Sicilian capers, cassava tortillas and more new food
I’m not sure I would have given my mother a gift basket of herbs and capers from the volcanic Sicilian island of Pantelleria for Mother’s Day. But for me? Any time.
John A. Savittieri, a furniture designer from Maplewood, New Jersey, was exploring his family’s roots on the island when he became hooked on capers, the savory buds of the capparis spinosa flower that thrive there. Fast forward a year or so, he’s now importing and selling them as A&J Savittieri Prodotti di Pantelleria eatcapers.com).
Tiny capers or piccoli ones, packed in Trapani sea salt (rinse it off), along with larger caper berries, fragrant dried herbs and the salt start at $4.50 The gift basket, $132.50, comes with a ceramic caper- keeper box shaped like the dammuso houses of the island.
Snacking at the Masters
The nosh of choice for the Super Bowl is wings. For the Masters, the first of four annual golf tournaments, it’s pimento cheese, a specialty of the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, where the competition is held. This year it runs from April 11-14, with three pre-tournament events starting April 8.
For the first time, Goldbelly is selling a special Taste of the Masters package for munching, including the cheese. A package to serve 12-14 people is $179.95 at goldbelly.com. The kit also includes pork barbecue, egg salad, chocolate chip cookies and pecan-caramel popcorn.
Gluten-free ‘flour’ tortillas
Add cassava to that wardrobe of tortillas. A new line, Coyotas, is an alternative to flour tortillas. It uses glutenfree organic cassava flour and organic coconut oil with only water and salt. The result behaves like flour tortillas, holds up well with fillings and comes in three sizes: small for tacos, medium for larger tacos and quesadillas, and large for burritos and other wraps.
The company, based in San Diego, was started by Janet Flores Pavlovich, a native of Hermosillo in Sonora in northern Mexico, where the flour tortilla reigns. She learned to make them in her hometown and while she was at it, innovated by using cassava flour. And in one of those felicitous culinary accidents like the Toll House cookie, wound up with a gluten-free product.
There are 12 in a pack of small, eight of medium and six of large; three packs for $37.50 at eatcoyotas.com.
Reading for oenophiles
The venerable glossies Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast have digital-only competition. The New Wine Review, available by subscription, covers the wine world with news, trends, travel tips, interviews and ratings that aggregate several sources. (Full Pour, a new wine magazine, got off the ground a year ago, but it’s a traditional print quarterly.)
Readers can instantly access not only the latest articles but material from previous issues. In addition, it offers subscribers membership in a Slack community, making it possible to engage in conversations and obtain information for experts and amateurs alike. It was founded by Zander Baron, who has had a career in digital media, with Jon Fine, a wine writer and the former acting editor-in-chief of Inc., and Jason Wilson, a wine columnist and author, as senior correspondent. Annual subscriptions are $299 at www.newwinereview.com.