The history of Nonni’s Biscotti begins in the little town of Lucca, Italy, in the heart of Tuscany. There, among meandering cobblestone lanes and venerable piazzas, one particular Nonni (an endearing term for Grandma) made biscotti for her family and friends.

When Nonni moved to America almost a century ago, she continued baking the family biscotti to acclaim. One day, her children decided to take the recipe to the bank, creating the Nonni’s brand—now the number one brand of biscotti in the U.S.

In the modern manifestation of the American Dream, the company was sold to a private equity investment firm several years ago.

Since then, the original classic biscotti have been joined by two line extensions:

 
In Tuscany these biscotti are called cantucci di Prato—cantucci (con-TOO-chee) for short. They were originally baked with almonds from the plentiful almond groves of Prato, a town in Tuscany.

We are very keen on the Biscotti Bites, and appreciate that the smaller size gives us a great biscotti experience with fewer carbs. Each is a two-bite treat; the suggested serving size, five pieces, is 120 calories. But two or three pieces is more than enough, and one can suffice.

The varieties include:

 
The Italian dessert tradition of dipping biscotti and a glass of vin santo—a sweet late-harvest wine—doesn’t really work here. Plain biscotti are typically dipped into the wine, which softens the biscotto and adds the sweetness of the wine.

Biscotti Bites are too short to dip, and the chocolate or yogurt coating kind of interferes with the honey notes of the wine. But the work-around is: Don’t try to dip; sip and bite, alternatively.

The shiny, perky bags are just waiting for you to make someone happy. Bring to a friend’s house, to teachers, to hairdressers and anyone who deserves some tasty crunch.

Our new favorite snack with tea or coffee. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

The line is certified kosher (dairy) by United States K.

There’s a store locator on the website, or you can buy them online:

A hot dog wrapped in a cheese and a Pillsbury Crescent roll, the stick is actually optional (as is the cheese). You can layer other flavor bursts inside the crescent, such as pickle relish or chopped jalapeños.

The recipe is easy and the experience will be remembered happily for a long time. Prep time is 10 minutes, total time is 25 minutes.
RECIPE: CRESCENT DOGS ON A STICK

Ingredients For 8 Servings

1. PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Slit hot dogs to within 1/2 inch of ends; insert 3 strips of cheese into each slit.

2. SEPARATE the dough into triangles. Wrap a dough triangle around each hot dog. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, cheese side up.

3. BAKE at 375°F for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Insert 1 stick in each crescent dog and serve.

If you’re not a natural pie baker, there’s a simple way to do it that requires absolutely no skill in rolling a crust. It’s a galette, also called a rustic pie or rustic tart.

Galette (gah-LET) is a term with multiple meanings, depending on the category of food. In the pastry world, a galette is a rustic, round, open-face fruit pie. It is flat, with a flaky, turned-up crust that wraps around the filling to creates a “bowl.” It hails from the days before people had pie plates, and the days after that when they were found only the kitchens of the wealthy.

RECIPE: GALETTE AUX PÊCHES, RUSTIC PEACH PIE

Ingredients

A peach galette. If you don’t want to bake, you can order this one, or send it as a gift, from Frog Hollow Farm. Photo courtesy Frog Hollow Farm.

 
*You may end up needing more peaches, depending on their size. So you may want to have a few extras on hand, or fill in with blueberries.
 

Galette Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge, discard the plastic wrap and place the dough between two pieces of parchment or wax paper (or you can just use a floured surface).

2. ROLL out the dough into a 13″ circle. Do not force or stretch the dough.

3. TRANSFER the dough to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat. (The dough can be made in advance and refrigerated until ready to use.)

4. TOSS the peach slices gently with the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Arrange them in concentric circles atop the crust, leaving an edge of 2 inches. Fold over the edge of the dough up, one fold at a time (you should have five folds). Press on the corners to seal the tart.

5. BRUSH the beaten egg white on the 2″ dough border. Bake for 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool slightly before serving if you want a warm pie. It’s also delicious at room temperature or straight from the fridge.

RECIPE: PÂTE SUCRÉE, SWEET PASTRY DOUGH

Pronounce this dough pot soo-CRAY. It’s the buttery crust used for tarts.

The dough can be made up to two days in advance.

Ingredients

1. PULSE the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the chilled butter cubes, continuing to pulse until the mixture looks crumbly and there all pieces of butter are about the size of a pea. Gradually pulse in the cold water until the mixture still looks crumbly, but holds together when pinched.

2. MOVE the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, cover with another piece of plastic wrap and firmly press into a disk. Place the dough in the fridge and chill for an hour or longer.

3. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F and follow the instructions for Galette Preparation, above.

Here’s something we’d never have thought of, and we’re grateful to the folks at GQ for sending us the recipe.

It’s a showstopping appetizer or cheese course that takes literally one minute to cook: red grapes with burrata cheese. Developed by chef Jeff Mahin, the dish has become a staple at his Stella Barra Pizzerias in L.A. and Chicago.

“While using gas or charcoal to make it is fine, I prefer a screaming-hot wood grill,” says Jeff. “Just remember that when cooking with wood, you want to cook over glowing ruby red coals rather than the flame itself. Cooking directly over an open flame can impart a sour and soot-like flavor, which is never a good thing.”

Note that since grapes will invariably fall off the bunch while you’re grilling them, a vegetable grilling basket will come in handy.
 
 
RECIPE: GRILLED GRAPES WITH BURRATA

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. WASH the bunch of grapes carefully under cold water and allow them to dry.

2. WHISK together in a bowl: olive oil, 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, chile flakes, garlic cloves. Add grapes and toss until coated. Let sit for at least 10 minutes.

3. PLACE a bunch of grapes onto the center of a hot grill, using tongs. Grill for 30 seconds. Turn. Grill for another 30 seconds.

[2] Burrata cheese (photo © Murray’s).

5. CUT grapes into small bunches. Plate. Drizzle on 2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar. Serve with grilled bread and a half ball of burrata (or fresh mozzarella) seasoned with sea salt and olive oil.

Find more delicious recipes in the GQ Grill Guide.
 
ABOUT BURRATA CHEESE

Somewhere around 1920 in the town of Andria in the Puglia region of southern Italy, a member of the Bianchini family figured out how to repurpose the curds from mozzarella making. Burrata was born, a ball of mozzarella filled with creamy, ricotta-like curds. Cut into the ball and the curds ooze out: a wonderful marriage of flavors and textures.

Their burrata was premium priced, made in small amounts, and remained the delight of the locals for some thirty years.

In the 1950s, some of the local cheese factories began to produce burrata, and more people discovered its charms. Only in recent years, thanks to more economical overnighting of refrigerated products, did we find it in New York City’s finest cheese shops.

It was love at first bite…and enough Americans thought so that burrata is now made domestically. You can find it at Trader Joe’s.

For dessert, here’s a delicious burrata and fresh fruit recipe.

So start by switching some of your sandwich intake to delicious vegetarian sandwiches. It’s painless!

While we love a sliced avocado and tomato sandwich using local summer tomatoes, we think that grilled vegetables make the best vegetarian sandwiches. While it’s still prime grilling season, develop some signature veggie sandwich recipes. You can even turn the concept into a veggie sandwich party—a build-your-own sandwich buffet.

Creative flavor layering is at the heart of a great veggie sandwich. Peruse the following groups for inspiration, and offer something from each group.

GROUP 1: HEARTY VEGETABLES, GRILLED OR ROASTED

GROUP 2: RAW VEGETABLES

GROUP 3: SPREADS

 
GROUP 4: CONDIMENTS

 
GROUP 5: FLAVOR ACCENTS

Grilled raddicho, endive and romaine are delicious, on a sandwich or as a side. Photo courtesy Radicchio.com.

 
GROUPS 6 & 7: SIDES & SANDWICH BREADS

Of course, the remaining ingredient to make veggie sandwiches is bread. We won’t add more long lists here, just two bullets:

 
Party on, veggie-style!