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OK let's talk nuts, coconuts first!

How many of you here at SP love coconut?

What are some uses you have for it for, and have you ever heard of coconut flour?

A friend of mine at work spoke of coconut rice which I presume is rice cooked in coconut milk:confused:

Need your input on this one....................
 
LOVE me some coconut, Cathy!

My Coconut Favs are: Almond Joy candy bars, Coconut-Creme Pie, Coconut Layer-Cake, the Canadian Nanaimo Bar (which is kinda like a layered Almond Joy/Fudge Bar-Cookie), deep-fried coconut shrimp and chicken strips... YUM! And I very rarely drink but if I ever do have a sip of something other than a Bud-Light I enjoy Malibou Rum w/ OJ over ice.

I worked in Dutch Harbor, AK as the sous chef at an inn there for about a year. The company that owned the inn also owned fishing vessels and huge land seafood processing plants and at certain times of the year they had hundreds of employees. We were housed in beautiful, first-class dormitory-style buildings with a fantastic galley open 'round the clock for us to eat in. There were many Asians and Polynesians on the galley's kitchen staff (many of the seafood processors were also Asian and Polynesian) and often in the dessert cooler among the jell-o's they had what looked like plated squares of WHITE jell-o, right along side the lime, cherry and lemon jell-o's. It tasted like COCONUT, but no one could ever tell me what it was, or how it was made! It was delicious, though!

I am unfamiliar with coconut flour- sorry!
 
Yukky - allergic to it....................................

Let's talk about us instead - aren't we all nuts anyway???


LOL
 
:D I know I'm a nut, but I honestly thought it was just me:D Mama are you allergic to all nuts or just coconut? You poor thing, I would just be so sad if I could not have coconut.

There is a salad my Aunt makes that is nothing more than:

Mandarin Oranges 2 cans drained
Pineapple Chunks 1 LG. can drained
Flaked Coconut 3/4 cup
1 8 oz. sour cream
1 cup colored mini-marshmallows

Mix all together, let marinate over night and serve. This stuff is so delicious and goes over big with the kids (BIG OR LITTLE) really good!!!!
 
Yes...Mama...we are all or at least some us are Nuts !

I like Coconut ok...nothing special .....Hubby hates it.
 
Friend Wife loves coconut. Me, I can take it or leave it.

But I did make Kevin's coconut shrimp shortly after he posted the recipe. Did it as a starter, and next time it will be a main course. It's really good.
 
Coconut - bad, bad, bad - all other nuts - just love 'em! Even all the nuts here! LOL

In all honesty - I love all kinds of nuts, plain, salted, in baking, in cooking - not fussy at all!
 
My nephew can't stand nuts. Whenever I take a cake , cookies or brownies over- he always double-checks with me by asking: "Uncle Kevin- you didn't put any "bones" in this, right?" Hee-Hee! L'il devil! I don't know when he started calling nuts "bones" but I have to say- I clearly understand his connection!

(Also, we hear lots about peanut allergies these days, but from my professional cooking days, I seem to recall running into more folks who had walnut allergies, than peanut.)
 
Gosh Kev it looks like it's you & me and KYH's Friend Wife against the world
:(on this coconut thang!!! I was licking my chomps thinking someone would post a really great Coconut Macroon recipe, and some Chocolate Coated Coconut balls, and well that just fell like a damp, sour, dirty old kitchen rag straight into the garbage can:eek:

Well excuse me all you other coconut "take it or leave it", "hate the stuff", am "allergic to the stuff "out & out coconut haters, but I really must tell you "Mas por mi'" hee-hee that's spanish for MORE FOR ME!!! :D

Here's are a few of my favorite coconut dishes Coconut Cake and Coconut Cream pie, and yes KYH the Coconut Fried Shrimp are excellent!!! I make a "Tres Leches" cake with coconut milk that is to die for!!! "Tres Leches" is spanish for three milks. Have you ever had that Kev? I believe you would love it! I wonder if Arturo ever made you one?

Anyhow I am certain that the next nut we talk about - No it's not MamaM! Gosh can ya' all please behave..........I meant cashews;)

Let's see how many "SP" foodies like cashews and have some terrific uses for them!!!! Come on guys let's have fun..... and see how cashews have brightened up your life...........
 
Sista Cathy ! We Nuts are de buenas maneras...or something like that ! lol...And yo Amor Cashews !
I have a small addiction to em ! But I only like em straight outta the can.
 
Aye, mi amiga Franice hablan espanol!!! Mui Bien!!! Yo hablan poquito espanol:(

Cashews.... I love them straight out of the can as well, only there have got to be some other ways to enjoy them as much...that is my quest to find other ways to enjoy them immensely! Like cashew brittle, or instead of using spanish p-nuts for beer nuts why not try cashews instead? I have a beer nut recipe (just in case anyone is interested). And using them for cashew chicken is nice and tasty, but can we not discover some more dishes for them???? Something out of the ordinary and totally off the wall?
 
CASHEWS??? omg - ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM -

How about Cashew Bark?? Melt your chocolate and pour over cashews and enjoy.

And I love cashews as a topping on ice cream!


Cashew Chicken

1 pound boneless chicken -- cut into 1-inch strips
3/4 cup orange juice
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 green onions -- cut-up
3 large carrots -- cleaned and sliced
2 celery stalks -- sliced
1 cup cashews
Hot cooked rice

Combine juice, soy sauce, honey, cornstarch and seasonings.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil until it begins to smoke. Stir-fry vegetables for several minutes until the onions become fragrant. Set aside.

Remove from skillet, heat another tablespoon of oil until smoking and stir-fry chicken strips until browned and tender.

Add cooked vegetables, cashews and sauce mix. Continue cooking until sauce bubbles and thickens. Serve over hot rice.

Makes 4-6 servings



Cashew Chicken with Mandarin Orange Sauce

1 cup milk
4 Tbsp. water
4 eggs, well beaten
6 large chicken breasts, diced
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. orange honey
2 cups of flour
Peanut oil for frying
2 small cans Mandarin Oranges
1/4 cup stir fry sauce
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/3 cup cashews
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup green onion chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Marinate chicken in milk, water, eggs, and salt for 20 minutes.

In a saucepan, slowly combine cornstarch and broth to make a paste. Add oyster sauce and honey. Stir over medium high heat until sauce boils and begins to thicken. Add two reserved tablespoons of syrup from canned oranges. Set aside.

Dredge chicken in flour and fry in oil until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a skillet and saute cashews, garlic, and onion until fragrant. Add chicken and stir fry sauce. Add in the chicken broth mixture. Stir to coat all ingredients and remove from heat. Add oranges and serve with rice.



Cashew and Date Cookies


1 white cake mix (2 layer)
1/2 c. oil
2 eggs
1/4 c. baked brown sugar
1 cup chopped dates
1/2 c. chopped cashews

Preheat oven to 350.

Place cake mix, oil, eggs and brown sugar in large mixing bowl. Mix well with electric mixer. Add remaining ingredients. Blend by hand. Finish mixing with an electric mixer until thoroughly mixed.

Drop dough by heaping teaspoons 2" apart onto sprayed baking sheets.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes. Cool 3 minutes on baking sheet and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.


Cashew Peanut Butter Bars
(Makes 36 bars)

1 cup unsifted flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup cold margarine or butter
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter or 1 cup peanut butter flavoured chips
1 (3 oz) can chow mein noodles
1 cup coarsely chopped cashews or peanuts


Preheat oven to 350 F.

In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda; cut in margarine and 1 tsp vanilla until crumbly. Press firmly on bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Top evenly with marshmallows; bake 2 minutes longer or until marshmallows begin to puff. Remove from oven; cool.

Meanwhile, in heavy saucepan, over medium heat, combine sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter (or PB chips); cook and stir until slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in noodles, nuts and remaining 2 tsp vanilla. Spread evenly over marshmallows. Cool.

Chill. Cut into bars. Store loosely covered at room temperature.
 
Has any one ever heard of the Island cookie? It's a chocolate chip cookie with coconut. They are really good cookies! I don't usually make them a lot because some people do not like coconut. I Love coconut. IF you want the recipe I will post it later. It will be under sauces. Just kidding lol. Cookie :)
 
Posted in the "sauces" section... Spoken like a true smart-azz, cookie! Ha!

Your island cookies sound great! I make a similar cookie dough that also has macadamia nuts and chopped candied pineapple in it along with the coconut and chocolate chips.

Cashews are also great toasted, chopped and mixed with a little flour and used to coat fish fillets such as catfish or sole for pan-frying. YUM!
 
As mentioned a bit in an above post- try zapping toasted cashews, toasted macadamias, or smokehouse almonds in the Cuisinart until they are coarse, then mix w/ just a wee bit of seasoned flour.

Dip a raw fish fillet, or a raw boneless chicken breast (whole, half or tenders) into seasoned flour, then egg-wash, then press into chopped nuts/seasoned flour mixture, and saute in hot oil- or in some cases, baking works well too.

These nuts add a wonderful crunchy crust to foods, and a huge dimension of flavor!
 
Not just fish and chicken, Kevin. Nuts can be used as the final coating for anything that's going to be breaded and fried or baked. Shrimp, for instance. Or veal roulades.

Ya have to be careful with chopping nuts in the food processor. Work with the pulse button in short bursts. Overdue it and you wind up with a paste, because the meats grind too small and combine with the natural oils. Really overdue it and you have nut butter.

In addition to a little flour (which serves more to keep the nuts from clumping) I sometimes mix the ground nuts with grated Parmesan. This adds an additional flavor layer. Plus the cheese melts as soon as it hits the oil, forming a great crust. The fish or whatever then cooks through without drying out or turning greasy.
 
:D Terrific ideas everyone! I love the recipe Mama gave for the cashew and date cookies, and bu the way cookie I make those chocolate chip cookies with coconut that you make, great tasing cookies:p I want to try KYH and Kevin's chopped cashews on some fish or heck maybe even chicken, oh my that really sounds delicious, thanks for so many ideas!

Now in honor of Janie's pistasio love let's play around with some ideas for pistachio's!!!
 
Actually, Cathy, I like pistachios as a breading ingredient even more than cashews.

I'd posted, somewhere at SpicePlace, a great recipe for a pistachio/cranberry biscotti. I'm sure it's available with a search.

Pistachios are very popular in many Mediterranean cusines. The best are grown in Sicily, where they are larger and sweeter than the Turkish type we are used to (which, btw, are grown in California). I wish I could find an American dealer.

Although we tend to think of them as used more for sweets, they're in integral part of savory dishes as well, and are often found in pates and terrines.

Persia and Turkey both have long histories of using pistachios, in both sweet and savory dishes. So you find them used, too, in all the cuisines heavily influenced by those two. Because the Turkish influence didn't stretch that far is one reason that almonds play a greater role in Morrocan cookery than pistachios.

I will post some recipes. But I need to work off-line to do so.
 
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