January 2nd is National Swiss Cheese Day. After a brief explanation of “Swiss” cheese, we’ll head into all of the year’s cheese holidays, below.

> The history of cheese.

> The different types of cheese: a glossary.
 
 
THERE IS NO ONE SINGLE “SWISS” CHEESE 

Swiss cheese is the generic name used in the U.S. for several related varieties of cheese, inspired by those made in Switzerland.

Emmental (photo #1), which has large holes (properly known as eyes*), is the original cheese from Switzerland that Americans think of as “Swiss” cheese. Not all kinds of cheeses made in Switzerland have them.

In fact, there are some 450 known Swiss cheeses, classified into five categories:
The categories of Swiss cheese, and examples, include:

 
Cow’s milk is used in 99% of the cheeses produced (the same goes for Swiss-style cheeses made in the U.S.).

When émigré cheesemakers from Switzerland arrived in the U.S., some made Emmenthaler-style cheeses which they sold as “Swiss cheese” (photo #2).

As a result, most Americans think of “Swiss cheese” as the cheese with big holes.

If you’re a “Swiss cheese” lover, try some authentic Emmental and taste the difference.
 
 
CHEESE HOLIDAYS 

January 

 
February 

 
March 

 
April 

 
May 

 
June 

 
July 

 
August 

 
September 

 
October 

 
November 

 
 
 
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*Three types of bacteria are used in the production of Emmental cheese: Streptococcus thermophilis, Lactobacillus, and Propionibacter shermani. In a late stage of cheese production, P. shermani consumes the lactic acid excreted by the other bacteria and releases carbon dioxide gas. This forms the bubbles that appear to be “holes” when the cheese is sliced. These bacteria are also used in the production of some other cheeses from Switzerland. The cheese industry calls these holes or tunnels “eyes.” Swiss cheese without eyes is known as “blind.”
 
†Queso is a cheese dip that is historically baked (queso fundido/queso flameado). In recent decades, it has been made into a pasteurized cheese dip and sold in jars like salsa. The recipe in the link is a muenster dip but you can substitute Cheddar, Jack, or a Hispanic melting cheese.

[1] Emmenthaler cheese from Switzerland (photo © DeLaurenti).

[2] Swiss émigrés to the U.S. made cheese according to the Emmenthaler recipe they knew, but sold the cheese as “Swiss cheese” (photo © Wisconsin Cheese).

[3] Appenzeller cheese (photo © Artisanal Cheese).

[4] Gruyère. Swiss Gruyère is the original, with A.O.P. protection. Gruyère is also made on the other side of the border in France, but it must be labeled “French Gruyèere” (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

[5] Vacherin Fribourgeois. The canton of Fribourg (also the canton of Freiburg) is located in western Switzerland. Vacherin refers to a type of soft Swiss cow’s milk cheese. There are also French vacherins (photos #5 and #6 © Cheeses From Switzerland).

[6] Silky and luscious Vacherin Mont d’Or is crafted from cow’s milk produced during the fall and winter months when the herds spend their days munching straw and fodder instead of grazing on pasture. When ripe the cheese is spoonable/spreadable. Mont d’Or is a mountain that lies between the Swiss canton of Vaudo and the French Jura.

[1] A Tom and Jerry in special Tom & Jerry cups. Here’s the recipe (photos #1, #2, and #3 © House Of Hawthornes).

[2] Different companies created Tom and Jerry punchbowl and cup sets in the 1940s. This set is from Hazel Atlas, a prominent producer.

[3] This set, from Homer Laughlin, is more elegant.

December 24th is National Egg Nog (or Eggnog) Day. Most Americans know the drink as full of cream, rum, brandy,

Is it eggnog or egg nog? Modern philologists consider that eggnog has become a closed compound word, i.e., a word derived from two separate words joined together without a space between them.

Closed compound words evolve over time. There are many examples, a few of which are bookstore, cupcake, dishcloth, flowerpot, keyboard, mailbox, notebook, pancake, railroad, and snowball.

And thus, eggnog.

Eggnog is a descendant of milk-and-wine punches that had long been part of European celebrations and came to the New World with the colonists.

Rum, a New World spirit, was a better (e.g., higher-proof) substitution for the wine, and eggnog laced with rum became a popular wintertime drink throughout Colonial America.

President George Washington’s own recipe, which included rye whiskey, rum, and sherry, was reputed to be so stiff a drink that only the most courageous could down it.

But there was no brandy in colonial eggnog. Brandy joined rum in the basic recipe much later—as part of a book promotion!
 
 
THE HISTORY OF THE TOM AND JERRY: EGGNOG WITH BRANDY 

In the 1820s, Pierce Egan (1772–1849) a British journalist, sportswriter, and writer on popular culture wrote a novel called “Life of London: or Days and Nights of Jerry Hawthorne, Esq. and His Elegant Friend Corinthian Tom.” You can pick up a copy on Amazon.

Just as today’s mixologists and publicists know how to generate buzz with a new cocktail, Egan created a variation of eggnog he called the “Tom and Jerry,” after his characters. As a publicity stunt to promote his book, the half ounce of brandy he added to the basic recipe—which already had rum—and ended up furthering eggnog’s popularity. More booze, why not?

The original name, eggnog, prevails in most places.

The first printed reference in the U.S. appears in 1862, in Jerry Thomas’s book, How to Mix Drinks, Or, The Bon-vivant’s Companion.

In the midwestern United States, the name Tom and Jerry is preferred to eggnog. In some places, the phrase “Tom and Jerrying” meant indulging in loud, drunken behavior.

Here’s a classic Tom and Jerry recipe from House of Hawthornes, which collects the vintage Tom and Jerry sets shown in the photos.

According to Atlas Obscura: “Historians are unclear as to why the Tom and Jerry has become such a Christmas staple in the Midwestern United States, but it was popular enough to merit a cottage industry of Tom and Jerry drink sets, consisting of punch bowls and mugs inscribed with the drink’s name in Old English font.”

You can find vintage Tom and Jerry cup and punchbowl sets online, but we’ll leave the collecting to others.

Atlas Obscura continues, “Milk glass Tom and Jerry sets produced by the Hazel-Atlas and Mckee Glass companies were fairly common in the 1940s through 1960s.

“A New York Times article about the cocktail quotes author Jim Draeger, who wrote a book on Wisconsin’s historical taverns, as surmising that the Tom and Jerry became a Wisconsin staple because the state has an affinity for brandy drinks, and is well-known as a dairy state.”

> How eggnog got its name.

> 20+ eggnog recipes, including diet eggnog.

Readers of THE NIBBLE know how much we love Lady M’s Mille Crêpes Cakes: delicate, elegant, exquisite, ethereal bites that are perfect for special celebrations.

We also serve them at dinner parties where we want something impressive for dessert but need it to be on the light side.

In addition to the year-round menu of flavors, there are always wonderful seasonal specialties.

Right now, it’s Champagne Mille Crêpes Cake.

It’s a dazzling centerpiece, even more dazzling on the fork.

Champagne Mille Crêpes Cake starts with the company’s classic Signature Mille Crêpes Cake.

For this special flavor, a touch of fresh strawberries is whipped into the pastry cream. The cream is then hand-brushed between all 20 crêpe layers. 

The cake is topped with lush Champagne gelée—such a generous touch of Champagne that Lady M says “you’ll have to show a 21+ ID card before purchasing in boutiques.” They mean it!

The cake serves 10-14 people.

Order yours at LadyM.com.
 
 
WHAT’S A MILLE CRÊPES CAKE?

What’s a Mille Crêpes cake? It’s a stack of paper-thin crêpes. The crêpes themselves are the same as those you might order for brunch, where they are rolled up with a filling.

In a Crêpe Cake, on the other hand, nothing is rolled: The flat crêpes are brushed with light pastry cream and stacked (see photo #3).

At Lady M, the top crêpe becomes a caramelized crust. Then, each flavor of crêpe cake is finished with its own special garnish.

This leads us to a disclosure: While “mille crêpes” indicates that there are 1,000 crêpes (mille, pronounced meel, is the number one thousand in French), there are actually some 20 crêpes in each cake, each crêpe handmade in the Lady M kitchens.

> The history of Mille Crepes Cake.
 
 
LADY M CRÊPE MILLE CRÊPES CAKE YEAR-ROUND FLAVORS

While there are seasonal flavors, the current roster of 9-inch Mille Crêpes Cakes includes:

 
There are seasonal flavors: Chestnut for the holidays, Champagne for the new year, Passion Fruit for the summer, and so on. Keep checking and you may find Purple Yam, Red Bean, and Salted Caramel.

You can even order a three-tier wedding cake, each layer made of “mille” crêpes.

And the website currently offers these specialty flavors: Truffle Mille Crêpes Cake, Purple Yam “Ube” Milles Crêpes Cake, Jasmine Calamansi Mille Crêpes Cake, and Passion Fruit Mille Crêpes Cake.

There are also scrumptious layer cakes and for October-November, a Pumpkin Nuage* (photo #6).

What’s a Pumpkin Nuage? Combine the best elements of pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake, gently spiced with cinnamon, and add a touch of Lady M’s refined elegance. Plus, the most finely crushed graham cracker crust we’ve ever seen.
 
 
ABOUT LADY M

Lady M is a New York City maker of luxury confections, with more than 50 boutiques worldwide. Established in 2001, Lady M is the creator of the world-famous Mille Crêpes Cake.

Lady M marries French pastry techniques with Japanese sensibilities, resulting in delicate cakes that are a touch sweet and perfect for every occasion.

All cakes are handmade and prepared fresh without food additives or preservatives. The crêpes cakes are a very special treat, although Lady M makes a variety of delectable cakes and confections. Learn more at LadyM.com.
 
 
BAKE YOUR OWN: CRÊPE RECIPES

Are you up for making paper-thin crêpes? Check out these recipes.

[1] The new limited edition for December: Champagne Mille Crêpes Cake (all photos © Lady M).

[2] A slice of Butter Pecan, with nuggets of candied pecans scattered between the layers for crunch.

[3] Making a Mille Crêpes cake (with just 20 layers, not 1,000).

[4] A popular flavor: Chocolate Mille Crêpes Cake.

[5] Also a fan favorite: Pistachio Mille Crêpes Cake.

[6] Earl Grey Mille Crêpes Cake is available year-round.

*Nuage, pronounced new-AHJ, means cloud in French. There are different kinds of cloud cake, but they all aim to be light and airy.
 
 

[1] A Christmas wreath of ice cream and fruit (photo © Tillamook County Creamery Association | Facebook).

[2] Kadota figs. Any figs work here, all have reddish interiors. But green-skinned figs add more external color than darker hues (photo © California Figs).

[3] Raspberries dot the wreath with color (photo © Driscoll’s Berries).

This easy-to-make Christmas dessert is both elegant and food fun at the same time. An ice cream wreath is a treat anytime during the Christmas season.

The ice cream wreath is easy to put together with your choice of ice creams and fruits.

Matcha and strawberry ice cream deliver holiday colors, and vanilla is always correct.

The result: You spoon the ice cream and fruit into dishes for an instant sundae! No topping is needed, but we recommend a fruit sauce instead of caramel or chocolate. We like the raspberry sauce recipe below.
 
 
RECIPE #1: ICE CREAM WREATH 
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE the fruits. Most require nothing beyond washing; only the figs need to be sliced.

If you want to add pears, slice them right before serving or they will brown; or use this technique:

Mix 1/4 cup water and 3 tablespoons of strained lemon juice. Dip the pear slice into the water.

2. PLACE the fruits in a wreath shape on a round platter.

3. PRE-SCOOP the ice cream into balls and return to the freezer.

4. ADD the ice cream when you are ready to bring the platter to the table. Pass the optional fruit sauce.
 
 
RECIPE #2: GRAND MARNIER RASPBERRY SAUCE 

You can use any orange liqueur instead of Grand Marnier, or a raspberry liqueur like Chambord. You can make the sauce up to two days in advance and keep it covered tightly in the fridge.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the ingredients in a bowl or pitcher and allow them to blend in the refrigerator for 2 hours or longer.
 
 
> The history of ice cream.
 
> The history of the ice cream sundae.

December 21st is National Fried Shrimp Day. We have a tasty recipe below with a panko/macadamia nut crust. But first, inquiring minds want to know the differences between crayfish, prawns, and shrimp:

 
For The Aïoli (Garlic Mayonnaise)

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the aïoli. Crush the garlic clove and place it in a bowl. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, the egg yolk, and mustard, and whisk until well combined. Add a few drops of oil, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to thicken.

2. SLOWLY POUR in the remaining oil in a thin, steady stream, whisking constantly until the mayonnaise is combined and the texture is thick and creamy. Add the lemon juice in 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired tanginess is reached.

3. BEGIN the shrimp. Combine the flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Crack the eggs into a bowl and lightly whisk with a fork.

4. PULSE the macadamias in a blender to the size or smaller of the breadcrumbs, and combine with the breadcrumbs.

5. DUST the shrimp in the spiced flour, dip in the egg yolk, and then roll them in the macadamia breadcrumb mix.

6. HEAT the oil to approximately 350°F/180°C. If you don’t have a thermometer, to test the hotness, drop a piece of bread into the oil: It should turn golden brown in about 10 seconds. Once the oil has reached the required temperature, drop about 10 shrimp in and cook until they are golden brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Repeat with remaining shrimp.

7. SERVE with the aïoli dipping sauce.
 
 
MORE FRIED SHRIMP RECIPES 

[1] Macadamia-crusted shrimp (photo © Australian Macadamias).

[2] Jumbo wild Gulf raw shrimp (photo © Sea 2 Table).

[3] Macadamia nuts are native to Australia (photo © Australian Macadamias | Facebook).

[4] Panko Japanese-style breadcrumbs (photo © Good Eggs).

[5] Cayenne powder, ground from dried cayenne chile peppers (photo © McCormick).