February 26th is National Pistachio Day.

Long, long ago, if we had been a good girl, Mom would take us to Howard Johnson’s for a pistachio hot fudge sundae.

Howard Johnson’s is long gone, and it isn’t easy to find pistachio ice cream. But here’s an easy recipe for pistachio fudge.

In fact, if you’ve never made fudge, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is.

By the way, March 14th is White Day in Japan, a tradition where men reciprocate the gifts they received from women on Valentine’s Day, typically with sweets. So men: Get cooking!

Below:

> Pistachio overview.

> The fudge recipe.

> More pistachio recipes.

> The the year’s 5 fudge holidays.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of fudge.

> The history of pistachio nuts.

> The year’s 38 nut holidays.

> The year’s 60+ candy holidays.
 
 
RECIPE: WHITE CHOCOLATE PISTACHIO FUDGE WITH
CRANBERRIES

This recipe is adadpted from Just A Pinch.

If you like a sweet-and-salty profile, use salted pistachios.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COAT a 9″ square cake pan with cooking spray and set aside. Melt the chocolate chips with the sweetened condensed milk in a heavy-bottomed pot over low heat. Stir constantly until the mixture is smooth; then immediately remove from the heat.

2. STIR in the cranberries, pistachios and vanilla. Spread into the pan and smooth the top. Let cool to room temperature (or chill), then cut into squares.
 
 
MORE PISTACHIO RECIPES

 
 
PISTACHIOS FROM CALIFORNIA

While pistachio fudge doesn’t count as health food, the nuts themselves are nutritious. And California produces the best pistachios in the world!
California’s Santa Barbara County is an oasis of rolling hills, ancient oak trees and cattle ranches. It boasts more than 60 wineries and 21,000 acres of vines under cultivation.

[1] White chocolate pistachio fudge (photo via Seduction Meals).

[2] Add some Baileys Irish Cream. Here’s the recipe from Eat Good 4 Life.

[3] Add some cranberries. Here’s the recipe from Taste And Tell Blog.

[4] Premium pistachios from Murray’s Cheese.

Pistachios are a nut bargain:

 
We’re not going to tell you that the pistachio fudge recipe below is health food, but the fudge is delicious.

 
THE YEAR’S 5 FUDGE HOLIDAYS

 
Plus:

 

[5] Instead of cranberries, you can use any dried fruit. Here, it’s apricots. The recipe (photo © Taste Of Home).
 

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[1] For lunch, top hummus with a Greek salad (photo courtesy DeLallo Foods).

[2] Another way to plate. You can create variety with chopping techniques: dicing, julienning, shaving, spiralizing, etc. (photo courtesy DeLallo Foods).

[3] A “rainbow salad” topped with flavored hummus (photo courtesy Bush’s Beans).

Most Americans enjoy hummus as a dip. That’s how we served it last night for Oscar fare, with crudités and pita chips.

But we also like hummus as a luncheon dish, with a variety of salad toppings. You can also set it up as a DIY buffet.

Today’s tip: Add hummus to Greek salad ingredients. Here’s what you need for your dish.
 
RECIPE: HUMMUS SALAD

Ingredients

 
Whatever Else You Like

 
For A Layered Salad

Instead of all hummus, divide the bottom layer into:

 
Serve with a side of pita, or turn pita chips into croutons for the salad.
 
 
MORE WAYS TO USE HUMMUS

THE HISTORY OF HUMMUS

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*For more flavor, mixed chopped dill and/or scallions or chives into the yogurt. If you have it, add a bit of lemon zest.

[1] Have a cherry juice tonic to celebrate Washington’s birthday (photo © Liv Friis-Larsen | iStock Photo).

[2] Cherry pie is always welcome. Here’s the recipe for this beauty. February 20th is National Cherry Pie Day (photo © Cherry Marketing Institute).

[3] Cherry cheesecake with chocolate glaze. (Here’s the recipe from Betty Crocker. April 23rd is National Cherry Cheesecake Day (photo © Betty Crocker).

[4] Cherries Jubilee, created for Queen Victoria. Here’s the recipe (photo © Roberts Dairy).

[5] Cherry almond rugelach. Here’s the recipe (photo © QVC).

The recipes are below. But first, a word about America’s first president, George Washington, born on February 22nd, 1732. While we now know the story about the cherry tree to be a myth, the tradition of enjoying a cherry pie or other cherry foods doesn’t have to get tossed out with it.

If you follow American history, you may know that a number of facts attributed to George Washington were made up after his death.

 
Celebrate with the Cherry Tonic mocktail recipe (photo #1) that follows the list of cherry holidays. There are even more cherry recipes below.
 
 
CHERRY HOLIDAYS

 
 
RECIPE: CHERRY TONIC (MOCKTAIL)

Celebrate the day with this Cherry Tonic (photo #1). You can adjust the proportions of the drink to please your palate. For a deeper cherry flavor, use more cherry juice and less tonic water.

You can make the drink alcoholic with gin, tequila, or vodka.

If you prefer a beer: George Washington brewed his own, including pumpkin ale. He also enjoyed hot chocolate and egg nog.

Ingredients

 
Preparation Per Drink

1. ADD ice to a highball glass. If using cherries, place 4 or 5 of them on top of the ice.

2. POUR in a tonic water, to 2/3 of the way up the glass.

3. TOP off with tart cherry juice (our favorite is R. W. Knudsen Organic Just Tart Cherry juice). Stir.

4. GARNISH with a lime wedge and serve.
 
 
MORE CHERRY RECIPES & FACTS

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