Another weekly haul from my CSA – another recipe to go with it. In case you forgot, CSA is a Community Supported Agriculture group that comes together to purchase fresh farm produce and products from local farms. The CSA I belong to gets its items from Crooked Sky Farms and this week, one of the items in my basket was a bag of fresh wheat berries.

What is a wheat berry? A wheat berry is the entire wheat kernel, minus the hull, composed of the bran, germ, and endosperm. Wheat berries have a tan to reddish color. They are often added to salads or baked into bread to add a crunchy texture. When wheat berries are milled, whole-wheat flour is what you end up with.

Have you had wheat berries before? Have you cooked with them? I’d previously eaten wheat berries but I hadn’t used them in my kitchen yet. Now I have, with delicious results. Enjoy!

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Often the simplest, purest, and easiest things are the best. That is the case with this perfect appetizer. It is reminiscent of THIS appetizer that I posted, strangely enough, exactly 1 year ago today. Only thing is, this is about 10 times quicker and like I say, simple and pure.

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Once you taste these unique candied pecans, you’ll be making them over and over again. And although you will be tempted to make a double or triple batch, it is best to make 1 cup at a time. Immediately as they are coming out of the oven, you need to get them onto a sheet of foil and separate them carefully and quickly, or you’ll have one big ball of pecans that will have to be chopped to get apart. Yes, they would still taste delish, but they don’t look so nice when they aren’t individual pecan halves. So avoid that temptation, because unless you’re a Tanzanian Devil, you just can’t move that fast!

Once again you are getting two recipes for the price of one! When you remove the pecans from the oven, there will be small pools of caramel left on the foil. They will harden and dry quickly. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel them off the foil and save. You can use them to make a fabulous vinaigrette, which you can use for a wonderful salad, with or without the pecans.

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Usually, I’m all about the candied pecans, but sometimes it’s nice to have the more natural flavor of the pecan come through. There is no better way to achieve that than to toast or roast them… and that is true for all nuts. Because when heated, the natural oils come to the front and the flavor just pops! Not only are we roasting the pecans, but also tossing them with a little butter and salt. And we’re doing the same thing to fresh dates. Because of a date’s natural sugar, the added butter and salt enhance the sweetness and it becomes its own little candy morsel!

The idea for this recipe came from my dear friend and colleague, Kim Howard. Kim told me about a pecan and date salad with a late harvest vinaigrette that she had at a restaurant. It just sounded too wonderful to not try and duplicate at home, so here goes…Kim, let me know what you think. I can tell you that my plumber, Larry of Lawrence Plumbing, loved it! He happened to arrive soon after I took the photo and right after Connor turned it down for his lunch… he wanted bagel bites… College boys, what the heck!?! But Larry was more than appreciative and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate him… if you ever need a plumber, let me know, because he is the best, promise!

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Isn’t it strange how sometimes you go out for dinner and you are drawn to order the same thing at one restaurant and then another?  Recently, that item for me has been candied pecans. I use candied pecans often at home as well, but there is always something a little different about the ones I get while eating out. I finally asked a chef friend, what the difference was. He informed me that restaurants often first candy the nuts and then fry them. That makes sense since I often wondered how their pecans were so much more “toasted” than mine. If you would rather not fry the nuts, just go to this previous post for candied almonds, and substitute pecans for the almonds.

You may be able to find balsamic glaze at the grocery store, I know that Trader Joe’s carried it at one time, not sure if they still do, but it is easy to make at home and easy to store extra for use again later.  I served this salad to three men last night, and in their honor, since they are “manly men”, this is now referred to as a “manly man” salad!
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My friend and co-worker, Kim Howard, makes the very best toffee every Christmas. I was a lucky recipient of a tin of her toffee this year – but after days of picking away at it, it’s all gone. I was at her beautiful home yesterday and saw 4 new pans of the detectible toffee sitting on her counter, ready to be cut and packaged for her other happy friends and family – darn, why did I eat all of mine already?!  There is an upside though, it reminded me of the recipe for these wonderful toffee scones and I just knew I had to share them with you!  Kim, “The Toffee Queen” would want me to!

Barbara Pool Fenzl and Kim Howard at our amazing spa trip at Rancho LaPuerta in 2008

If you don’t have the good fortune to be in line for a tin of Kim’s toffee, or if you have sadly already eaten your share – Trader Joe’s sells a couple of great options. The type of theirs I like the best is not only chocolate-covered but also covered in nuts. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s in your area (I am truly sorry and feel your heartache), Heath bars work perfectly well for these scones.

The only liquid in the scones is cream, whipped to stiff peaks. The way to find out if the whipping cream has stiff peaks and is ready; while beating, once the cream begins to look fluffy, remove the whisk attachment from the mixer, dip it into the whipped cream (or egg whites, when whipping them for a recipe) pull out the whisk and turn it upright. If the peak flops over, you have soft peaks.

Return whisk to machine and continue to beat. If the peak stands straight up, you have stiff peaks and are ready to fold the whipped cream into the dry mixture.

Another fantastic thing about these scones – is they qualify as “easy-breezy”!
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I made these easy and pretty grapes for the first time about 15 years ago for a holiday open house. They are a perennial favorite. The cheese and nut-coated grapes make such a stunning presentation when placed on a pedestal with fresh grapes and leaves and are perfect to set on a bar at a party.

Since there are only 4 ingredients this recipe certainly qualifies for my “easy-breezy” category and if you have kids around, they will love helping make them. If you are putting them together alone, use one hand to roll or lightly coat the grapes with the cheese mixture and keep the other hand clean to roll the cheese-coated grapes in the nuts and place them on a plate, otherwise, you’ll end up with a gooey mess.
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Today is my gorgeous girlfriend, Jen’s, birthday. I cannot begin to express how much I love this amazing woman; she is my rock, my soul-mate sister, my “on-demand” comedian, and my friend.  She can make me laugh like nobody’s business! She is there through thick and thin and is a loving friend, mother, wife, sister, aunt, and daughter. Whenever I have something to share, complain about, need help, advice, or just want to chat, Jen is the first person I call.

The one really awful thing about Jennifer? She lives 1,400 miles from me (as the crow flies). Happy birthday, Jenny Jen, I forgive you for that one awful thing and love you unconditionally!

For the rest of the week, I will highlight and share recipes from Jen, who is coincidentally, a great cook, or recipes of mine that are favorites of hers. Today’s recipe is a fun and quite a rich appetizer pizza that is perfect for upcoming holiday parties.

My girl, Jen

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