Simple Twists For Cooking With Nuts From Chef Alex Guarnaschelli and Fisher Nuts + Giveaway

Fisher Nuts has teamed up with Food Network Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, a regular judge on Chopped, to make your holiday cooking a bit easier and offer you some simple twists for cooking with nuts during the holidays. 
 

I love Fisher Nuts! They are so incredibly fresh and a much higher quality than brands I have purchased in the past. The hardest part is not to eat all the nuts before you have a chance to cook with them. I am also a huge Food Network fan and I have learned a lot from chefs like Alex Guarnaschelli. She always inspires me to try new things in the kitchen. She has some great recipes listed on the Fisher Nuts website including Pear Crisp with Almonds, Stuffed White Mushrooms with Pecans and Almond Heart Cookies. I would have never have thought to add Pecans to stuffed mushrooms! See...inspiration. All of Alex’s recipes can be found at www.fishernuts.com/alex.

Alex also has some great tips for cooking with nuts. A lot of the tips are probably things you would never think of. Here are two of my favorite tips she shares:

 -Savory & Sassy Sauces: Slow cooking a piece of meat? Add a few nuts to some of the cooking liquid, blend it smooth and pour it back into the rest of the cooking liquid to naturally enrich the flavor and thicken your sauce.

-Quick and Simple Dessert: For a great addition to your holiday dessert table, melt some sugar in a pan until golden brown and stir in some nuts. Transfer the mixture to a baking sheet to cook and then break into pieces for a quick and simple nut brittle.

Make sure you read all of her tips! They are so useful. 

When I received my prize pack from Fisher Nuts I had a lot of ideas and immediately started a list of things to cook/ bake. Unfortunately, I came down with the flu right after my package arrived. I was only able to make one of my ideas. I will share it with you in a moment. First I want to share some of the things that I still plan on making: Pecan-crusted Pork Chops, Roasted Nuts, Candied Pecans, Pecan Delights, Brownies with Pecans and Walnuts, Grilled Chicken Salad with Walnuts and Raspberry Vinaigrette and Alex's Stuffed White Mushrooms with Pecans. Sometimes I get a bit too inspired. One thing is for sure; once I am healthy we will have a lot of delicious nut dishes and desserts to eat.

The one thing I was able to make was Cinnamon Pecan Rolls. Since I wasn't feeling good, I used packaged croissant rolls. You could make the dough homemade and these would be even better. I also must warn you that my "roll" came out a little flat. It is because I did not close my seems up well enough on the dough. Opps.

Cinnamon Pecan Rolls

Ingredients:

-refrigerated croissant dough

-1/2 cup chopped Fisher Pecans (add more or less to your taste)

-3 tablespoons melted butter

-3 tablespoons brown sugar (I used Splenda's version)

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

-Mix melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon together. After blended, add pecans

-Grease large cookie sheet (or use non-stick) and unroll your croissant dough carefully. Press the dough together at the seems to form one large piece of dough.

-Spread filling mixture on top of dough and even it out

-Gently roll the dough length-wise until you have a "log"

-Bake according to croissant directions (about 16 minutes)

-Allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting into slices

I wish I could tell you that I have a gorgeous picture of my perfect looking Cinnamon Pecan Roll, but this is it. It was kind of an ooey-gooey mess of goodness. At least it tasted delicious. Taste is what matters, right? I am thinking of adding raisins and walnuts next time. The Fishers Pecans in this were SO good. They were candied by the brown sugar mixture. I will definitely be making these again (and hopefully improving the look as well).

Buy some Fisher Nuts and get inspired (whether by Alex, another chef or even me...) and make something new and delicious this holiday season.

GIVEAWAY:

One lucky reader will win the following:

                    -Fisher Chef’s Naturals Slivered Almonds

-Fisher Chef’s Naturals Pecan Halves

-Fisher Chef’s Naturals Walnut Halves & Pieces

-Food Network 5-Piece Stainless Steel Measuring Cups

-Food Network Silicone Spatula

-OXO Whisk

-Wood Cutting Board

**TO ENTER- Enter using the Rafflecopter below. Note: It may take a moment for the Rafflecopter to load. If you are reading this via RSS or Email, please visit the website to enter**

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

Disclosure Statement: I am working with Fisher to share Chef Alex Guarnaschelli’s recipes and create my own original recipe using Fisher Nuts and tools they provided. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.