Spicy Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:
2/3 cup pork broth, at room temperature
1/4 cup lightly salted roasted peanuts (see note)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
2 cloves of garlic
1 green onion, green parts only, chopped
additional lightly salted roasted peanuts, chopped



Directions:

Note: I made this using my very powerful VitaMix with is able to turn nuts into a smooth paste. If using a regular blender, substitute about 3 tablespoons of smooth peanut butter for the 1/4 cup peanuts.

In a mixer, pulse the peanuts, garlic and oil until smooth. Add the broth, fish sauce and garlic sauce, pulsing after each addition. Pulse until very smooth. If using a VitaMix, continue mix on high until the mixture is hot-steam will come out of the top when you remove the lid- about 1-2 minutes. If using a less powerful blender, pour the sauce into a small sauce pan to heat through. Allow to cool to room temperature. Stir in the green onion and chopped peanuts.

I used it on steamed Chinese eggplant, but I think it has potential as a (slightly thin) dipping sauce and I bet it would be great drizzled over green salads. Many possibilities for this one.

Yield: a little more than 1 cup

My thoughts:

Oh my is this a great sauce. It is rare that I am so taken aback about how good it tastes. I am not normally a big peanut or even, sauce fan but yum. So worth whipping up today. Or right this very second. It was actually just something I threw together for a quick dinner side dish but was so taken with it, I just had to write down what I did and share it with all of you. It is just so lovely and fresh tasting. Much more special than the simple ingredients list would lead you to believe. The peanuts are perfectly balanced by the spice so you don't get that "watered down peanut butter" effect that a lot of peanut sauces seem to give. My VitaMix (this sounds like a commercial, but seriously...) got it so smooth that I could not believe that it was made with whole peanuts. AND it heated it up in like 2 minutes. Freakishly good and easy. I think it would be just as good made in a regular blender (not a food processor, you want it to be smooth) but I'd skip straight to using prepared peanut butter. A little bit of coarsely chopped peanuts is fine but you don't want a thick or gloppy sauce. Anyway, while it was divine tossed with some steamed eggplant and roasted garlic, I am already plotting other ways to use up the leftovers.


It is also easy to vegan-ize, just use vegetable broth, leave out the fish paste and maybe add a dash of soy sauce or tamari instead.

Cinnamon & Sugar Peanuts

Ingredients:
2 cups unsalted roasted peanuts
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg


Directions:
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 250. Toss all ingredients together. Make sure the nuts are evenly coated. Arrange in a single layer on one of the baking sheets and bake 40-45 minutes, or until the peanuts look mostly dry, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and pour on to the remaining lined baking sheet to cool thoroughly before eating.

My thoughts:

These quick and simple nuts would make a perfect present to give at the holiday season (I gave some away last year and they we a huge hit) or to serve at a party or on election night. They are ready to eat almost as soon as they come out of the oven and it is always a good idea to have some snacks ready so you don't have to spend valuable time in the kitchen when you could be watching the results or enjoying your guests. They can also be made ahead of time-they keep well for at least 2 weeks in an air tight container.

I think these are the most crowd pleasing of all of my various flavored nut recipes. My favorite are the balsamic glazed almonds and my neighbors loved the sweet & spicy peanuts I gave them last year but these seem to have the broadest appeal-perfect for giving or serving people whose taste you might not be familiar with. Pretty much everyone likes something sweet and the cinnamon gives them a nice kick without being overly spicy. They are also naturally vegan.

Pork Summer Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

1 lb thick cut pork chops
2 tablespoons canola oil
6 rice paper wrappers*
1/2 pound rice stick noodles
1 cucumber, in thin strips
2 carrots, in long strips
1 head red or green leaf lettuce
fresh mint

pork marinade:

2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons rice wine
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon black sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced


dipping sauce:

1 quarter cup roasted peanuts, ground
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon grated garlic



Directions:
First, mix marinade ingredients in a small bowl and marinate pork in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Heat the oil in a skillet Add pork and cook until pork is cooked and sauce has thickened, covering if needed. Cut into thin strips. Then, boil rice stick noodles for 5 minutes and blanch in cold water. Cut noodles into bite-sized pieces.

Whisk together all ingredients for the dipping sauce, set aside.

Fill a wide bowl or pot with warm water. Each rice paper wrapper must be soaked individually. For each roll, soak a wrapper until pliable and soft. Remove the wrapper and spread out on a clean surface. Add a small portion of the noodles towards the middle of the wrapper. Add a portion of the lettuce, a portion of the meat, and mint. Fold the rice paper from both sides in towards the middle, then lift the end closest to you and roll away from you, grabbing all of the filling, and roll until the spring roll is closed. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Serve at room temperature.

*Sometimes labeled spring roll wrappers. Not to be confused with refrigerated egg roll wrappers, they are round, brittle, translucent and sold directly off the shelf.



Yield: 6 rolls

My thoughts:

Summer rolls (g?i cu?n) are salads convinently served in roll form. They are a bit of work but it is worth it, they are quite filling and we often have them as a meal unto themselves. They can also keep for a few hours in the refrigerator if you cover them with a damp towel so they can be made ahead. For this version I kept the filling simple and made a yummy dipping sauce which takes them to the next level of deliciousness and cut down on the prep time.

Indian Spiced Peanuts with Toasted Coconut

Ingredients:
2 cups unsalted roasted peanuts
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cardadom
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon lime zest
pinch tumeric


Directions:
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 250. Toss all ingredients together. Make sure the nuts are evenly coated. Arrange in a single layer on one of the baking sheet and bake 40-45 minutes, or until the peanuts look mostly dry, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool on the remaining lined baking sheet.

My thoughts:

Can you tell I made a lot of nuts this year? These are one of my favorites; the flavor is somewhat unexpected and the coconut toasts along side the nuts so it is super easy. Since they can be made days ahead, these nuts would make a flavorful but not spicy-hot snack to serve at a cocktail party instead of mixed nuts. I also think they would make an inexpensive but impressive hostess gift.

Cardamom-Honey Roasted Peanuts

Ingredients:
2 cups unsalted, roasted peanuts
1/4 cup honey (I used mesquite honey)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger


Directions:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and spices. Set aside. In a heavy pan, heat the honey until boiling. Add the nuts and cook 3-5 minutes or until the honey has mostly disappear and what is left is golden. Remove from heat, stir in the the spice mixture. Pour on to the baking sheet and arrange in a single layer, separating the nuts from each other. Allow to cool completely. Store (flat if possible) in an air tight container.

My thoughts:

A twist on the classic honey roasted nuts. I made these for Matt who loves honey, cardamom and peanuts. They were pretty easy to make except I will say that it is important to separate the nuts as soon as they come out of the pan and to allow them to cool completely unless you want clusters.

Sweet & Spicy Peanuts

Ingredients:
2 cups unsalted, roasted peanuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon chipotle chile powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
salt

Directions:
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 250. Toss all ingredients together except for the salt. Make sure the nuts are evenly coated. Arrange in a single layer on one of the baking sheet and bake 25-35 minutes, or until the peanuts look mostly dry, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with salt and allow to cool on the remaining lined baking sheet.


Tip: Set the oven timer for 5 minutes, stir the nuts. I (carefully!) reached in the oven and tossed them with a spatula then set the timer again until 30 or so minutes were up.

My thoughts:

I made these for our neighbors who, by the wafting scent of their Old Bay redolent crab feasts they host each year, like things a little bit spicy. The sugar provides a nice sweet component and helps the spices stick to the nuts. This was Matt's second favorite of the 6 kinds of nuts I made this year. I have to admit, I only had a couple (after a marathon day of nut flavoring I was in nut overload) but they were very good, just the perfect middle ground between sweet and spicy. The five spice powder was a great idea if I do say myself, it gave a complex flavor to the nuts without having to measure tiny amounts of spices.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup plus 6 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup dry roasted, lightly salted peanuts
6 oz semisweet chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease or spray with baking spray 3 cookie sheets. In a medium sized bowl combine flour, salt, and baking soda. In a large bowl, cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and combine thoroughly. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the sweetened butter. Once combined, add chips and peanuts and distribute evenly using the mixer on the lowest setting. Form cookies by dropping 1 tablespoon of dough on the sheet two inches apart. Smoosh them down a little then bake until light brown, about 10-12 minutes. They might look a little shiny on top, but that is okay, they will "set" as they cool. Remove to wire rack and cool.
Yields: approx. 30 cookies, depending on size

My thoughts:

It's a three borough day today: we're staying in Staten Island, we are going to visit Matt's grandma in Park Slope, Brooklyn and we are ending up at a friend's house for dinner in Manhattan. We wanted to bring dessert to dinner tonight and wanted it had to be some thing that could withstand travel. Cookies seemed to be the answer and these are amazing! A little salty and sweet and chocolate-y. The peanuts are less on the nose than walnut and something both adults and children would enjoy. I can't imagine why there aren't peanut and chocolate chip cookies in every bakery. Something Slashfood might address on their nut day?They are that good!