Secrets of the Tulalip Chefs

 

The award-winning chefs who design and oversee the restaurants at the Tulalip Resort Casino share their favorite recipes and tips with our readers. Although the dishes look and taste like gourmet treats, even household cooks can follow these instructions to put the wow factor back into family dinners.

 

As the pastry chef for the entire Tulalip Resort, I am responsible for creating different desserts for all the venues property-wide, based on their style of food.

For Cedars Café, I created our signature Tulalip Granola recipe. It's all about yummy comfort food, and it's not just for breakfast anymore. What makes this granola recipe specific to Tulalip and the Pacific Northwest is our use of local honey, hazelnuts and dried cherries. This is simple to make, keeps well, and is one of our most requested recipes.

The granola can also be easily modified to add your favorite nuts, dried fruits, and level of sweetness. In Cedars Café, it is served in a large bowl with milk and plain yogurt with berries, but at home it would be great in a layered parfait, on ice cream, or as a snack.



4 cups Old-fashioned oats (Quaker or similar)

1/2 cup Hazelnuts

1/2 cup Slivered almonds

1/2 Brown sugar, packed

1/4 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Ground cinnamon

1/3 cup Vegetable oil

1/4 cup Honey

1 Tbsp. Sugar

1-1/2 Tbsp. Pure vanilla extract



1/2 cup Dry apricots, chopped

1/2 cup Dry cherries

1/2 cup Dry cranberries



Spray or grease two half-sheet pans to prevent sticking. Mix nuts, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.

In a large saucepan boil honey, oil and sugar, just until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract.

Pour hot liquid over oat mixture and mix well with large spoon to evenly coat the ingredients.

Spread granola on sheet pans and bake in a 300 degree oven, stirring every 10 minutes until golden brown. This will take about 30 minutes, depending on your oven.

After granola comes out of the oven, cool slightly. Toss in the dried fruits and allow to cool completely before storing in an air tight container or large sealable plastic bags.

Enjoy!

blog comments powered by Disqus