Union Square Cafe's Bar Nuts

I know you’re busy right now and I can’t believe you even have time to be here reading this; only 2 more days to get it all done, people. But even so, here I am thinking about New Years Eve and all excited about my favorite night of the year. I mean, when else do we not only have permission to, but are encouraged to eat and drink to ridiculous excess. Not that I’ll be doing that, ahem, but there will be champagne, and this year, I’ll also be adding these scrumptious bar nuts to the party table.

We have the Union Square Café (NY) to thank for this tasty party mix, which can accommodate just about any sort of nut you like or have on hand. I used a mix of almonds, cashews and peanuts and it seemed about perfect. Served warm they’re a bit spicy, a bit sweet and a lot delicious. Best make a double batch. Here’s the recipe…

Recipe courtesy, Nigella Lawson

Click here for a printable recipe

This nut mix is absolutely addicting. If you're planning on serving more than 2 people, you best be doubling or tripling this recipe. If you're using raw nuts (as I did), just roast them for 20 minutes instead of the 10 minutes noted in the recipe. Instead of the rosemary, I used a tablespoon or so of my Tuscan Herb Salt and then cut back the sea salt to one teaspoon.

Ingredients

2 1/4 (12 oz) cups assorted unsalted nuts, including peeled peanuts, cashews, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans and whole unpeeled almonds

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons Maldon or other sea salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Toss the nuts in a large bowl to combine and spread them out on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until light golden brown, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt and melted butter.

Thoroughly toss the toasted nuts in the spiced butter and serve warm. And once you eat these, you will never want to stop.