And it’s very much appreciated by the honoree. Our friend Beth’s children, ages 7 and 10, know enough to appreciate mom’s homemade birthday cakes to store-bought options.

Over the years, many people have asked our opinion on cake mixes. Here it is:

Essentially, a cake mix saves you the time and mess of measuring the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder, etc. It also includes the flavorings—vanilla, orange, whatever. People who don’t like measuring should reach for the box.

What we personally don’t like is using oil instead of butter. Others may not notice; but if it doesn’t taste buttery, we don’t want to spend our cake and cookie calories.

CAKE MIX YES, CANNED FROSTNG NO!

We totally avoid the canned frostings most people buy to go along with a cake mix. To borrow a line from Snapple, most canned frosting is not made from “the best stuff on Earth.” Here are the ingredients to Betty Crocker’s Rich & Creamy Vanilla Frosting:

Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil, Water, Wheat Starch, High Maltose Corn Syrup, Contain 1% or Less of Salt, Distilled Monoglycerides, Colored with Artificial Color, Yellows 5 & 6, Polysorbate 60, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Citric Acid, Nonfat Milk, Freshness Preserved by Potassium Sorbate

Why eat cottonseed oil and corn syrup, when in 10 minutes you can make real buttercream, which tastes great?

All you need is a stick of butter, a cup of confectioners’ sugar, 1/4 cup whole milk and the flavoring of your choice: 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 4 ounces chocolate or 1 teaspoon instant coffee. Just blend them together and ice away. The toughest part is waiting for the butter to soften!

Here’s the full recipe.

IT’S EASY TO DECORATE

A special occasion deserves a festive garnish. You can turn a homemade or store-bought layer cake into something special with a simple sprinkle of edible cake decorations.

In addition to chocolate chips (or other flavors), homemade chocolate curls (scrape a chocolate bar with a vegetable peeler), coconut and candies, there are:

 
If you live near a baking supplies store, go browsing. Otherwise, browse online until you find your ideal decorations.

Here’s an article about the different types of cake decorations.

A gourmet gift for a mustard lover. Photo
courtesy Maille.

A Maille mustard boutique opened near us recently. If you love mustard, make it a destination stop when you visit Dijon, London, Melbourne, New York, Paris or Sydney.

They are meccas for lovers of fine mustard, as well as gherkins, vinegars and vinaigrettes. The thrill: tasting some 20 different mustards, all so delicious from the spoon that we could have devoured an entire jar.

Established in 1747* in Paris, Maille (pronounced MY) is known worldwide for its sublime mustards and vinegars. From the outset, the company supplied the kings of France and other monarchs, including England and Russia.

The brown mustard seeds are grown in the heart of Burgundy, and most of the mustards are made with white wine. Some are smooth, some are whole grain (delightfully chewy!).

Each year, the product team explores new combinations of ingredients that achieve a complex taste profile and trending flavors.

There are more than 30 mustard flavors, some seasonal specialties. You can purchase them individually or in preset gift boxes of four, six and nine varieties. The website currently sells:

Grab a [disposable] spoon and dig in at the tasting bar. Photo courtesy Maille.

Find all of the mustards online at Maille.com.

 
MUSTARD GIFTS

A special four jar mustard gift set in an elegant black box includes Dijon Blackcurrant, Morel Mushroom, Saffron and Isigny Crème Fraiche, and Cognac($40). Individual jars also are packaged in a black box.

The boutiques also have six- and nine-jar sets, not yet on the website.

If you get to a boutique location, you’ll be charmed by the mustards on tap. Served from old-fashioned ceramic pumps, a choice of three basic mustards and one seasonal specialty draws mustard into old-style stoneware jars with sealed with cork stoppers. Fans buy mustard by the jar and get frequent refills.

If you’ve never thought mustard could be magical, head to Maille boutique. You’ll be hooked—and will have an ongoing choice of gifts for your foodie friends to use on everything from sandwiches to elegant recipes, of which there’s a selection on the website.
 
*Since 2000, Maille has been owned by the Unilever Group.
  

[1] Shrimp Scampi, in garlic lemon butter (photo © Epicurean Butter, which sells garlic butter ready to use).

[2] Authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese from Italy. Parmesan is a version from the U.S. or other country (photo © Whole Foods Market).

April 29th is is National Shrimp Scampi Day. In our youth, it was one of the most popular recipes at Italian restaurants, often served atop a plate of linguine.

The recipe can be quite simple: shrimp sautéed in garlic lemon butter. This recipe is a bit more elaborate, adding a topping of Parmesan and bread crumbs. Feel free to use the simpler version, and eliminate the cheese, bread crumbs and the broiler.

Prep time, including the broiled topping, is 20 minutes. Serve with a green salad and light-bodied white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc.

We adapted the recipe from Taste Of Home.

> The history of Shrimp Scampi.

> The history of shrimp.
 
 
RECIPE: SHRIMP SCAMPI

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
_____________________

*If you prefer the dish without the broiled topping, omit these ingredients.
 
†Instead of pasta, you can serve the dish with rice or other grain, or with a side of mixed vegetables.
_____________________

Preparation

1. COOK the pasta according to package instructions.

2. SAUTÉ the garlic in the butter and oil in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, until fragrant. Add the shrimp, lemon juice, pepper and oregano; cook and stir until shrimp turn pink. Sprinkle with cheese, bread crumbs and parsley.

3. MOVE the skillet to the broiler, 6 inches from the heat. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.

4. SERVE atop the pasta.
 

WHY IS IT CALLED SHRIMP SCAMPI?

If you know Italian, you know that the word for shrimp is scampi. So why is the dish called, essentially, Shrimp Shrimp?

According to Lidia Bastianich’s Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen,” in Italy scampi are actually langoustines, small, lobster-like crustaceans with pale pink shells. They are popularly sautéed with olive oil, garlic, onion and white wine.

[3] Shrimp Scampi (photo © DeLallo Foods).

That’s why you may hear people joke that the dish translates as “Shrimp Shrimp,” but it actually translates as “Shrimp Langoustine.’
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

Here’s some fusion food for Cinco de Mayo from QVC’s Chef David Venable. You can make the wontons ahead of time and freeze them until you’re ready to fry and serve.

“These little wontons are such a unique way to incorporate all those Tex-Mex flavors you love in one cute package,” says David. “Cheesy, gooey and tangy, they’re the perfect treats to go with your Margaritas.”

David’s fusion is to serve a queso dipping sauce with the crunchy Chinese fried wontons.

RECIPE: MEXICAN FIESTA WONTONS

Ingredients For The Wontons

Preparation

1. PREPARE the wontons: Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a medium-size skillet over medium heat. Place the ground beef into the pan, sprinkle with the salt and cook until no longer pink, about 5–7 minutes. Remove the meat from the pan, drain any excess fat and place into a bowl. Set aside.

2. ADD the other teaspoon of oil to the pan; then add the onions, peppers and chiles, and cook until tender, about 3–4 minutes. Place the meat back into the pan with the cooked vegetables and add the enchilada sauce. Cook for 2 more minutes, or until the sauce is fully absorbed. Scoop the mixture into a bowl. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

3. ASSEMBLE the wontons: Brush the edges of each wrapper with water, and one by one, place 1 tablespoon of the meat filling into each. Fold the wonton in half to form a triangle and seal the edges. Brush the tips of the triangles with a little more water to join them together, and press to bind. Freeze the stuffed wontons until you’re ready to fry.

4. PREPARE the cheese sauce: Place the petite diced tomatoes and chopped chiles into a 3-quart sauce pot and cook over medium heat for 3–5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the chopped Velveeta cheese, enchilada sauce and beer and cook, constantly stirring, until the cheese is completely melted. Place the dip into a warm serving vessel and serve. When ready to serve…

5. PREHEAT a deep fryer to 350°F. Place the wontons into the deep fryer in batches and cook for 4–5 minutes, flipping them halfway through, until golden brown.

 
Find more of David Venable’s recipes at QVC.com.
  

You may be thinking ahead to purchasing champagne for Mother’s Day. But you can save a lot of money with Cava, instead.

Cava, the renowned Spanish sparkling wine, is produced in the region of Penedès, in northeast Spain, south of Barcelona.

In the late 1800s, a Spanish vintner, Josep Raventós Fatjó of the Codorníu estate, decided to experiment with making sparkling wine, using the méthode champenoise of champagne production.

His first batch was produced in 1872.

He then had a cool cellar, or cava, dug to produce more sparkling wine. It turned out to be an instant success, particularly among the wealthy.

Soon, his sparkling was being drunk by the Spanish royal family.

Other local vintners followed. Today, in addition to the two heavyweights Codorníu (cor-doan-YOU) and Freixenet (FRESH-eh-net), there are hundreds of sparkling wine producers in Penedés.

Cordon Negro in its signature black bottle. Photo courtesy Freixenet.

As with champagne, cavas are produced with different sugar levels, to please different palates and pair with different types of food. As with champagne, seco, which means dry, actually indicates a sweeter wine. Semi-seco and dulce are excellent dessert wines. Brut is best for apéritif or with food.

U.S. merchants typically carry three major brands, all of which produce varieties with different levels of sweetness:

 
As with any sparkling wine, serve cava in chilled flute champagne glasses (place the glasses in the freezer 30 minutes or more before you need them.

Chilled glasses help to keep the wine cold, and flutes help the bubbles last longer, since they need to travel a longer distance before breaking into the air.