Sweet Spiced Nuts

I made so many of these in December. With good reason. They're delicious. They are fantastically easy to put together and the results are awesome. They are also very adaptable.

I won't tell you how many of these didn't make it to the people intended (they sat on our table! They were delicious!) but a fair number did go out as gifts.

These will definitely be on my list to make during the holidays. How could I not when the results are so good with so little effort.

Sweet Spiced Nuts
From Smitten Kitchen

1/3 cup dark-brown sugar
2/3 cup white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 pound walnuts
1/2 pound pecan halves
1 egg white, room temperature
1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Mix sugars, salt, paprika, and cinnamon. Try to make sure there are no lumps and then set aside.

Beat egg white and water until frothy but not stiff. Add walnuts and pecans, and stir to coat evenly.

Sprinkle nuts with sugar mixture, and toss until evenly coated. Spread sugared nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet fitted with parchment paper. (The parchment paper is key! Don't make these without it!)

Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven, and separate nuts as they cool. When completely cool, pour the nuts into a bowl, breaking up any that stick together.

Roasted Country Spiced Pork Tenderloin

The nice thing about today's recipe (and the two I posted before) is that I was able to prep them all and then put them in the oven at different times and all the dishes for dinner came out ready at the same time. Doesn't get much easier than that.

Roasted Country Spiced Pork Tenderloin
From Slimfast

1 pound pork tenderloin, raw
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon vinegar, cider

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Season pork, if desired, with salt and ground black pepper. In bottom of foil-lined roasting pan, arrange pork; set aside.

In small bowl, combine molasses, sugar, olive oil and vinegar. Evenly spread molasses mixture on pork.

Roast 20 minutes or until pork is done. Let stand 10 minutes; thinly slice.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

If you haven't been able to tell, I like brussels sprouts. And it's been great to eat them lately since Alex enjoys them now, too.

Sometimes complicated recipes are great because you get to experience a whole variety of flavors and practice new techniques. However, sometimes, all you want is a simple recipe that you don't even really need to think about. This is one of those recipes.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
From Slimfast

4 cups brussels sprouts, fresh
1 tablespoon olive oil, pure
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Wash and trim Brussels sprouts. Toss to ombine with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Roast on baking sheet for 30 minutes, shaking tray every 7-8 minutes. (I would keep an eye on them and start checking on them at about 20 minutes, just to make sure they don't overcook).

Roasted Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes

This was kind of a fun recipe because if you use white-fleshed sweet potatoes you're never quite sure what you're biting into. And it's delicious. This would work equally well with yams (orange or purple-fleshed). It was savory, but also with a hint of sweetness. An easy, excellent side dish.

Roasted Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes
From Slimfast

2 potatoes, medium
2 sweet potatoes, fresh, medium
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut potatoes into large chunks. In 13 x 9-inch baking or roasting pan, combine all ingredients.

Bake, stirring occasionally, 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, Alex's family had a tradition. Since no one wants to cook, they would always order barbecue from a restaurant in Gualala, CA. Unfortunately, this last year the restaurant burned down. So this year, Alex's aunt made chili. I made cornbread.

I also wanted to make dessert to go with the chili. When I asked for suggestions, I was offered "chocolate."

Last year, I made apple cider cake. I wanted to do something different. So I decided to make pie. And who doesn't like pecan pie?

Combine the two and I got chocolate pecan pie. It was a winner all around.

Chocolate Pecan Pie
From Oxmoor House

3 large eggs
1 tablespoon whipping cream
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, lightly toasted
2/3 cup pecan halves
1 pie shell (or you could make a crust, but I didn't want to)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt 2 oz of unsweetened chocolate.

Whisk 3 eggs in a bowl. Whisk in brown sugar and next 4 ingredients. Add chocolate and stir in chopped pecans. Pour filling into pastry shell. Arrange pecan halves around outer edge of filling.

Bake at 350 degrees on bottom oven rack for 50 to 55 minutes or until filling is set and pastry stars are browned. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon-Roasted Green Beans with Almonds

This was the second vegetable dish that I prepared for Thanksgiving. I've actually prepared this dish for the last three Thanksgivings. It goes over well. The green beans remain crisp, the lemon is refreshing, and, well, it's always nice to get something healthy in when you're consuming a day's worth of calories in one meal.

Lemon-Roasted Green Beans with Almonds
From Epicurious

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 pounds green beans, trimmed
1 onion, peeled, cut into 8 wedges (I actually cut it into slivers)
6 large fresh marjoram sprigs
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon (packed) finely grated lemon peel
1/2 cup coarsely chopped Marcona almonds or roasted regular almonds

Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Spray 2 large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray. Combine green beans, onion, and marjoram in large bowl. Drizzle with oil, then sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Toss; divide between prepared sheets.

Roast vegetables 15 minutes. Reverse sheets. Continue to roast until beans are tender and beginning to brown in spots, about 10 minutes longer.

Transfer vegetables to bowl. Add lemon juice, grated lemon peel, and half of chopped almonds. Toss to coat; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining almonds.

Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Candied Pepitas and Cider Vinegar

Most days it's not obvious how far behind I am on posting recipes. The recipes I have for you this week, however, were from Thanksgiving, so that just goes to show how far behind I am.

In my defense, I did make these again around Christmas.

A magical thing happened both times I made these. People who claimed not to like brussels sprouts ate them. Ate them and liked them. Including my younger sister, who disdained dessert in order to eat more of these. And that is the highest praise I can think of.

Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Candied Pepitas and Cider Vinegar
From Serious Eats

1/2 cup hulled green pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/2 medium white onion, finely diced
1.5 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
2.5 tablespoons good tasting apple cider vinegar
Salt

In a small skillet over medium low heat, toast the pumpkin seeds until lightly brown and aromatic. Add the sugar and a big pinch of salt and stir until the sugar melts and caramelizes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Melt two tablespoons of the butter. Add the onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add the brussels sprouts and two big pinches of salt. Toss in the butter, and then spread out into an even layer. Turn them occasionally, but allow them to caramelize on the bottom. Keep cooking until they are quite tender when pierced with a fork. Taste and adjust salt. Remove with a slotted spoon to your serving bowl.

Reduce the heat to low and add the apple cider vinegar. Use a spatula to scrape all of the delicious crusty bits into the vinegar. Break the remaining three tablespoons of butter up and whisk them into the vinegar. Add a pinch of salt. Add the sprouts back in and toss them in the sauce. Return to the serving bowl.

Just before serving, break up the pumpkin seeds (they will have stuck together from the sugar) and stir 2/3 of them into the sprouts. Garnish with the remaining 1/3.