Whether you like to toss them on a salad or directly into your mouth, this is the official day to enjoy these little gems. According to the American Pistachio Growers Association, pistachios are compatible with everything from honey and chocolate (dark, milk, or white) to oranges, lemons, and dried fruits like raisins, dates, and apricots. Spices that work well with pistachios include saffron, cardamon, cloves, sea salt, and pink peppercorns.
CREAMY CARROT SOUP
Being winter, I thought a warm soup might be fun. While roasted sunflower seeds or pepitas work beautifully with this soup, I think it best on January 26, National Pistachio Day, to use pistachios!
4 T butter
1 ½ lb peeled, thinly sliced orange carrots
1 lg sweet onion, finely chopped (about 2 c)
2 T chopped green onions (green parts only)
¼ tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
½ tsp sea salt
2 c chicken stock or bone broth
1 c water
1 T grated ginger
1 T orange zest
½ c crushed, salted pistachios (or roasted pepitas or sunflower seeds)
Optional garnishes: chopped cilantro, finely sliced green chives, crushed salted pistachios
Melt butter in large soup pot over medium heat; cook carrots, onion, and green onion for 6-8 minutes, stirring a few times. Add 5-spice powder, salt, stock, water, ginger, and zest. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer another 15-20 minutes. Pour into a blender; process till smooth and creamy. Stir in pistachios and serve, garnished as you prefer. Makes 6 servings.
KISS Tip: For an extra pistachio boost, swirl in a little Pistachio Cream before garnishing. Make Pistachio Cream by placing 1 c salted pistachios, 2 T olive oil, and ¾ – 1 c water (depending on your preferred consistency) in a food processor; blend till smooth.
In a salute to National Peanut Butter Day, let’s simply eat some straight out of the jar! I go for Super Chunk, personally. You should enjoy whatever version is your favorite… from homemade, all-natural to creamy extreme. Have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich… or pop some peanut butter between 2 Ritz crackers or a couple of pretzel flats… or melt it down and drizzle peanut butter over ice cream… or make a splendid Asian peanut sauce to toss with some rice noodles, veggies, and a fave protein.
“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.” 
I love popcorn. Favorite memories seem to often go hand-in-hand with popcorn. I remember sitting at the bonfires on Lake Newfound as a kid, as my Dad popped corn in a big, square, metal pan. We popped corn for every skating party and movie night. I still pop corn several times a week, and I have been known to enjoy it for breakfast, too.
Bagels are boiled for 30-60 seconds before they are baked to “set” the crust before they hit the oven. Boiling water gels the starch on the outside of the bread. The length of time they boil impacts the thickness of the crust and the interior “chew.”
KISS Tips: I add a bit of water to the cup in which I beat the eggs to create an egg wash, which I use to brush on the bagels before sprinkling on the topping. For great variations sprinkle the tops with dry onion soup mix or Everything Bagel seasoning.
This appetizer classic was first created to simply fill in for the snails that were highly heralded in New Orleans’ French Quarter in the late 1800s, at a time when a snail shortage was plaguing the restaurants. Jules Alciatore, son of Antoine’s founder, Antoine Alciatore, developed an alternative recipe in 1889, using snails, to fill in the gap. He named the dish Oysters Rockefeller for the rich green sauce that reminded him of the millionaire J.D. Rockefeller.
On National Apricot Day we celebrate the little stone fruit we call the apricot, which is also known as the Armenian plum. Apricots have long been hailed for medicinal purposes for everything from asthma to infertility. They are high in antioxidants and potassium. Better still, apricots are very hydrating and low in calories. Yup, 2 whole apricots (or 4 halves) either fresh or dried contain just 34 calories. Further, they may help eye, skin, and gut health, and even our livers. With their low-calorie and high fiber content, they even boost metabolism.
Hard or chewy, this candy is made by caramelizing sugar. It all starts with 1 cup each of true butter & sugar (brown or white or combo), ¼ c water, and ½ tsp salt. If you are a candy maker, you know how to get it to the hard-crack (300°F) stage. If not, you do not need to start with English toffee. Simply buy a piece… or a box. If you’re lucky you can find a bakery or candy shop that still makes it fresh.
Our “food mood” is determined by more than just flavors. Texture also plays an important role. When light and crispy, but not greasy tug at your heartstrings, tempura is perfect! Japanese chefs spend many years perfecting their tempura technique, but we can create a very good home rendition, too.
Serve it on a fave food, whip it into any sauce you like, or simply go ahead and indulge straight out of a can. No one is judging.
I recall hearing as a child the ol’ commercial that Wednesday is “Prince Spaghetti Day.” I guess it’s appropriate that National Spaghetti Day falls on a Wednesday this year.
KISS Tip: You can fancify this by serving it in two medium bread rounds (or 4 smaller ones for appetizer portions). Cut a thin slice off the top of each & pull out the bread to hollow them out. Then warm them in the oven with a nice sprinkling of shredded or grated Parmesan covering the bottom of the inside of each “bowl.” And you can always use just clams or just shrimp. Not into seafood? Simply replace all seafood with meatballs and/or browned ground beef.
Our hosts and friends, Jason Noffsinger & Angie Moss went out of their way to be sure that the full house crowd had a superb time as we hailed our hearty farewells to 2022! Oh, and thanks to Courtney Moss for keeping things perfect at our table! (I know we kept you hopping.)
And, as is appropriate for a devoted foodie… I enjoyed one final slice of a devilishly decadent, deliciously dense & moist, multi-layer chocolate cake. Someone said, “Calories we eat on New Year’s Eve don’t count!” Okay, okay… I don’t know that somebody actually said that, but I’m going with it anyway.
Once upon a time it was decreed that to be called “champagne” a sparkling white wine had to come from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France. Everything else was simply sparkling wine. Really? Well, that was before the mid-19th Century blight that wiped out so many of the vineyards in France that they had to be reconstituted using vine stock from California and other places in the U.S.
So, whether you like French champagne, or tend to drink bubbly known as espumante, cava, afrodi, or prosecco, enjoy your bubbly today! It is New Year’s Eve, after all. Make your tastebuds happy and ignore any wine snob who does not appreciate your options.
No shockeroo here… I like bacon. It’s tough to think of foods that are not improved by the smoky, salty, sinful sensuousness of freshly fried bacon!
This day celebrates a fluffy German spice cookie that’s filled with ground nuts and spices and then covered in confectioners’ sugar. The word “pfeffernusse” translates as “pepper nut.”
I love shrimp… chilled with cocktail sauce, stir-fried with veggies, baked and stuffed with crabmeat and buttery Ritz cracker crumbles, grilled with anything, and fried in a variety of manners… including coconut shrimp.
Because I prefer a light, barely-there batter to a big, heavy, grease-laden batter, tempura style is a particular favorite method of frying. And it can be served with any sauce you like!
For many years, baking delightfully decadent, colorful cookie assortments as holiday gifts was a treasured annual tradition. I especially loved the planning of each year’s recipes.
Cathy’s Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies