Yield: 4
Time: 20 minutes

In this recipe, an intensely flavored dry hard cider is used to cook tender salmon fillets. The fish is complemented with a sprinkle of buttery hazelnuts and a drizzle of tangy mustard sauce that has hints of sweet cider flavor.

Directions

Pour 3 ounces of the cider into a small saucepan. Heat over medium and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, until the cider is reduced by half to 1.5 ounces.

Stir together the mustard and honey in a small dish. Add the warm reduced cider and stir well until smooth. Stir in a pinch of black pepper and set aside.

Pour the remaining cider into a shallow 5-quart pot or pan. Add the garlic cloves and rosemary. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low to medium heat.

Sprinkle the tops of the salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Slide the salmon pieces into the cider and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, just until cooked through and no longer raw in the center. They will be pale pink in color and flake easily with a fork. Use a slotted spoon or large spatula to carefully transfer the salmon to serving plates.

Sprinkle with hazelnuts. Drizzle with cider mustard sauce or serve the sauce on the side.

Recipe: Quaintrelle | Photo: John Valls

Quaintrelle, a farm-to-table restaurant located in North Portland, serves pacific northwest-inspired cuisine “made with passion and intention.” Chef Sedona McCaffrey-Allen’s Hazelnut-Coffee Pot De Crème with Chocolate Ganache and Hazelnut Shell Smoked Marshmallow will take your taste buds through a journey of interesting textures and unique flavors.

Directions

Smoked Marshmallow

Heat smoked sugar, water, and corn syrup over medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes until it reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment  until soft peaks form. Once sugar has reached 240 degrees, remove from heat and slowly stream into the egg whites while the mixer is running on high. Continue mixing for 8-10 minutes until the mixer bowl returns to room temperature. Add vanilla and mix until medium-stiff peaks form.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Pot de Crème

Lightly heat cream, milk, and hazelnuts together. Leave to steep in the fridge overnight. Next day- strain hazelnut cream. Bring cream mixture and sugar up to a light simmer. Add 6 sheets of bloomed gelatin. Cool, strain, and mold however you prefer. Small mason jars look great.

Yield: 1 dozen
Time: 35 minutes

These cookies are coated in delicious finely chopped hazelnuts and studded with small bits of floral Earl Grey tea. They are best paired alongside a steaming cup of the tea to bring out their bright flavors.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add the tea leaves to a spice grinder and pulse until finely chopped. Toss the tea with the brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low for 1 minute to combine the flavors. Add the butter and cream for 2 minutes, until smooth and pale brown in color. Scrape the sides of the bowl.

Mix in the vanilla and egg. Add the salt and then the flour. Mix on medium-high until all ingredients are combined into a cookie dough. Place the bowl with the dough in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Spread the finely chopped hazelnuts on a plate and stir in the granulated sugar. Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and roll into 12 balls, a little smaller than the size of a golf ball. Roll each ball in the hazelnuts and sugar. Place the cookies on the baking sheet. Press a hazelnut half in the top of each.

Bake for 10 minutes, until the edges begin to brown and the centers are firm. Let cool on the pan for 3 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Recipe: Kathy Body

Directions

Chocolate Hazelnut Flourless Cake

Melt butter and chocolate over a double boiler. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, Frangelico and salt. Temper the hot chocolate mixture into the eggs and sugar mixture. Prepare a spring from pan by lining the interior with parchment paper and coat the paper with butter. Wrap the outside of the spring form pan with foil and bake in a water bath 350 degrees. This should take approximately an hour to an hour and a half, or until cake is firm and the top feels dy. Cool cake before serving.

Hazelnut Ice Cream

Heat heavy cream and milk together on stove until almost boiling. Whisk together sugar and egg yolks. Temper milk and heavy cream into the eggs and sugar. Add Frangelico and hazelnuts and let steep overnight under refrigeration. Strain Hazelnuts out and discard. Then Put the ice cream mixture into an ice cream maker and process until thickened. Serve chilled.

Frangelico Chantilly

Whip mixture until stiff peaks form. Serve.

Recipe: Vicky Cassidy | Photo: Vicky Cassidy

Yield: Serves 6-8
Time: 1 hour 30 mins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Bring a medium sized pot of water to boil. Add peeled sweet potato and boil until potato is soft. Drain and let cool slightly, then mash. Measure out 1 cup.

In a large bowl, beat together mashed sweet potatoes and canola oil. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until well blended.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, nutmeg, and salt.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the sweet potato mixture, mixing until well combined. Finally, add chopped hazelnuts.

Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings

Directions

For crust:

Blend flour and hazelnuts in processor until nuts are finely ground. Add brown sugar and salt; blend 20 seconds. Add butter and lard; using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to bowl. Add 4 tablespoons ice water; stir until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough together; divide into 2 equal pieces. Form each into ball; flatten each into disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.

For filling:

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Toss apples, 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in large bowl. Roll out 1 dough disk on generously floured surface to 12-inch round, rotating crust often to prevent sticking. Generously flour 11- or 12-inch tart pan bottom. Slide tart pan bottom under dough round. Carefully slide dough round into 9-inch pie dish. Press crust onto bottom and up sides of dish; pinch and press to seal any cracks. Spoon filling into crust; drizzle with melted butter.

Roll out second dough disk on generously floured surface to 13-inch round. Slide same floured tart pan bottom under dough round. Carefully allow dough round to slide off tart pan bottom onto pie filling; pinch to seal any cracks in crust. Press top crust and bottom crust together at edge. Fold edge under; crimp decoratively. Cut X in center of top crust. Brush top crust lightly with milk. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Transfer pie to rimmed baking sheet. Bake pie 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake pie 25 minutes. Cover crust edges with foil collar to prevent overbrowning; continue baking until crust is golden, apples are tender, and juices are bubbling thickly in center, about 20 minutes longer. Transfer pie to rack and cool. Serve with ice cream.

Yield: Makes 4-1/4 pounds of toffee (100 pieces measuring 1 x 2 inches)

Directions

Grease one large (12 x 17- inch) rimmed baking sheet or two smaller (10 x 15-inch or less) ones with butter.

Melt the pound of butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat on a wide-diameter burner. While the butter is melting, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar and corn syrup. Add this mixture to the melted butter, along with the water. When the sugars have dissolved, increase the burner setting to medium high, stirring with a flat-edged wooden spoon. Attach a candy thermometer to the pot and cook the mixture, stirring constantly to keep it from scorching. When the temperature reaches 240 degrees F, add the nuts and continue stirring. At 260 degrees, reduce the burner setting to medium-low and continue cooking and stirring occasionally, until the toffee reaches 300 degrees (“hard crack”).

Remove the pot from the burner and stir in the vanilla and salt, stirring quickly because the toffee will become quite thick at this point. Scrape it out onto the prepared baking sheet(s) or marble slab, spreading it out to a thickness of about 1/4 to 1/2 inch. A silicon spatula is the best tool for spreading the sticky toffee.

Allow the toffee about 5 minutes to set up, then distribute the chocolate pieces evenly over the surface. The heat from the toffee will melt them. While it’s still soft, gently even out the layer of chocolate and then sprinkle it with the roasted and chopped hazelnuts.

At this point, you can refrigerate the toffee until it is cold and hard. Or you can just let it cool to room temperature over several hours or overnight. Once the toffee is very firm, it can be broken into smaller, irregular-sized pieces.

NOTE: If you use unsalted butter, increase the amount of salt in the recipe from 1/4 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon.

Recipe: Hana Ezaldein

Yield: Serves 4
Time: 40 Minutes

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place hazelnuts on a tray and roast for about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Place sweet potatoes, garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper on a large baking dish and roast at 400°F for about 30 minus until tender.

Seed pomegranate, I like to cut the fruit in half and then hit the back of the shell with a wood spatula and the seeds easily fall out.

Place arugula in a bowl and top off with balsamic vinegar, the roasted sweet potatoes, pomegranate seeds, roasted hazelnuts and goat cheese (if desired). Serve.

Recipe: Jami Curl, QUIN Candy | Photo: Jami Curl

Time: 30 minutes

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the Oregon hazelnuts with the corn syrup, brown sugar, and salt. Spread the concoction onto a non-stick baking mat that you’ve placed on a cookie sheet or sheet pan. It will look like a puddle of sugar studded with hazelnuts.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring two or three times during baking, until the syrup surrounding the nuts is a lovely deep honey color.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow the candy to cool completely. Once cool, break or chop it into manageable pieces.

Store the candy in an air-tight container, at cool room temperature, for up to one month.