Walnuts

  Grilled romaine with walnuts, Parmesan and anchovy dressing Total time: 30 minutes Servings: 6 4 anchovy fillets 2 teaspoons minced garlic 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup olive oil 3 teaspoons lemon juice 3 (6-ounce) hearts of romaine 2/3 cup chopped, toasted walnuts 1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano 1. In a mortar and pestle or a blender, purée the anchovy fillets, garlic and salt.

Walnuts are available year-round, but the most traditional season for their consumption is late fall and winter, particularly around Christmas and New Year's. We're lucky that Rancho La Viña, a remnant of the walnut groves that once covered Southern California, sells high-quality nuts and oil at local farmers markets. The ranch, owned by the Baer family since 1869, grows 185 acres of walnuts in the Santa Rita Hills, between Lompoc and Buellton in Santa Barbara County, prime wine country.

Dear SOS: Having encountered the best chocolate pie ever at Cold Springs Tavern, an old stagecoach stop in Santa Barbara, I'm wondering whether you can persuade the restaurant to share its recipe. I am quite certain it is prepared on premises, is served warm and contains walnuts. Dee Dee Ruhlow Burbank Dear Dee Dee: We loved the combination of chocolate with walnuts and rum in this very rich pie, perfect for chocolate lovers! Each slice is great served slightly warmed with a big glass of milk.

Walnut dipping sauce Total time: 3 minutes Servings: This makes about 1 1/3 cups dipping sauce. Note: Adapted from Akila Inouye 3/4 cup walnuts 1 tablespoon sugar Scant 1 cup soba-tsuyu dipping sauce Blend the walnuts, sugar and soba-tsuyu in a blender until the walnuts are coarsely pureed. You can adjust the ingredients to your taste. Serve on the side with soba. Each one-third cup: 88 calories; 2 grams protein; 5 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 3 grams sugar; 352 mg. sodium.

California's walnut industry dived off a bridge last year, only to stage a bungee-cord rebound as it now sets sales records month after month, growers and processors report. Growers harvested a record-shattering 2008 crop of 436,000 tons, only to have the market nearly collapse in the face of last year's global credit crisis. Demand came roaring back in the spring, however, and has remained strong since. "We had 70,000 tons shipping in the month of November. The highest we ever had before was 48,000 tons," said Pete Turner, chairman of the California Independent Handlers Coalition.

  Wilted Brussels sprouts with walnuts Total time: 25 minutes Servings: 6 1 pound Brussels sprouts 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar 1 teaspoon minced shallot 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 3 tablespoons walnut oil Salt 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts 1. Prepare the Brussels sprouts: Trim the dried bases and pull away any loose or discolored outer...

When it comes to my kitchen, I'm not strictly practical. If I were, I'd have stainless steel cupboards instead of painted wood glazed with beeswax, or a concrete floor instead of wood. And I certainly wouldn't have a copper sink that threatens to turn furry and green every other day. The way things look matters to me. And that instinct for the beautiful follows me into the kitchen too. Before I begin to cook, I lay out all my ingredients in bowls and baskets. I'll pull out the shallots and garlic I keep in glazed ocher bowls that I carried back from Provence, or the bouquet of red peppers and Sicilian dried oregano that are stored in a basket a friend brought me from South Africa.

  Dear SOS: Could you please get us the recipe for the delicious, mouth-watering Honey Shrimp with Walnuts at Typhoon restaurant at Santa Monica Airport? It's to die for. Pat Garvin Santa Monica Dear Pat: Typhoon was happy to share the recipe. Despite the name, this shrimp dish doesn't actually contain any honey, but we loved the sweet sauce coating the crisp, fried shrimp and served with candied walnuts. Honey-walnut shrimp at Typhoon Total time: About 1 hour, plus cooling time for the walnuts Servings: 2 Note: Adapted from Typhoon Candied walnuts 1 cup water 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup walnut halves Canola oil for deep-frying In a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil.

Tucked in the middle of the San Gabriel Valley lies nine square miles of hilly land flanked by four freeways filled with motorists, most of them heading elsewhere. And that's the way many of the 32,000 residents in Walnut like it. As the outside world drives by, those who live here on the far edge of Los Angeles County see it as a hidden oasis with horse-friendly crosswalks, single-family homes and an open, rolling landscape. Clean and quiet, safe and serene -- Walnut, locals say, is the quintessential bedroom community.

  Cinnamon walnut monkey bread Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes plus rising time Servings: 10 to 12 1 cup (2 sticks) butter 3/4 cup dark brown sugar 1 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar 1 recipe basic monkey bread dough 1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together over medium heat, stirring frequently, just until the brown sugar starts to dissolve into...