i've got a bag full of hazelnuts and i'd like to try flavoring them (i.e. barbecue, cajun, ranch, etc.) like you find in gourmet food shops. does anyone have recipes?

-- kristen (kbhansen@msn.com), October 27, 2000

Answers

Can't remember the last time I even set foot in a gourmet food shop. Nor have I ever heard of flavored hazelnuts. But I do know that other nuts can be prepared with sweet or savory coatings on them. I'd check your cookbooks, and those at the library. Look for Christmas/holiday themed books, or those dealing with appetizers. Check the indexes under "nuts", "walnuts", and "pecans". Also check general cookbooks, they'll at least have the instructions for toasting nuts. I'd try mixing some of the hazelnuts with a bit of oil, and some of the stuff from a packet of ranch dressing mix and toasting them in the oven for a few minutes to see what happened. (OK, I'd get bored, wander off and set fire to my kitchen, but that's me.)

If these hazelnuts you're trying to duplicate don't have a flavored coating on them, then they've been soaked in a flavored liquid, most likely under pressure. If that's what you're after, I'd try a few soaked in a tumbler of dry-mix seasoned water, a few more simmered in dry-mix seasoned water, and a few soaked then baked.

I hope someone else can give you specific directions. I don't have the url for Soar, but if you can find it, search it under both hazelnut and filbert to see if someone else has come up with something. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), October 28, 2000.

Sweet & Spicy nuts- 12-ounces of nuts, 2 tablespoons honey, 2teaspoons Cajun seasoning. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush bottom of 10x15 " jelly roll pan with oil. Spread nuts evenly on pan. Bake for 5 min.( could take longer if your nuts are raw), stirring frequently. Remove from oven, drizzle with honey, tossing to coat. Sprinkly with Cajun seasoning and continue baking 5-7 min. or until crisp, stirring once. cool. Store in airtight container. makes great gifts.

-- Linda (hesscat@cot.net), November 01, 2000.