online.

You can send a ham or a gift card. Head to HoneyBaked.com..
 
 
2. MOET & CHANDON HOLIDAY BOTTLE

A gift of Moët & Chandon champagne is always welcome. But as a holiday special, the vintner has created a limited edition bottle cloaked in gold (SRP $39.99).

The Moët Impérial Golden Sparkle Bottle contains the ever-popular Impérial Brut champagne, dressed up for the holidays.

Tip: Buy as much as you can. You’ll want your own supply for New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day.

The bottles are available at stores nationwide, along with a selection of gift boxed bottles and

See the entire selection at US.Moet.com.
 
 
3. JOSEPH DROUHIN CHOREY-LES-BEAUNE

You can never go wrong gifting a good bottle of Burgundy, but how to you choose among the many bottles on the shelf?

The venerable house of Joseph Drouhin has been bottling fine burgundies for 130 years. There are some 90 appellations—no wonder it’s so hard for the less-than-expert to buy burgundy.

We suggest starting with a bottle of from the appellation Chorey-Les-Beaune, a commune in the Côte-d’Or department in eastern France, northeast of the city of Beaune.

This luscious, supple red wine is moderately tannic and full of character. The nose is dominated by small red fruits (raspberry, Morello cherry) and black fruits (blackberry).

Its well-rounded structure leaves an aftertaste of fruit on the palate. When you buy it, it’s ready to drink.

[2] Moët et Chandon champagne dresses up for the holidays.

[3] A burgundy that won’t break the bank: Chorey-Les-Beaune from Joseph Drouhin (photo courtesy 1jour1vin.com.

Find it at retailers nationwide. Depending on the store and the vintage, it’s about $25 a bottle.

Discover more at M.Drouhin.com.
  

[2] To retain the best properties, the olives are pressed and bottled in just four hours.

[3] Just a drizzle adds silky, peppery flavor to anything on your table.

A business titan from Vancouver and an olive grower from Italy share a passion for creating great organic extra virgin olive oil

In 2010 they secure an estate in the rolling hills of Umbria, a region known for exceptional soil for olive groves: Olive oil production that dates back to Etruscan* times.

Overlooking the medieval village of Orvieto, they set out to nurture the groves.

Canadian Frank Giustra, who loves to cook and uses a lot of olive oil, fell in love with the land, and its promise, and purchased the surrounding orchards in 2010. He named it after his Italian mother, Domenica Fiore.

An Orvietano preservationist, Cesare Bianchini, joined the team to contribute his expertise in producing great Umbrian olive oils. He oversees all farming and olive oil production.

In fact, Domenica Fiore controls all aspects of the process: cultivation, milling, storage, packaging and sales. This allows you to know when the olives in your bottle were harvested, milled and bottled, along with the values of their chemical constituency.

The company prides itself in bringing you the freshest olive oil possible, bottling the oils within four hours of harvesting. Using state-of-the-art nitrogen sealed 18/10 stainless steel bottles—a rarity even among the finest oils—enables the preservation of extremely high antioxidants levels and polyphenol counts.
 
 
THE OILS

Domenica Fiore produces five different blends:

 
Each of the oils has its own personality, but they are definitely siblings, bursting with flavor, brightness and complexity.

How to choose? Start with whatever pops out at you; then try another, and another.

There are two sizes, 250 ml and 500 ml; prices range from $21.95 to $39.95.

Unlike the other four which are bottled within hours, the Riserva is allowed to rest for four months, where it acquires even more layers of complexity and is ideal for situations where the nuances of the oil will shine.

In addition to the conventional ideas, here’s an opportunity to display its breed: Domenica Fiore oils as a topping for vanilla ice cream is an exquisite experience.
 
 
SLOW FOOD

Organically grown, Domenica Fiore is the essence of Slow Food: delicious food created with care, grown and harvested with methods that have a positive impact on the land and ecosystems.

Every step of production is slow and deliberate. It’s not about speed or quantity: It’s all about quality and what helps the olives show their best.

Are there are other superlatives to say about an olive oil? We don’t think so.
 
 
AWARDS

The oils consistently win awards at international competitions.

In a category where there are so many entrants with “artisan” credentials, that says a lot.
 
 
OLIVE OIL GIFTS

What could be a better gift: delicious, healthful, environmentally sustainable, beautifully packaged: Domenica Fiore is something everyone can use and appreciate.

The line is certified organic and certified kosher.

There’s a store locator on the website, or select your oils online at DomenicaFiore.com.
 
 
OLIVE OIL LEARNING

________________

*The Etruscans were a wealthy and powerful people of ancient Italy. They inhabited the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany, western Umbria and northern Lazio, and were roughly contemporaneous with the founding of Rome, to the south. At the conclusion of the Roman–Etruscan Wars, in the 4th century B.C.E., the Etruscans were assimilated into the Roman Republic [source].

†Stainless steel is the best material for preserving olive oil’s nutritional and flavor characteristics.

January 11th is National Hot Toddy Day; January 17th is National Hot Buttered Rum Day. But we think this Chocolate Hot Toddy recipe (photo #1) is so full of holiday cheer, it deserves to be enjoyed now.

Hot buttered rum, also called a rum toddy, is a type of hot toddy, a venerable warm cocktail made with rum or another spirit, boiling water, sugar or honey, spices, and in this case, butter.

They’re almost the same drink. The difference: A hot toddy can be made with any spirit, whereas hot buttered rum is made with rum.

The word toddy, which first appears in English around 1600-1610, comes from the Hindi word tari, meaning palm sap—the juice of the palmyra palm tree, which was fermented into an alcoholic drink.

For food trivia lovers: The word punch also derives from Hindi, panch, after the Sanskrit panchan, meaning five. It refers to the five different ingredients of punch. Here’s more about it.

The history of the hot toddy follows. Elsewhere on The Nibble, you’ll find:

> Hot Toddy relatives (Glögg, Mulled Wine, etc.)

> The year’s 49 cocktail and spirits holidays.

> More hot toddy recipes.

> Snacks to serve with hot toddies.
 
 
TODDY HISTORY

Warm alcoholic beverages such as glögg, mulled wine and toddies originated in Northern Europe, where beer, cider, wine and spirits were mulled with sugar and spices to add some cheer to cold winter days.

Northern Europeans took their cue from the Romans, who, by the 2nd century, were heating wine to warm themselves [source]. They occupied Britain from the first through fifth centuries C.E.

Over the centuries, the cold weather drink became a standard during the holiday season. It’s what you received when you were offered a “cup of cheer” or “holiday cheer” in Merrie Olde England.
 
 
Toddy Comes To The New World

Hot buttered rum was a favorite in Colonial America. Rum is a New World spirit* made from molasses, a by-product of sugar refining. Distilleries in the Colonies† were making rum from molasses by the 1650s, and “hot buttered rum” joined the toddies and nogs of English tradition.

Hot buttered rum is traditionally made with dark rum, which has been aged in oak barrels to develop a deeper, molasses flavor. You can use light rum or spiced rum for a milder or spicier flavor, respectively.

You may see recipes for, creamy toddies, which add cream or ice cream to the basic recipe. These are new interpretations, not traditional toddies, which were not cream beverages.

Toddies can be made of any spirit; bourbon, brandy, tequila, Scotch, and other whiskeys are popular, as is sherry.

Hot toddy’s relatives include glogg, mulled wine, nog, and other spirited drinks. Here are the differences.
 
 
RECIPE: CHOCOLATE HOT BUTTERED RUM (CHOCOLATE RUM TODDY)

This recipe was created by chocolatier John Anderson of Napa Valley’s Woodhouse Chocolate, using dark cocoa powder.

He notes: “You can adjust the cocoa in the recipe according to your desired chocolate intensity. Personally, I like a subtle chocolate flavor in this drink, but you can certainly go full chocolate if you so desire. This is just one more thing to be thankful for around the holidays!”

Base For 10-12 Servings

 
Ingredients Per Drink

[2] Hot buttered rum in a glamorous glass. In Colonial times, metal or stone steins were used (photo © Ron Abuelo).

[3] Do marshmallows work in a cocktail? Try this recipe from The Cookie Rookie.

[4] A conventional toddy. In Colonial times it was served in a stein (photo © Hella Cocktail Co).

1. MAKE the base: Beat the ingredients together in a mixer until fluffy and smooth.

2. PLACE the base into a mug (preferably a glass mug) and add the rum and the water. Stir vigorously until well-combined.

3. TOPP with whipped cream if desired, and serve.
 
 
MORE HOT TODDY RECIPES

[1] and [2] How many uses can you find for deviled egg plates and similar platters? Photo of “Naked Vegetables” at Vicia Restaurant | St. Louis | Facebook, credited to @ctroesser for @sophisticatedlivingmag. The dips are broccoli hummus, chorizo purée, strained yogurt, homemade butter and nasturtium salt (green).

[3] Shrimp cocktail bites in Chinese soup spoons (here’s the recipe from Gooseberry Mooseberry). Some 20 years ago, a creative caterer noted that these spoons stand up on their own, and used them to serve cocktail bites.

If you like to entertain, or to entertain your family with fun food concepts, we have an idea for you:

Find ways to re-purpose special-use plates and serving dishes.

We were inspired by these photos from Vicia restaurant in St. Louis, which led us to repurpose our deviled egg plate to serve crudités, petit fours, and other bites TBD.

In our early years of cooking, we bought everything we could possibly need to be a proper hostess. We modeled our entertaining after the formal French presentations of the day.

Fast forward over the decades: How times have changed! Even our fancy dinners aren’t that fancy anymore. Some things we haven’t used in 10 or 20 years!

We knew we had a lot of tableware to repurpose or retire. So we undertook a hunt through our kitchen and storage pantry, and here’s what we found:

 
No wonder we can’t open a cupboard or closet without a small landslide (we call it the “suicide leap”—packed-in items will do anything to get out of that cabinet).

Here’s our first resolution for the new year: Repurpose it or give it away.

So far we’ve repurposed:

Asparagus plates, oyster plates and toast racks: your time is up. And sorry, molcajete: you too. You’re a picturesque way to serve tortilla chips, but not as useful as our score of serving bowls.
 
 
TIP #2: AMUSE BOUCHE

Amuse-bouche (pronounced ah-MEEZ boosh) is French for “amusing the mouth.” It’s an hors d’oeuvre-size portion plated in a tiny dish, sent as a gift from the chef after the order has been placed but before the food arrives.

It’s just one bite; here’s more about them.

For years, caterers have been using Chinese soup spoons to serve cocktail bites. The spoons have a level bottom that stands up on a plate or platter: a creative way to serve.

We have lots of Chinese soup spoons (don’t ask!). Our “repurposing” task led us to a fusion idea: Use the spoons to serve a nightly amuse bouche at dinner.

The real creative idea here is turning whatever you find in the fridge into an amuse bouche—a rustic one, nothing fancy.

We repurpose leftovers or whatever we have in the fridge: a cube of cheese with herbs and spices, a piece of hard-boiled egg with curried mayo, a spoonful of leftover mac and cheese, a bite of chicken with fresh-cracked pepper.

It’s just a bite…and it’s easy to re-season leftovers with dabs of different condiments, herbs and spices. And may we add: We’re also using a shelf full of condiments that take up space (chile sauce, chutney, honey mustard, pesto….)

Get out those Chinese soup spoons and try it!