Spiced Pecans

These are totally yummy and can be tweaked to suit your tastes.  More salty, spicy or sweet.  I have been making these around the holidays for 10 years.  Original recipe from Michael Brisson in Fine Cooking, Nov 1998, No. 29.  

2 to 3 tsp. good salt (original called for 4tsp but always was too salty for me)

1/2 tsp cayenne or to taste

1 tsp each of ground white pepper, nutmeg, cloves and allspice (fresh ground is yummy, but the already ground works well too)

4 to 5 cups of pecan halves

a generous 1/3 cup of butter melted 

1/3 cup of dark maple syrup

1. Heat Oven to 350

2. Mix dry ingredients together well and toss in pecans.  Tossing with your hands works the best.

3. Mix melted butter over nuts and again toss.  (Taste here.  Sometimes you can tell you need more salt or something else.  Sometimes I have added ground cardamon into the mix)

4. Spread out on a baking sheet into one layer.

5. Bake until lightly toasted, stirring every so often.  About 10 minutes.

6. Pour maple syrup over nuts and stir to combine and bake about another 10 minutes.

7. Let the nuts cook in the pan, about 20 minutes.  Then scrape into a bowl, breaking up any large chunks.

Mixed Rosemary Nuts

Some article about Nigella Lawson in the fancy magazine Food Illustrated was the inspiration behind these. She is a beautiful woman and when she allows herself to be her natural size, she is especially stunning.

1. In your oven at about 350/400 degrees, toast a mixture of raw cashews, almonds and pecans until nicely browned. These are the nuts I like, but I am sure walnuts, peanuts and whatever else you wanted to throw in would also be great.

2. Meanwhile, melt too much butter and add a balance of brown sugar, chopped fresh rosemary, cayenne pepper and high quality over priced salt to suit your tastes. (Salt is the favorite flavor in my house).

3. Toss the toasted nuts with the butter and serve.

I have found that serving these in a number of smaller bowls, as oppose to one big bowl, looks better and works better at a party.