The Perfect Party Mix

Feb 142012
 

Ina Garten’s Rose­mary Nuts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look­ing for an easy, gourmet pro­tein to have on hand for your next cock­tail shindig? Look no further…Ina Garten’s rose­mary nuts are the bomb! They only take a few min­utes to make and your guests will devour them.

Recipe:
  • 3/4 pounds cashew nuts
  • 3/4 pounds almonds
  • 2 table­spoons coarsely chopped fresh rose­mary leaves
  • 1 tea­spoon cayenne (less if you don’t like spicy)
  • 2 tea­spoons dark brown sugar
  • 2 tea­spoons kosher salt
  • 2 table­spoon melted butter

Pre­heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the nuts on an ungreased bak­ing sheet and bake for about 10 min­utes until they are warmed through. Mean­while, com­bine the rose­mary, pep­per, sugar, salt and but­ter in a large bowl. Remove the nuts from the oven and coat with the mix­ture in the bowl. Serve warm or room tem­per­a­ture in a bowl. Gar­nish with a fresh sprig of rosemary.

Ina Garten’s orig­i­nal recipe here. I made a few changes to her recipe as you will see. I add almonds, more cayenne and but­ter. At this point I really just “eye” my mea­sure­ments. Once you make them a few times you’ll end up putting your own spin on the recipe.

nuts cartoon joke

would make cute gift tag

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extra:

Make a batch of these for the per­fect host­ess gift. Pack­age them as “nuts and bolts” in a can. For an eas­ier option, grab a clear bag and tie it with a string that has a few con­struc­tion nuts attached. Sim­ple, fast and cre­atively cute.

nuts and bolts in a can

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Sometimes Less Is More

Nov 232011
 

I’m cur­rently obsessed with minia­ture appe­tiz­ers. Here is some inspi­ra­tion for your next cock­tail party. I’m def­i­nitely giv­ing the tiny tequila bot­tles and tacos a try!

mini bot­tles of tequila with tiny tacos

projectwedding.com shares short ribs in a glass

Marthastewart.com show­cases indi­vid­ual crudites

milk and cookie shoot­ers from Audreymagazine.com

dough­nut love by Martha Stew­art Weddings

 

 

 

 

 

 

pound cake in Chi­nese spoons by Mad­dy­cakes Muse

We received a set of these mini appe­tizer dishes as a gift last year from super sweet friends! I’ve been putting them to good use. If you’re inter­ested in buy­ing some, I believe they came from Pier One’s tast­ing col­lec­tion. There are also some great mini dis­pos­able dishes for larger cock­tail par­ties. I know my sis­ter picked some up at Party City recently.

Petite Buon Appetite!

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The Most Amazing Appetizer

Aug 132011
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me intro­duce you to my new addic­tion, the onion loaf. It’s absolutely deli­cious! Don’t take my word for it, make your own and just eat it. Let me warn you this cheesy onion loaf is a lit­tle like a bag of salty potato chips, you can’t just eat one! When you make it you’re going to think it’s huge and won­der how any­one will fin­ish it. Then you’ll pull a piece of the gooey, cheesy, warm bread and instantly know how… Buon Appetito!

As a side note, this may be one of my worst food pho­tos. I think it’s because I was so anx­ious to devour it that I just quickly took a few snap­shots. I assure you it actu­ally looks much bet­ter in per­son, espe­cially with the aroma of warm bread and bub­bly cheeses.
 
 
ingre­di­ents:
1 unsliced loaf sour­dough bread (Boudin’s is the best if you have one near you)
12–16 ounces Mon­terey Jack cheese, thinly sliced (I’ve also used bre’ cheese which is fabulous)
1/2 cup but­ter, melted
1/2 cup finely diced green onion
2 tea­spoons poppy seeds (optional)
pre-heat oven to 350′
 

Cut the bread length­wise and width wise with­out cut­ting through the bot­tom crust. This will form lit­tle squares.

Then place on a foil-lined bak­ing sheet. Insert cheese slices between cuts. Com­bine melted but­ter, onion, and poppy seeds. Driz­zle over bread evenly. Wrap in foil; place on a bak­ing sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 min­utes.
Unwrap the bread and bake 10 more min­utes, or until cheese is melted.

Source:

Step by step direc­tions with pho­tos found  here at the Change­able Table.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reader Tip: Also, if you are for­tu­nate enough to live near a Boudin, don’t for­get to sign up for a Fre­quent Buyer Card. You’ll get a free loaf of sour­dough bread every month for a year just by reg­is­ter­ing your card online! Check it out http://www.boudinbakery.com/re…

*Side note: This is a great social appe­tizer. Peo­ple instantly gather around the table. (I promise nobody will be hold­ing up any walls) Since you just use your fin­gers to pull a bit of the yum­mi­ness off, it makes for a fun and casual experience.


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