Thursday, December 16, 2010

Nuts!!

Literally... and figuratively .....

When a recipe says roast nuts in a 350F oven for 15 minutes...and alarm bells go off??.... listen to your alarms!

This is where the first batch ended up...















If it looks like a garbage can... that's because it is.
Walnut halves are like gold.  A big bag was $14.99....on sale.  Oooooooooohhh.... that burns me almost as much as it did the darn nuts.

I was going along so well too.... this is how amazing they were just after I added a splash of my real Quebec Maple Syrup from a friend of a relative.... just brought all the way across the country.  Wasted Maple Syrup is an absolute crime!!  Anybody who has ever had the real thing will tell you that. Then...a generous grinding of lovely black pepper.  These are spicy glazed nuts. Mmmm... well, they would have been mmmm...















... but, then... the recipe called for putting them in the oven.  So.. I set my timer for 12 minutes..not even the required 15... but... too late..... they were already past tasting burned when I grabbed for the baking sheet.  There were some "french words" as somebody used to say..... who was that now?  I forget.  Anyway.....it was disheartening to say the least because it was just the beginning of my plan for an amazing salad for supper.

Onward.... second batch.  Never quit when you are behind.

You can bet your bottom hard earned dollar that I was watching like a hawk this time around..... my eyes were glued to that oven.  Don't even walk out of the kitchen.... cuz you know how fast nuts can be ruined!

Ahhhhhh.... that's more like it.  I had the oven at just over 300F this time...and it only took about 6 to 8 minutes really.... ....














Then....I poached my lovely pear.  In wine and cinnamon infused syrup....

It was a thing of beauty.... well....to my eyes at least it was.  It stayed firm... soaked up the wonderful flavours...and was absolutely the nicest pear I have ever seen or eaten.  Including the creation by the chef at the restaurant where I first had this salad... and now... I've copied it to the best of my recollection.















Pear and Goat Cheese Salad with Glazed Walnuts......

I used some peppered goat cheese and instead of just crumbling on the bits...I wanted to figure out a way to cut the soft cheese into rounds.  Looked on Google...and found a few suggestions.  Love Google.

Dental floss.  Yep.  You can saw it across it if you like...as in the video I saw... but, if you just lay it under the roll of cheese...then draw up each side of the floss and cross them over each other...it slices straight through the cheese as easy as can be.   Even very thin slices come away so cleanly it is amazing. I did put the cheese roll in the freezer for just a few minutes (watch that too... you don't want to ruin a lovely little log of cheese) .. so that I could cut away the packaging without damaging the roll.  Why can't they make it easier to get the roll of cheese neatly out of the packaging material?

A vinaigrette with a few tablespoons of the poaching syrup finished it off. YUM....

Take that Chef Kevin....

18 comments:

Calidore said...

That looks like the most delicious salad. Opps on the first batch of walnuts but I'm glad the second lot worked. Thank you for your lovely comments on my blog too.

Unknown said...

Walnuts and Maple syrup...sounds too good to be true. The second batch looks so yummy.
I have just popped in to browse your blog. You are very clever and the dolls and bears a lovely. I'll be back to read again when I have some more time.
Cheers Maa.

Gretel said...

Mm. not mad keen on walnuts myself, but surprised to hear they are so expensive over there! I hate wasting food with a passion, even if it does need to go in the bin - thankfully now we pop things in the garden compost bin, so it all gets used in the end.

Twiglet said...

Oh that looks and sounds absolutely delicious!! I might make that over the festive season. Thanks for sharing and yes I will be very careful when roasting my nuts!!

Susan said...

aaah nuts!! ... all was well in the end though ;-)

BumbleVee I'm in bear and doll heaven with your blog!! Thank you for visiting mine.
Like Maa, I've got to scoot and catch up with things, but will be back to bask in your blogginess real soon. Cheers, Susan :D

Buttons Thoughts said...

Greetings Calgary I love your blog you have quite the craft talent. They look so real.I look forward to bouncing back to see your entries.Greetings from a fellow Canuck in Ontario.

DILLY said...

MWEAH!

Mummy yewz dentol floss on craft.
If thing stiks in rong place,
yewz floss to pik up!
Floss be vewy clever stuff.

Nuts look yummy.
Dilly like feed nuts to skwirrols in park.

THANK FOR CRISMOSS CARD BUMBLEVEE!!!!!

¬"

Catherine said...

Very yummy indeed!
xo Catherine

Sylvia said...

That salad looks delicious, thanks for sharing the recipe !
I saw your gifts on Catherine's blog, so beautiful !
Nice weekend,
Sylvia

Anonymous said...

Looks delicious (except for the nuts - I don't like nuts!!) Thanks for the tip about slicing the cheese!

Sylvia said...

Hello Veronica,
Thanks for your nice commment !
About the fir cones, my husband twisted a screw eye on top.
Lovely wishes,
Sylvia

Jaime said...

Ahh, so these are the nuts you were talking about on my blog! lol! I so feel your pain. The frustration! So funny, that we had similar stories. I'm glad they worked out for you in the end. The finished ones look so delicious!!
It is past midnight, and my eyes are half closed, but I wanted to come by and say thank you for visiting me. I am leaving town tomorrow but look forward to coming back here for a longer visit next time, when life slows down a little.
Have a wonderful Christmas!!!

Felted House said...

Thanks so much for popping over to my blog - I wish I had been there that Christmas morning when you came down to find presents unwrapped by cats. And I'm glad Archie's not launching himself at the tree like Tyke!
I've just been reading your recipe and it looks fantastic - I don't eat meat so am always looking for ideas and I do like goat's cheese, and pears, and nuts! - I've got a recipe for spiced glazed nuts using honey but I just toss them in a pan for a few seconds - risky business toasting nuts in the oven! But I would really like to try your recipe if I ever get time. xx

Daisy said...

My Mommeh says that salad looks fabulous!

Perpetual Chocoholic said...

Oh no! And if nuts are gold then maple syrup is platinim! I have a friend "White Mocha" on my blog, who has a maple syrup bush and I am very generously supplied but, I use it sparingly knowing it's value!

p.s. Your blog always makes me hungary;-)

Perpetual Chocoholic said...

platinum. I've got to learn to spell.

Serena Lewis said...

A shame about the first batch of nuts but my, that dish looks delicious! I LOVE goat's cheese with salads!

Linda Vincent said...

What a pity you lost some precious walnuts, but that final salad looks amazing!
I may have to have a go at that......
thank you for the inspiration :-)