[1] A festive gourmet grilled cheese sandwich with pickled beets and arugula (photo © Aunt Nellie’s).

[2] A jar of Aunt Nellie’s pickled beets. They’re so versatile: Check out this recipe for balsamic chicken with pickled beets (photo © Easy Chicken Recipes).

[3] Baby arugula (photo © Good Eggs).

[4] Gruyere cheese (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

[5] Caramelized onions (photo © Pompeian Olive Oil | Facebook).

This red-and-green “Christmas” grilled cheese recipe is delicious on any day of the year, but we especially like it during the holiday season.

This gourmet grilled cheese with AuntNellies.com is seasonally colorful comfort food with caramelized onions, gooey melted cheese, and toasted sourdough, accented with tangy red pickled beets and spicy green arugula.

National Grilled Cheese Day is April 12th.
 
 
RECIPE: GOURMET GRILLED CHEESE WITH PICKLED BEETS 
 
Ingredients For 4 Sandwiches

For The Caramelized Onions

Editor’s note: These caramelized onions are so delicious that we make a triple batch to have extras to enjoy with every other meal, from breakfast eggs through dinner.

 
Ingredients For The Sandwich

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the caramelized onions: In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, melt the butter and olive oil. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium.

2. COOK until the onions are caramelized and rich, deep golden brown, about 25 minutes, stirring often. Turn the heat to medium-low or add water if onions are dry or start to scorch before caramelizing.

3. ADD the sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes; cook for 1 minute. The onions should be jammy and darkly caramelized when done. Remove them to a plate to cool.

4. MAKE the sandwiches: Spread out the bread slices on a flat surface. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on one side of each bread slice.

5. TURN 4 of the bread slices over and spread goat cheese on the plain side. Top the goat cheese with Gruyère, an even layer of beets, caramelized onions, and arugula. Top with the remaining bread, mayo side out. Secure with toothpicks, if desired.

6. MELT 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add two sandwiches, cover, and grill until the bottom of the bread is toasted, about 5-7 minutes, and cheese starts melting. Check often.

7. FLIP and cook, uncovered, until the cheese is melted and the bottom of the bread is toasted. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches.
 
 
MORE GRILLED CHEESE RECIPES

National Sangria Day is December 20th, a drink made with red wine that looks festive for the holidays. We have quite a few delicious recipes below. But how about a recipe for Winter White Sangria?

While not all sangria recipes use spirits in addition to wine, this one adds rum. It also has winter fruits: pears and persimmons.

> The history of sangria.

> The history of rum.

> Types of rum.
 
 
RECIPE: WINTER WHITE SANGRIA

Thanks to Kōloa for the recipe, which uses the brand’s Kōloa Kaua’i Gold Rum.

Gold rum, also known as amber rum, has been aged in wooden casks, giving the rum its signature color and a sweeter, richer flavor. You can substitute
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. CUT the pear, mandarin, and persimmon into thin slices, leaving the peels on.

2. MUDDLE the sliced fruit and cranberries with the maple syrup in a large pitcher.

3. ADD the wine and rum. You can adjust the sweetness level to your own taste.

34. STIR well and chill in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

5. STRAIN into chilled wine glasses. Garnish with additional fruit slices and a sprig of fresh thyme.
 
 
MORE SANGRIA RECIPES 

[1] Winter White Sangria. The recipe is below (photo © Kōloa Rum).

[2] Pomegranate Sangria has festive holiday arils. Here’s thre recipe (photo © Pom Wonderful).

[3] Blood oranges are deliver holiday color. Here’s the recipe for this Blood Orange White Sangria (photo © Chef Aida Mollenkamp).

[4] Another winter theme: Apple Sangria. Here’s the recipe (photo © U.S. Apple).

[1] Canisters of Milkboy Swiss Chocolate Drink (photos #1 and #3 © Milkboy).

[2] A seasonal spin (photo © Williams Sonoma).

[3] Milkboy is one of our favorite chocolate bar brands.

Today’s product is a premium cocoa powder mix. There’s a difference between cocoa and hot chocolate: The former is made from cocoa powder and the latter from bits of ground chocolate bars. Here are the details.

Both create cups of sippable chocolate, and there are two occasions to celebrate:

 
With time still left to buy holiday gifts, we’re happy to announce that one of our favorite brands of Swiss chocolate bars, MilkBoy, has introduced Milkboy Swiss Chocolate Drink.

Now, is that cocoa or hot chocolate? Easy: It’s made with cocoa powder, so it’s cocoa. It’s also delicious, and a higher-quality, velvety cocoa drink than most other mixes offer.

The mix is sweetened with sugar. You add your milk of choice: hot, for a cup of hot chocolate, or cold, for chocolate milk.

We tried it with whole milk, 2%, and oat milk. All were wonderful, with a bit of an edge to the whole milk.

The drink mix is gluten-free, GMO-free, soy-free, vegan, and certified kosher by Triangle K (DE).

The company is also dedicated to sustainable farming, using only Rainforest Alliance-certified sustainably farmed cocoa beans in our artisan chocolate products.

While you’re at it, treat yourself to some chocolate bars. For the best selection, head to the Milkboy website.

 
The brand is named for young herders who accompany Swiss milk cows on their summer journeys to the high Alpine meadows, where they feed on the finest grass and produce the finest milk.

Alpine pastures have hundreds of different grasses and herbs for the cows to graze upon, compared with only a few dozen types down in the valley.

Some 270,000 cows are marched from their valley farms to mountain meadows at the start of every summer and come back down again in early autumn [source]. 

That’s the udder truth.

For the Chocolate Drink, head to Amazon.

You can also find the chocolate bars there, good for stocking stuffers. There are also both milk chocolate and dark chocolate giftable variety pack boxes.

Note to Santa and Hanukah Harry: We would gladly receive any and all.
 
 
COCOA TRIVIA 

Cocoa is a misspelling of the word cacao, which appeared on a ship’s manifest in the 18th century. The error led to replacing the original word with the erroneous one.

Cacao “beans” are the seeds from the pod, or fruit, of the Theobroma cacao tree. At the center of the bean is the nib, from which chocolate is made.

Cocoa powder is produced from the cocoa bean particles left over when the cocoa butter is extracted.
 
 
MORE TO KNOW 
 
> The history of cocoa.

> The difference between natural and Dutched cocoa powder.

> 25 great cocoa and hot chocolate tricks.

> For the holidays: a crushed candy cane rim for your cocoa.

> The health benefits of cocoa.

‘Tis the season for gifting and self-gifting. Our favorite Levain cookies have a limited-time holiday flavor—Dark Chocolate Peppermint—that we love so much, we’re packing extras in the freezer to last us at least until spring.

Levain is known for its six-ounce jumbo cookie mounds—magnificent cookies that are crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside.

Dark Chocolate Peppermint, available through the end of December, has the company’s signature dark, rich chocolate dough mixed with soft red and white peppermint chips.

The result is cookies that tingle and delight, bursting with seasonal flavor. Every bite says “Joyous Holidays!”

You can buy Dark Chocolate Peppermint cookies (photo #1) alone or in combination with other flavors (photo #2).

And if you’re worried about eating a six-ounce cookie all at once, you can freeze halves or quarters, which are easy to slice and which will be delicious when thawed (or eaten frozen—oh yes, we do!).
 
 
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE? 

In addition to an all Dark Chocolate Peppermint box, you can get a Holiday Assortment that also includes Chocolate Chip Walnut, Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip, and Oatmeal Raisin.

We’re not going to bias your choice by relating that our favorites, in addition to Dark Chocolate Peppermint, are Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip and Oatmeal Raisin. That’s just a suggestion for friends and family who don’t know what we want to find under our tree.
 
 
GET YOUR COOKIES 

Head to LevainBakery.com.

The cookies are also available at nine storefronts and
 
 
> The history of cookies.

> The 11 basic types of cookies.

> A glossary of different cookies.

[1] Perhaps the best chocolate-and-peppermint treat of the season (all photos © Levain Bakerey).

[2] There are gift boxes with everybody’s favorite flavors.

[3] These are so good, we want nothing else for Christmas!

[1] It’s the prettiest gin you’ll ever see (both photos © Empress Gin).

[2] A blue Martini.

This bright blue bottle of Empress 1908 Indigo Gin is a terrific gift for any gin lover. The bottle isn’t blue—the gin is, naturally colored lush indigo by the exotic butterfly pea blossom.

Handcrafted in small batch copper-pot stills by Victoria Distillers in Victoria, British Columbia, a blend of traditional gin botanicals has a subtle note of the signature blend of black tea served at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Vancouver, built in 1908 (hence, Empress 1908 Gin).

The all-natural, modern-style recipe consists of gin infused with eight botanicals: cinnamon, coriander, ginger, grapefruit peel, juniper, rose petal, tea (which is an herb!), and the butterfly pea blossom.

The result is a balance of the traditional juniper and citrus notes of gin with a warm herbal earthiness from the tea: an elegant taste and delicate aroma.

The vivid color provides the perfect base for a new aesthetic of cocktail creation and enjoyment.

Enjoy it straight on the rocks, or as a base for a new aesthetic of cocktail creations, with colors from light blue and bright blue to shades of purple and rose. (See the recipes on the website.)

Here’s a store locator.

Here are online options.
 
 
 
 
> The history of gin.

> The different types of gin.