The gardening gourmet - Review

Flower & Garden Magazine, Nov, 2001 by Kristen Prebich

* INTERNATIONAL POTATOES

Ingredients:

3 pounds sweet potatoes
3 apples, your choice, peeled and sliced
1 cup chestnuts, roasted and quartered
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup, not imitation
2 tbsp. dark rum
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake sweet potatoes until soft,
about one hour. Cool, peel and coarsely mash. Toss apples
with lemon juice. Butter a 9"x13" baking dish. Mix together
potatoes and apples and spread in dish. Sprinkle with chestnuts.
In a small saucepan, heat butter, brown sugar, syrup, rum
and spices until sugar is melted. Pour over potatoes, apples and
chestnuts. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, basting occasionally.
Broil until lightly browned.

The almond is much more popular when it comes to recipes.
There are also many almond byproducts that are quite common
in cooking and baking. Almond extract and almond paste
are two of the more familiar, however, others include almond
butter, almond flour and even almond milk. One of the best
and most flavorful ways to use almonds and other nuts for that
matter in recipes is by toasting them. Toasting nuts is quite
simple. In the oven, preheat to 350 degrees, place almonds on
baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes. On the stovetop,
place almonds in a skillet, heat to medium, toast almonds to
golden color, stirring occasionally.

This delicious dessert is sure to look beautiful on any holiday
table. With the combination of tart apples and toasted
almonds, no one will resist.
* TART APPLE ALMOND PIE

Ingredients:

Crust
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp. Calvados (apple flavored brandy)
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
9 tbsp. butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

Filling

4 tart green apples, peeled, quartered, cored, cut into
thick wedges
1-1/4 cups slivered almonds, toasted
3/4 cup   2 tbsp. sugar
2 large eggs
2 tbsp. Calvados
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/4 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. butter

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

To make crust, blend egg yolks and Calvados in small
bowl. Combine flour, sugar and salt in food processor. Add
butter and blend until butter is the size of peas. While
machine is running, add egg mixture. Blend until dough
forms clumps. Form dough into a ball and flatten into a
disk. Wrap dough in plastic and place in refrigerator until
cold. Before rolling out dough, allow to soften slightly.
Roll out dough to a 12-inch circle on a floured surface.
Place dough in a 10-inch pie or tart pan. Fold any dough
that hangs over. Chill.

To make filling, combine toasted almonds, 3/4 cup sugar,
eggs, 1 tbsp. Calvados, almond and vanilla extracts and salt
in food processor. Add 4 tbsp. butter and blend 15 seconds.
Spread onto bottom of crust and chill until firm. Mix
together apples, 1 tbsp. Calvados and I tbsp. sugar in large
bowl. Let stand 30 minutes. Arrange apples in chilled pie
shell. Melt 2 tbsp. butter and drizzle over apples. Sprinkle
with 1 tbsp. sugar. Bake 15 minutes and reduce heat to 350
degrees. Bake until apples are tender, about 45 minutes.
Cool to room temperature. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

There are so many fabulous recipes that include walnuts,
from breakfast items to desserts. However, one of my
all-time favorites is our family recipe for cranberry relish
that is a must-have for Thanksgiving dinner. My mom (and
before her my grandmother) makes it in a beautiful mold
form, always chock full of cranberries, walnuts and other
goodies, the ingredients blending perfectly. I am sure you
will love it just as much as I do.
CRANBERRY JELL-O[R] SALAD

Ingredients:

1 large package cherry Jell-O[R]
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups hot water
1/2-3/4 cup pineapple juice, drained from crushed pineapple
Cold water to make one cup of juice
1 pound fresh cranberries, cleaned and washed
1 orange, cut up with seeds removed, but rind remaining
1 cup crushed pineapple,
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Method:

Dissolve cherry Jell-O[R] in 2 cups hot water in large bowl.
Stir in 3/4 cup sugar until dissolved. Drain pineapple juice
from crushed pineapple into measuring cup, adding cold
water to make 1 cup. Add to Jell-O[R] mixture. Cool until
mixture resembles syrup. Grind cranberries and orange
with rind together' in a blender or food processor. Add 1
cup crushed pineapple. Add mixture to cooled gelatin.
Fold in walnuts. Set in a molded pan. To serve: Remove
from mold, place on a platter, and garnish with lettuce
leaves or items of your choice. Note: My mother dips the
bottom of the mold in hot water for a minute and runs a
knife around the inside of the mold, thus enabling it to be
inverted perfectly on a platter.

Our last recipe includes the pecan, another very popular
nut that can be included in just about any dish. For my final
recipe though, I am going to give all of you something easy
to prepare that will keep your guests very happy while you
are putting last-minute touches on the rest of your holiday
extravaganza.
BLUE CHEESE AND TOASTED
PECAN SPREAD

Ingredients:

1 pound high quality blue cheese, crumbled
4 tbsp. butter, softened
1/4 cup light cream
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup green onion, finely chopped
1 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
Toasted baguette slices
Apple and pear slices

Method:

Place blue cheese, butter, cream and garlic in a food
processor and blend until smooth. Transfer mixture to a
bowl and stir in pecans, green onions and parsley. Cover
and chill at least 4 hours or overnight. Before serving,
allow to soften for 1 hour. Serve with toasted baguette
slices and apple and pear slices.

After researching and writing this article, I truthfully
am more excited than ever to get started on my holiday
menus with nuts included in every course. They are very
versatile and can be used in many various forms as well.
For instance, try substituting chestnut or almond flour for
plain flour or experimenting with walnut or almond oil in
your salads. Nuts are the perfect way to complement all of
our autumn and holiday meals.

As a side note, throughout this entire article I stressed
how awesome nuts are, however, many individuals are
highly allergic to them. As a courtesy to your guests,
make them aware if you are serving dishes that include
nuts. The goal is to impress our guests with our culinary
talents, not send them to the hospital!

Looking ahead, if you think you're busy now with holiday
fare, well, in our next issue, I'll be bringing `to the table'
new and exciting ways to start off 2002. Until then, happy
cooking!