What makes it a favorite? We would buy it again…and again. In alphabetical order, we recommend:

1. LOVE THE WILD: FROZEN FISH FILLET ENTRÉES

Only one in five Americans meet the USDA recommendation for fish intake, a vital high protein dietary component that’s high in protein and healthy fats.

LoveTheWild is on a mission to make it easy for you to enjoy delicious, traceable fish dinners—in fact, we can’t recall an easier preparation. Add the fillet to the piece of parchment paper, top with the cubes of sauce, fold and bake. It tastes like it was prepared at a [good] restaurant.

Aside from a moist and tasty piece of fish, there’s no pan to clean: The parchment goes from pan to plate (or, you can remove it before plating).

In the process, the company uses the greener technique of aquaculture, which they call “the least environmentally impactful form of animal protein production in the world.”

The frozen entrées, nicely packaged, pair sustainably-sourced fish filets with regional, butter-based sauces that complement each species’ unique taste.

The company hand-selects seafood from the most well-managed farms in the world, providing you with the highest quality sustainable seafood. There are currently four varieties, each of which was a hit with us:

 
We received these as samples, but we’re headed out to load up!

LoveTheWild products are sold at major retailers across the U.S., including Whole Foods Markets, Wegmans, Sprouts, and Mom’s. Find a store locator and more information at LoveTheWild.com.
 
 
2. MEMBER’S MARK SEA SALT CARAMELS

Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores, is increasing its foothold in the specialty food space. It has revamped its private label Member’s Mark brand to include more premium products.

Items span many categories, from sea salt caramels and honey sourced from a U.S. bee cooperative to all-natural pulled pork created with help from pit masters at the Kansas City Barbeque Society.

The brand will add 300 new items this year and plans to add another 300 next year. In addition to food, the Maker’s Makrk merchandise includes health and wellness and apparel.

We received samples of the sea salt caramels, honey, and olive mix. The honey and olives hit the spot; but there are good honeys and olives around.

The hands-down winner were the delicious sea salt caramels, notable for their generous size (about 1-1/4 inches square by 7/8 inch high—a long, chewy mouthful.

The centers are soft, handcrafted caramel, the exterior quality milk chocolate. There’s a light sprinkle of sea salt; even if you don’t see it, you’ll taste it.

Caveat: We couldn’t stop eating them.

If you’re not near a Sam’s Club, we also found them on Amazon, and are trying to restrain ourselves from ordering the six-pack.
 
 
3. PEPPERIDGE FARM FARMHOUSE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

[1] Love The Wild has four terrific frozen fish entrées (photo courtesy Love The Wild). [2] Member’s Mark from Sam’s Club has great salted caramels (photo courtesy Sam’s Club). [3] The caramels look like this, with tiny grains of salt. You can make these at home with this recipe from Inspired Taste. [4] Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse is perhaps the best mass-market chocolate cookie (photo courtesy Pepperidge Farm).

Made from classic ingredients—butter, flour, vanilla and chocolate chips—the cookies are made in three varieties:

Choose a product:Pepperidge Farm FarmhouseTM Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

 
It’s hard to choose a favorite, but you don’t have to: Try them all.

The’re available last retailers nationwide; SRP is $3.49. The line is certified kosher by OU.
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*Traceability is the ability to verify the history, location aor application of an item by means of documented recorded identification. Consumers and retailers can follow if a product meets regulatory, environmental and ethical standards.Here’s more.

[5] One of three flavors of gluten-free cheese crackers, from Snyder’s Of Hanover. [6] Plantain Chips from Terra Chips.

4. SNYDER’S OF HANOVER: WHOLEY CHEESE! CRACKERS

Does America need another cheese cracker?

Yes, when they’re as light and tasty as Wholey Cheese, the new brand from Snyders Of Hanover. And gluten free, to boot.

Potato starch is used instead of wheat flour, an advantage over Cheez-It and Goldfish:

 
The only issue is the high proportion of broken crackers. But in the end, it didn’t affect us as we ate every crumb: from the bag and sprinkled onto salads, soups and potatoes.

Find them at retailers nationwide.
 
 
5. TERRA CHIPS: PLANTAIN CHIPS

We have loved Terra Chips long before they were a store product. They began as a specialty of a Manhattan caterer, who sliced his way to famed and fortune (and we thank him for it).

The company has just introduced two varieties of plantain chips:

 
Plantains are members of the banana family, but are more dense and less sweet (and can’t be eaten raw). They grow in tropical climates, where they are treated as root vegetables (but they aren’t), and typically served in savory preparations.

Plantains ripen, like bananas. The Sweet Plantains are made from the ripe fruit, at the point that natural browning occurs. There is no sugar added.

We actually preferred the more savory chip.

Discover more at TerraChips.com. The line is certified kosher by KOF-K.

Founded in 1973 by venerable French champagne house Moët & Chandon, Chandon was the first American sparkling wine venture established by a French Champagne house in Napa Valley. Its Napa Valley vineyard holdings, Chandon grows the traditional French champagne grapes: chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier.

They also create limited-edition bottles for New Year’s Eve; but let’s get back to the red, white and blue.

The bottles of Chandon Brut in American flag colors bottle was so popular, that three years ago the winery launched a companion bottle of Chandon Rosé.

If you’re pouring bubbly over Memorial Day and Independence Day weekends, these peak-chic bottles are the ones to pour.

It’s the same delicious Chandon Brut and Rosé, in standard sizes and minis—the latter a festive party favor.

The bottles, officially called the American Summer Limited Edition, are available Memorial Day through Labor Day at select retailers.

If your wine and liquor store doesn’t carry them, they can order them for you by the case. You can purchase them at Chandon.com as well.

 
WHY IS ROSÉ CHAMPAGNE MORE EXPENSIVE?

Whether from Champagne or another region of the world that produces sparkling wines*, sparkling rosé champagne is typically more expensive than sparkling white wine.

That’s because making it is more labor-intensive and time-consuming.

There are two ways to make rosé champagne. We’ll start off with the fact that there are two main wine grapes grown in the Champagne region: chardonnay (white grapes) and pinot noir (black grapes†). Champagne can be made from:

 
How Sparkling Rosé Is Made

Making a rosé takes extra steps. The most common method in the Champagne region is to blend still red wine into the champagne. The red wine produces deeper, more robust red fruit aromas.

The other approach, used by the top houses, is more complicated and more costly. During the part of the juice fermentation called maceration, the winemaker allows skin contact of the red grape skins, with the pressed white juice.

[1] Chandon’s 2017 American Summer Limited Edition sparkling wines (photo courtesy Chandon). [2] Moet and Chandon, the famed French champagne, planted its grape vines in Napa Valley to produce Chandon. [3] Rosé bubbly adds even more festiveness (photo Jacek Kadaj | Fotolia).

(Champagne trivia: The coveted pale salmon color known as oeil-de-perdrix, partridge eye, which dates to the Middle Ages in Champagne. It gave its name to a style of rosé wine made in Switzerland. Here’s more information.)

Champagne houses pride themselves a consistent house style. The challenge with either approach to making rosé champagne is to create the same color year after year, even though the blend of grapes changes based on the harvest (i.e., the sweetness and other properties of the harvested grapes).

But…back to summer sipping: A sparkling wine lighter than champagne is best in the outdoor heat. Here are the different types of sparkling wine and sparkling rosé.

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*Legally, only sparkling wine produced in the French region of Champagne can be called champagne. Everything else is properly called sparkling wine.

†Red wine grapes are referred to as black in the industry. Depending on varietal, they can range from dark red to purplish black in color.

‡By law, arbane, petit meslier, pinot blanc and pinot gris can also be used in the blend. Some producers use them to round out the flavors; but these grapes comprise just a fraction of the the grapes grown in the region.
  

Fruit pies are one of the joys of summer. But once you cut into your beautiful pie, the juice and fruit can spill out of the crust and into the space of the piece of pie you’ve just removed.

Unhappily called a lava flow, pan puddle or slump—or simply runny pie—you can eliminate it through experimentation with types and amounts of thickeners.

You want your pie filling to hold its shape. Where do you begin? Here’s a detailed matrix from P.J. Hamel of King Arthur Flour, who advises that every recipe needs testing until it meets your satisfaction. There is no one perfect solution.

Why? Each fruit has a different amount of pectin, a natural thickener. Each type of added thickener has a different thickening power, based on the percentage of starch it contains.

For this reason, recipes from reliable sources use a specific type and amount of thickener for a specific type of fruit. Don’t substitute either the fruit or the thickener and expect optimal results.

For example:

 
That being said, we’re just talking runniness. Even a runny pie will still taste good.

FRUIT PIE THICKENERS

Pie thickeners prevent the valuable juices from running out when the pie is sliced.

The following thickeners are listed in order from least thickening agent, with the least amount of starch, to the strongest, starchiest thickener. (The thickening power is known as gel strength among professionals.)

[1] A blackberry pie, properly thickened, holds its shape. Here’s the recipe from The Baker Chick. [2] A great thickener for frozen pies: Instant ClearJel (photo courtesy King Arthur Flour). [3] Another solution: a pie sealer or pie gate (photo courtesy Progressive International).

 
A note: Our mom used cornstarch in her renowned apple and blueberry pies. No one ever noticed any cloudiness, and her pies were always in demand.

MORE TIPS TO THICKEN THE JUICES

[1] Mashed avocado toast gives way to mashed green pea toast, called Smashed Pea Toast at Bluestone Lane, a group of Australian-inspired cafés in New York City, Hoboken and Philadelphia. [2] Served Caprese-style. Here’s the recipe from Two Peas And Their Pod. [3] Esquites-style: Mexican corn salad with cotija cheese, lime and cilantro. Here’s the recipe from Closet Cooking.

The not-so-recent history of avocado toast is below.

More recently, mashed peas are being substituted for the avocado, along with more elaborate garnishes:

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*No decent tomatoes? Drain diced or whole canned San Marzano tomatoes.
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There are even sweet avocado toast options, such as:

 
For chocolate-avocado, mix 1/2 mashed avocado with one tablespoon of cocoa powder and 1-2 teaspoons of honey or maple syrup. Top with berries, coconut and/or mini chocolate chips.
 
RECIPE: MASHED PEA TOAST†

Ingredients For 6 Servings

Preparation

1. COMBINE the garlic, parsley, 1 tablespoon olive oil, a pinch of salt and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Add the peas and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender (about 5 minutes for fresh peas, 2 minutes for frozen peas). Drain, reserving the cooking liquid.

2. TRANSFER the pea mixture to a food processor; pulse to a coarse paste. Alternatively, for a chunkier blend, mash with a fork or a potato masher. Transfer to a medium bowl and mix in the chives, lemon juice and peel, pepper and 2 tablespoons olive oil.

3. STIR in the reserved cooking liquid, tablespoon by tablespoonful, until the mixture is still thick but spreadable. Season with salt, black pepper and more lemon juice, if desired.

4. TOP the toast with pea the mash peas. Garnish with the a sprinkle of whole peas, the remaining lemon peel, and more crushed pepper, as desired.
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*Adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe for mashed avocado sandwiches with preserved lemon.

CRUNCHY FUN WITH CRUNCHIES FREEZE-DRIED FRUIT SNACKS

We’ve long been fans of Crunchies freeze-fried fruits and vegetables: a healthful, low-calorie, crunchy, all natural grab-and-go snack with no added sugar.

In addition to grab and go snacking, we use them as garnishes for everything from salad to sorbet.

The fruits include blueberries, cinnamon apple, grapes, mango, mixed fruit, pineapple, raspberries, strawberries and strawberry banana.

Alas, our favorite freeze-dried corn kernels has been discontinued; but it’s been replaced by something equally wonderful: freeze dried sliced beets!

The line is certified gluten free, kosher (OU) and non-GMO.

You can find a store locator of buy online at CrunchiesFood.com.

Although a relatively new trend in the U.S. (we first noticed it about four years ago), avocado toast has been “commonplace for a long time,” according to Wikipedia.

 
Surely, some conquistador, or more likely one of the nuns who followed in the early 16th century (the nuns created fusion European-Aztec cuisine, adapting New World ingredients to Old World cooking styles), first put sliced avocado on a piece of toasted European bread. But the record is mute on that.

According to an article in The Washington Post, chef Bill Granger of Sydney, Australia may have been the first person to put avocado toast on a menu, in 1993. Another Australian chef believes that the combination of avocado and toast emerged in Queensland, Australia in the mid-1970s.

Now, Millennials call it “smashed avo.”

In 1999, Nigel Slater published a recipe for an avocado “bruschetta” in London’s newspaper, The Guardian.

Even earlier, in 1962, a New York Times article showcased an “unusual” sandwich of avocado on toast.

And even earlier than that, in 1937, The New Yorker published an article, “Avocado, or the Future of Eating,” in which the protagonist eats “avocado sandwich on whole wheat and a lime rickey.” [source]

But credit social media with launching this low-key breakfast and snack into stardom, with an endless number of photos making it a must-have for avocado lovers.
  

[2] New England-style hot dog rolls have straight edges, which get crisp when toasted (photo courtesy King Arthur Flour).

[3] A New England hot dog pan (photo courtesy USA Pan).<
[4] Woo hoo: Slotdogs (photo courtesy Gadgetify).

Following up on yesterday’s homemade hamburger roll recipes, today we present the hog dog roll recipes from King Arthur Flour.

The hot dog is an American term for what initially was called a frankfurter, a style of sausage favored in Frankfurt, Germany. It was brought to the U.S. by German immigrants in the 1880s. Here’s the history of hot dogs.

While any hot dog or hamburger dough recipe works in any hot dog pan, you do need special baking pans to shape the rolls.

First, decide if you want to make rolls with classic rounded edges (photo #1) or the straight-edge New England style (photo #2).

We prefer the latter because it’s also the classic lobster roll style (lobster rolls originated in New England); and perhaps more importantly, the straight edges get crisp when toasted.

Next, decide on the size of the pan. We vote for the larger, 24-bun size. If you won’t use all of them, freeze the rest.

The difference between buns and rolls is below.

Also take a look at:

 
 
RECIPE #1: CLASSIC HOT DOG ROLLS

This classic recipe can be used for hot dog or hamburger rolls.

An egg wash places a shiny glaze on the rolls.
 
 
RECIPE #2: BUTTERY HOT DOG ROLLS, NEW ENGLAND-STYLE

While not exactly brioche, this recipe produces very buttery buns—also great for lobster rolls.

Speaking of which: here are 20 other uses for hot dog rolls.
 
 
RECIPE #3: NEW ENGLAND STYLE HOT DOG ROLLS

Don’t want the extra butter of recipe #2?

Whether you want your rolls classic- or New England-style, try this recipe.

It’s different from recipe #1, in that it adds potato flour and an egg to enrich the dough. Recipe #1 uses the egg in an egg wash, to glaze the rolls; and only all-purpose flour.
 
 
SLOTDOGS: ADD SOME PIZZAZZ TO YOUR DOGS

While looking at hot dog pans, we came across SlotDogs (photo #4), a device that makes criss-cross cuts in the dog before grilling.

They’re easy to make with the special Slotdog cutter.

Kids may think they look like dragon scales; we just enjoy the geometrics.

In addition to looking way cool, the cuts allow the smoky grill flavor to penetrate more deeply, and enables the juices to caramelize the edges.

Plus, as with penne rigate and other pasta shapes with ridges, the toppings cling better, too.

 
BUNS, ROLLS AND BISCUITS: THE DIFFERENCE

We use the word roll instead of bun to denote hot dog-specific bread.

There is no official difference: Both are single-serve breads, and the FDA only stipulates that buns and rolls weigh less than one-half pound (as opposed to loaves of bread, which must weigh one pound or more).

Manufacturers and retailers use whichever term they want. However, the American Institute of Baking uses this distinction (but good luck getting people to change the words they use):

 
FUN HOT DOG RECIPES