Just Plain Nuts

Holiday treats to please every palate

Roquefort Grapes are a festive holiday tradition.

Squirrels aren’t the only ones hoarding nuts at this time of year. I was in the Niwot market last week and couldn’t resist the bag of North Carolina pecans stacked out at the checkout aisle. Freshly harvested nuts are a treat. They made a delicious Pecan Pie but my favorite way to consume them is to simply toast them for a few minutes in the oven in a dry pan. No oil is needed as they are already 65-70% fat, but it is the good kind—primarily monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats containing oleic and linoleic acids that reduce inflammation and maintain healthy skin and hair.

Baby Iris stares down her first Pie-fecta at Thanksgiving, while cousins Larissa and Lilah show her what to do.

The range of flavored nuts has exploded lately. At our local Broulim’s grocery store in Alpine, they range from salty and savory to some gussied-up new varieties that defy common sense—Apple Cider Donut cashews, anyone? Pumpkin Spice Almonds? Okay—maybe I need to try them, but my first encounter was off-putting. However, I did try the Rosemary & Sea Salt Cashews and found them tasty but oddly sweet. The third ingredient is sugar, so no surprise.

Nut options at the grocery store have exploded recently, rivaling the flavors of Cheerios and Oreo cookies.

I am a big fan of flavored nuts and used to make different varieties for all the caterings, back in the day. Rosemary Walnuts were my favorite. Curried Cashews were John’s first choice. Tamari Almonds were popular, Cajun Pecans equally so. There can be worlds of flavor in these nutritional powerhouses.

My love of walnuts goes back to my summers in Ohio with my Polish grandmother. It seemed we cracked and picked walnuts for nut bread and nut cookies endlessly. And were delighted when she made them at the holiday times. My brother and sisters carry on the tradition, and I anticipate a box of Baci cookies from my brother Geoff, who made a batch a few weeks ago when his granddaughters visited, and he froze some of the dough.

Baci cookies, crescents filled with a sweet walnut filling, on the counter in Frederick, MD.

Currently, most of the nuts I use go onto salads or steaming hot bowls of oatmeal when I channel my neighbor BJ, who had oatmeal topped with black walnuts every morning. She lived a long and vigorous life, passing a few months ago at 96.

I used walnuts for our local book club holiday potluck last night when I made Roquefort Grapes. The recipe from Martha Stewart’s Entertaining cookbook was a catering mainstay for decades. They are a delicious snack, serving as an appetizer, a dessert, or part of a cheese board. I recently watched the documentary Martha on Netflix and thought of all the inspiration she generated and how much she helped raise the bar for caterers. Here’s to you, Martha! You are a survivor. Cheers~(Toasting with Martha’s Chard)

Step-by-step Roquefort Grapes: Toast walnuts and set aside to cool. Beat room temperature cream cheese and Roquefort cheese in a large bowl and spread around the bowl to increase the surface area. Toss in clean, dry grapes and stir to coat. Process the toasted nuts until finely ground and put some in a cake pan, reserving about half of them so you can add more nuts gradually. Plop 6 or 8 coated grapes in the toasted nuts and shake the pan to coat them. The less you handle them, the better. Reserved leftover ground nuts are great to add to pancake or waffle batter.

Sometimes you feel like a nut. Indulge—just let it still taste like its healthy self. Toast up some nuts and give them as gifts this holiday season. They are gluten-free, can be dairy-free, and are really good for you and your loved ones.

Favorite nut recipes that make great holiday gifts.

And if you want to try making the Roquefort Grapes, here is a recipe:

Roquefort Grapes a la Martha Stewart

Makes 50

2 cups walnut halves and pieces

6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

2 ounces Roquefort cheese, room temperature

1 tablespoon heavy cream or half and half

50 red grapes, washed, de-stemmed, and air dryed

Toast the walnuts at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before processing them. Combine the cream cheese, the Roquefort cheese and the heavy cream or half and half in a large bowl and beat together with a mixer. Spread the cheese mixture around the sides of the bowl. Add the clean, dry grapes to the bowl and gently coat the grapes with the cheese mixture and then drop them individually into a cake pan with the ground walnuts. Shake the pan around to coat the grapes. Serve at room temperature.