Black walnuts have always been a favored part of my heart. My maternal grandparents had huge trees that surrounded their Indiana home. My grandpa would throw the green-encased nuts on the driveway and run over them with his blue GMC truck to crack them open. Yum.
Growing up, I also remember a wonderful black walnut ice cream under the name of Sealtest.
Anyway ... Time passes on.
It's Christmas.
For some reason, I have had black walnuts on my mind. Candied red cherries. Irish whiskey. And Soda Bread.
I thought I would put them all together for a kind of Christmas Bread.
Wrong.
Once I marinated the black walnuts and candied cherries in the whiskey ... I could not stop eating the nutty, sweet-sopping result ...
What to do?
I do not know.
This essence needs to be a side on its own ... for rich, dark chocolate cake and whipped cream ... or ice cream... Better yet, serve a rich brownie with a scoop of ice cream and then topped with the mixture!
- 2 ounces chopped black walnuts
- 4 ounces whole candied cherries, snipped with kitchen shears or cut into pieces
- 50 ml Jameson Irish Whiskey (one of those tiny bottles)
Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and cover for several hours or until most of the whiskey has been absorbed. Stir every-so-often.