almonds and mandolins

[brunello97]

Hopefully this idea will reach beyond the likes of Bill K --and probably Jamie--

I've been musing on the links from the mandolin back to the almond/mandorla courtesy an exceptional bag of almonds which we picked up from the bulk food section of Krogers of all places. A surprisingly flavorful rash of nuts which we are enjoying tonight with some (homemade) chardonnay and early apples.

I first got turned on to latte de mandorla in Verona, where we had gone to see the opera in the old Roman amphitheater there.

http://blog.italian-connection.com/l...andorla-sicily

We've been making it at home since.

So, I'm soliciting y'all's favorite almond based recipes and other delights (marzipan absolutely included.) Bring them on…

Mick

BTW here's the 'porta della mandorla' on the north side of Santa Maria del Fiore in Firenze.

[yankees1]

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[Bill Baldridge]

I use a BC pick.

[journeybear]

Oh now - just 'cause it's (apparently) a slow news day in Wolverine country, no need to tweak Brother Brunello!

I don't really have much in the way of almond recipes. I do enjoy mixed nuts - these days my mixture seems to be almonds, cashews, and pecans - and I definitely prefer Almond Joy over Mounds - I always feel like a nut (take that anyway you wish) - and I will occasionally throw some in near the end of a stir fry. Other than that, here is something you might try, come Passover time:

Charoses

Grind equal parts (by weight) in a hand grinder:
raw almonds, raw walnuts, dried dates, dried calmyrna figs
Chop finely same amount (of total of above):
Empire apples
Mix together with enough semi-sweet Kosher wine to make a thick paste. Typically, about one bottle per four pounds of mixture.

Spread on matzoh; serve with horseradish, if desired.

Note: The dried fruits gum up the grinder, but the nuts move things along, so alternate. This helps make the final product well-blended, too. And semi-sweet wine is key - the sweet type makes it too sweet - Carmel Sacramental if you can find it, as it already has a figgy flavor.

[JEStanek]

We're big fans of the almond here. We use them roasted in slivers (or shaved) on green beans, in cookies, in pound cake, in Amaretto Sours, Amaretto in heavy cream whipped to stiff peaks and dolloped onto fresh fruit tarts. I crack them and enjoy them plain (the cracking is an important part of the ritual) with bourbon and ginger ale on Thanksgiving afternoon and all through advent (an old family tradition). My wife has used them crushed into the crusts for cheesecakes.

We have friends with dairy allergies so we get the Silk Almond milk and have it when they visit and then use it on breakfast cereals (I bet it would make for great oatmeal with fresh blueberries). For mandolin content, often while enjoying almonds (in various formats between Thanksgiving and New Years) I'll be listening to the Modern Mandolin Quartet's Nutcracker Suite or Grisman's Christmas Album, or playing carols on my own.

Now I'm all hungry... that's the second time today I have posted about foods... The first was about figs and a wonderful fig reduction sauce my wife makes for a pork tenderloin. Sorry... I gotta go get a snack.

Jamie

[multidon]

I always found it interesting that, supposedly, the name of our instrument is derived from the Italian for "almond". So supposedly "mandolin" means "almond shaped". The thing that is really interesting is that the vast majority of those made today are not almond shaped at all. I understand there is some controversy about this and those who dispute that particular derivation. Still, a charming story if true. What I really don't get at all is how the slicing device "mandoline" got named. They don't look like an almond, or a musical instrument at all!

As for recipes, we have a nephew who is allergic to nuts and visits often so we can't keep them in the house. I do remember being addicted to Blue Diamond "Smokehouse" almonds while in college! Bet you can't eat just one!

[brunello97]

Ah. Crezcamos que menear. This is a good start.

JB: apples, almonds…okay I'm there. Add sweet wine and horseradish? Eat on a cracker. Wow. I'm ready for that. Sounds like a Jewish version of panforte. Yum.

Jamie (I knew you'd be in): can you PM/link me the fig recipe? We've been working on porchetta variations this summer. This sounds fantastic.

Don: Smoked nuts are awesome. My brother in Austin has been doing them for some time now. I'm ready to lower shelf them with a brisket this weekend. Great idea!

Mick

[Miked]

I like to buy 'em raw, eat them plain, use them in salads, roast 'em and have them on fish, lamb or whatever. I have a recipe for a middle eastern dish, roasted lamb with honey and almonds that is outstanding! Around the holidays we'll make chocolate almond toffee which is pretty darn close to Enstrom's.

How about "The City" by The Mark-Almond Band? Tasty jams!

[OldSausage]

I was thinking of another Marc Almond the other day

[Beanzy]

Not really a recipe but I scatter sliced almonds on the top of the range until they're slightly scorched (lovely smell too) then just eat them like that. I sometimes get some of those and eat them with a strong cheddar cheese, then both tastes combine in the most amazing manner.

.......then I run out of excuses and go and practice my music.

[brunello97]

How about "The City" by The Mark-Almond Band? Tasty jams!

Ha! Thanks for that, a good memory jog. We used to play some eclectic arrangements of this quite some time ago: guitar, violin, flute, percussion and myself when I was transitioning my fascination from electric bass to (electric) mandolin. Four strings has been about all I can properly manage. A great tune.

Mick

[shortymack]

[pjlama]

We had sliced almonds on baked Brie tonight, I like the wasabi almonds from Trader Joes, I make an arugula salad with Italian melon red onion,shaved Parmesan almonds and truffle oil, almond crusted salmon, almond butter and fresh honey sandwiches, almond milk blueberry and kale smoothies, we eat almonds way too much come to think of it. Apparently brazil nuts lower a mans risk for prostate cancer. I like almonds but already brushed my teeth for bed.

[journeybear]

1) I should have mentioned, the charoses/matzoh/horseradish deal is part of the Seder service, rather symbolic - charoses (however sweet) symbolizes the mortar used to hold the stones of the pyramids together, horseradish symbolizes the bitterness of the suffering of the Israelites, matzoh - well, listen, enough of this. Horseradish does make an interesting contrast, gastronomically, but its an acquired taste, and really unnecessary.

2) Mark-Almond and Marc Almond - not the same. Jon Mark and Johnny Almond (or is it the other way around) were an offshoot of the band playing with John Mayall during the ''The Turning Point'' and ''USA Union era.'' Personally, I was always nuts about The Almond Brothers Band, especially Duane. What an amazing guitarist!

3) Search for threads about the origin of the names ''mandolin'' and ''mandola,'' and how they relate to ''almond/mandorla.'' I believe several posters made compelling arguments to show the connection is pretty iffy. I recall also my long-held belief that the name came from the merging of ''violin'' and ''man-'' or ''mand-,'' whatever the combining form for ''hand'' is in Italian, was discredited. That's what I was told long, long ago. Apparently the prevailing school of thought is the name derived from the instrument it evolved from, the mandore. But the instrument did resemble an almond in shape, originally.

4) All the same, here is a true convergence of the almond and mandolin:

[Ivan Kelsall]

I love Almonds & nuts (the shelled sort !) of all kinds. I also love home made soups. One of my favourites is 'Carrott & Almond soup',made with ground Almonds. Find a good recipe & give it a try. I also love the 'Blue Diamond' smoked Almonds when i can find them over here.Too many 'smoked' items in the UK are 'smoke flavour',not actually smoked for real.The Blue Diamond nuts are the real deal,
Ivan

[JEStanek]

Back in the late 70s and 80s those Blue Diamond Smoked Almonds were a standard Christmas present to my dad. I was lucky to get a few from his tin each year so I have strong feelings about them.

I asked my wife about her fig sauce recipe for the pork tenderloin and where she got it.... like many things she does she just whipped it up on the spot. She used a fig jam, diced figs and some Riesling and simmered it down to a nice sauce. I would imagine this recipe is good, too, and similarly flavored.

I like almonds in my chocolate chip cookies and think they are a fantastic addition to an oatmeal and toffee bit cookie. The toffee bits help keep the cookies a bit more chewy.

Jamie

[Timmando]

I just put 3 almonds into the f-hole. I think my mando sounds better now! And I can get a kind of an off-beat/on beat rhythm when I chop and shake...

[Randi Gormley]

We only use walnuts for the Charoset, but I have a nice passover mandel bread recipe (sort of the kosher version of biscotti) that uses sliced almonds and crushed almonds for flavor and texture. If you're interested, I can dig it out. I recall that it's a bit dry, but since I'm not a big nut OR biscotti fan, I'm the wrong person to ask. It came from a lady who used to own a restaurant and was a superior caterer (her cheese cake and kugel recipes are legendary).

[Elliot Luber]

"Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don't." I slice them and toast them dry in a frying pan, then sprinkle them liberally on salads, cooked vegetables and breakfast cerials.

[journeybear]

My charoses recipe is the result of wanting something better than what my grandmother used to make, which was rather like applesauce with some raisins and walnuts mixed in. I imagined what ingredients would be available to people living in the Fertile Crescent, tried a pound cake sort of approach (equal portions of ingredients), and the first attempt was so delicious I haven't found any need or wish to adjust it. Finding the Carmel Sacramental wine was a fluke, something I discovered while searching for something better than the usual too-sweet stuff, and since it blended perfectly I've stuck with it too. I probably used Empire apples because I had recently discovered them, and they have a firm crisp texture, which holds up in the mixture, and a little wine-y taste as well. All in all, it's a very happy accident, and since I am so happy with it I haven't experimented further. Naturally, any adjustments for personal tastes are encouraged. I do believe that the hand grinding is essential for the sake of the texture, though I suppose people more adept with food processors than I may have success in this application. I like doing it by hand anyway; it makes me feel more involved or old school or something. Same with the chopping of the apples, more of a mincing, actually. The idea is to avoid making it too mushy. And I love the simplicity of the recipe - brevity is the soul of it.

And smokehouse almonds - I remember when you could only get them on airplanes, for years, and when they were finally made available to everyone it was kind of a big deal, in the nut world. I'm not sure how natural their flavoring is, but sure don't care. Yum!

[JeffD]

I just put 3 almonds into the f-hole. I think my mando sounds better now! And I can get a kind of an off-beat/on beat rhythm when I chop and shake...

In there with the rattlesnake rattle.

[Elliot Luber]

I only buy them at The Almond Store, Elderly Almonds or Almond Brothers on Staten Island.

[journeybear]

I just put 3 almonds into the f-hole. I think my mando sounds better now!

You might have better results if they are attached like a Virzi. Like a Virzi made of almond wood. That's the ticket - yeah!

BTW, finding that Almond Joy vid clip was a little tricky. Using as my search parameters ''almond joy commercial mandolin,'' google asked me if I meant ''almond joy commercial mandoline.'' No, I did not, you sumbitch! But as I realized, whoever posted the video had no idea that a mandolin was being played, so it really wasn't google's fault. This time.

[brunello97]

I love Almonds & nuts (the shelled sort !) of all kinds. I also love home made soups. One of my favourites is 'Carrott & Almond soup',made with ground Almonds. Find a good recipe & give it a try. I also love the 'Blue Diamond' smoked Almonds when i can find them over here.Too many 'smoked' items in the UK are 'smoke flavour',not actually smoked for real.The Blue Diamond nuts are the real deal,
Ivan

This sounds delicious, Ivan, thanks. I will give it a try. I love carrots in just about any format and carrot soup in particular.

Mick

[Mandolin Mick]

I like my almonds best if they've opened up ...