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!

Gordon Ramsay’s Sticky Baked Chicken Drumsticks

This delicious recipe comes from the Chef’s book, Gordon Ramsay’s Healthy Appetite. Gordon also cooked this dish on The Rachael Ray show in front of a live audience, teaching Rachael a thing or two about cooking. ^[1]

These drumsticks are super easy to prepare and cook, so don’t hesitate to whip up a batch for dinner or company. Gordon says they taste just as good the next day, so you might want to double or triple the recipe if you like left-overs.

Ingredients for Chicken:

Chicken Drumsticks, 10
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Black Pepper

Ingredients for Glaze:

Rice Wine Vinegar, 3 Tsp
Lemon Juice, from 1 1/2 lemons
Fish Sauce, 3 Tbsp
Honey, 6 Tbsp
Sesame Oil, 4 tsp
Soy Sauce, 4 tsp

Cooking Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat drumsticks with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Arrange drumsticks in a single layer in a casserole dish, and bake for about 20 minutes. Prepare the chicken glaze while the drumsticks are cooking. Making the glaze itself is super easy. Just mix all of the glaze ingredients together, and it’s prepared!

Remove the Chicken Drumsticks from the oven after about 20 minutes and coat with the glaze. Return to oven and bake for another 20-30 minutes until nicely browned. Make sure to turn the chicken a few times during this part of the cooking.

Remove from oven and let rest for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy.

References

^{^} Gordon Ramsay’s Healthy Appetite (www.amazon.com)

Garlic Sweet Potato Mash

Sweet potatoes are often smothered in sugar and topped with more sugar, but this savory version will surprise you and your loved ones and keep them coming back for more!

Need a few good reasons to pass on plain old potatoes and get sweet on sweet potatoes instead? These orange tubers are one of the top food sources of vitamin A, which helps protect your peepers. It also contains vitamins C and B-6, fiber, copper and potassium.

Pair this with chicken, Salisbury Steak,^[1] Pork Chops^[2], or Turkey Meatloaf^[3]. Double or triple this recipe and add it to your Thanksgiving menu^[4].

Store sweet potatoes in a cool, dry, dark place and they’ll stay fresh for several weeks. Sweet indeed!

Garlic Sweet Potato Mash
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 5 • Size: 3/4 cup • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 151 • Fat: 3.5 g • Carb: 27 g • Fiber: 3 g • Protein: 3 g
• Sugar: 1 g
Sodium: 27 mg (without salt)

Ingredients:

2 lbs (4 medium) sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed
1 tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup 1% milk
2 tbsp light sour cream
salt and fresh cracked ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a large pot boil sweet potatoes in salted water until tender, drain in a colander.

Meanwhile, melt butter and sauté garlic until lightly golden. Return potatoes to the pan, add milk and sour cream; mash until smooth and creamy. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Nutritional information for sweet potatoes provided by Heather K Jones^[5], RD (aka The Diet P.I.).

References

^{^} Salisbury Steak, (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)
^{^} Pork Chops (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)
^{^} Turkey Meatloaf (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)
^{^} Thanksgiving menu (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)
^{^} Heather K Jones (www.heatherkjones.com)