Nutty Nuttiness

Having bought more slivered almonds to make Christmas cookies than I am likely to use up in a lifetime, I'm on the lookout ways for to use them. First the snapper from a few nights ago; it used a nice handful but I still have a lot left. Onward!

When My Beloved brought home a boatload of fresh Brussels sprouts, I thought perhaps some of those almonds, nicely toasted, would be good with butter-steamed sprouts, too.

All I did was cautiously toast another generous handful of almonds in a dry pan over medium heat, set them aside, quarter the sprouts with a sharp knife, braise them slowly in the same pan with melted butter and about a tablespoon of water until the water evaporated and left the sprouts and the butter to gently brown together. Sprinkled on the almonds and served.

It was two kinds of nutty. The gently cooked sprouts brought their nuttiness to the dish and, obviously, so did the almonds. The texture contrast was interesting and fun, the colors toned together beautifully and the taste was lovely and mellow with just a flick of the bitter as an aftertaste. I loved 'em. He, while not exactly loving them, agreed that it's a good preparation for a vegetable he's not overly fond of. There's a certain lovable nuttiness in a guy who brings home as a present for his wife a huge supply of a veggie he doesn't really like. No wonder I'm nuts about the guy.

Beloved's Choice

My Beloved was out and about on errands and called to ask if he could bring home something for lunch. I checked the fridge and, oops, nothing in there that qualified as lunch, so I said yes - and why not something a little different for dinner as well?

Here's what he found - lovely snapper, locally caught. I went looking for easy on the epicurious.com website and successfully downloaded this recipe.

Mild fish and toasted almonds are a natural together, especially when a nice big blob of butter and a big squeeze of lemon juice are included. Simplicity itself, and that lets the fish shine as well as the preparation. From start to finish it took no more time than steaming the veggies did. Apparently, this recipe comes from the book, "French Women Don't Get Fat." Frankly, I'm surprised. The generous browned butter, olive oil and almonds in this recipe aren't exactly dietary fare. Maybe if I had had the fresh parsley the recipe recommended, it would have cancelled out the calories?

In any case, it was fresh, mild and wicked-delicious. I'm sending the boy out for lunch makings more often.

Another Win-Win

Did you know that Massa also grows almonds? Well, duh, you'd think I'd have noticed this before but I was so focused on their delicious rice that I missed this entirely until last week when I stopped by their booth at the Marin farmer's market to pick up more rice. The man behind the counter had two enormous bags of almonds on either side of the rice, one of roasted and one of raw.

Yes, please!

I asked for half a pound of each, mixed in the same bag. We've been snacking on them all week. No salt, just plain, they are crisp and bright in flavor with a lighter texture than most almonds. The roasted ones are toasty and the raw ones are mellow. Simply to die for. Really, as good as the rice is, and that's saying a lot. We've had to restrict ourselves to a small handful to share before dinner, or we'd devour the whole pound in just a day or so.

I'm going to try making the rice with some onion, chicken broth and, at the last minute, tossing in some of the roasted almonds. Stand by for a review - I think it's going to be another win-win from Massa.

Party Time

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us (and wasn't it just the best? I love Thanksgiving!), the holiday parties will be in full swing. I'm pretty sure I'll eat too much, drink more than I do the whole rest of the year combined, and fetch up in January feeling both happy and fat. I never seem to learn moderation at the holidays.

Here's one reason why. Medjool dates spritzed with fromage blanc and topped with an almond. I first tasted these when My Beloved and I last went to the Marin farmer's market. The Date Lady (I'm sorry, I don't remember her name) was giving these out as a sample of why one should purchase her dates. Her sales technique worked - we immediately hunted up a bag of raw almonds and some Bellwether Farms fromage blanc to go with the fat package of dates we bought from her.

I decided to take these to our pal Sari's cheese tasting party. I cut the dates in half, spooned the cheese into a cookie press with a decorative tip (you could use a pastry bag just as easily) and squeezed out a little pfffft of cheese at one end of each date half, then placed an almond in the other end. The dates are slightly sticky, so it all stays neatly in place.

Sweet date and tangy cheese flood the tongue with conflicting flavors, leaving behind the crunch of the nut for texture and yet another mellow flavor. I intended these to be a dessert but they were mostly gone before dessert was even dreamed of. It was party time, and moderation is something best practiced in January.