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Food

Nuts For The Holidays

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A couple months ago my friends Erin & Rachel hosted a little West Coast IG meet up with Canadian and Arizonian friends, Melisa & Rachel.

Seven of us sat around a beautiful gold & mint themed dining room chatting, noshing, making all kinds of hot nut jokes and giggling like a bunch of tweens.

Erin made an old Marta Stewart nut recipe and we all immediately spooned another helping on our plates after the first sample.

The flavors in this are indescribable. They mesh together amazingly.

nuts

Here is what you’ll need…

5 cups mixed nuts, such as walnuts, cashews, almonds, pecans, and hazelnuts {I subbed peanuts for the pecans and used 1 cup of each nut}

Note: use unsalted nuts

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

  • 2 small shallots, thinly sliced crosswise into rings to yield about ¼ cup
  • 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced lengthwise
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt

Here is what you’ll do…

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Arrange nuts in a single layer on baking sheet and toast until golden…8-12 minutes.

Transfer to a large bowl. Add shallots and garlic to hot olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat.

Fry until golden brown. Remove to paper towels and set aside.

Pour melted butter over nuts. Stir in rosemary, cayenne, brown sugar, and salt. Add shallots and garlic and combine well.

Serve warm. Nuts can also be reheated in a 300 degree oven for 8-10 minutes but watch carefully.

Store in an airtight container….that is IF there are any leftover.

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I haven’t started my holiday baking yet, but I did make a batch of these to take to our PTA Teacher Appreciation brunch last week.

Several people asked for the recipe so I know they were a hit. I mean, why wouldn’t they be?

I served in a bowl with a big spoon with some fancy ziploc bags on the side so they could take as a snack to their classroom.

I cannot wait to make these to snack on while our house is full of holiday visitors.

They’d be perfect for neighbors or as hostess gifts, too!

Enjoy. And let the hot nut jokes begin…..

Fiestas & Fetes

Eye Candy

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I am loving all these {candy bars} at parties and weddings these days!

Piñatas are fun, but I love the twist of setting all the sweet treats out and letting the guests stash them away in fun little containers as their favors.

When we were planning our wedding about 7 years ago, I spotted this article in Martha Stewart Living and had it in mind for our reception:

Apparently I dropped the ball on the full-on bar, but our favors ended up being Reese’s Pieces {because of the fall colors} in a frosted clear Chinese take-out container tied with a chocolate brown grosgrain ribbon and adorned with a piece of dried flower.

I think a candy bar or dessert table adds so much fun and color to a celebration. Both children and adults alike can get excited about the thought of {being a kid in a candy store}!

I am {already} in semi-full swing with planning Elliott’s May birthday festivities. Picking up little things here and there. There are going to be tons of kids invited as we’re extending the invitation to all of her classmates as well as other friends outside of school. That is the beauty of having it at a venue other than our house!

I always stress about the goodie bags. I try to find things that go with the theme yet are useful and not going to end up on the floor and in the trash within hours or days of the party. In the past I have found inexpensive tees for the guests which I think make the perfect parting gift. With about 40 kiddos on the guest list, t-shirts are not an option unfortunately. I figured the best way to cater to all ages and both genders is to have a full blown candy bar! They will get to fill their bags or containers with confections before leaving the party. Even though his was on a much smaller scale, Holden’s guests LOVED {duh!} this idea at his recent party.

I am envisioning something like this at E’s party:

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Simple, low-lying jars for easy reach and about 10-12 options to choose from.

I die for apothecary jars. Going to visit my local Goodwill and see if I can find any…I also love the old timey ones with the silver lids. All the different sizes and shapes of glass containers filled with a rainbow of sweet treats can’t help but turn a party into a P-A-R-T-Y!

I see Ring Pops, Pop Rocks, Pixie Stix, gummie caterpillars, bubble gum, sour stuff, rainbow goldfish, candy necklaces, etc. I think I will even have a glass vase filled with tooth brushes and every child MUST leave the party with one!

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I will leave you with this eye candy…

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I could browse the internet all day and find oodles of inspiration! These are just the tip of the candy iceberg!

Wishing you a sugary sweet Friday!