Holiday traditions

Holiday traditions...we all have them in some way.  For some it means getting up early and driving for hours to cut down their own tree.  For us, we were just happy hopping into the car and heading to Stew Leonard's to pick out the perfect tree.   This year it was a tree lot along Pacific Coast Highway just as the sun began to set.  Another family tradition was dinner at Union Square Cafe in NYC sometime during the holidays.  We were never organized enough to make reservations so that meant arriving at 5:30 just as they opened their doors and grabbing four seats at the bar.  We have so many fond memories of dinners in the city...just the four of us.  So this year I made Union Square Cafe's Bar nuts to reminisce about the past while we make a few new traditions to carry on in the years ahead.  

Union Square Cafe Bar Nuts

Recipe courtesy of Nigella Lawson/Food Network

• 2 1/4 cups assorted unsalted nuts, including cashews, 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 sea salt
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degree.

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 8 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.  Yum!

To send to out of town friends, I put the dry ingredients into the small jars and nuts into bags.  All they have to do is pour the nuts onto a baking sheet and toast.  Add melted butter with the ingredients in the jar and mix all together, serve warm... and enjoy!