All about Walnuts

I like foods that add a touch of luxury, where a little goes a long way. I'm thinking of things like caviar, smoked fish, truffles, whipped cream, chocolate. Nuts fall into that category for me too, maybe it's their association with the holidays or with desserts like cakes and cookies. Or maybe it's because they are so rich.

Walnuts have a richness due to their fat content. They have an inherent sweetness but also a slight bitterness. That bitterness is actually what complements so many foods. The flavor of walnuts is more mellow and buttery when toasted which is great for baked goods and desserts. But when it comes to strong foods like beef, bitter greens, cheese and herbs like basil, un-toasted walnuts add another more complex dimension. If you've made pesto you might have noticed that most pesto recipes call for un-toasted nuts, so clearly I'm not the first to realize this.

In experimenting with different kinds of nuts, I have found walnuts to be the most versatile of all due to their buttery, rich, sweet and bitter flavors. I also found that lemon almost always complements walnuts, toasted or not. The possibilities are endless, salad topped with walnuts and tossed with a lemon dressing, lemon tea cake with walnuts, lemon walnut biscotti, lemon peel and walnuts as a topping for green beans...

Nuts in general have been experiencing a turnaround. Because they are so high in fat, nutritionists used to warn against eating too many of them. But it turns out that the fat in nuts is actually healthy. Walnuts are especially high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly alpha-linolenic acid, a plant omega-3 fatty acid. Walnuts balance of omega-3 and omega-6 is just right which is important for your health. Polyunsaturated fat actually lowers cholesterol. Walnuts are a good source of Vitamin E and contain fiber and minerals like copper, magnesium, phosphorus and even iron. They also have antioxidants such as melatonin, ellagic acid, gamma-tocopherol, carotenoids, and polyphenolic compounds. It's possible the combination of all of those nutrients not only helps lower cholesterol, but helps prevent hardening of the arteries and can increase the dilation of blood vessels. The FDA states that a diet including walnuts may reduce the risk of a heart attack. Other research has shown it is beneficial for those with Type II diabetes.

So how much should you eat to get the health benefits? Many studies over the past 15 years have shown that a diet including one to two ounces of walnuts lowers total cholesterol and “bad” LDL cholesterol even more. No question about it, two ounces of walnuts, at 400 calories is a lot of calories, but one ounce (about a quarter cup) is only 200 calories. Consuming just a quarter cup of walnuts a few times a week or a couple tablespoons a day may make more sense. Fortunately the amount of protein in nuts can help you stave off hunger so consider walnuts as a healthy and luxurious snack!

Note: Walnuts are available year round, but once you open a package, store it in the fridge.

Here's a list of ways to use walnuts:

* Top pizza dough with walnuts, blue cheese and caramelized onions

* Fill endive with a dab of goat cheese and top with a walnut

* Make an apple, endive and walnut salad (lemon dressing!)

* Top a radicchio leaf with ricotta a drizzle of honey and a toasted walnut

* Add walnuts to a cold sliced steak salad

* Blend walnuts in a banana milkshake

* Mix chopped walnuts and scallions to pilaf or wild rice

* Make a creamy pasta sauce with chopped walnuts, ricotta and parmesan

* Serve pears with blue cheese and walnuts

* Toss fettuccine with olive oil, garlic, walnuts and toasted bread crumbs

* Add walnuts to chicken salad along with tarragon and grapes or curry and raisins

* Add to quick breads and cookies

* Top pancakes, ice cream

* Use in pesto

FOOD + WALNUTS + HEALTH + COOKING

Chutney Cheese Puffs: Recipe

I'm a cheater, in the kitchen anyway. While I may not be a fan of mac and cheese from a box, I positively love using gourmet specialty products. What kinds of products? Jams, mustards, chutney, tapenade, Chinese sauces, so many things! Two of my favorite secret weapons are in the freezer--phyllo dough and puff pastry.

You could easily write a book on all the things you can make out of phyllo dough and puff pastry. I suggest the title "How to Succeed in Baking Without Really Trying". Once you learn how to handle them, the possibilities are endless. They even turn something mundane into something special. For example you could make a stew into an elegant pot pie. You could turn a fruit compote into pastries. You could make fancy little appetizers to serve hot from the oven. How fancy? I suggest little napoleons or tartlets. It's really easy.

A few weeks ago I had a lot of goat cheese languishing in the fridge. I had promised my friend Alison I would develop some recipes for her fabulous chutney and it dawned on me that using puff pastry I could make a delicious pastry with nothing more than goat cheese, puff pastry and chutney.

As it turns out, I am a real chutney fanatic. I am happy to have 4 or 5 jars in the fridge at once. But I should make a distinction--there are chunky chutneys and mushy chutneys. Mushy goopy chutneys have their place; they are saucy and work great in sauces and dips. But chunky chutney is what you want for this recipe so either pick up some of McQuade's Chutney or make some yourself. Runny chutney is not going to work for this recipe.

Note: The size and number of puffs you make is entirely up to you. You can make one or 101. You can make them bite sized or larger.

Goat Cheese Puffs

Puff pastry (frozen is fine)
One jar of chunky style chutney, I recommend McQuade's
Goat cheese, one log, chevre style

Allow the puff pastry to defrost according to package instructions. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut and lay out puff pastry into squares and place equal amounts of chutney and crumbled goat cheese in the center. For large puffs, use approximately 2 teaspoons of filling per 3 inch square of puff pastry. For small puffs use approximately 1/2 teaspoon of filling per 2 inch square of puff pastry. Brush the edges of the square with water and fold over to create a triangle, pressing edges to seal. Place on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes or until brown. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

FOOD

CozmoDeck Restaurant Discounts-UPDATE

Cozmo Card is coming to San Francisco. It's a unique program that gives you "cards" that offer a discount of $15 at local restaurants when you spend a total of $40 between now and the end of the year. The cards can be used multiple times once.

Because the program is just launching here in the Bay Area, a San Francisco "deck" is available, first come first serve for the asking. In Los Angeles these decks cost $30, which still seems like a deal. From what I've heard, restaurants participating include Globe, Bacar, EOS and A16, about 50 restaurants all together.

Simply send an email with your name and address to customersupport@cozmocard.com and ask for a SF CozmoDeck. They have less than 200 left so get 'em while you can.

UPDATE:
The deck includes 47 cards. Some great restaurants are in the pack including Lime, Luna Park, Destino, Oola, Bacar, Koh Samui and the Monkey, Grand Cafe and a number of places I've been meaning to try including Levende Lounge, Tokyo Go Go and Cafe Kati. If you haven't signed up for this freebie I recommend you do it now!

FOOD

Ban Bottled Water

There's an old saying, "a good salesperson could sell snow to an Eskimo," which pretty much sums up my feeling about bottled water. To say we don't need bottled water would be an understatement. Most everyone in developed nations actually has water, good water, government tested, high quality, great tasting water. It comes right out of the tap. But companies are always looking for ways to make a buck.

Why is bottled water such a bad idea? You could complain about the price, which is often 3 times as much as what we pay for gasoline, and even more in restaurants, or you could consider the fact that sometimes bottled water (such as Aquafina) is just bottled tap water, but really the main problems are waste and pollution. Bottling and shipping water is a waste of energy and is a source of pollution. Some companies are trying to minimize their impact with carbon offsets. But that still doesn't change the fact that only a percentage of plastic water bottles are ever recycled and that the product is simply not necessary.

In the past chefs and restaurateurs have used their celebrity and promoted bottled water. I hope in the future more will take a leadership role in weaning people off this unnecessary and wasteful habit. Lots of restaurants are already serving filtered water instead of bottled, but it will take more celebrities like Alice Waters to make a ban on bottled water stick. It probably doesn't hurt that "water" is in her name!

Why did drinking water out of a bottle become a status symbol? I really don't know. But marketers caught on to the idea, and it seems like there is no end in sight. Here are some of the more outrageous bottled water products.

AquaMantra

"A tool to remind you of what you truly are?" A status craving environmental polluter!

Fiji water


A leader in carbon offsets, their product and bottles pollute the environment. All the while they sell consumers the image of "purity."

Skinny water


Seriously, water being marketed as 0 calories. All you need is 0 brains to buy it.

Aqua Deco

Water in what looks like a perfume bottle. Just what we don't need!

BlingH2o

The ultimate in conspicuous consumption. A whole brand created to be expensive, at $40 a bottle. "Fashioned to make a defining statement." And the statement is "we are shallow!"

Rikki Tikki Chihuahua

Quick post, fabulous story!

I doubt, however, that our chihuahuas would wake up from their endless siestas to do the same for us.

Gary Danko: Restaurant Review

Restaurant Gary Danko is quickly becoming San Francisco's top choice for celebrating special occasions. And so it was that I ate there twice last month--once for a birthday and once for an anniversary. The service is amazingly good and the attention to detail ensures that your meal will feel special. The environment is elegant but relaxed with contemporary art and dazzling floral arrangments throughout the dining rooms. On the downside the tables are so close together that when a glass broke at the table behind us, the glass landed right on me, and my chair...!

The format of the menu is somewhat unique. There are five courses to choose from, appetizers, fish and seafood, meat and game birds, a cheese course and desserts. You can choose three, four or five courses and mix and match them any way you like. For my first time dining there, I choose two appetizers a game course, cheese course and dessert. The second time I ate there I had an appetizer, a different game course and dessert. The portion sizes reflect the number of courses you choose such that even a three-course meal resulted in a doggie bag.

The menu offers lots of options, but the preparations are more classic than cutting edge. The ingredients highlight the seasons and the sauces are what steal the show. One of the signature dishes, the Glazed Oysters with Osetra Caviar and Salsify and Lettuce Cream is a perfect example of this. While the oysters and caviar are great, it's the creamy green herbaceous sauce that really elevates the dish. Danko also has a real talent for game. How often do you find squab, guinea hen, duck and quail all on the menu? I enjoyed both the Moroccan Spiced Squab with Chermoula as well as the Roasted Quail stuffed with Wild Mushrooms, Foie Gras with a Kumquat Cashew Relish. I also got a chance to try the duck and guinea hen and both were flawless.

The menu is eclectic but rooted in traditional French cuisine, with dishes such as the Pan Seared Beef Filet with Bacon, Leeks, Potato and Perigord Black Truffles. There are also some international ingredients such as garam masala, Thai red curry and even Israeli couscous that find their way into the menu.

As far as dessert goes, choose from a new styled peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the form of a Chocolate Peanut Butter Napoleon with Milk Ice Cream and Blueberry Gelee, lemon or chocolate souffles or a tangy and refreshing Rhubarb Soup with Frozen Vanilla Parfait, Candied Kumquats and a Lime Sherbet. Sweet endings also come in the form of some petit fours at the end of the meal, no matter how many courses you have ordered and a fresh baked muffin to take home, making sure you will still remember your meal the next day over breakfast.

Gary Danko
800 North Point @ Hyde
San Francisco
415.775.6190
Dinner nightly 5:30-10 pm

What are you doing this weekend? I'm pleased to say I will be down in Half Moon Bay at the Ritz-Carlton attending Inside the Kitchen events and classes and will be blogging about it all weekend long.

If you are going to be in San Francisco this weekend you may want to head over to my neighborhood and check out the Fall Harvest Festival at local gourmet retailer Cheese Plus. From noon until 6 pm Saturday and Sunday you'll be able to tastes the wares of local producers including Fra'Mani Salame,
Charles Chocolates, McQuade's Chutney, and Jimtown Store.

Also in the area are two of my favorite local wine shops, The Jug Shop, and William Cross Wine Merchants. Both are great places to find something special for under $15.

Wherever you are, and whatever you do, here's hoping your weekend is a tasty one!

FOOD