National Pistachio Day Festivities

So, Valentine's Day is over, St. Patrick's Day is still a ways off and Easter isn't until April this year, but thanks to bizarre food holidays, celebrating can continue today, Feb. 26, for National Pistachio Day.

Pistachios are high in calcium, thiamine, phosphorus and Vitamin A, which makes them worth the caloric load. There are many nostalgic images conjured up of digging through barrels of red shelled nuts, but in reality the shells of pistachios are not red at all - they're tan. The shells of pistachios were dyed red or blanched (put into boiling water) to make them turn white to make them easier to see when digging through bins of nuts. The green pistachio color is natural, though. The center, edible portion of the pistachio is called a "nutmeat." Many grocery stores have nutmeats already shelled and ready to eat and use in recipes. If buying pistachios in shell, however, be wary of shells that aren't open. They are harder to open and more importantly, it is a sign that the nutmeat is not fully ripe.

Pistachios have a buttery and creamy flavor and texture, unlike most nuts. This makes them great for savory dishes as well as many deserts. Crushed they can elevate breaded fish to a gourmet level. Pistachio crusted salmon is a great date-night meal - a less expensive option to going out to a fancy restaurant.

A great way to get a little bit of sweetness, though, comes in the perfect little bite of pistachio, dark chocolate and dried dark cherries. These are amazing, and are a great portion controlled dessert that is just the right amount of sweetness and doesn't taste too unhealthy.

Pistachio, Dark Cherry and Dark Chocolate Brittle Bites

Ingredients

1 cup of pistachio nutmeats - roughly chopped (use raw or roasted, salted or unsalted - whatever you're fond of)

1 cup of dried sweetened cherries

12-15 oz of dark chocolate (>60% chocolate)

This is one of the easiest recipes ever, and can be switched up with any chocolate, nut and fruit combination. First, melt the chocolate as seen in the video on the macaroon  blog. Once the chocolate is melted, stir in the extras and then spoon out bite size amounts spaced out on cookie sheet lined with parchment. Place in a freezer until set and store in the refrigerator. Each brittle bite will have just the right portion of nuts, fruit and chocolate for nutritional benefits, and not too much sugar to cause a crash. Enjoy!

> Another great combination is to crush pretzels  and stir those into chocolate and sprinkle course salt on the top of the bites. Salt enhances the flavors in chocolate. Not decadent enough, try peanut butter-filled pretzels.