2. COMBINE the ground beef, eggs, breadcrumbs, ketchup, herbs and spices; shape into 1-1/2-inch balls, making 12 total. Insert 1 olive into each meatball to look like an eye.
3. PLACE the meatballs in a pan and roast approximately 25 minutes until thoroughly cooked and no pink remains (160°F internal temperature).
4. HEAT the sauce and ladle over pasta. Serve 2 meatballs per plate.
Eat the graveyard! Photo courtesy Certified Angus Beef.
Graveyard Bake
1 pound round chuck
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 pound fusilli pasta, cooked and drained
2 cups crushed potato chips
1 cup Monterey jack cheese
4 green onions, sliced thin
6 oval crackers (like Keebler Town House), optional
Preparation
1. BROWN ground chuck in large fry pan. Drain liquid from beef.
2. ADD tomatoes, tomato sauce, onion powder, garlic salt and cayenne pepper; simmer for 5 minutes. Mix in the cooked pasta.
3. POUR into a 9 x 9 baking dish. Top with potato chips and cheese and broil for 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted and chips are golden brown.
4. GARNISH with green onions and crackers (the tombstones).
If your idea of grown-up Halloween does not include costume parties, how about a chocolate and wine tasting?
For years, THE NIBBLE has been updating its highly-regarded wine and chocolate pairing chart. You can use it to prepare a memorable Halloween tasting.
While our chart is quite extensive, your tasting can be as simple as four or five chocolate bars. John Scharffenberger, who got his start as a wine maker, shares his own favorites to pair with Scharffen Berger dark and milk chocolate bars:
Scharffen Berger 72% Signature Dark Chocolate. John Scharffenberger notes that darker chocolates pair beautifully with dry, rich, full-bodied red wines. He likes an Italian Amarone, a Spanish Rioja or French Bordeaux.
Scharffen Berger 72% Dark Chocolate with Pistachios and Sea Salt. While you can use the same wines when pistachios are included, lighter nuts like pistachio can be served with Mas Amiel, a dessert wine from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France; Sauternes, a dessert wine from the Bordeaux region, or Cabernet Sauvignon, which can bring out nutty accents.
Scharffen Berger 33% Smooth Milk Chocolate. Lighter-flavored chocolates pair best with light-bodied wines. John Scharffenberger advises that buttery caramel overtones make this chocolate a perfect complement to a Sauvignon Blanc. Also try it with Armagnac, a single-distilled French brandy.
For holiday gift giving, tie some fine chocolate bars with a ribbon and bestow them with or without matching wines. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.
THE NIBBLE particularly likes these wines with milk chocolate: Hungarian Tokaji (pronounced TOE-coy); Muscat, a white dessert wine from France with peach and apricot flavors’ and Tawny Port, a fortified wine from Portugal. In fact, Tawny Port is our favorite match with milk chocolate. Its nutty nuances highlight milk chocolate’s nutty and caramel notes and enhance the overall chocolate flavor.
Scharffen Berger 33% Milk Chocolate with Toasted Coconut and Macadamia Nuts. For this delicious bar, THE NIBBLE recommends Brachetto d’Acqui, a light, ruby-colored sparkling dessert wine from Piedmont, with typical aromas of fruit and roses. It’s a great match with both nuts and coconut. A Sauternes from Bordeaux (Lafaurie-Peyraguey or similar style) or a Late Harvest Semillon from Australia are also good complements.
The educational fun of a tasting is to be able to compare and contrast different wines with different chocolates, and decide what you like best. That’s more important, after all, than any expert opinion.
Now, you can have kale with your popcorn! Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.
Quinn Popcorn, developed by a young husband and wife team following all the bad press on microwave popcorn. They:
Made the bag without chemical coatings from the bag (PFOA, PFCs, plastic liners, etc.) while creating a grease-proof and compostable microwaveable bag.
Eliminated the susceptor (gray metal/plastic patch).
Use organic, non-GMO corn, with no preservatives or artificial ingredients; rBGH-free cheeses and expeller pressed oils that are high in omega-3s.
In their better-for-you, better-for-the-environment version, you pop the kernels in the microwave, then blend them in a bowl with the oil and seasonings provided in separate packets. It’s a feel-good product, currently available in six microwave flavors:
Hickory Smoked Cheddar
Just Sea Salt
Olive Oil & Herbs
Parmesan & Rosemary
Real Butter & Sea Salt
Vermont Maple & Sea Salt
There are also two ready-to-eat flavors, including:
Cheddar & Chipotle
Kale & Sea Salt
For those who need a boost to get on the kale bandwagon, start with a bag of this popcorn with tiny flecks of green, salted with a bit of sweetness.
The company calls these two flavors “Farm To Bag.” Each bag has a batch number for complete transparency, a first in the snacks industry.
The line is Certified Non GMO, Certified Gluten Free and whole grain (23g per serving, with 39 calories).
Here’s another fun idea for Halloween, courtesy of Certified Angus Beef. They’ve added ground beef to refrigerated biscuit dough, to create a snack, first course or light lunch for kids and adults alike. Adults: These go great with beer!
2. COOK the ground beef and drain the excess fat. Add taco seasoning and water, simmer for 5 minutes and set aside.
3. SEPARATE the dough into 8 biscuits; place each biscuit into the well of an ungreased large muffin tin. Press the dough firmly into bottom and up the sides of each cup.
4. Divide the crumbled ground beef evenly into the dough cups. Top the meat with some ketchup or barbecue sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Place two olive slices on the top of each biscuit for the eyes.
5. BAKE for 20 minutes, or until the biscuit edges are golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes; remove from the muffin cups. Stick four pretzel sticks into each side of each biscuit cup for the legs and serve.
Swirl into holiday season with these delicious breads. Photo courtesy Pepperidge Farm.
We just finished our last slices of Pepperidge Farm Blueberry Swirl Bread, a limited edition hoarded from the height of the summer in our freezer.
Now, we’re moving on to two fall flavors: Caramel Apple Swirl Bread and Pumpkin Spice Swirl Bread, both available for a short time this fall.
They make delicious toast and French toast. As toast, they combine the crunch of toasted bread with the sweetness of a breakfast pastry.
Check the store locator to see where you can find them.
And if you can’t find the seasonal specialties, content yourself with the year-round swirls: Cinnamon Swirl, Raisin Cinnamon Swirl, Brown Sugar Cinnamon Swirl and 100% Whole Wheat Cinnamon Swirl With Raisins.
Our goal is to keep an eye out for other seasonal swirl breads, a fun new way to “eat seasonally.”
