"pistachios" news and stories

Cinnamon and raisins, with the occasional additions of pecans, walnuts or cream cheese frosting, are the standards for sticky buns just about anywhere you go. My Husband Cooks (actually, her husband) decided to put a little twist onto the standard with a batch of Pistachio-date sticky buns. The inspiration came from the flavors often found in Middle Eastern pastries and sweets, where the unique and sweet flavor of pistachios is very popular, as are dates. Exotic inspiration or not, these could not be mistaken for anything other than sticky buns, though. The dough is light and tender, made with both butter and buttermilk, and is topped with a buttery brown sugar caramel that serves as the glaze and gives the sticky buns their signature stickiness.

The recipe is not for those in a rush, as it takes several hours (or overnight) to let the dough rise properly. The advantage to this is that you can do approximately half the work for the buns the night before you want to eat them, meaning that you won't have to wait nearly as long in the morning before you can pull one apart, still warm from the oven, and enjoy.

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Earlier this afternoon, I found myself running out of ideas for today's theme. It was driving me nuts. So I decided to take a stroll over to a local Arabic market. I'm glad I did. After a good 10 minutes of browsing the shelves and nut bins, I discovered what have to be the best pistachios I've ever had in my life. I was in such disbelief after sampling one that I asked the gent at the counter whether what I just ate was a lemon-flavored pistachio. When I asked him what they were he told me Iranian pistachios.

As you can see, these suckers are somewhat larger than most pistachios and they're generously sprinkled with coarse salt. They're also really hard to stop eating. The shells are coated with a salty, lemon mixture, hence my calling these pistachios suckers. Has anyone else ever had enjoyed these wonderful pistachios?

We think of many foods as being nuts, but what are they really? Nuts are seeds, but not all seeds are nuts. Specifically a nut is a dry fruit with usually one, but sometimes two or more seeds. These seeds are contained in a hard wall derived from the ovary and remain unattached to the wall. Seeds can be removed from the fruit, but nuts are compound ovaries which are the seed and fruit combined. Not all nuts are edible, some are just too small, and others can be very bitter. Culinarily we label many seeds as nuts when they are not. Peanuts are actually legumes. Cashews are a "false fruit" that forms off the end of the cashew flower. Many "nuts" such as almonds, pistachios, and coconuts are actually drupes. Drupes are when a fleshy outside layer surrounds a hard walled seed, such as a peach. Pine nuts are coniferous seeds. Macadamias are kernels of seeds. Did you know that macadamia nuts are toxic to dogs?

Nuts are high in protein and fats, but the fats tend to be the type that are actually a healthy part of our diet. Especially those found in almonds and walnuts. Nuts have many other nutritional and dietary benefits; Pine nuts may curb the appetite and Pecans are good for your heart. So don't feel too bad about eating all those nuts during the holidays, just don't go overboard, and enjoy going nuts.

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If your family is like my family, you get into holiday ruts. This can often be a great thing, because if you're cooking something year after year after year, and everyone eats it, then it must be right. But sometimes it's good to experiment, maybe make another version of a dish, so we can have a choice and try something new.

That's very true of stuffing. A lot of families stick with one kind (bread stuffing, oatmeal, cornbread, etc) and stick with that, but this year I'm going to bring something new to my sister's house, and I'm thinking about this dish. It's Rice and Nut Stuffing. What intrigues me about it is the use of pistachios and raisins.

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