GEORGIA PECANS: Not Just For Dessert Anymore!

Who can resist toasted fresh pecans sprinkled on warm chocolate brownies? Or a slice of gooey Georgia pecan pie? Yet pecans are more than an ingredient for desserts. The distinctive sweet, rich, nutty taste of pecans is a natural flavormate to fish, chicken and cheese, and the crunchy texture lends itself to all sorts of breads, salads, soups and meatless meals.

Courtesy of the Georgia Pecan Commission, here are 50 ways you're sure to love pecans without ever mentioning the word "dessert."

Breakfast With Pecans

1. Add pecans to your favorite banana bread or muffins.

2. To your favorite buttermilk scone recipe, include yellow raisins and pecans.

3. Make brown sugar waffles and garnish with maple syrup and toasted pecan halves.

4. Ditto with banana pancakes.

5. Add pecans to bran muffins.

6. Sprinkle pecans or pecan meal on oatmeal or your favorite rice, oat or wheat breakfast cereal.

Snacking/Entertaining With Pecans

7. Toss in a handful of pecans to your favorite cheese straw recipe.

8. Sprinkle minced pecans and chives atop curried crabmeat.

9. Toast pecan halves and serve alongside soft blue cheese, such as Saga.

10. Combine toasted pecan halves with hot popcorn. Season to taste.

11. For an adult trail mix, combine pecan halves with your favorite unsweetened breakfast cereal (rice, oat or wheat), then season with salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil. Bake until lightly browned.

Appetizers / Soups With Pecans

12. Top appetizer-size pizzas with shredded mozzarella, fresh oregano and chopped pecans before baking. Better yet, sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese and finely chopped pears before baking.

13. Fill miniature tart shells with sautéed apples, add a teaspoonful of blue cheese on top and sprinkle with pecans. Bake in a hot oven until cheese melts and tarts are crisp.

14. Match pecans' rich, earthy flavor with sherry-scented wild rice soup.

15. Season your favorite crab cake recipe with a handful of minced pecans, then fry miniature cakes and float atop curried corn soup.

16. Even grandma's potato soup deserves updating with a garnish of minced toasted pecans and caramelized onion slices.

17. A soup that would make Ray Charles sing "Georgia" -- a chilled pecan soup, topped with a swirl of lime-scented sour cream and toasted, sugared pecans.

18. Before spooning a rich cheddary Welsh rarebit (rabbit) atop toast, add a handful of toasted pecans.

19. Stuff Greek-style grape leaves with a mixture of brown rice that you season with minced pecans, cumin, cinnamon and currants.

Salads With Pecans

20. Crown a grilled Portobello mushroom salad with toasted pecans, then sprinkle balsamic vinegar and olive oil over the mushroom, greens and pecans.

21. Update the classic spinach salad with applewood-smoked bacon, freshly grated parmesan and, you guessed it, chopped toasted pecans.

22. Open sesame. Mouths will open wide when they are tantalized with a simple Asian pasta salad you dress with sesame oil and rice vinegar and season with chili peppers, green onions and ground pecans.

23. Not your average Waldorf. Combine toasted pecans with apple chunks, celery, grapes and a light mayonnaise-based dressing.

24. Slice 1/2-inch thick French bread rounds, spread with soft goat cheese, add a sprinkle of minced rosemary or thyme and some finely minced pecans. Run under the broiler until bubbly, cut into crouton-size pieces and serve with your favorite green salad.

25. Enliven ordinary chicken salad with halved red grapes, mandarin oranges and toasted pecans.

26. Pecans add crunch to a warm beet salad with fresh orange segments.

Entrees With Pecans

27. Season a Midwestern-style ham loaf with brown sugar, sweet onion, tomatoes and a pinch of cloves, then fold in chopped pecans.

28. Encrust a pork tenderloin in chopped pecans and bread crumbs before roasting. Serve with sweet potatoes and mushroom-garlic custard.

29. Grind pecans into a paste with fresh ginger, olive oil, garlic and a splash of vinegar. Smear atop tuna steaks and grill until medium-rare.

30. Combine ground pecans with parsley and green onions, thicken with olive oil and spread on salmon fillets before grilling. Serve with steamed new potatoes.

31. Toasted pecans add richness to a salsa of yellow tomatoes and mango you serve atop grilled or baked grouper.

32. In the style of the Low Country, season shrimp with red pepper, paprika and salt, then pan-fry in butter or olive oil. Spoon atop steamed rice and toasted pecans.

33. Slice smoked chicken and fold into a wild mushroom cream sauce. Serve atop fettucine with peppered toasted pecans.

34. Chicken tettrazini is a classic. Don't forget the minced pecans and chopped green olives.

35. Before baking chicken breast tenders, brush them with olive oil, then dredge in a mixture of bread crumbs, pecans and parmesan.

36. Toss whole wheat linguine with French lentils, carrots and pecans.

37. Crown baked polenta with tomatoes, chopped pecans and fontina cheese.

38. For a meatless loaf, combine brown rice, onion, mushrooms, seasonings, eggs and ground pecans.

39. Fresh summertime pesto calls out for basil and ground pecans. Simply toss with pasta, sprinkle Parmesan cheese, and serve hot or cold.

Side Dishes With Pecans

40. Slaw never tasted so good. Mix shredded cabbage, carrots and sweet onion along with a sesame vinaigrette and minced toasted pecans.

41. Alternate layers of French bread slices and toasted pecans in a casserole dish. Pour over beaten eggs, milk, grated nutmeg and Swiss cheese and bake until the strata is bubbly.

42. Compatible flavors come together in a wild rice casserole garnished with pecans.

43. Quickly stir-fry parboiled sweet potato cubes and shredded mustard greens, then shower with pecans.

44. This winter, bake a butternut squash gratin you top with pecans.

45. Don't forget sweet potato soufflé. Top with marshmallows and pecans.

46. Walk on the wild side. Cook lima beans with a pinch of curry powder and sprinkle with minced toasted pecans.

47. Bake your favorite corn bread, to which you add a handful of pecans.

48. Combine pecans and cranberries in a sweet, quick bread.

49. Make cheese bread and season with pecans and black pepper.

50. Add a Southern touch to focaccia using chopped pecans and soft peppered goat cheese.