quote:Originally posted by WarToad
In boy scouts we went through numerous backcountry survival skill weekends and one lesson that came to prove usefull decades later was our troop leader showing us how to grind acorns into meal and use it as a flour to make pancakes. (Don't. Acorn pancakes suck.)
Using more savory nuts like peanuts, walnuts, cashews, macadamia nuts(YUM!), you can grind these to a meal/flour in a food processor and replace 1/4 the flour in your pancake recipe for a nutty twist.
I've never done this with hickory nuts, but I bet it'd be a fun weekend breakfast experiment.
Actually SOME acorns are good--but you have to LEACH them out first to get rid of the Tannin.
as for hickory nuts---try these
Wild Rice Hickory Nut Salad
1 cup Wild Rice
1 cup long-grain brown or white rice
3 Tbsp olive oil
6 Tbsp lemon juice
1½ tsp salt
6 scallions, minced
1 cup Hickory (you could use Black Walnuts with this recipe as well)
2 cups diced apples
2 cups Chickweed and other tender wild salad greens (or parsley)
1. Cook wild rice and brown or white rice in separate pans until done. (Note: Use 3-1/2 cups water to 1 cup dry wild rice; use 3 cups water to 1 cup brown or white rice)
2. Do not stir while cooking or cooling. Let cool completely before mixing salad to avoid rice becoming sticky or gummy.
3. Add all the above ingredients and mix thoroughly.
4. Chill and serve, or serve at room temperature.
This recipe can be adapted freely as long as you use the same amounts of olive oil, lemon juice and salt.
Maple Hickory Apple Crisp
This is the yummiest apple crisp recipe I’ve ever tried, after experimenting with apple crisps for many years, I’ve decided that this is the definitive recipe.
8 cups sliced apples (9 or 10 medium-sized apples)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp flour
½ cup water or apple juice
1. Peel, core and dice enough apples to make 8 cups.
2. Toss apples with lemon juice, cinnamon, and flour.
3. Place in a 9x13 baking pan and add the ½ cup water or apple juice.
Topping:
1 cup Hickory nuts (use chopped walnuts if you don’t have Hickorys)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 tsp cinnamon
¼ - ½ cup Maple Syrup
1. Chop oats coarsely in a food processor or blender
2. Add flour, sugar, cinnamon and nuts and whiz until mixed together thoroughly.
3. Add butter and mix until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. (Note: Filling may get seem too wet, resembling a paste—don’t get discouraged if this happens, just spread it as evenly as you can, it will be just fine!)
4. Spread topping evenly over the sliced apples.
5. Drizzle the maple syrup over the topping.
6. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes.
Hickory Pie
Since Hickory Nuts are so closely related to pecans, they make a fantastic wild version of pecan pie.
Pie crust:
1 cup white flour
1/3 cup butter or shortening
½ tsp salt
2-3 Tbsp cold water
Note: I like to make my pie crusts in a food processor. It’s quick and easy and makes a fine, flaky crust.
1. Put flour, butter and salt in a food processor.
2. Turn on medium to high, until it forms a coarse, crumbly mixture.
3. Add 1 Tbsp cold water at a time and blend until it forms into a lump. Be careful not to add too much water.
4. Roll out as for any pie crust.
Filling:
3 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup melted butter
Pinch of salt
1. Roll out your crust and line a 9-inch pie plate with it.
2. Beat brown sugar and eggs together until thick.
3. Stir in corn syrup, vanilla, butter and salt. Mix well.
4. Stir in Hickory Nuts.
5. Pour into prepared pie shell.
6. Bake at 325° for 50 minutes or until filling barely jiggles when shaken slightly.
7. Let pie cool thoroughly so that it can set before serving.
This pie is excellent when served with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream.
And Al---you can make Pecan Sandies--the cookie--with Hickory nuts and put them in with wild rice as a stuffing too.