I first experienced the combination of hazelnut purée and dark honey at Slow Foods' cheese festival in Italy. The Piedmont region of Italy is known for its hazelnuts. You can find the most succulent rich hazelnut cakes and cookies. My favorite hazelnut concoction was hazelnut purée and dark honey. My first taste on toast brought about a dionysian state of gastronomical enchantment. The sweet nutty flavors and intensely smooth creamy buttery texture were all so overwhelmingly perfect!
When I returned from my trip, I looked all over NY for another hazelnut and honey mixture. And, I was surprised by the many shops that carried this delicious treat. Recently, Time Out New York had an article about one in particular from southern France called Avelline. This was probably my favorite one that I tried.
How does one enjoy hazelnut purée and dark honey? Besides eating it plain on toast, you can use it as a condiment with cheese. I suggest you pair it with Montgomery's farmhouse cheddar or Stilton Colston Bassett. You can even pair it with a variety of nutty pecorinos.
This time of year, I much prefer eating fruit-based desserts to ones involving chocolate or lots of cake. Give me a nice crisp or cobbler and I'm a happy girl. Despite those seasonal preferences, I saw this cake and immediately started salivating. There's no recipe link along with the picture, but I believe that it's the one from Nigella Lawson's gorgeous, slightly tongue-in-cheek cookbook, How to be a Domestic Goddess. It's a cake I've always intended to make, but have never gotten around to it. I think it's moving to the top of the list now, having seen this tasty reminder.
For a fun finger-food rich in Omega-3s and protein, check out this spicy mix of almonds and hazelnuts, courtesy of the show everyone loves to hate/hates to love, 30 Minute Meals.
Sesame Five-Spice Roasted Nuts
1 cup peeled whole almonds 1 cup whole hazelnuts 2 tablespoons sesame seeds 2 tablespoons butter 2 teaspoons five- spice powder (ground star anise, Szechuan peppercorn, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed) 1 tablespoon hot sauce 1 cup smoked almonds. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees F, and roast the nuts for 7 minutes.
Toast sesame seeds over medium heat in a skillet for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Add butter, five-spice powder, and hot sauce, then add roasted nuts and smoked nuts and toss to coat in butter. Add sesame seeds and toss with nuts. Serve warm.
The recommended daily serving size of nuts is about one-ounce, an amount that should contain approximately 160-200 calories, full of protein and other nutrients (vitamin E in almonds, manganese in hazelnuts and iron in cashews, for example). A nutty snack will also fill you up with a good balance of protein, unsaturated fats and carbs. The problem lies in getting that one-ounce size. I know that if I want to eat some nuts, I don't put them on my scale in the kitchen before I pop them into my mouth, although I do worry a bit about how many I've eaten when a big bowl is placed in front of me. An extra serving or two of nuts can add up quickly, especially if you're indulging a bit extra over the holidays. The trick is to learn what a one ounce portion looks like and nutnutrition.com, which is run by Planters, has a great interactive resource to help you do just that. The site lets you see what one-ounce of nuts looks like when scattered and in a 1/4 cup measure. After a couple of visits to the site, you'll be able to sit in front of that big nut bowl and snack with confidence.
While the idea of Nutella filled crepes is very tempting and crepes are not too difficult to make, they do take a bit more effort than more the thicker, American-style pancakes. Pancakebatterissoadaptable that just about any ingredient can be worked into it, so I decided to work the chocolate-hazelnut spread into a basic pancake recipe for breakfast. There is just enough Nutella in the batter to give it a good flavor without being overwhelming or making the pancakes too heavy.
And yes, that is chocolate syrup on top of the pancakes in the picture, but I actually ate mine with maple syrup - I just wanted to emphasize the fact that they have an underlying chocolate flavor. By all means, use chocolate syrup if you are so inclined, but spreading the pancakes with a thin layer of Nutella or tossing a handful of chocolate chips into the batter might produce an even more decadent result.
The flavor combination of chocolate and hazelnut is pretty much a match made in heaven. Just ask anyone who has even had Nutella. This Chocolate Hazelnut Tart has no nutella, but makes use of the flavors in a wonderful dessert. It was made from a recipe in one of Francois Payard's books by Turkish food blogger Zinnur at Our Patisserie and consists of several beautifully matched layers. First, there is the tart crust, which adds a crispness to the dessert and contrasts with the rich filling. On top of the crust, there is a layer of milk chocolate caramel, with hazelnuts stirred in. The caramel is topped with a chocolate mousse and garnished with chocolate curls and more finely chopped hazelnuts. Based on looks alone, a small piece of this rich dessert should be enough to satisfy any sweet tooth.
A jar of honey can become a sticky mess. Next time you're adding honey to another dish or a mug of tea, use a honey dipper to prevent a thick gooey layer from spreading.
The recommended daily serving size of nuts is about one-ounce, an amount that should contain approximately 160-200 calories, full of protein and other 
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