Eating the Alphabet: The Letter N

This week in our adventures of Eating the Alphabet, we come to the letter N. What first popped into my mind was Nectarine. But, being that we’re well into December now, I figured I was going to be hard pressed to find any fresh nectarines to eat! Next on my mind was Nut. Even though they’re not really part of the fruit & veggie category, nuts are not to be overlooked as part of a heathly diet (provided you don’t have a tree nut allergy or peanut allergy). There has been much attention given to the benefits of eating nuts for their antioxidant properties as well as being a great source of protein on the go. Grab a handful of nuts and you can fill your tummy quickly when it starts to grumble with hunger.

This time of year, with holiday baking, nuts appear a little more often on our menus. From roasted pumpkin seeds leftover from Halloween and Thankgiving pumpkins to nuts in any form. Most popular this time of year seem to be pecans and walnuts in holiday baking. For a recent cookie exchange, I made some yummy Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies. There are so many delicious cookie recipes that include nuts.

Nuts make a great gift during the holidays too. For the last few years I’ve been making Gourmet Nuts (pictured above) to give as gifts. They sound fancy and taste delicious but are SO easy. I’ve had friends call me just to tell me how much they like them (and a couple of others to say “thanks A LOT–I ate them all today!). Here’s a link to lots of nut recipes for gift giving–from sweet to savory depending on your fancy. Or check out the recipe below that I use. Whenever I make these nuts I cannot keep my kids out of them–the LOVE nuts! Especially pecans which grow very well here in Texas.

My husband’s family enjoys just eating raw nuts that they crack, pick out the meat and eat. Me, I’m a little more inclined to pay extra for the nuts that are already shelled. I can remember every Christmas when I was little my dad and grandpa would have a big bowl of nuts and just sit and crack them to snack on…it was almost a tradition. However you like your nuts, how about enjoying a few today?

Gourmet Pecans
from Stop and Smell the Rosemary

1 large egg white
3 Tbs. Kahlua, Grand Mariner, or other strongly flavored liqueur [I used Kahlua, I also think that Amaretto would be really good]
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups pecan halves

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Prepare a large jelly roll pan by lining it with tin foil.

Combine the sugar and salt in a bowl, set aside. Combine the egg white and the liqueur in a large bowl, stir well with a whisk. Add the pecans, and stir well. Add sugar to bowl, and stir well to coat.
Spread onto prepared jelly roll pan in a single layer.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until pecans are lightly toasted and browned, stirring every 10 minutes. It will look like the coating is coming off (it’s not). Stir from the outside in to keep pecans on the edges from burning, and watch closely since sugar burns easily.

Remove from oven, transfer IMMEDIATELY to wax paper to cool. Pecans keep for two weeks in an airtight container.

Makes 4 cups.