What’s better than Marcona almonds. They come salted and lightly fried in sunflower oil. Now I should just leave that alone. Well, maybe we’ll trick out half of them…
The Prep:
- Marcona almonds – I get these from Whole Foods. Fresh Direct doesn’t carry them yet.
- Oven to 425º
- Set aside half the almonds.
- Taste one, see how salty it is.
- Toss with smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, a bit of agave nectar and just a touch of oil. If the test nut wasn’t salty enough, a throw of sea salt. Mix up, onto a sizzle platter or cookie sheet.
- Into oven. Toss around after a few minutes. Remove in a few more minutes. It won’t take long, just when you start to smell nuts. And better under than over, you can always throw them back in, but you can’t un-scorch.
- Taste a nut once it’s tolerably cool. If it needs something (for me it’s usually some more cayenne and nectar) add, toss around and pop back in the oven for just a minute or less.
- Serve warm, alongside the other half of naked nuts. Nice contrast.
The Pros:
Cocktails love warm spicy nuts like the waves love the beach.
The Cons:
If you keep them in the oven too long, there’s really no recovery. Just start over with the reserved half.
The Takeaway:
These nuts are all very C.J. Sweet Jane dim lighting cocktail party. And I love me some appies. Little bites, not too much, leaves you wanting more. Sometimes we do “appies for dinner” at The Room. The little one gets very excited about appy for dinner night. Almost as excited as she gets about taco night. Almost.
p.s. So the OWS protesters who make the food for the other protesters revolted this week. Apparently they were upset at people taking food who were not really supporting the protest. OWS doesn’t want to feed freeloaders, you need to work hard if you are going to get rewarded. But isn’t that the conservative 53% agenda? Hmm… well… ummm… Awkward.
