Recipes from My Culinary Experience with Wonderful Pistachios! #GetCrackin

I Love trying and creating new recipes, though I am one of the pickiest eaters around! Being invited to attend a Culinary class with the Lovely MomTrends and a few lovely bloggers, I couldn't wait to see what fun was in store. Let me tell you a bit of my experience and I'll have 2 fun recipes using Wonderful Pistachios for you below!

 

This Culinary Experience was held at My Cooking Party in Chelsea, NYC. I got there a little late due to NYC traffic and though I was a bit under the weather, there was no way I was missing this experience. I arrived just in time to hear about Knife safety in the kitchen, as well as some cutting/slicing tips!

 
After that quick lesson, we were sent to different work stations to create what would be our Holiday eats! We had the Spicy Roasted Squash with Wonderful Pistachios cooking station. Three other foodies and I got our hands dirty to create this delicious food item for a total of 24 food lovers (including myself). 

Our task was one of the tougher ones, but once I was done I skipped along to the sweets section to "taste test" what everyone else was making. My favorite sweets were the Wonderful Pistachio and Cherry Popcorn Balls as well as the Wonderful Pistachio Holiday Palettes. Oh and yes you did read that right! All three recipes included one common ingredient, Wonderful Pistachios! Oh So Versatile!

Once the cheffing was done, we went to sit at the gorgeously decorated table. The place setting was a beautiful pistachio shell filled glass ornament with a CUTE White and gold hang tag with our names on it. Across the tables were also white LED light trees, Silver and white triangular cones, and mini plates filled with Wonderful Pistachios and a lit tea light.

Everyone stated what they were thankful for and then we dug in! As always, we had an amazing time with MomTrends and the gang. 

Here are the Recipes for Spicy Roasted Squash with Wonderful Pistachios and Wonderful Pistachio Holiday Palettes.

Spicy Roasted Squash with Wonderful Pistachios

Delicata and butternut squash are roasted together with warm spices and a bit of cayenne to heat things up. Crunchy Wonderful Pistachios and maple syrup are just the right additions for texture and sweetness. Garnished with pomegranate arils this dish is a celebration of flavors.

Prep: 18 minutes / Time to Table: 38 minutes / Serves: 8 (about 10 pieces of squash/person; about a cup/person)

1 ½ pounds butternut squash (4 ½ cups prepped)

2 ½ pounds delicata squash

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cayenne

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup shelled Wonderful Pistachios Roasted & Salted, chopped

2 tablespoons maple syrup

¼ cup POM Wonderful pomegranate arils

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil.

2. Peel and seed butternut squash. Cut in half lengthwise and slice into ½ inch thick pieces. Cut in half again for quarters.

3. Cut delicata in half lengthwise and seed. Cut into ½ inch thick slices. Combine all the squash in a large mixing bowl.

4. Sprinkle the cinnamon, allspice, cayenne and salt over the squash. Mix thoroughly.

5. Melt the butter and stir into the olive oil. Drizzle over the spiced squash and mix thoroughly.

6. Transfer the squash to the baking sheets, arranging in a single layer. Bake for 15 minutes.

7. Stir and flip squash. Sprinkle with Wonderful Pistachios and drizzle with maple syrup. Bake another 5 to 7 minutes until pistachios are just toasted. Remove from the oven.

8. Arrange on a serving platter and sprinkle pomegranate arils over the squash. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Wonderful Pistachio Holiday Palettes

A chic version of chocolate bark! The french call these little treats Palettes and they are simply fine chocolate with artfully arranged nuts and fruit. Stick to Wonderful Pistachios and add some holiday sprinkles to make them your own.

Prep: 10 minutes / Time to Table: 1 hour / Makes: 12 palettes (6 semi-sweet, 6 white chocolate)

¾ cup good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips, or chocolate bar

¾ cup good quality white chocolate chips

¼ cup shelled Wonderful Pistachios Roasted & Salted

Dried fruit such as apricots, ginger, blueberries, bananas, plums, peaches, cranberries and cherries

Sprinkles and silver dragees

1. Melt chocolates in separate bowls. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Spoon 1 tablespoon chocolate onto baking sheet for each palette. Chocolate will settle into a circle.

2. Decorate each palette with Wonderful Pistachios, dried fruit and sprinkles, cutting fruit into slivers or pieces as needed. Chill palettes for 30 minutes. If packaging, package while cold. Serve.  

Which of these two Recipes would You love to try with Wonderful Pistachios?