From our candy family to yours, we wish you a great holiday, whichever holidays you observe, and of course we wish you sweet dreams and candy wakefulness, peppermint daydreams and marshmallow goodness. And chocolate and other good stuff too. Whatever. I am sure you get the idea. Me, I have candy treats for all my family to enjoy. I hope you do too.
In all seriousness, we send you our best for the holidays. We will be back on Monday, once we all get back from out of town.
Candy Canes by LexnGer.
With Thanksgiving coming up any moment now and winter holidays close on its heels, it’s time to start planning now for your decorations, not to mention the menus. The menus are almost easy, for many people anchored in traditional food items. The decorations are the really tough part.
Imagine having these place settings for your holiday dinner. You know you need them because Great Aunt Maude won’t sit next to Uncle Howard since the incident nobody speaks of but is only known as The Incident and you have been curious about since you were nine. And then there’s your cousin Susie, who is bringing her ne’er-do-well boyfriend again, who is a nice enough chap but you know Susie’s father doesn’t approve of him because he has had seven jobs in the two years they have been together. And in the end, all you want is for everyone to get along and share a nice meal. Can’t we all just get along for one day out of the year?
Anyway, these place settings are attractive and amazingly simple to make. Get some nice, ripe bosc pears, dip them in melted dark chocolate and let them dry on waxed paper. Then put a hand-written name tag on each and place them on the plates where you have decided each guest should sit. The best part? It’s also a dessert.
To melt chocolate for dipping, use a double boiler. In the bottom part, heat water almost to boiling, then turn off the heat. Insert the top part and put chocolate in it. Stir until the chocolate is melted, then dip until your heart’s content.
Chocolate Place Setting by Marco Arment.
Here at NCA we wish you a very happy holiday. We wish you warmth, peace and love, whether you are a hard candy person, a gummy-loving person like Tori or a chocolate person like the Susans. Even if you love things like circus peanuts, like I do, you are in the fold and among the appreciated. We are all about the equal-opportunity love here.
This all leads me to ask what your favorite Christmas/Hanukkah/solstice/Kwanzaa/HolidaySeason candy is. I think mine is anything with a minty flavor, like candy canes, chocolate, mints covered in chocolate and even mint candies without chocolate. Normally I would say circus peanuts because they are lord over all candies, but Susan has corrected me and informed me that they are not seasonal fare.
Regardless, this is what I am bringing to my friends’ house for Christmas dinner as an appetizer:
So what’s your favorite holiday candy? What are you setting out as a seasonal treat?
Santa Pez by davidking
Happy Thanksgiving!
What Thanksgiving confections are you enjoying today? No, football does not count.
Whew – Halloween is over! I love Halloween but it’s always a lot of work. It’s like the Holy Grail of candy holidays, the Hope Diamond crown jewel in headdress of the Candy Queen, the Slant 6 of candy engine holidays. You can tell that Halloween may have left me a little bonkers.
Just when you think you have time to put up your feet and relax, the winter holidays are looming ahead in the not-so-far-off future. Interested in making candies as gifts? If so, check out The Chocolate Gourmand, where the host, Brian, not only is an expert candy maker, but makes it as holiday gifts. He doesn’t just make a box or two, but a whole bunch of tins of it. In fact, last year he made a total of 50 pounds of candy, spending approximately 40 hours on the process, and he isn’t a professional candy maker. That’s dedication.
You can visit Brian’s site and see his recipes there. He doesn’t just give out the recipes, though. He gives you step-by-step instructions, along with photos, in an easy-to-understand style and format. He walks you through every step of the process, which helps, especially if you are making something for the first time. Candy, especially chocolate, has a mystique surrounding it and lots of people think they could never make such things. Brian lays it all out for you.
He posted a list of the 2006 holiday goodies and I am sure every year he gets even better at what he does, tries new things and tweaks the recipes just a little. That has got to be a great gift list to be on.
If you are inspired by Brian, be sure to let him know. If you need a taste-tester for your candy creations, please be sure to let me know. I am glad to do that step of the hard work.
Sick Pumpin by Artrim.
It’s October now and that means that it’s time to gear up for Halloween. This year, as the kids are donning masks and costumes, parents can get ready by planning the traditional wine and candy pairings. What? You never enjoyed a peanut butter cup with a glass of port?
The good folks over at Star Chefs come to the rescue with an interesting list of wine pairings for some Halloween classics. My favorite is what they say about candy corn. I never thought there might be an appropriate wine pairing for this classic confection, which is one of my favorites.
Candy Corn: Mostly sugar and vaguely marshmallowy, candy corn may be a traditional Halloween item, but they don’t offer much to work with, pairing–wise. They’re sweet, but fat–free, so cleansing the palate doesn’t require a lot of acidity or tannins; however, something bubbly seems to echo the idea of these little nibbles. Try the Veuve Clicquot–Ponsardin Vintage Rich 2000; it’s medium–bodied, and the “rich” character comes through as body and softness — yes, it’s sweet, but not too much so, making it easy to sip over the course of an evening. It even shows some marshmallow aromas, as well as touches of quince and white chocolate.
It makes me think of Mr. Howell from Gilligan’s Island. “Lovey, can you pass me the bubbly? The candy corn left a slight aftertaste.” They had enough champagne with them to always have a glass ready, so why not candy corn?
Do you have a favorite candy-wine (or other alcohol) pairing?
Photo by adobemac.
Rosh Hashanah begins on September 29th at sundown. It’s five days off but it’s coming up fast. If you want to stock up on some sweets to help you remember the sweetness of life, Sweets-Candy Blog has a list of some kosher candies they have identified. This is not in place of the traditional apples and honey, of course, which is a time-honored tradition in my home and something my wife and I look forward to every year.
- Jelly Belly Individual Flavor Jelly Beans
- Sunkist Fruit Gems
- Twizzlers
- Spangler Dum Dums
- Charms Blowpops
- Hospitality Mints
- Primrose Jolly Pops
- Quality Candy Hard Candy and Quality Lollipops
- Starburst
- Laffy Taffy
Old Time Candy has an even more exhaustive list.
Photo by joshbousel.
