DINNER BELL : Nostalgia in a nutshell a treasure worth cherishing
Posted on Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Irene Wassell is taking the day off. This Dinner Bell column was previously published Oct. 1, 1997.
“Where’d you get those freckles ?” I heard that question a thousand times as a kid.
“You look like you stood in front of a cow and she blew bran in your face,” an uncle would tease.
When that uncle moved to California to seek his fortune, he left with this promise: “If you get rid of those freckles, I’ll send you a bushel of English walnuts.” English walnuts, in those days, were a special Christmastime treat — a bushel in a child’s mind was impossible to imagine.
Unfortunately, the freckles remained, the uncle returned to find that his fortune was in Arkansas and the dream of an English-walnut treasure vanished.
The memory of his promise, serious only in my 6-year-old dreams, flashed to mind recently at the uncle’s funeral. I’ve eaten at least a bushel of English walnuts since then, and even lived in California for a few years, where I bought them at roadside stands, but never by the bushel. I have used them in endless ways — desserts, salads, main dishes. Some of my favorite ways to eat them are sugared, and sometimes sugared and spiced, and in chicken salad.
My freckles vanished (well, almost ) with the years, and I failed to collect on his promise. But every time I see an English walnut, I think of him and his gentle ways, and the joy of anticipation he unknowingly planted in my childish mind. That more than settles the debt.
This recipe for chicken salad uses not only walnuts, but another flavor favorite — tarragon. You need to be sparing with this earthy flavor, for it can be overpowering.
Toasting the walnuts enhances the flavor and is worth the extra effort. It really isn’t that much trouble and it doesn’t take long. An iron skillet works well. Usually, nuts are toasted at a low temperature for several minutes, and that works fine, but, in a hurry recently, I heated the oven to 450 degrees and toasted them for... uh... too long. I really don’t know how long I heated them, because, I confess, I forgot to set the timer and they burned. Luckily, I caught them just before they blazed, and the smoke alarm didn’t go off. The closely watched second batch took less than 5 minutes. It turned out perfectly.
Spicy, Sugared Walnuts 1 1 / 2 cups granulated sugar 1 / 4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (see note ) 1 / 2 cup water OR sherry 1 / 2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 / 8 teaspoon ground red pepper, optional 2 tablespoons butter 3 cups English walnut halves OR other nuts of choice, toasted In a heavy, medium saucepan, combine sugar, salt, vanilla, water (or sherry, if using ), cinnamon and ground red pepper, if using. Bring to a boil and continue boiling until a candy thermometer reaches 236 degrees. Remove from heat, add butter and walnuts and stir until sugar mixture loses its shine. Spread on wax paper. Separate walnut halves that cling together. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 4 cups. Note: If using sherry, omit the vanilla. Chicken Salad With Walnuts and Tarragon 1 to 1 1 / 2 cups cooked, cubed chicken 2 to 3 sweet pickles, chopped, about 1 / 2 cup 1 / 2 cup chopped celery 1 / 3 cup mayonnaise, or to taste 1 teaspoon fresh tarragon OR 1 / 2 teaspoon dried 1 / 2 cup toasted walnuts (more if desired ) Salt and ground black pepper, to taste In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken, pickles and celery. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and tarragon. Let sit for a few minutes for flavor of tarragon to mingle with the mayonnaise. Stir into chicken mixture. Add walnuts and salt and pepper to taste. Keep refrigerated. Makes about 2 1 / 2 cups.
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