Herbed, Spiced & Candied Nuts

Mixed nuts seem to have greatly increased in price over the last couple of years.  The brand name nuts cost a premium, and lower cost nuts seem bland.  In general, within the entire price range of cocktail nuts, they are too stale, soft, salty, flat, flavorless, oily, or just have far too many peanuts in the mix.

I looked up several recipes online for making home roasted nuts, and many were tasty, but not quite what I was looking for.  Often, the recipes were a bit too spiced, overpowering the taste of the nut mixture.  After a bit of playing with recipes, I came up with this mixture which is subtly herbed, spiced, and lightly candied.

Making your own toasted nuts, with raw ingredients, is not as expensive as buying premium brand prepared nuts, but is a bit more costly than buying the generic brands.  Raw nuts are available in bulk at most premium and specialty grocers, and the quality, crispness, and flavor of homemade roasted nuts are superior than any of the store bought brands.  These are fantastic with a glass of wine, and are a pleasant treat for entertaining.

Cooking tip: If you do not like peanuts, substitute raw pumpkin seeds.

Herbed, Spiced & Candied Nuts

Skill level:

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Makes: 3 cups

Ingredients

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped thyme

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup of raw almonds

1 cup of raw cashews

1/2 cup of raw peanuts

1/2 cup of raw hazelnuts

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, combine the corn syrup, rosemary, thyme, cayenne, water, salt, and pepper.
   
   
3. Add the nuts to the candy spice mixture. Stir gently with a rubber scraper to coat all of the nuts.
   
   
   
   
4. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
5. Spread the coated nuts in roughly a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
   
   
6. Place nuts into the preheated oven, and cook for 7 minutes.
7. Remove nuts from the oven.
8. Using a spatula, stir the nuts, as the nuts on the outside edges of the baking sheet tend to brown quickly.
   
   
9. Place the nuts back into the oven for another 8 to 13 minutes, until cashews have reached a deep golden brown color.
   
   
10. Remove nuts from the oven, and allow to cool completely.
11. When nuts are completely cooled, break nuts apart with your hands, and place in an air tight container.

Grilled Cheese Wheel

I saw this simple grilling idea for grilling a cheese wheel on the Martha Stewart Living (June 2011) website, under the heading "20 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Grill."

Warm, luscious, and smoky, this hors d'oeuvre gives a whole new meaning to the term "grilled cheese." Choose a wheel of cheese with a thick rind and an inside that's soft but not runny, such as Camembert. Brush rind with olive oil, and grill cheese directly on oiled grates over indirect heat until warmed, about 2 minutes per side. Serve immediately with grilled baguette slices.

Complete listing of all 20 grilling ideas:

http://www.marthastewart.com/354741/grilled-cheese-wheel?czone=food/best-grilling-recipes/grilling-recipes&center=0&gallery=989514&slide=354741

Home Made Crostini Crackers

One of my favorite snack items are Crostini crackers. They are simple, flavorful, and accompany everything from dips to spreads very well. (I love these with hummus). In addition, there are many varieties available featuring herbs, cheeses, seeds, olives, etc. They are truly a versatile little item, and I usually have a bag on hand.

With grocery prices soaring, especially on "specialty items." The last bag I bought was nearly five dollars, for a 7.5 ounce bag! This seemed outrageous, as the ingredients are simple, and relatively inexpensive. I decided it was time to figure out how to make my own. After a couple of attempts to replicate the store bought Crostini crackers, I created this recipe. The flavor resemblance is extremely close, and, in fact, I almost think mine are better, as they are fresh, and have not sat in packaging, on a shelf, or had to endure long warehousing and transportation to the grocery store.

Best of all, this recipe makes a tub full. As my time is my own, and ingredients are cheap, it costs far less than the grocery store, for significantly more crackers.   

Home Made Crostini Crackers

Skill level:

(I gave this and "advanced" rating, because the dough can be fragile when rolled, otherwise this is an extremely easy recipe)

Ingredients

2 teaspoons yeast

3/4 cup warm water

2 cups flour

1/3 cup olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Additional Flour

Dried herbs (optional)

Preparation

1. In a bowl, combine yeast, water, and 1/4 cup of the flour. Using a whisk, stir together until combined.

2. Allow the yeast mixture to sit for 20 minutes. It will expand and become "fluffy" looking.

3. Using a stand mixer, fitted with the standard stirring attachment, add remaining flour, olive oil, and salt. Blend on medium slow setting for 4 to 5 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally. When done, the dough will be ribbony, stretchy, and quite sticky.
   
4. Put a small mound of flour onto a clean surface, and speed it out until you have a 6 to 8 inch circle of flour.

5. Scrape dough from bowl, on top of the flour pile.
   
6. Gently kneed the dough in the flour, 10 to 15 times, until dough is no longer incredibly sticky. Kneading time is minimal, as you do want the dough to remain soft and stretchy.

7. Divide dough into 2 parts,
8. Optional: Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of dried herbs onto one of the dough mounds, and gently kneed another 20 to 25 times, until herbs are combined into the dough. (In the pictures, I used a mixture rosemary and oregano leaves). 


9. Round both dough clumps into nice rounds.

10. Loosely wrap dough balls in plastic wrap. 

11. Allow to sit for 1 hour. Dough will rise slightly, and wrap will tighten around the dough.

12. Take 2 cookie sheets, and cut 2 pieces of baking parchment to the size of the baking sheet.
13. Take one ball of the dough, and roll out very thin, on a lightly floured surface. Make sure to roll the dough nearly to the size of your baking sheets.  (I try to leave 1 1/2 to 2 inch borders).

14. Place one piece of parchment on top of the dough.

15. As the dough is very thin and fragile, carefully roll dough and parchment around a rolling pin, and transfer (parchment side down) onto one of the baking sheets.
    
16. Repeat steps 13 through 15 with the remaining dough ball.
17. Use a fork, and poke random holes all over the rolled dough.  The crackers will puff while baking, the random holes keep the crackers from becoming completely hollow.

18. Using a pizza cutter, cut the rolled dough into 1 1/4 wide strips.  (I found that using a knife does not work well, as the dough is thin and sticky).

19. Again, using a pizza cutter, cut the strips into 2 1/2 wide pieces.

20. Place the first baking sheet with the cut strips into a 425 degree oven. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until the crostini begin to brown and puff up a bit. 

21. Remove from oven, and turn all of the crostinis over, braking apart any that may have stuck together.

22. Bake again for another 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly browned.

23. Remove from the oven.
24. Repeat steps 20 through 23, with the remaining cut dough.
25. When both batches are complete, reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees.
26. Pile all of the crostini onto one baking sheet, and allow to dry and crisp in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

27. Remove "dried" crostini from the oven, and transfer to a cooling rack.
28. Allow to cool completely, as part of the crispness is achieved while the crackers cool.
29. Store in an air tight container, until ready to serve.

Easy Creamy Hummus

Hummus garnished with a dusting of paprika, olive oil, and black sesame seeds,

served with home made crostini crackers.

Hummus is an ancient dish, and variations have made, and consumed, in the Middle East for over a thousand years.  Early forms of hummus usually were usually ground chickpeas (or garbanzos) served with vinegar, pickled lemons, and a variety of herbs.  The modern incarnation of hummus, using tahini and garlic, does not appear until Byzantine times. 

Hummus is one of my favorite foods, and preparation is uncomplicated, and when eaten with bread, is a complete protein, and rich in amino acids, B6, folate, and dietary fiber.

The key to preparing a good hummus is the use of garlic, fresh lemons, and of course, plenty of tahini (a ground sesame paste, available at most specialty food stores, and Albertsons).  There are innumerable variations to hummus recipes, but I think this one has a nice flavor, and is very easy for beginning cooks to prepare.

Hummus

Skill level:

Ingredients

1 (15 to 16 oz.) can garbanzo beans 

1/3 cup tahini

2 cloves garlic

1/3 cup olive oil

juice from 1/2 of a lemon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon coriander

1/3 cup water

Preparation

1. Open can of garbanzo beans, and pour contents into a colander.  Rinse thoroughly with cold water.

2. Peel the garlic, and chop into large chunks.
3. While sitting in storage, the oils and solids in tahini usually separate.  Stir or blend tahini until smooth and creamy.



Using a small hand blender, I recombine

separated tahini, until it is smooth and creamy.

4. Put rinsed garbanzos, tahini, chopped garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, paprika, and coriander in a small food processor.  (I usually just use my Cuisinart Mini Prep).

5. Alternating between the "chop" and "grind" cycles of the food processor, grind mixture into a rough paste.

6. Slowly add the water, using the "grind" cycle of the machine.  



I usually just pour the water though the "liquid port"
on the top of the machine's cover,
while running the processor.

7. After water is added, continue to run the food processor until mixture is smooth and creamy (this usually takes about 2 to 3 minutes).  Remove the food processor lid, and scrape the bowl twice during the process.

8. Transfer the hummus into an air tight container, and refrigerate mixture until completely cold (roughly two hours).  Flavors seem to blend better while chilling, and the hummus will set a bit while cooling.
9. Serve with flatbread, such pita, na'an, sangak, or crackers.  Optional:  Garnish with olive oil, paprika, sesame seeds, pine nuts, or chopped parsley.

Alternate Method:  If using a full sized food processor, combine steps 3 through 7; just put all ingredients in the food processor, using the blade attachment, and blend/grind for two to three minutes. (Scrape bowl twice during the cycle). 

Bacon Wrapped Dates, Simply Decadent!

Bacon seems to be the food trend du jour, this year.  When I was in Los Angeles, last February, I was at an event catered by Tiara Café, and one of the appetizers they served was bacon wrapped dates.  They are incredibly simple to make, and only require two ingredients.  These are sweet, savory, and decadently delicious!

For my recipe, I buy applewood smoked bacon.  I count the slices in the pack, as the bacon to date ratio is 1:2 (one slice of bacon, for two dates).  I usually buy pitted dates in the bulk foods section of the supermarket, and pick out dates that are roughly 1 1/2 inches long.

Skill level:

Ingredients

Bacon
Dates

Preparation

1. Cut bacon slices in half, lengthwise.  (One slice of bacon will be used to cover 2 dates).



2. Wrap one half slice around a date, lengthwise





Lengthwise wrap.

3. Turn date, and wrap remaining end of bacon around the date 1 to 2 times. Use a toothpick to hold loose bacon end in place.





Lengthwise wrap completed, twist the bacon,
and wrap around until you are out of bacon "ribbon."



Secure loose end of the bacon with a toothpick.



4. Bake in oven at 375 degrees, for 35 to 40 minutes.  Turn over after the first 20 minutes.  
5. Remove from oven when done (nicely browned), and drain on a paper towel.
6. Put on a plate, and serve!

Additional Notes

The dates can be stuffed with cheese - blue, Parmesan, or Cambozola work well. I have also had a variation of bacon wrapped dates with two almonds inserted into the date. Typically, I do not stuff the dates, as they are perfect with just the meat and the fruit.