Spiced Cocktail Nuts

A little more than just a bowl of nuts out on the table......



Spiced Cocktail Nuts

What's on these nuts?.....oh, just about everything in the spice rack.... and they have a sneak attack spicy bite to them. They would be perfect for guests to snack on if you're having company over, and were an absolute cinch to make. If you like curry, you'll like these.

Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis and foodnetwork.com

parchment paper
2 egg whites
2 cups roasted and salted almonds
2 cups roasted and salted cashew nuts
2 cups walnut halves
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy. Add the nuts and stir until coated. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, curry powder, cumin, garlic salt, cayenne pepper, cardamom, and cinnamon. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the nuts and toss until coated. Arrange the nuts in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. 

Bake for 45 minutes until golden and fragrant. Cool for 1 hour.

Using a spatula, remove the nuts from the baking sheet. Break the nuts into bite- sized pieces and place in a big serving dish.

Warm Tomato and Corn Salad

This is from Rachael Ray, and always gets many compliments and requests for the recipe whenever I take it somewhere. A wonderful mix of corn, beans, peppers and a surprise kick. It works very well as either a side for fish or chicken, or just with some tortilla chips as a dip. Try it. You'll like it.

Warm Tomato and Corn Salad
adapted from Rachael Ray and foodnetwork.com

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 small green or orange bell pepper, chopped
4 scallions, chopped, whites and greens
3 cloves chopped garlic cloves
1 small bag of frozen corn
2 cans diced tomatoes (I used Rotel tomatoes with lime and cilantro), pour off liquid before adding
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 ripe lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, eyeball it
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper sauce, recommended: Tabasco, eyeball it
1 teaspoon sweet paprika, eyeball it

Coarse salt and pepper
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley leaves, to garnish

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, peppers, scallions and garlic. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add corn to the pan and allow the liquids from frozen corn to cook out, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and black beans to the pan and the juice of 1 lime. Throw the lime halves right into the pan with the veggies, it will really punch up the flavor. Season with cumin, cayenne sauce, paprika, salt and pepper. Top with cilantro or parsley and transfer the warm salad to a serving dish.