Ready for one more pre-Thanksgiving-dinner appetizer? What about a handful of herbed, salty, sweet, and tangy nuts from Ina Garten's new book? We say yes. These things are genetically-engineered to be a wild hit at any party.
And you can say the same about the book itself! It's another crowd-pleasing, comfortable, yet elegant set of recipes and tips with Garten's trademark style: Unfussy, gracious, and delicious.
Ina Garten is known for her finely-tuned, elegant comfort food. Scalloped tomatoes, pink grapefruit margarita, rich celery root puree and fresh peach cake? They're all here. Plus balsamic roasted beef, weeknight bolognese, and chicken with shallots. It's really perfect food — elegant enough to serve to company, and simple enough to make for yourself on a quiet night in. That's Garten's trademark style, of course — and this book just reinforces her well-earned reputation as the go-to source when you need to throw a party and don't want to break a sweat.
This book also has some fun sections with photos from Garten's own kitchen. She shows off some favorite tools, serving pieces, and relevant tips, like using a tall wicker basket to hold oversized trays and cutting boards. (See, how easy is that?!)
We loved this book — it's easy to love. It has gorgeous photos peppered through on nearly every page, plenty of recipes for all menus and seasons, and Garten's gracious, friendly voice guiding you through.
• Find the book: Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That? Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips, by Ina Garten. Published by Clarkson Potter (October 2010). $18.90 at Amazon.
Ina Garten's Chipotle & Rosemary Spiced Nuts
Serves 8 to 10
When I have a little extra time before a party, I'll whip up a batch of these really delicious nuts. They're sweet, salty, and spicy--with lots of brown sugar, maple syrup, chipotle powder, and fresh rosemary. Roasting is the process that brings out the most flavor in nuts, and serving them warm is a particularly nice touch.
Vegetable oil
3 cups whole roasted unsalted cashews (14 ounces)
2 cups whole walnut halves (7 ounces)
2 cups whole pecan halves (7 ounces)
1/2 cup whole almonds (3 ounces)
1⁄3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons ground chipotle powder
4 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves, divided
Kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Brush a sheet pan generously with vegetable oil. Combine the cashews, walnuts, pecans, almonds, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, the maple syrup, brown sugar, orange juice, and chipotle powder on the sheet pan. Toss to coat the nuts evenly. Add 2 tablespoons of the rosemary and 2 teaspoons of salt and toss again.
Spread the nuts in one layer. Roast the nuts for 25 minutes, stirring twice with a large metal spatula, until the nuts are glazed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with 2 more teaspoons of salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons of rosemary.
Toss well and set aside at room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking as they cool. Taste for seasoning. Serve warm or cool completely and store in airtight containers at room temperature.
Chipotle chile powder is different from ordinary chili powder-- it's ground dried smoked jalapeños and has a distinctive hot, smoky, sweet flavor.
More on Ina Garten at The Kitchn
• Ina Garten On: Great Dinners & Overlooked Kitchen Tools
• Ina Garten's Favorite Ice Cream: And Ice Cream Maker
• Ina Garten On: The Best Breakfast & Favorite Comfort Food
(Images and recipe courtesy of Clarkson Potter)
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f**k me. if i weren't already pooped and i had some ground chipotle, i'd soooo be making these to munch on before dinner tomorrow.
Made this last night as an appetizer for Thanksgiving dinner. Excellent--although next time I might cut back somewhat on the rosemary.
I completely ruined a good baking pan - how easy was that! Because of all the maple syrup and brown sugar, I don't see how this can be avoided. I thought about using nonstick foil or parchment paper next time, but because you have to stir the nuts twice during cooking, I don't see how that could work. Any advice?
These were unbelievably good. I followed the recipe to the "T" and they were a huge hit. I was careful not to overcook them (in the picture above they look a little burnt for my taste.) I also was careful to stir them often as they cooled and break them apart as they started to stick together. Unlike the previous poster, I had no problem cleaning the pan. Yes, the sugar stuck a little bit, but came off easy after soaking in warm water. I will definitely make these again--if I don't, my family will kill me.
Chiming in here a year late, but in case it helps others making this recipe...
First of all, try giving that pan a good soak in warm water to dissolve the burnt sugar. Often the worst-looking sugar disasters can be rescued this way.
And to avoid it in the first place, make sure your pan is well-oiled - don't try to skip that step to cut back the oil! If you're still nervous, lining the pan with parchment or a silpat should make clean-up much easier.
Query: does anybody think that I could bulk this out/make it into Chex Mix? I have seven employers to gift this year, and, to make any kind of impression, that is an awful of nuts to purchase...
@minuet42: that is a terrific idea! I hope someone will respond. If not, if you decide to give it a try, please post your results!
@minuet42: I, too, LOVE that idea! I'm thinking of trying a 1/2 nuts and 1/2 Chex thingy.
I just made these and they are quite good--though I couldn't find chipolte powder so had to make my own from dried chipotles. The taste is not strong at all. I am worried that I made these to early. Do you think they will store well until Christmas in an airtight container? I was planning to give them as a gift.
If you don't have chipotle powder, it also works nicely with smoked paprika.
I'm another fan of bulking the recipe into a chex mix type idea. I adapted the above recipe (except used honey) and used David Lebovitz's holiday snack mix recipe for some inspiration(http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2006/12/the-best-holida/). It worked out great!
I just made this last night with great success!! My co-workers loved it. I didn't have any problems with the glaze sticking to my pan, so I would agree that oiling it up beforehand is key.
You do need to oil the pan generously, I purchcased the throw away tin foil sheets for an inexpensive way to avoid ruining my cookie sheets. Thaws nutsvare outta site !
I made this last night for my Christmas gift baskets. I made the mistake of waiting a few minutes before stirring them when they came out of the oven, and they were sticking to the pan. I did manage to save most of them, so my advice is: stir early and often! As for the taste: WOW. Yummy and addictive! I also soaked the pan for an hour or two and all the sugar/maple syrup mess came right up. I had to soak the spatula, too, which was covered in a thick slab of sweet, sweet sludge after all that stirring.
Just made to give as gifts in mason jars. Delish. Ina comes through for me again!! I reduced the rosemary by not adding the rest at the end as it was already very flavorful in my view. Yum!!!
I made these this past weekend and baked them on a parchment lined pan. Had ZERO problems with sticking. I turned them once halfway through cooking and then broke them up as they cooled and they are absolutely delicious! I did add some garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce to the recipe, it added a little more zing. These were a HUGE hit!!