Chile Lime Pecans

I have a thing for nuts.  Don't go there.  I know you want to, but just don't.

Let me expound upon that.  I really have a thing for candied nuts.  For nuts that are made better than their normal wonderful selves by things like cinnamon, cayenne pepper and of course, chocolate.  Those are the kind of nuts that I am always on the look out for, even with two tried and true recipes.  Cause, really, can you ever have too many nuts?

October's Bon Appetit came prepared to help you throw a party, from one dish mains to new and improved appetizers.   Appetizers that happened to include Chili Lime Cashews.  When first going through one of my magazines, I make sure to have a packet of page-taggers near by.  If something looks good, yummy, great potential, ect., I tag it.  The problem with this system is that there are always at least 8 tags by half way through the magazine.  So how do you know which ones you want to tackle first?  Well, that gets the tallest tag, of course.  Ok, it's not a fool-proof method, but the point I want to get across here is that those Chili Lime Cashews had the highest tag.  They were the winners of the first recipe to be cooked contest from October's BA magazine.  (It's quite a honor, really...)  I just had to find Kaffir lime leaves.

You know how this story ends.  I wasn't about to go conduct a Rockford-wide search of Asian food markets for lime leaves.  I happily took the shortcut the recipe so readily offered - no leaves?  Double the lime zest.  Got it.  Check the box.  Move on.

These were quick and easy.  When the hardest part of the recipe is taking pictures before it gets to dark out (which I failed this time around, hence no finished product.  I'm sorry), you know it's a simple one.  Unfortunately, the end results was also a little simple, a little lacking in any sort of va-va-voom (Mental note to self: start using va-va-voom more in blogging).  Maybe had I committed to finding the Kaffir lime leaves, the story would be different.  Maybe if I stuck with cashews and didn't trade in pecans, the story would be different.   But I didn't.  And so I'm left with just nuts.  Not a horrible thing, because I really do like nuts, just not as exciting as one might hope.

Chile Lime Pecans
Adapted from BA's October 2012 issue

Surprisingly not that spicy.  I think I might have liked them more had they had a little more heat to back up on.  I did add the sugar completely.  It felt weird not having sugar in there.  They are barely, hardly noticeably sweet, so it's a good balance.  They are over salty.  I would definitely cut back on the salt.

2 c. pecans
8 dried chiles de arbol
1 Tbsp. melted butter
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1/2 Tbsp. kosher salt (cut back)
1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. (heaping) ancho chili powder
2 Tbsp. lime zest (3-4 limes)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with either a silicone baking mat or tin foil (this will help will clean up later!)

In large bowl, toss all ingredients, except for lime zest, making sure pecans are well coated.  Spread out evenly on prepared baking sheet.

Roast 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so, until pecans are browned, toasted and smell heavenly (yes, that's a technical kitchen term).  Let cool to room temperature.  Toss in bowl with lime zest, covering nuts evenly.

If not serving immediately, keep in air tight container.

Cocoa Roasted Pecans

So there I was, sitting there at work on a Thursday afternoon and instead of paying attention to my daily 1 o'clock meeting like I really should be, my mind wanders.  I want to be in my kitchen, making something new, something excited.  On top of that, I am hungry and jonesing for a snack.   So where does my mind wander?  To cocoa roasted nuts, of course.  Isn't that where your mind always wanders off too?

Alright, I admit, it was quite a random thought, but the idea has been floating around my head for awhile, I just never acted upon it.  And as I sat there in my meeting, once again zoning out and day dreaming of food, I realized I didn't really know how I would go about tackling these things.  I didn't think I could take the candying approach I use for my spicy pecans, but that's all I really knew.

Until Thursday afternoon, during my break of course, when I ventured online to take a peak at how other's had accomplished cocoa dusted nuts.  And I found 3 new blogs that seemed to have a handle on it, each with their own spin on it.  So I did the only reasonable thing: between the different recipes, what I knew I did and did not have at home and my own special brand of logic, I hodge-podged together my own recipe. 

And surprise of surprises, my recipe mojo must have been pumping full blast on Thursday, because these are fantastic.  Really fantastic.  I, of course, will attribute it to my magical recipe combining skills, but you're more than welcome to attribute it to the fact that cocoa + sugar + toasted nuts = really yummy, snacky, healthy goodness.  Really, what more could you ask for?  Oh wait, did I mention that they will make your kitchen smell wonderfully chocolaty and spiced and warm?  And that they taste a little bit like Christmas in your mouth?  And that they come together very quickly and easily?  And that if I could make these with only what I have sitting in my pantry, then so can you?  Cause really those are all very valid points.

Anyways, silliness aside, my batch was purely pecans, but I stocked myself up on other assorted nuts this weekend at Costco to make myself a mix batch (almonds, pecans, cashews) just as soon as I go buy more eggs for my fridge.  In my head, I have great images of myself cooking up several batches and making them pretty in nice jars with ribbons and Christmas bows to give away, but we'll see if that actually happens.  If nothing else, I plan to bring a load home for Thanksgiving to share, but that's a few weeks off as well, so really, I can't promise anything.  Or in other words, stop waiting for me, you'll be much happier the sooner you make these for yourself.

Cocoa Roasted Pecans

3 c. pecans
1 large egg white
2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt


Preheat oven to 300 degree F.  On rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spread out nuts.  Roast in oven for about 10 minutes or until nuts are fragrant.

While nuts are roasting, whisk together sugar, cocoa, cinnamon and salt.  Set aside.  In larger bowl, whisk egg white and vanilla until soft peaks form.  Gently fold in sugar mixture.  Fold in roasted nuts and stir gently until nuts are completely covered.

Spread nuts back onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper evenly.  Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.  Let cool and store in an airtight container.

Homemade Granola

One of the reasons I love my boyfriend is because he is a proud card-carrying member of the great Costco.  Actually, not to brag or anything, he just so happens to be an executive member.  That's right girls, but back off, he's mine!  Frankly, I'm not quite sure why exactly being an executive member is that much more awesome, but I guess his membership card is shinier...  The truth is, Ben and I both love Costco.  And as much as we try to avoid falling into the couple rut, sometimes life is so much better when we spend half of Saturday afternoon grazing our way through the aisles of Costco, joking about who has better bulk-buying etiquette.  Because, and you know it's true, just like every other exclusive member's only clubs in existence, there are important secret rules that are never spoken, but always followed. 

Aren't you so excited to see how this ties into homemade granola?

Anyways, back when I used to live only mere miles from the closest Costco, and not the absurd 4 hour drive that I now suffer, my bulk purchases were much greater.  Cheese, fresh salsa, frozen fish filets, and always Chobani Greek yogurt.  Now, there are some super food fads that I have been slow about jumping on the bandwagon for, albeit not from lack of trying.  There's quinoa, healthy, yes but also basically tasteless pods.  And kale, which if you ask me taste like very thin, recycled plastic spinach.  But Greek yogurt?  I am so all over the Greek yogurt.  Greek yogurt is a good, protein-rich, low fat meal that really can act as either breakfast, lunch, a light dinner or even dessert.  And Costco sold it in a very convenient flat of 12. It is a super food.  It just doesn't do well on 4 hour car trips home, so I've been stuck with buying the economical and boring tubs of plain Greek yogurt.

Although I would be more than happy to eat my yogurt with several good shakes of cinnamon mixed in and a heavy swirl of honey over top, sometimes you have to go big.  Ben likes when I make a fruit compote to stir in throughout the week.  This weekend, I tried my hand at homemade granola, something new from me.  The recipe, for the most part, came from my September issue of Cooking Light.  I guess I never realized how generally easy a thing granola is to make.  It kind of reminds me of my candied pecan recipe, infinitely adaptable and it too will soon bend to my will.  It's a good starting point, but I'm already planning big changes for my next batch: raisins or craisins, chopped pistachios, maybe subbing some or all of the maple syrup for honey.  Does anyone know how to make those yummy, oat-y clusters in cereal?  The point is, there will be a next batch, however adapted.  And if you needed the push, it's a good way to jump on the Greek bandwagon.  Guten Appetit!

Homemade Granola

Inspired by September 2011's Cooking Light

2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
1 c. chopped pecans
2 large egg whites
1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
4 Tbsp. maple syrup

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Line rimmed baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray.

In small bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.  In large bowl, beat egg whites and vanilla with whisk until foamy.  Fold in oats and pecans.  Fold in sugar mixture, then maple syrup. 

Spread granola mixture evenly on prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, stirring at least once.  Remove from oven, loosen granola from sheet with a spoon and let cool on wire rack.

For yogurt, stir a heaping teaspoon or so of cinnamon into a bowl of Greek yogurt.  Swirl in honey and top with a generous sprinkling of your granola.  Eat up!

Pecan Chicken

 Well, the good news is, I am getting much better at this pan-frying thing.  The bad news is, I don’t think I’m using yummy enough recipes.  I love watching the oil bubble up around the chicken when I first put it in the cast iron.  I love the sizzle that carries on even after I’ve put it in the oven to finish up.  I love that my coating stuck this time around.

The end result was just nothing to love though.  It was good.  But it’s also something I wouldn’t make again, there was just nothing to bring you back.  I applied some lessons learned from the oatmeal chicken: less flour and more seasoning (cumin and cayenne this time) in the coating.  Less time face down in the medium hot cast iron pan.  Only 6 minutes in a 425 degree oven and it came out more juicy. 

I am going to be sad to see the pretty island cookie picture go from the top of my blog.  I guess it can’t be the first picture forever.  Instead, I tried my best to get the bubbling oil around the edges of my chicken.  Does the chicken frying all happy like in my pretty cast iron remind you of schnitzel too?  Because that is all I thought while cooking it.  Too bad it wasn’t schnitzel.  I could go for some schnitzel right now…

Pecan Chicken. 

adapted from Cooking Light Jan./Feb. 2011 edition

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 c. whole buttermilk

1 egg

Salt and Pepper, to season

¾ c. flour

¾ c. finely ground pecans

Additional spices as wanted (cayenne and cumin is a good start).

Combine buttermilk, egg and chicken breasts in Ziploc bag.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 425.  Heat large oven-proof skillet over medium to medium high heat with 2 tablespoons of canola oil.  Remove chicken from bag and discard marinade.  Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. 

Combine flour, ground pecans and any additional spice in shallow.  Dredge chicken in mixture, shake off excess.  Add chicken to hot pan and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, or until browned.  Turn chicken over and place skillet in oven.  Bake at 425 for 6-8 minutes or until done. 

Spiced Candied Pecans

After a long weekend of porking out on delicious food and helping to cook in a kitchen that rivals mine for lack of space, cooking something elaborate seemed like too much work.  Cooking anything requiring more than one dish and 10 minutes seemed like too much work.  Yesterday was leftovers and some corn on the cob I boiled up quickly.  Today so far has been 2 pickles and snacking on random goodies as I unpacked my groceries.  But I felt that if I went to long without writing, I might get into the habit of going really long without writing.  That, and an attempt to start eating more "healthy fats" in my diet, made me pull out a tried and true recipe.  Spiced Candied Pecans.... yum...

The good thing is that nothing could be easier.  I discovered this somewhere online 2 summers ago when I was living in Providence.  I began to make them weekly, to the extent of annoying my roommate, which was a relatively easy mission to accomplish.  I mostly put them either on my spinach salads I brought for lunch or snacked on them whenever I was home.  Even a double batch never lasted long.  I varied from the original recipe instantly, and probably couldn't even recall it if you wanted.  By why would you?  I used it for the ratios and after a few initial experiments haven't varied it since.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it?

My version has 6 ingredients.  The first thing I do is mix up the sugar and spices.  My one claim to be adventurous tonight was to use turbinado sugar instead of normal sugar, my first time deviating from that specific part of the recipe.  I must admit that substitution came purely from laziness though.  Turbinado was in the front of my pantry and easily accessible.  Regular sugar was under the flour in the back right corner, behind rice, brown sugar and various other random pantry items.   It was a no brainer.  So, 2 teaspoons of sugar.  A heaping 1/4 teaspoon of both cayenne and cinnamon.  That's a lot of cayenne, by the way, if you don't like the heat.  A pinch of kosher salt.  Mix well and step 1 is done.

Step 2 is just as easy.  Melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium high heat.  Add 1 cup of pecans.  Stir frequently and keep the nuts moving so they don't get burnt.  After a few minutes, they will deepen in color and smell toasty, not a strong smell, but it's still there.  I probably should have timed it for ya'll, but you'll probably be able to tell.  Let's say about 3-5 minutes??

And finally, step 3.  Told you this was easy.  With the pan still on the heat, sprinkle your sugar and spice mixture over the pecans.  I'll sprinkle a bit, then toss, sprinkle then toss, until everything is well coated.  Remove from heat and keep occasionally tossing in the pan another minute or so.  Spread out of aluminum foil and let cool.  Easy, peasy.  No headache, a few dishes maximum and a cup or 2, if you do a double batch like me, of yummy, toasted, spiced, candied pecans.  I really don't think I could throw another adjective in front of them.

Super easy, super yummy and super adaptable to whatever your tastes are!  Oh, and in case you were wondering, the turbinado sugar worked great, melting mostly but also leaving a few crunchy granules on the finished product, something I am at the very moment enjoying.  If you have it on hand, I would suggest it; if not though, it's not worth a special trip to the store.  Normal sugar works fantastically as well.  I've also been meaning to experiment with some cocoa powder lately, but, alas, will have to wait for a day when I'm not lazy, poorly fed and exhausted.

Spiced Candied Pecans

1 Tbsp. butter
1 c. pecans
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch of salt

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat.  Add pecans and toss frequently, until pecans are toasted and become a deeper brown in color, about 3-5 minutes.

While still on heat, pour sugar/spice mixture over pecans and toss until well coated.  Remove from heat and continue tossing.  Spread pecans out over aluminum foil to cool.