Before the tastiest citrus goes away until next season, consider this super-easy yet elegant (and low-calorie!) first course. Estela Restaurant in New York City made it with small “cocktail” grapefruits, but we added some blood orange (rosy red) and cara cara orange (deep pink) for color.

Sauvignon blanc white wines are known for their grapefruit or grassy notes. We poured one of each style—a grapefruity wine from California, a grassy one from France—although you’ll need to consult your wine store if you want to be sure your wines have these flavor profiles.

A drizzle of olive oil, expecially a grassy one, is a great complement.

RECIPE: RAW SCALLOPS WITH CITRUS

Ingredients

Preparation

1. PEEL the citrus and remove the pith. Slice the fruit into widths that will match the scallops (to the extent possible).

2. RINSE the scallops and slice horizontally. Your can choose how thick or thin to slice them, but aim for four slices per scallop.

3. PLATE the fruit and scallops. Depending on their comparative sizes, you can plate them as shown in the photo, or place the scallops atop the sliced fruit.

4. DRIZZLE a small amount of the optional olive oil over the food, or in a circle or droplets around it. Sprinkle with sea salt and optional chili flakes. Garnish as desired (you can grate citrus zest over the dish, or sprinkle it around the rim of the plate) and serve.
  

Yesterday was National Bock Beer Day, coinciding with the first day of spring. It’s a holiday declaration that makes sense: bock beer is a spring beer.

There’s a lot of media attention to eating seasonally; less so to drinking seasonally.

So today we’re starting the first in our seasonal beer recommendations. By the end of the year, you’ll have them all, including summer beer, fall beer and winter beer.

Some people drink the same beer year-round. But aficionados know to look for the “seasonals,” as they’re known in the trade. America’s craft brewers have made plenty for you to choose from.

Spring beers are brewed with brighter flavors, sharper textures to bridge the gap between the stronger cold-weather beers and the lighter summer styles. Brewers use different hops, malts, spices and brewing styles to create fresh flavors and crisp textures.

It takes 3 months to assemble the ingredients, brew the beer and let it mature before release. So these are beers that are brewed in the winter, to be released and in the spring:

 
Thanks to brewer Greg Smith of Beersmith.com for his guidance.

Now, how about a tasting party to share the different spring styles with your pals?

A double bock beer from Samuel Adams, shown with a scattering of the hops used to brew it (photo by Julia Tomases | © THE NIBBLE).

Bock beer with smoked Gouda cheese (photo © Wisconsin Cheese).

National Bock Beer Day is March 20th—time to try a bottle. Bock is the German word for strong, referring to a strong beer brewed from barley malt. It’s a dark, heavy, rich, sweet, complex beer, similar to Münchener* beers, but stronger.

A true bock-style beer has a foam collar “thick enough to steady a pencil.”
 
 
THE HISTORY OF BOCK BEER

Bock is a style that originated in Saxony (the capital is Dresden), on the eastern border of central Germany, adjacent to Poland and the Czech Republic.

Originally used to celebrate the end of the brewing season† (May), bock beer (Bockbier in German) was brewed in the winter for consumption in the spring.

It was originally brewed by top fermentation in the Hanseatic League‡ town of Einbeck (beck bier became bock bier) in Lower Saxony, where it is still brewed and known as Ur-Bock, the original bock.

But the style has evolved.

Initially brewed with top fermenting yeast (“ale yeast”), German bock beers are now brewed by bottom fermentation (with “lager yeast,” which weren’t discovered until the 15th century), and are usually dark brown.

A modern bock can range from light copper to brown in color. There are varieties that can be very different in style:

 
Pale bocks are increasing in popularity, and a distinction is sometimes made between light bock beer and dark bock beer.

Because the word bock also means billy goat in German, a goat is often found on the labels of bock beer brands.
 
 
> BEER HISTORY & THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BEER

*Munich is the capital of Bavaria, in southeast Germany; the German name is München. A Münchener is a beer from Munich; for example, Münchener Dunkel, a full-bodied, malty and sweet-style dark lager beer that is a model for other Bavarian-style beers.

†Modern refrigeration enabled brewers to make a uniform product year round. Previously, brewers had to work with the natural temperature of caves to provide an environment cold enough for the yeast to ferment. As a result, styles evolved to work with seasonal temperatures (lighter beers in the summer, for example).

‡The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds in Northern Europe. Created to protect commercial interests and privileges, it existed from the 13th through 17th centuries.
 
 

March Madness is underway. At THE NIBBLE, it’s not just about rooting for your favorite college team(s). It’s what to snack on while you’re watching the games.

Made by the third generation of a family whose grandparents established a soda fountain and confectionery in Pittsburgh, Snappers are a sweet-and-salty snack made from rectangular pretzels, drizzled with chocolate and caramel. Yum!

You can find them in:

 
The 6-ounce bags are available nationwide at Target stores and other major retailers including Albertsons, Costco, Giant and Jewel-Osco. Here’s the longer list of retailers.

At $3.99 a bag, Snappers hit the spot!

Good news for gluten-free followers: Scotland’s Walkers Shortbread, beloved by many, now has GF options. And they’re delicious: the same pure buttery shortbread flavor, freed of gluten:

The company worked on the recipes for a long time, to maintain the traditional flavor of Walkers Shortbread without compromise on texture and flavor.

Every batch is tested to be sure it meets the FDA standard* for gluten free food.

Founded in 1898, the family owned company still bakes the shortbread, cookies and oatcakes in their home village of Aberlour, in the Scottish Highlands. It’s the leading brand of food exported from Scotland.

The line is all natural and certified OU-D kosher. Discover more at US.WalkersShortbread.com.

Approximately 2 million people in the U.S. suffer from celiac* disease, and another 18 million have gluten sensitivity. Still others choose to eat a gluten-free diet.

And now, that diet can include shortbread!
 
*Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that can occur in genetically predisposed people. The ingestion of gluten leads to damage in the small intestine.