Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Mixed Nuts

With the holiday entertaining season getting closer with each falling leaf, it’s time to start thinking about those easy, yet still kind of fancy, snack recipes. These sweet, salty, spicy, party nuts are simple to make, and will rival those expensive blends at the local Foodies-R-Us.

I find this technique much easier than the stovetop pan method. You’ll get beautiful, perfectly frosted nuts that are roasted evenly, with no bitter burned spots. Speaking of which, I played it pretty safe with the cooking times, so you may be able to go a few minutes longer for a deeper roast, but, don’t get greedy.

By the way, I always upload these videos to YouTube before I publish the blog post, and I just finished reading the first few comments. Wow, they sure have some wild imaginations over there! They claim the video is loaded with innuendos and lowbrow, double entendre-based humor. How dare they! They’re LOL’ing, ROFL’ing, and LMFAO’ing all over perfectly innocent recipe directions. It’s nuts.

Anyway, I hope you give these delicious, candied mixed nuts a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 4 cups of nuts:
1 cup raw walnut halves
1 cup raw pecan halves
1 cup unsalted, dry roasted almonds
1 cup unsalted, dry roasted cashews
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
*For the syrup:
1 or 2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
*Heat to a boil, cook one minute, and pour over nuts!

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is that a Nambe' dish?

PH said...

Hi Chef John, love these mixed nuts! I have walnuts, almonds and cashews at home and these are all raw. I am just wondering why in your recipe the walnuts and pecans used are raw while the almonds and cashews are roasted. I'd like to make some this weekend and would appreciate your advice. Many thanks!

Anonymous said...

I want more nut jokes!

Anonymous said...

Chef John, can you add a category "Presents" to your site?

Then I can find all the recipes I can use for bringing gifts to a party or for any holidays! That would be soooooooooooo handy!

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Could we decrease the amount of butter in the syrup, or perhaps even substitute the butter syrup with a pure sugar syrup?

Anonymous said...

Hello Chef John. I don't really like sweet nuts, can I ease off the suger? Or even avoid using at all? Thank you.

Anonymous said...

You should watch your language! Do you kiss your wife with that mouth? Ha Ha.

Virginia said...

My favorite part is the dancing nuts at the end. Can't wait to make these!

Dan said...

Ooh, I'm going to try to combine this technique with your recipe for pad thai popcorn.

Anonymous said...

What are you calling the shiny plate you placed them on?

Chef John said...

faux nambe! ;)

Georgia said...

This sounds like it would be delicious on some roasted pumpkin seeds! I'm guessing the roasting times would be different since as I recall pumpkin seeds take closer to 45 minutes to roast. Would that be too long for the glaze? Maybe I could add the glaze closer to the end of roasting time.

Anonymous said...

CJ,
"As always", you crack me up. LOVE THE FINGER DANCE!
I'm gonna make these.
xoxoxo

Unknown said...

Chef John!

Your puns make your videos even better and easier to absorb knowledge you give.

That comment about "Present" section is good idea. I second that!

Keep the good work.

Kris from Europe

Chris K. said...

Excellent work as usual, chef.

I had other weekend plans, but now I can't stop thinking about playing with some nuts.

Anonymous said...

Ah Chef John - You are nuts!! I love watching and listening to whatever you're making...you are too fun! Thanks for another "good-one". Jan

Anonymous said...

You're funny :)

cookinmom said...

Love the finger flair at the end!! Sometimes you can drive us nuts and other times you can crack us up! ho,ho,ha,ha...no pun intended. You knew you would get lots of slack on this one!

Anonymous said...

I have to try this! MMmmmmm with some ice cold coke or beer. Awesome video man!

Matthew said...

I love your work, truly I do.

Gsweb8 said...

This is Beavis and Butthead's favorite.

Unknown said...

Chef John, I can clearly see your nuts!! Awesome Video, can't wait to make a batch and share your sweet and salty nuts with the world!!

BrianC said...

I'd like to make about four times this quantity (big family!). Should I make them in four batches, or can I try to make it in two, or just make it all at the same time? Best opinion...Thanks!

Chef John said...

You can mix one big batch, but you need to bake in single layers, so bake one or two pans at a time.

Some worktops gal said...

These are my weakness. I could eat these all day. Even the picture is making me want some - they look delicious!

Anonymous said...

Chef John,
can I use honey in place of the sugar? If so, how much?

Thanks!

Chef John said...

I'm sure there is a way, but not sure of temps times! Would have to experiment.

Anonymous said...

chef john, i hope you are aware that this is the funniest video you have ever made...

Jamie Thompson said...

Made these for Thanksgiving - they were awesome! Everyone kept reaching for my nuts.

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing wonderful blog post.

Anonymous said...

glossy nuts,. lovely. ever heard of sherried walnuts or pecans? do you know how? love your way man,..

sammy said...

Truly, my nuts got mixed

Trustme said...

Bought unsalted nuts by mistake and did not know what to do with them,now I do. The amount of cayenne is perfect. Incredibly easy and sooo sinful. I can hardly wait to give as gifts.
Thanks Chef John

Unknown said...

Hi chef. I'd like to make several batches and stock them. About how long they stay good for?