February 25th is National Chocolate Covered Nuts Day.

While you can easily head to the nearest store to pick up some chocolate-covered nuts, nut clusters or turtles, chocolate-covered nuts are something that you can easily make at home.

Prefer to buy them?

Our favorites are the Triple Chocolate Almonds from Charles Chocolates, coated in milk chocolate, dark chocolate and cocoa powder.

They’re also made in Mint Chocolate Almond and in Dark Chocolate Hazelnuts.

RECIPE: CHOCOLATE-COVERED SEA SALT ALMONDS

The recipe is from Sally’s Baking Addiction, a wonderful place to find delicious baking ideas.

Prep time is 25 minutes, plus setting time; total 1 hour.

Ideally, use the 3-pronged tool from the chocolate tool set to lift the nuts out of the chocolate pool and shake off the excess chocolate. We used fondue forks; but if we make these again, we’re going for the chocolate tools.

Ingredients For 1-1/2 Cups

 
Preparation

1. TOAST the almonds by spreading them on a large baking sheet; bake for 10-12 minutes in a preheated 300°F oven. Allow to slightly cool before coating with chocolate.

2. LINE a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

3. MELT the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave in a heat-proof bowl at 30-second increments. Stir every 30 seconds until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.

4. STIR the almonds into the chocolate, making sure to coat each one. Using a dipping tool or a fork, lift the almonds out one by one. Gently tap the fork against the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate, and place the nut onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining almonds.

5. SPRINKLE the almonds with a bit of sea salt and turbinado sugar. Allow the chocolate to completely set. You can place the baking sheet in the fridge to speed up the setting.

6. STORE the almonds in the fridge for up to 4 weeks, in an airtight container.
 
 
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*Dark, milk, white: Use whatever chocolate you prefer, as long as it’s a premium brand. Ditto with the nuts: You can substitute hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, walnuts, mixed nuts, etc.

[1] Warning: addictive! Photo and recipe © Sally’s Baking Addiction.

[2] For you or a friend: Sally’s Candy Addiction, the cookbook by Sally McKenney of Sally’s Baking Addiction (photo © Race Point Publishing).

[3] Our favorites to buy are these Triple Chocolate Almonds from Charles Chocolates (photo © Charles Chocolates).

[1] As a sauce or dip with boiled potatoes (photo © Quinciple).

[2] Tarragon aïoli as a dip with shrimp. Here’s the recipe from Real Simple (photo © Real Simple).

[3] Le Grand Aïoli: Make a platter for your next gathering. Here’s a story from Edible Seattle (photo © Edible Seattle).

[4] Just open the jar and use these flavorful aïolis from Delicious And Sons: Basil Lemon Aïoli and Saffron Orange Aïoli (photo © Delicious And Sons).

[5] Southern Europe meets South America: Habanero Aïoli from Salsa Maya. In Spanish, salsa is a generic word for sauce (photo © SalsaMayaUS).

Americans eat a lot of mayonnaise, but not enough aïoli: garlic mayonnaise.

The word is pronounced eye-OH-lee from the French word for garlic, ail (pronounced EYE). An easy recipe using store-bought mayonnaise is below.

What we think of as a bread spread is used as a dip and sauce from Catalonia (the northeast tip of Spain; think Barcelona) through Provence (Marseilles along the coast through Toulon, Cannes, Nice and Monaco.

It hopped the border of Monaco to the Liguria region of Italy. It spread to the south of Catalonia to Valencia, Catalonia, Murcia and eastern Andalusia, and offshore to the Balearic Islands. It crossed the sea to Malta.

In fact, mayonnaise was invented in France by the great chef Marie-Antoine Carême, around 1800. You may think of mayo as a spread, but it was created as a sauce (the history of mayonnaise).

But before then, the original sauce was made with just garlic and olive oil, which, by the way, was not an easy combination to emulsify into a sauce in the centuries before blenders.

Later, possibly inspired by Carême’s mayonnaise, Provençal cooks incorporated egg yolks and lemon juice and voila: a richer, more flavorful, more stable mixture than mashed garlic and olive oil. (When you look at your food processor or blender, remember that everything prior to modern times was done in a mortar and pestle.)

There are numerous seasoning variations. In France, it can include a bit of Dijon mustard. In Malta, some tomato is added.

Everywhere, aïoli is served at room temperature.

Ingredients vary by region, too. Catalan versions leave out the egg yolk and use much more garlic. This gives the sauce a more pasty texture, while making it considerably more laborious to make as the emulsion is much harder to stabilize.
 
 
AÏOLI USES

Yes, you can put it on your sandwich or burger; but aïoli can be used instead of mayonnaise anywhere, from canapés to to dips to potato salad.

You can even plan a luncheon or dinner party around it. And you can buy it or make it.

Then, serve it:

 
 
SERVE LE GRAND AÏOLI

In Provence, Le Grand Aïoli (a.k.a. Aïoli Garni or Aïoli Monstre) is a special-occasion dish consisting of boiled vegetables (artichokes, beets, carrots, green beans, potatoes); salt cod or other poached fish, snails, canned tuna, other seafood; hard-boiled eggs, and a large dish of aïoli.

In Provence, the dish is served in a celebration around August 15th, after the garlic has been harvested. If you like the idea, plan an occasion.

You don’t have to wait until August. A room-temperature dish, Le Grand Aïoli delightful in the spring or summer with a lightly-chilled Côtes de Provence rosé or a red Bandol.

If you like crème de cassis (cassis liqueur, made from blackcurrants), it’s a local product; so serve a Kir or Kir Royale as an aperitif.
 

AIOLI HISTORY

Aioli, aïoli, alhòli, aiòli or allioli, arjoli or ajjoli: Depending on the country and region, they are different spellings for a Mediterranean sauce (in southeastern Spain, it’s called ajoaceite or ajiaceite).

Made of garlic and olive oil—two staple ingredients of the area—the name means garlic and oil in Catalan and Provençal.

While purists insist that only the garlic-seasoned recipe should be called “aïoli,” we think, logically, that as long as there’s garlic in the recipe, it can still be called aïoli. Consumers will understand.

Otherwise, you’ll find even purer purists who insist that only the original garlic-oil sauce—no egg, no lemon juice—be called aïoli.
 

RECIPE: A QUICK AÏOLI WITH STORE-BOUGHT MAYONNAISE

If you want to make your aïoli from scratch, here’s a recipe.

If you want to cut calories, use Greek yogurt for a different take.

Ingredients For 1 Cup

 
Preparation

1. BLANCH the basil in boiling water for 15 seconds. Mix all ingredients in medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. REFRIGERATE, covered, for at least 1 hour or overnight, to allow flavors to meld.

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*If you want a spice instead of an herb, season to taste.
 
  

We have advocated olive oil cake before. But this is a variation with polenta (cornmeal) instead of white flour.

Olive oil cake is a standard in some parts of Italy, substituting olive oil for butter as the fat. So is polenta cake, with a hearty crumb.

Both are rustic, uniced cakes. When we first tried an olive oil cake, moist and springy, we had no idea it lacked butter. When we first tried polenta cake, we fell in love with the irony:

We’ve often called muffins “uniced mini cakes,” because many are so sweet. With polenta cake, it’s the opposite: a sweet corn muffin in the guise of cake.

In Italy, an olive oil cake is usually made with all-purpose flour and often has citrus accents, which complement the olive oil. But any flavor can be used, including chocolate; as can a liqueur. Some recipes include pieces of fruit in the batter as well as zest and juice.

For a wine pairing, serve it with an Italian dessert wine wine like Vin Santo. There’s more about wine pairing below.

The following recipe, adapted from one in the cookbook Cake Keeper Cakes, is fragrant from olive oil and juicy with roasted grapes. Use any seasonal fruit, from berries to lychees to peaches.

In addition to adding fresh basil, we made basil whipped cream. If you like basil as much as we do, try it! As with all homemade whipped cream, it must be whipped right before serving. However…

If you want to use it but need to prepare it in advance, make stabilized whipped cream.
 
 
RECIPE: OLIVE OIL CORNMEAL CAKE

We adapted this recipe from Lauren Chattman’s book, Cake Keeper Cakes, adding fresh basil. It may sound unusual, but it’s terrific, as is rosemary. Made with cornmeal instead of wheat flour, it’s also gluten-free (corn in all ground forms is gluten-free: corn flour, corn meal, grits, etc.).

Thanks to cake mixes, we’re all familiar with oil-based cakes. But why aren’t there more rustic cornmeal cakes with herbs?

We have no idea—especially since some recipes are very similar corn muffins. Our guess is a cake with herbs sounds strange to American bakers. Don’t let that stand in your way: Allow yourself to be delightfully surprised.
 
Ingredients For 8-10 Servings

 
For The Basil Whipped Cream

 
Preparation

If you add all the grapes at once, they’ll sink to the bottom. So reserve half and scatter them on top of the cake after it’s been in the oven for 10 minutes. They’ll sink slightly, but will still be visible.

As for the garnish, we’ve never been fond of confectioners’ sugar. Pretty as it looks, it too easily falls onto one’s clothing. Instead, we prefer a dairy topping: crème fraîche, mascarpone or lightly sweetened whipped cream. This toothsome, rustic cake is better with a modestly sweet or tangy garnish.

If you don’t have a spring form, you can make this cake in a bundt.

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F and grease a 9-inch round springform pan.

2. WHISK together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

3. COMBINE the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is light in color and has increased in volume, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the oil in a slow, steady stream. Turn the mixer to medium speed and beat for 1 minute. Turn the mixer to low speed and stir in the milk, vanilla, and lemon zest.

4. KEEPING the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, until just incorporated. Stir in half of the grapes. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes.

5. SCATTER the remaining grapes over the top of the partially baked cake and continue to bake until the cake is golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes longer.

6. TRANSFER the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool for 5 minutes. Release the sides of the pan and let the cake cool completely before dusting with confectioners’ sugar. Cut into wedges and serve. When ready to serve…

[2] Cake Keeper Cakes photo © Taunton Press.

[3] Olive oil cake with an orange top (here’s the recipe (photo © The Newlywed Cookbook).

[4] Olive oil cake made with Grand Marnier and white flour Here’s the recipe (photo © Food 52).

[5] Polenta olive oil cake with fresh citrus garnish. Here’s the recipe (photo © Frog Hollow Farm).

[6] Vin santo, a wine served with biscotti, is a good pairing for the cake—as well as the options below (photo © Blog Siena).

 
 
WINE PAIRINGS WITH OLIVE OIL CAKES

A dessert wine, of course! Suggestions:

Sweet Sparkling Wines

 
Sweet Still Wines

 
Liqueurs also work.
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*The first time you make this cake, you may wish to leave out the liqueur and concentrate on enjoying the basil.

†The difference: Whipping cream contains 35% fat while heavy cream contains 38% fat. They are interchangeable in recipes.
  

[2] What wine goes with chocolate popcorn? Your favorite red! (photo © Coupons.com)

[3] Go whole-hog with a pairing flight (photo © Skinnygirl).

For the Oscars on Sunday, how about some popcorn pairing fun?

If you typically watch the show with a bowl of popcorn, consider moving past the beer and soda in favor of wine pairings.

Wine and popcorn? Why not?

It’s another opportunity to see how your palate responds to different flavor pairings.

As with all foods, wines are paired to the seasonings of the dish. That big combo can of three flavors—buttered, caramel and cheese corn—enables you to try three different wine pairings, with more flavor pairings below.

You can hold a wine-and-popcorn pairing for movie night, sports games, or just for a fun get-together.
 
 
WHAT WINE GOES WITH POPCORN?

As with beer, sparkling wine goes with anything, whether white (cava, prosecco), rosé sparkling or red sparkling (such as brachetto d’asti or lambrusco). (See the different types of sparkling wine, and rosé sparklers).

But you can also create a pairing party. Your personal preferences take precedence over “logical” recommendations below. If you prefer pinot grigio or rosé, serve it!

Where would we be without popcorn?

Americans consume approximately 17.3 billion quarts of popcorn each year.

The history of popcorn—originally not a snack food, but ground into flour for subsistence fare.

The history of popcorn in the U.S.. It was first used by the colonists as a breakfast cereal, served with milk and sugar.

What makes popcorn kernels pop—only strains developed to pop are used for popcorn.
  

This quick and easy recipe, from Buitoni, combines two different types of their refrigerated fresh tortolloni with fresh arugula.

Tortellini are larger versions of the bite-size tortellini.

You can also substitute ravioli or other stuffed pasta (check out the different types of pasta).

Serve it for lunch, dinner, or as a first course for dinner. We also enjoyed the leftovers cold the next day.

Prep time is 10 minutes, total time is 15 minutes.

RECIPE: ARUGULA, PESTO & GOAT CHEESE TORTELLONI

Ingredients For 8 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE pasta according to package directions; drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water.

2. PLACE the pasta and reserved water in large bowl; add pesto and tomatoes. Toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Add arugula and cheese; toss gently. Top with pine nuts.
 
 
MORE TORTELLONI RECIPES

Tortelloni With Cherry Tomato Sauce

Tortelloni with Roasted Eggplant & Cherry Tomato Sauce

Tortelloni With Shaved Brussels Sprouts & Pomegranate Arils

[1] Chicken & Roasted Garlic Tortellini with fresh arugula and goat cheese. [2] The same tortollini with Brussels sprouts and pomegranate arils. [3] Look for Buitoni Tortellini in the refrigerator case (photos courtesy Buitoni).