I would carmelize or candy the uncrushed nuts (melt sugar in pan, roll nuts around to thickly coat, separate nuts and let cool) then chop/crush the carmelized nuts and bread/coat the chicken.

I might try to use walnut pieces or whatever nuts are cheapest, as the nut flavour won't predominate. I do candied nuts for stir fry a lot, never found much difference between walnuts and pecans. Carmelizing thinly sliced or finely crushed nuts is a pain because they stick together too much, but I guess if you have enough patience it will work.

Now, as for the peach jam - can you use jam in addition sugar, in the above carmelize/candy process? I'm not sure, I suppose if the jam/sugar ratio is right it will still melt and harden.

I made something like that a few weeks ago and we really liked it. There's a photo on WFD #320.

First I mixed together (amounts are approximate)
2 tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. dijon Mustard
2 Tbs. honey
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. granulated garlic
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. lemon-pepper seasoning
to make a sauce.

I dipped the chicken in it and then only the top side in chopped pecans. I exerted some pressure on the bottom side and the nuts stuck on fine. I think the honey helped with that. I placed them nut side up in a greased shallow pan and baked them for about 20 minutes in a preheated 400 degree oven.

I use this recipe and it would be good with chicken or pork too, I think. Or, you could do chicken for the kids and salmon for you and SBSIL, if you prefer

Alaska Salmon Bake with Pecan Crunch Coating

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons butter, melted
5 teaspoons honey
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
3 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
6 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
salt and pepper to taste
6 lemon wedges

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a small bowl, mix together the mustard, butter, and honey. In another bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, pecans, and parsley.

Season each salmon fillet with salt and pepper. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush with mustard-honey mixture. Cover the top of each fillet with bread crumb mixture.

Bake for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, measured at thickest part, or until salmon just flakes when tested with a fork. Serve garnished with lemon wedges.

I've also coated chicken with a mix of honey and soy sauce with a bit of cayenne and ginger, then rolled in a combination of panko and chopped nuts and baked it.

I think the jam would react much like honey, so if you used the jam in place of the honey, I don't see why it wouldn't be fine. i'd probably melt the jam a little so I had a bit more liquid consistency.

Annie

I have melted both pepper jelly and marmalade to coat chicken breast and then roll in home made toasted bread crumbs or ground almonds.
It was yummy and worked perfectly...I baked in the oven.
I also have done same thing, similar, with fish filets, only coated them with lightly beaten egg white and then the nuts and grated lemon rind.
Linda C

This isn't sweet, but it has a creamy kind of sauce. Maybe you could add some preserves to the sauce in place of the tablespoon of mustard. I clipped the recipe from the Columbus Dispatch when I was home last month visiting my mother. I haven't made it yet, but it sounds really good and so do the other suggestions you've received so far!! I'm going to copy and paste this thread.

Anyway - here's the recipe:

PECAN-BREADED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH DIJON MUSTARD SAUCE
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
"Each week we feature an oldie-but-goody recipe from this week 10 years ago."

Makes 8 servings

8 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
6 ounces pecans, finely ground (about 1 1/2 cups)
8 skinless boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2/3 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

In a small saucepan, melt 6 tablespoons butter. Whisk in 2 tablespoons mustard until blended. Scrape into a shallow dish. Place the pecans in another shallow dish.

Dip the chicken in the butter mixture then dredge in pecans to coat.

In a large frying pan, heat the remaining 2.tablespoons butter with oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook 3 minutes a side or until lightly browned and cooked through. Transfer chicken to a platter. Tent with foil to keep warm.

Discard all but 2 tablespoons fat from the pan. Reduce heat to low. Add the sour cream. Whisk in remaining 1 tablespoon mustard, salt and pepper. Blend well. Cook just until heated through; do not boil.

Spoon sauce over chicken.

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seagrass

This is a recipe we used for numerous time for a school fundraiser. It was very popular with the kids. You could substitute some coarsely ground nuts for the oatmeal. This recipe uses chicken pieces but I've subbed boneless chicken breast or tenders many times.

Hot Lunch Oven Fried Chicken

Ingredients:
35-40 lb. chicken pieces, skinned
3 lb. oat flour
3 lb. brown sugar
21 oz. instant oatmeal
6 tbs. onion salt
2 cup white flour
Cooking oil.

Directions:
Mix all dry ingredients together.
Dip each chicken piece in oil, shake off excess.
Dredge chicken in coating mix, shake off excess and place on well oiled cookie sheet.
Do not let chicken pieces touch each other or juice will form during cooking and crust will be soggy.
Bake chicken in a preheated 425 degree oven 45-50 minutes.

Thanks for the ideas! I ended up cutting a few small bites of chicken and trying different methods. I marinated the breasts in jam, a bit of lime juice and garlic.

Piece #1 was dipped straight into crushed pecans and cooked. Tasted good, but the nuts all fell off.

Piece #2 was dredged in flour, dipped in egg & rolled in the pecans. The flavor was good, but no crunch.

Piece #3 was dredged in flour, dipped in egg & rolled in a mix of the pecans & panko. That was how I decided to cook the rest for dinner, and it turned out fine. It wasn't a HUGE hit, but they ate it.

Ruthanna, I think I'll try your recipe on them soon...I think they might like it as long as I don't tell them there's mustard in it.

I'd love to try Annies Salmon as well, but SBSIL doesn't do seafood, and neither does her son. Maybe some evening I'll do that one for my brother.

This week the family is going on vacation (I just started a new job, so I'm staying home) and I think I'm going to have a week long orgy of curries, seafood, lamb, dals and SPICY food. :D