Pass the Nuts, Please

As a kid, I didn't care for nuts much. Well, that's not exactly true, I liked nuts just fine all by themselves. Every time we went over to my grandparent's house for a holiday or a birthday get-together, there was always a bowl of cocktail peanuts, or the "fancy" mixed nuts with the cashews and almonds and pecans. My dad and grandpa could eat handfuls of those nuts at a time, and if you didn't stake out a spot near the nut bowl, you just might miss out. Even as a child, I was pretty serious about my food, and in the end, I think I gobbled up my fair share of those nuts.

But nuts in desserts was a whole other story... I was always the child, and the teen, and yes, maybe even the young adult, too, who always requested the brownie, or the chocolate chip cookie, or the ice cream sundae without nuts. I think it may have been a texture thing, but I usually felt like the nuts just got in the way and ruined whatever perfectly good dessert I was eating. And a dessert made entirely of nuts? That wasn't even an option on the menu. I don't believe a slice of pecan pie passed these lips until I was about 30 years old or so. Shocking, isn't it? I know what some of you are thinking... how in the world can I call myself a foodie, and not have tasted pecan pie until I was well into my adult years! I don't even know how I can defend myself on that one... though I am happy to report that my taste buds seem to have matured in the last few years...

A few years ago now, my grandmother came to Christmas dinner at my mother's house, and she brought with her a pecan pie that someone in her retirement home had made. This was a very unassuming and well, rather homely pie, and I'm not really sure what possessed me to try it, given that until then, as a general rule, I just didn't eat nut-infused desserts. But I did try it, and what's more, I liked it! And on that day, a door opened to a whole new category of desserts.... things with nuts! That might have been the best present I got that year.... okay, okay, I'm getting a little carried away now... but I would like to thank my grandmother's friend for baking that pie. I'm guessing she has no idea what a revelation that pie was for me.

And now I'm going to share a gift with you... the recipe for my Caramel Walnut-Pecan Squares, which are a serious crowd-pleaser. The original recipe came from the Fooday section of the Oregonian a few years back. I made them for my co-workers right before the holidays, and have gotten requests to make them again ever since. They are very much like a pecan pie, only in a bar form, and with the addition of walnuts. And to me they taste more carmel-y than a pecan pie. I think you should try them soon, and if you are not a desserts-with-nuts lover, this recipe just might convert you....

(I have to apologize in advance for the picture. Somehow, this picture does not do this dessert bar any justice at all. It really does taste much better than it looks. I promise!)

Caramel Walnut-Pecan Squares

Crust:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (can use regular or baker's sugar)
• 1/2 cup plus 6 Tbs unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 egg
• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Filling:

• 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs granulated sugar (again, either type of sugar is fine)
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 2 cups toasted and lightly broken pecans*
• 2 cups toasted and lightly broken walnuts*
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10x15 inch baking pan (I used a ceramic lasagna pan, which worked well), and line with parchment paper so that there is at least an inch or so of the paper hanging off at each end (this helps to remove the squares from the pan after they have baked and some of the filling has oozed out).
2. For the crust: In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix well. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until the dough comes together. Turn the dough out into the prepared pan and press the dough evenly into the pan, building up the edges slightly. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes or until crust begins to brown and set. Remove from oven and cool. Reduce oven to 300 degrees.
3. For the filling: In a medium saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, honey and corn syrup and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once you reach a rolling boil (there should be bubbles in the middle of the pan, as well as the sides), boil for exactly 2 1/2 minutes. (Do not boil for any longer than this or the filling will become too hard and chewy.) Then remove from the heat and stir in cream, salt, vanilla and the nuts. Pour filling into cooled crust and spread evenly. Place the pan on center oven rack and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling in the center. Cool overnight and then cut into squares.

*Note: To toast the nuts, spread them on a baking sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven for 5 to 8 minutes or until brown. Keep a close eye on them as it is very easy to overcook and burn them.

Enjoy!
-Colleen

Some Assembly Required

I had planned to bring you an Irish-inspired St. Patrick’s Day meal from the family archives that goes back generations, but it turns out our family doesn’t have any Irish recipes that go back very far. And, my Shepherd's Pie is a work in progress. So, I am actually bringing you something entirely different- an appetizer recipe that goes back in our family archives… all of one week. My mom called me last week after she attended an Oscar’s party, raving about a delicious appetizer she had- Gorgonzola Stuffed Jalapeños Wrapped in Bacon. It’s a great appetizer to bring to a St. Paddy’s Day party this week- it’s not Irish by any means, but it is green!

When I got the recipe from my mom, I was at work and about to head into a meeting, so I scribbled down the ingredients and cooking time. It sounded simple enough with just a handful of ingredients. And, it really is such a simple recipe that I’m almost embarrassed to share it with you via this blog. But, I’d feel guilty if I didn’t- it’s so delicious and such a crowd pleaser, you really do need to add it to your appetizer repertoire. The spicy jalapeño is balanced by creamy, slightly bitter gorgonzola and the smoky, savory bacon is balanced by the sweet, chewy dates. It fulfills all of your taste buds' needs- a two-bite taste sensation. While I’m sure the original recipe had plenty of details, I didn’t have the original recipe. So you, lucky reader, have the advantage of my trial and error on this one. Read my notes before you get started to make sure your peppers come out perfect the first time.

1. Don’t confuse simple with fast and fool proof. These little guys are easy to make, but they take some assembling. Allow a fair amount of prep time (allow about 45 minutes to an hour from start to the time you pop them in the oven), and cook time (up to 40 minutes). And, you will benefit from some hints on the cooking process (keep reading).


2. Wear gloves. I never bother to wear gloves when working with peppers, figuring I can handle a few hot ones. But, it turns out I’ve never sliced, de-seeded, and manipulated 30 jalapeño halves before. My left hand was on FIRE for about 24 hours.


3. The organic bacon I usually buy is thick cut, and the bulky slices wouldn’t work well for this recipe. You need a thinly sliced bacon than can easily wrap around the jalapeños. I had to settle for antibiotic/hormone/nitrite free bacon.


4. Use a jelly roll or similar pan(s) that has an edge all the way around. You are cooking about a pound of bacon in the oven, which will render a considerable amount of fat. Check your jalapeños after about 20 minutes, and drain off as much pooled liquid as you can. (A turkey baster would work perfectly).


5. Line your pan with parchment paper so the bacon doesn’t stick. I also tried aluminum foil under one batch. It worked, but it seemed to speed up the cooking process a bit.


6. If you don't already have them, buy toothpicks
   

OK, here’s the recipe! All of the quantities are approximate, as everything depends on the sizes of your jalapeños and dates.

Gorgonzola Stuffed Jalapeños Wrapped in Bacon

• 15-18 medium sized jalapeños
• 8 oz. cream cheese, room temp
• 8 oz. gorgonzola cheese, chopped or crumbled
• 10-15 pit-free dates (make sure they are soft)
• 10-12 slices thin-cut bacon, each slice cut into equal thirds
• 30-36 toothpicks for securing
  

Stir together the cream cheese and gorgonzola. The mixture will have lumps of gorgonzola, but that's fine. Set aside to let it continue to soften while you prep the jalapeños.

Slice each jalapeños in half, trying to maintain a bit of stem on each half. Scoop out the seeds and ribs, and discard.

Dice the dates and stir them into the cheese mixture until well distributed.

Scoop the cheese and date mixture into each jalapeño half. Fill them just to their brims. You’ll be tempted to overfill them, but don’t. It will just bubble out and make a mess when you cook them.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. By the time you finish the next step it should be ready.

Take 1/3 slice of bacon and wrap it around the middle of each jalapeño half. Arrange it so the edges overlap a bit on one side. You may need to stretch some slices to make them fit around bigger jalapeños, or wrap it around the narrower end of the pepper. Use two toothpicks per pepper-half, securing both corners of bacon that you have overlapped. Force the toothpicks all the way through the other side of the pepper, so you have two parallel toothpicks inserted all the way through. Jalapeños are slippery, and bacon on jalapeños is twice as slippery Try not to stab yourself. But, don’t try to skip this step, either, or the bacon will just shrink away from the peppers when you cook them, and you’ll end up with stuffed peppers and a side of bacon chunks. Using just one toothpick didn’t really do the trick, either. Trust me on this one.

(If you have any extra filling and bacon, bacon wrapped dates are delicious, too. And if you have extra cheese mixture, stuff those dates! Just slice in half, scoop a dab of cheese in, close the date, wrap in 1/3 slice bacon, and secure with one toothpick).

Arrange wrapped peppers on your parchment lined pan, trying not to overcrowd. The peppers will take between 30 and 40 minutes. You want the bacon to be cooked, but not too crisp, and the cheese will have bubbled up a bit and gotten browned on most peppers. Let the peppers cool for a few minutes, then remove the toothpicks. (To help remove the toothpicks, I place each toothpick between the tines of a fork, letting the fork help protect the pepper as I pull it out).

Try not to eat them all before you bring them to a party!

-Heather

PS For you Portlanders, Farmer's Market on the PSU Park blocks starts this Saturday, March 20!! It looks like they have a new, less congested footprint.

Holiday Dessert, All Grown-Up

March is finally here, and you know what that means? St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner! I'm guessing that St. Paddy's Day is probably not a big holiday for most families, and while it wasn't a huge holiday at our house, certainly not like Christmas or Thanksgiving, it does hold a certain special place in my heart, being that my father's side of the family is Irish (well, Irish and Italian, actually). And while the Irish aren't exactly known for their gourmet menu items, they do know how to throw a good party and celebrate a holiday in style... I mean, this is the only holiday I can think of where you have an excuse to make and eat green food, naturally green or maybe not so much...think green eggs, green beer... I know, I know, kind of gross, but kind of fun too. Especially when you're a kid....

For my sister and I, St. Paddy's Day started out with the ritual of selecting just the right outfits to display our Irish green with pride. And not just because we didn't want to get pinched, but because, by golly, we really are Irish, and this was the one day we got to brag about it! And of course, it was always better to wear more than one shade of green if possible, just in case a quarrelsome classmate insisted that something you were wearing wasn't really green. (And in case you're wondering, green underwear does not count! Your green has to be clearly visible from the outside!) We each had a pair of green shamrock earrings as well, that my dad had gotten for us to wear especially for this holiday. When school got out, my mom would take us to the local McDonald's to get a Shamrock shake. Does anyone else remember these yummy, minty green milkshakes? Sometimes, I feel like I must have dreamed them up, since no one I have ever asked seems to know what I'm talking about. For dinner my mom would make something Irish-inspired, like the infamous corned beef and cabbage that everyone associates with this holiday, or maybe a lamb stew with Irish soda muffins (similar to the recipe that Heather put in a previous post), and then it would be time for dessert.... Leprechaun Pie.

I have no idea where my mom got this recipe, but it was most definitely a hit in our house...complete with whipped cream and marshmallows, creme de menthe, and a chocolate graham cracker crust, and of course a few drops of green food coloring. A minty, frozen, slice of deliciousness. And while I have fond memories of Leprechaun Pie, I thought it might be time for a green dessert that was a little more sophisticated to share for St. Paddy's Day. This is the perfect holiday for a recipe I recently discovered, Green Tea Cheesecake. And some of you will be happy to know that the cheesecake is made naturally green by the green tea powder, no artificial coloring needed! The original recipe came from Bon Appetit, but I have modified it to my liking. And it is very easy to make...

Green Tea Cheesecake

• 1 generous cup ground shortbread cookies (about 6 oz.)
• 1-2 T melted butter
• 2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, room temperature (don't use light or whipped products)
• 1/2 cup packed fromage blanc*
• 3/4 cup plus 2 T baker's sugar (finely ground sugar used in baking)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp Japanese green tea powder**

Sour Cream topping:

• 1 1/2 cup sour cream (don't use light or nonfat)
• 1/2 cup baker's sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
  

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grind cookies in food processor until you have medium sized crumbs. Add in the melted butter just until crumbs start to come together - you may not need all 2 tablespoons of the butter. Then dump crumb mixture into an 8 inch springform pan and press firmly onto the bottom (not sides) of the pan. You then need to wrap the outside of the pan with 3 layers of foil to prevent leakage during baking.

2. Using a mixer, beat the cream cheese, fromage blanc, and sugar (3/4 cup plus 2 T) in large bowl until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well incorporated after each addition. Beat in green tea powder until smooth. Pour batter over prepared crust.

3. Place cake in roasting pan or other deep, large pan. You will need to add enough hot water to the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Place roasting pan with cake in the oven. Bake until set, but center moves very slightly when gently shaken, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

4. Make sour cream topping by blending the sour cream, sugar ( 1/2 cup) and vanilla until smooth. Once cake is finished baking remove from oven and turn oven up to 400 degrees. Pour sour cream topping onto the cake and smooth with spatula. Put back in the oven for 5 minutes. (You do not need to use the roasting pan at this point. You can place the cake directly on an oven rack. Also, you do not need to remove the foil. You can remove this after the cake is completely done.) The cake will look the same, but the sour cream topping will be set.

5. Cool the cake on a rack for at least one hour at room temperature. Refrigerate the cake uncovered overnight before serving. Do not remove the outer ring of the springform until the next day, when the cake is completely set. You may want to run a thin knife around the inside ring of the pan before removing.

* Fromage blanc can be found in most specialty food stores, such as New Seasons, Zupans, or Whole Foods. Some regular grocery stores might have it as well, though I couldn't find it in Safeway.
** Green tea powder can be found at Uwajimaya or other Asian markets. You might also find it at some specialty food stores. If you are having trouble locating some, an alternative is to take some green tea bags, remove the green tea and then crush it up finely with a mortar and pestle. The downside to this (from experience) is that the cheesecake looks a little like it has a a certain illegal substance in it. Also, the cake does not taste as "green tea-y", and has only a hint of the green tea flavor and color. Though it might not look quite as pretty, it still tastes pretty fantastic.

This cake tastes excellent on its own. However, some people like sauces with their cheesecakes... In the picture, I show the cake served with a raspberry sauce that tastes delicious with it, and adds some beautiful color as well. I find that the easiest way to make the raspberry sauce is to take a 10 oz bag of frozen raspberries and place in a saucepan over medium heat. Add approximately 4 T sugar, and a dash of lemon juice. Heat the raspberries and mash them up as much as possible, for approximately 10 minutes or so. Then press them through a strainer so that you have the sauce without all of the seeds. My mother makes this same sauce by simply processing the raspberries in a food processor and then pressing the berries through a strainer. She adds the sugar to the sauce at the end (you will not need as much sugar with this method). I find that with this method, it is more difficult to press the berries through the strainer. Something about heating them up first makes the pressing easier. But either method is fine. And both taste terrific (and can be used to top lots of different desserts!)

I hope you all have a great St. Patrick's Day holiday. Luck o' the Irish to ya!

- Colleen