Party Nuts!

No - not the guys passed out in a pile of beer cans... I'm talking about these:









From The Union Square Cafe Cookbook:

1 1/4 lbs unsalted nuts (I used walnuts, almonds, and cashews)
2 T chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 t cayenne pepper
2 t dark brown sugar
2 t kosher salt
1 T butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 F. Toast the nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet until just starting to turn light golden brown (10 minutes or less). Mix the other ingredients with the butter in a large bowl. Toss the nuts with the spiced butter and serve while still warm.

I'm in love! These are soooo easy and really really delicious! A new party favorite.

Chevre-stuffed Figs

My family recently had dinner at Elaine's on Franklin, where we enjoyed a delicious appetizer of blue cheese-stuffed figs. Last week I found some really nice figs at the farmer's market, so this was the result (serves 4):

8 fresh figs (I just discovered Celeste are the best, but Brown Turkey or Black Mission will do fine)
4 strips of turkey bacon, cut in half lengthwise
4 oz goat cheese (I love Celebrity Dairy chevre)
1/2 T honey
black pepper

Fry the bacon until it's cooked but still flexible. Mix the goat cheese with the honey and a couple grinds of pepper. Cut the figs in half vertically. Scoop out some of the flesh (a melon baller or grapefruit spoon works well). Fill the centers of the figs with the seasoned cheese and put the figs back together. Wrap a half-strip of bacon around each and fasten with a toothpick. Now put the figs under the broiler, on their sides with the bacon up towards the broiler. Broil until the bacon crisps, rotating the figs so all sides cook evenly. This will happen quickly, so don't walk away or you'll likely burn them.

You can serve the figs on their own and they'll be delicious, but they're also wonderful as part of a salad. I dressed arugula and butter lettuce with a simple vinaigrette of lemon juice, olive oil, a tiny bit of dijon mustard, and the fig guts I'd scooped out earlier. Topped the greens with the warm figs (2 each), and it was fabulous.

Easy, delicious, and impressive. 5 stars!

Shrimp Skewers with wine & basil marinade

24 jumbo shrimp or 40-50 large shrimp
1 c. dry white wine
1 c. extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. Dijon style mustard
3/4 c. chopped fresh basil leaves
Combine the wine, oil, lemon juice, mustard, chopped basil and freshly ground pepper and pour over the shrimp in a shallow non-metallic dish. Marinate at least three hours.

Prepare coals for grilling and skewer the shrimp. Grill the shrimp basting with the marinade for several minutes on each side until shrimp is done.

5 stars

Falafel

1 can chickpeas, drained
1/2 large onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
2 T finely chopped fresh parsley
2 T finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 t salt
1/2-1 t dried hot red pepper
4 cloves of garlic
1 t cumin
1 t baking powder
4-6 T flour

Vegetable oil for frying

In a food processor, chop the chickpeas and onion with the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin until blended but not pureed.

Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and pulse. You want to add enough that the dough forms a small ball and no longer sticks to your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered (preferably for several hours but at least 30 minutes).

Form the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of walnuts.

Heat 2-3 inches of oil to 375 degrees and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little flour. Then fry about 6 balls at once for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Serve in pita bread with tahina sauce, cucumber-yogurt sauce, and tomatoes. Hot peppers are also good, or even better, try it with Schug.

Notes

The falafel was much quicker to make than I thought, and was very yummy with good texture. Also good cold the next day (didn't reheat well in the toaster oven, though: greasy!). 4 stars.