Okay. I’ll take that challenge and raise you some surprising applications! Somebody just asked if I was confident enough of my food knowledge to take what they felt was a deceptively-simple sounding challenge: New and unsuspected uses/recipes for Peanut Butter (PB). Hold onto your hats!
The Late Elvis Presley’s (in)Famous Fools’ Gold PB, J and
Bacon mega Sandwich. Worth flying to Colorado for?
Dessert and Snacking opportunities…
Peanuts are most closely associated with Desserts and Snacks in Western cuisine. In fact Peanuts are probably among the most popular ingredients in Candy Bars and other convenience store treats today. Seems they just go with everything sweet.
Here’s a great hint: Visit the Kraft/Heinz recipe website and try the Puffed Cereal & Marshmallow Treats recipe that adds Peanut Butter! And go right ahead and drizzle them with melted Dark Chocolate!
When I was just in the early elementary grades, I had Peanut Brittle candy (home made) almost every weekend when my family visited my Dad’s siblings and their kids my age. Remember Candy-Coated Peanuts? Chocolate-Coated Peanuts? Chocolate & Peanut Butter Dessert Bars? Peanut Butter Cookies?
Who hasn’t, at one time or another, had Celery stakes filled with Peanut Butter as an hors d’oeuvre? The 1950’s just called, and they want them back – along with any Cheez-Whiz you might still have in the house and the rest of that head of Celery. Mercifully, I don’t recall anyone ever making a Savoury Jello Salad in a Bundt pan and filling the center chimney with Peanut Butter, though there was a time when my Mother, her sisters and sisters-in-law tried just about every other Jello Salad ‘recipe’ they could find in their favourite ladies’ magazines…
But one thing I did discover, when watching movies at a friend’s house once and nobody (nor all of us, after we counted up all our cash) had enough for a Pizza, was Peanut Butter and Lettuce on Toast. Two slices of fresh, hot crispy Toast with PB on one slice and plain Butter on the facing slice, stuffed with crisp Ice Berg or Romaine Lettuce. Whole Grain Bread tastes best! Had this later in life when the Beer Bash munchies set in at a rez party in College. Unsuspectedly hearty, earthy, crunchy, and a great complement to a light-flavoured, light-coloured Beer. Somehow, it makes the PB taste pleasantly sweet, next to the tart edge of the Hops in the Beer.
The above leads naturally to Bacon, Lettuce and PB on Toast. Add a slice of Tomato, if you’re adventurous. A great treat for some palates. And, hey! Remember Elvis Presley’s famous PB, Jelly and Bacon Sandwich?
A Peanut Butter and ? Fondue may be just the thing to brighten up your next retro dinner party or family feast. Melted PB with some kind of sweetener – Honey? Maple Syrup? Molasses? experiment! Or add some Italian spices or Tex-Mex Spices to set the flavour scene and tailor the dunkables you provide to suit…
Go savoury with this and you’re on the doorstep of a whole, wide (eastern) hemisphere full of great Mains, Soups, Sauces and other recipes from Congolese Peanut Soup, to North African Peanut Goat Stew, to the world of Thai Satay dishes, and any really hot Indonesian Dish topped with Toasted Peanuts and a Fried Egg!
Anyway…
That’s just a scatter-shot look at what folks around the world do with Peanut Butter! Get Googling and see what other intrepid kitchen adventurers have done with this ubiquitous ingredient and take of from there!
Maggie J.