the beginnings of a beautiful salad

Let us take a moment to consider Kale. That humble, sweet green with the bitter bite that has the texture of an innertube when not prepared correctly.  You can’t swing a salad spinner around Los Angeles these days without hitting a restaurant with a Kale Salad on the menu.  I am ever hopeful, but alas, have been burned many times by the sub-par kale salad.

Until I encountered the amazing version at Food Lab in Silverlake.  I had read about it on Yelp!, Twitter, Facebook, everywhere, and when I met a friend there for lunch a couple weeks ago, I knew I had to have it. Studded with almonds, shallots, brussels sprouts and romano cheese, this salad is my new obsession.

the finished salad with some quinoa cakes on the side

I think my hacked recipe comes pretty close to the original, and it has become a staple in my kitchen as the spring turns  into summer here in LA.  I make up a big batch of it on Sunday afternoon and then nosh on it for the rest of the week.

The key to a great kale salad is lots of acid in the vinaigrette, then let the leaves sit in the dressing for at least an hour before serving.  The acid in the dressing will soften and sweeten the leaves, transforming the rubbery texture into a lightly crunchy cousin to Butter Lettuce.

To store the salad, I keep the cheese and almonds separate then top the salad with them when I am ready to serve.  I like find the salad is just as good without the cheese, as well.

Food Lab inspired Kale Salad

1 bunch curly kale (about 6 cups when torn)

6-8 large brussels sprouts (about 3 cups when shredded)

1 medium shallot

6 oz blanched slivered almonds (toasted)

1 cup pecorino romano cheese, finely grated

Wash and thoroughly dry your kale and Brussels sprouts.  Remove the woody stems and tough outer leaves of the sprouts.  Slice the sprouts very finely (if I am feeling fancy, I use a mandoline for this), and place in a large bowl. Seriously a larger bowl than you think you will need.  The largest bowl you have, the greens expand like the Biblical Loaves and Fishes when you start tearing them up.

Finely slice the shallot and add to the bowl with the sprouts.

shave those Brussels sprouts!

Tear the kale away from the tough stems and tear or slice the leaves into 1/2 inch pieces.  I like the rustic look of tearing the leaves and I find that the leaves retain their shape and crispness longer when they are torn rather than sliced, but slicing is definitely faster, so it’s up to you.

Add kale to bowl and stir to combine with shallots and Brussels sprouts.

Dress with Honey Lemon Vinaigrette (below).  Cover and refrigerate for an hour.  Add almonds and cheese just before serving.

Honey-Lemon Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon stone ground mustard (dijon mustard works as well, too)

1/3 cup olive oil

salt

pepper

Whisk together honey, lemon juice, and mustard.  Drizzle in olive oil, whisking constantly to combine. Salt and pepper to taste (I typically use about 1.5 tsp of fresh ground pepper and 1 tsp coarse sea salt)

So, I haven’t been around for a bit.

When I began this blog, I vowed never to begin a post with those words but the recent absence deserves a note.  For those of you that don’t know, I have been busy writing a memoir.  On top of that psychological heavy lifting, I recently developed tendonitis in my left hand.  It’s not that big a deal, but it compels me to keep my typing to the writing that I am under contract to do, rather than the fun stuff.

In this moment of confession, I also need to come clean about something else…. I don’t eat like this all the time.  And I don’t cook every day.

Right now, between working on the book and pulling a few shifts at the restaurant, I am only cooking once a week.

That’s a heavy admission for a food blogger.  I am glad to have it off my chest.

So I thought it might be nice to let you all in on my recipe for Once a Week Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts that will stay juicy and re-warmable for a week. It is also my recipe for Chicken Cracklings and the beginnings of a chicken stock base.  That’s one thing you pick up quick from running restaurants—find a way to use to use everything! So put your big girl pants on and keep reading…..

Step one, go to the store and buy chicken breasts with bones in and skin on.

I know. I said this was a boneless skinless chicken breast recipe, and it will be, but we begin with chicken that has its bones and it’s skins. Because it is usually cheaper, and because those things are going to help us keep flavor and moisture in what could otherwise be a bland dry meat.

When you get the chicken home, prick the skin over the breasts, and create a pocket between the skin and the chicken. Season it with salt and pepper, seasoning mix, and a dollop of either buttermilk/ sour cream/ greek yogurt/ salad dressing.  I LOVE this Marzetti light ranch dressing that is made from Greek yogurt for this purpose.  It is made from greek yogurt, olive oil, and all ingredients that I recognize.  Other than xanthan gum (which is an incredibly common gluten-free ingredient, so no biggie), it’s exactly how I make my own ranch dressing.

The recipe is below, but here are the notes for how to use the leftover bits for the previously mentioned applications:

Chicken Cracklings: When the chicken is cooked through remove from the oven and let the chicken rest for ten minutes.  Lower your oven temperature to 275 degrees. Then remove the skin.

You can either place the skin in an airtight bag and reserve in your freezer until your next cheat day, or if your weekly cooking day also happens to be your cheat day, then place those mostly crisped chicken skins on a parchment lined baking dish and pop ‘em back in the oven for 5-10 minutes until they are crisped through. Check them every couple of minutes, because they go from crisp to burned very quickly.

Pop open a cold beer or a glass of dry white wine and nosh on those heavenly bits of Jewish Bacon while you let the chicken breasts cool to room temperature.  If you reserve the rendered fat from the baking dish and let it cool, you can put together a fancy appetizer of crusty toasted rye bread, a sliver of green apple, a dollop of schmaltz, and top with a great crackling piece of chicken skin.

Stock starter: Once the chicken has cooled to room temperature, remove the bones from the chicken and reserve in a bag in your freezer for the next time you make chicken stock.

The Gent and I typically cook a vegetable (steamed asparagus or The Gent’s incredible brussels sprouts) and pull together a nice green salad for a week-night meal that comes together in fifteen minutes flat.  And that’s dinner for the week.

Ok, we usually break it up every couple of days with some fresh broiled fish, but really, that only takes 8-10 minutes, and pre-cooking fish is a super bad idea.

To complete my once a week cooking list, I typically also cook up a pot of steel cut oats (that I then decant into one cup containers for breakfasts), as well as a cup of brown rice and chicken thighs (that we have for lunch twice a week).  The rest of our meals consist of light sandwiches made on Ezekiel bread and lots of fruit.

Then for Sunday dinner we eat whatever it is we have been craving all week.  Burgers, pizza, pasta, macaroni and cheese, or BLT’s with a few beers and followed with a bowl of ice cream.

Because you have to do all things in moderation, even moderation.

WSE Once A Week Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

Note: I use a seasoning mix of garlic powder, onion powder, basil, and oregano mixed together in a 2:2:1:1 ratio, and for the wet seasoning, I use Marzetti Simply Dressed & Light Ranch. That’s not a sponsored plug, I just like the stuff.)

4-8 chicken breasts (skin-on and bone-in)

2 tbs seasoning mix of your choice

2 tbs wet marinade (Light ranch dressing, buttermilk, greek yogurt, or sour cream)

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prick the skin over the breasts, and create a pocket between the skin and the chicken. Season it with salt and pepper, seasoning mix, and wet marinade.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Be sure to get some seasoning underneath the skin. Let the chicken rest in the seasoning for 30 minutes to an hour.

Lay your seasoned chicken breast side down in a shallow baking dish and cook for ten minutes.

After ten minutes, flip the chicken breast side up and cook for another 25-40 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat reads 180 degrees.

When the chicken is cooked through remove from the oven and let the chicken rest for ten minutes.  Then remove skin and bones when chicken is cool enough to handle, reserving each for another use if preferred.  Or discard them if you are a  spendthrift who doesn’t mind seeing all that flavor go into your waste bin.

Place your boneless, skinless chicken breasts in an airtight container in your fridge and re-warm, covered, for 2-3 minutes in your microwave as needed.  Or shred and use for chicken salad or another preparation. Chicken keeps for up to one week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I suppose it could also be frozen, but I have never tried this so I can’t vouch for how it will maintain it’s quality.

It was posed to me this way, in a job interview a couple of years ago.  “It’s nine o’clock on a Friday night, and the owner’s brother just walked in the door.  He will only sit at table 38, and there is a couple sitting there.  You have to move them. What do you do?”

“Does he have a reservation?”

“No.”

“Does the owner’s brother do this often?“

My two interviewers exchange a knowing glance.

“Oh yeah. At least once a week.”

“What course is the couple on?”

“Entrees.”

“I’d tell the owner’s brother to sit at the bar and wait for the table.  Or he’s welcome to have a different one.”

“You can’t do that.”

“I’d tell him that I’ll hold that table for him every night until 8pm, but if I don’t see him or hear from him by 8pm, I’m seating another guest there.”

“That would never work.”

This restaurant is the sort of chic place that most diners can only afford to patronize once a year.  That the owner’s brother comes in once a week, and insists on throwing his weight around makes me want to accommodate him less.

The three of us sat at a plush table, staring one another down for the next three minutes.  I know how they want me to answer, and they know that I am not happy with that answer.  The answer they are looking for is– I would move the couple to a private dining room or another table for their dessert course, and for their trouble post a hefty comp on their bill.  Possibly even comp their entire check.

I had never even considered this practice until I started managing restaurants on Los Angeles.  No other city I had ever worked in would so eagerly cow-tow to the whims and peccadilloes of one abusive guest.  It’s something that can be so commonplace in Los Angeles that the other night, an inebriated patron waiting for a specific table shrieked at me that “she knows how this works, you buy those people a drink and make them move!”  She proceeded to tell me that I am “beyond an idiot if I think she is going to sit at that other table” that I had offered her twenty minutes before and she didn’t like.

I guess I am beyond an idiot. Because I thought we were talking about a table, not debating abortion law or whether the moon landing was staged.

As that banshee-woman was bugging her eyes out at me, I had to grit my teeth.   I have a loud laugh that carries like a foghorn, and a well-dressed middle-aged lady throwing a tantrum in public about a table is just too ridiculous for me to take seriously.  Luckily, her husband shepherded her back to the bar and the guests sitting in the booth the banshee wanted cleared the table shortly after.

But here’s my policy, and here’s what I said in that interview two years ago:

I don’t move people. Once they’re seated, they’re seated.  If that makes someone want to fire me, then so be it.

So, good on you, anonymous Nobu manager for insisting on some basic level of human decency and civil behavior.  And thanks Huffington Post for spreading the word.

It’s adapted from this recipe on Food52.

I used pumpkin instead of butternut squash because I think it’s more seasonal.

To peel and disembowel the pumpkin, pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes on high, then place it on a cutting board and slice it in half down the middle.  Scoop out the guts (reserving the seeds to toast for a yummy snack), then peel and cube the pumpkin.

There’s a good video demonstrating the technique here.  If you would like to keep your hands free of knife-wounds, however, please for the love of all that is good and holy, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PEEL THE PUMPKIN WITH A KNIFE DIRECTED TOWARD YOUR BODY, LIKE THE DISEMBODIED HANDS IN THE VIDEO DO. Slow down, you eager beaver.  I want to peel this pumpkin as quickly as you do, but I would also like to keep my metacarpal veins intact.

keep your fingers gouge-free, y’all

Slice each pumpkin half into quarters, first.  Place them on a flat surface and peel downward, directing the knife toward the cutting board.  Or use a vegetable peeler, directed away from the the fleshy flap of baby skin between your index finger and thumb.  Don’t be a hero.  There is not a prize for peeling this pumpkin in the most devil-may-care fashion.

Pumpkin and 5-spice infused Vodka

Adapted from Kitchen Konfidence ‘s recipe, posted on Food52.com

Makes about 1.5 Liters

For the Infused Vodka:

• 2-3 pounds sugar pumpkin (sometimes called a ‘pie pumpkin’)
• 1 liter of vodka (no need to go for the top shelf, here)

For the 5-Spice Syrup:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2.5 tsp Anise Seed (Chinese 5-spice uses Star Anise, but I couldn’t find any in my local market, I know…)
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken into smaller pieces
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Peel and Cube the Pumpkin: Place the pumpkin in a microwave and cook on High for 2 minutes. Cut in half, then clean out seeds and guts. Slice each pumpkin half into quarters.  Using a sharp knife or vegetable peeler, peel the skin from the pumpkin, being careful to direct the knife/peeler away from your body.  Cut the pumpkin into 1.5-inch chunks. Spread out in an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until just tender (test by inserting the tip of a knife), 30 – 40 minutes. The pumpkin should be tender, but not falling apart. Let the pumpkin cool to room temperature, then transfer to a large mason jar.
3. Add vodka to the jar until it covers the pumpkin by 1 inch. Seal the jar and store in a cool, dark spot.
4. Give the jar a gentle shake every few days. Start tasting the vodka after 1 week. The finished infusion should taste very strongly of pumpkin.
5. Once you are satisfied with the flavor of the vodka, pour the mixture through a medium-mesh basket strainer into a clean bowl or jar. Discard the solids. Strain again through a fine-mesh strainer into another clean bowl or jar. Set aside while you prepare the 5-Spice Syrup.
6. In small saucepan, combine sugars, maple syrup, spices and water. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once the mixture comes to a boil, drop the heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes. Let the mixture cool completely, then strain out all of the spices. Discard spices.
7. Pour syrup into the infused vodka, stirring to combine. Cover and let rest for 1 more day before serving.

For football season, I like to serve these babies up on a toasted french roll.  For a tailgate, you can make them in advance, and keep them wrapped in their foil to enjoy field-side.  Or, if you live in Los Angeles, fire up the grill by the pool and enjoy after a long swim….

Yes, that is a TV, on a patio, by the pool…

I  adapted the meatball recipe from Serious Eats,  adjusting the meatball seasoning to use dried herbs, adding some grated onion for moisture, and since I was using lean turkey, dumped in two tablespoons of butter to raise the fat content and give the finished meatballs some richness.  For my marinara, I used leftover Tomato-Butter sauce that I made, but a high-quality store bought tomato sauce, like Bertolli Five Brother’s Tomato Basil would be perfect, as well.  No, Bertolli did not pay me for that plug, it just so happens to be my favorite store-bought sauce.

Recipe after the jump…

• Turkey Meatballs
• 1 ounce dried porcini or shitake mushrooms
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1/2 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cups finely grated Pecorino Romano, divided (can substitute parmesan if that’s what you have)
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 4 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley, divided
• 3 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 table spoon olive oil
• 2 Tbs grated onion
• 2 cups marinara sauce (homemade or store-bought is fine)

In a small bowl, soak the mushrooms in 1 cup of recently boiled water for 15-30 minutes (depending on package directions). Once the mushrooms are reconstituted, finely chop and reserve the soaking water. Adjust oven rack to 6 inches below broiler element and preheat broiler to high.

In a large bowl, gently mix together half of the chopped mushrooms, turkey, egg, milk, breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano,dried herbs, garlic, butter and olive oil until just combined. Roll the mixture into 24 equal-sized balls, and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil for 10 minutes

Meanwhile, place the remaining mushrooms and their liquid and marinara sauce in a pot over low heat. Place the broiled meatballs directly in the sauce, and simmer over medium-low heat until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce has visibly reduced to the consistency of a thick ragú, 10 to 15 minutes.

To make meatball subs:

4 French rolls

soft melty cheese such as mozzarella, fontina, or provolone (smoked Mozzarella would also be delicious)

olive oil

four sheets of foil, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray or olive oil

optional:

mix of baby greens, fresh basil, pesto (homemade, or store-bought), parmesan, pecorino romano, balsamic vinegar, really any remotely italian-american ingredient you think would be tasty

Construction:
Split the rolls and brush with olive oil. Toast bread on grill or in oven.  Fill toasted rolls with meatballs (should have 6 meatballs per roll), then cover with cheese.  Wrap subs in foil (with non-stick spray on the inside) and place back on warm (NOT HOT) grill or in warm oven to melt cheese and keep warm until game time.
I like to spread the toasted bread with pesto sauce before filling with the meatballs, then when I pull out the subs, let guests dress them however they like with additional pesto, fresh basil leaves, balsamic vinegar, parmesan cheese, etc.  These are incredibly filling for a long day of beer drinking and game watching.

Living in Los Angeles, few things truly invoke the feeling of Autumn.  The palms trees that frame the avenues, swaying ever so violently in the Santa Ana winds, do not burn with orange and gold leaves.  Even at night, temperatures rarely dip below sixty degrees.  So, in addition to strident insistence on wearing sweaters because it is October, guys, the thing that signals the beginning of Fall in the modern era is … the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.

When I managed a restaurant at the base of an office building in downtown LA, we would get requests frequently for our version of the beverage, and so I (a former Starbucks barista myself) developed a Pumpkin spice syrup for our bar, that I will happily share with you now, in consideration of the current Pumpkin Spice syrup shortage of 2012

I do something a little differently with my syrup, cutting the amount of sugar in the base mix and adding sweetened condensed milk, but I like the body that the sweetened condensed milk gives to the final product.  If you don’t want to use the sweetened condensed milk, then just increase the brown sugar to 1 1/2 cups.  The cinnamon/pumpkin/condensed milk combo adds creamy richness and warmth to whatever you add this syrup to– coffee, latte, hot chocolate, a little brandy and creme de cocao shaken over ice…

If you don’t want to use the sweetened condensed milk, then just increase the brown sugar to 1 1/2 cups.

Recipe after the jump

Sidework Pumpkin Spice Latte syrup

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 4 cinnamon sticks (or 1 tsp ground cinnamon, high-quality)
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ cup pumpkin puree
• ½ cup sweetened condensed milk

Recipe:

Note: Use the best, freshest cinnamon you can get.  It makes a huge difference.  When you smell the cinnamon in the jar, it should really give you the impression of those red-hot candies you ate as a kid.  If it smells vaguely like cardboard, your syrup is going to taste, well, vaguely like cardboard…. the cinnamon does the heavy lifting here. So don’t wuss out and use the cheap stuff.

1. Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan.
2. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves.
3. Add the spices and the pumpkin and continue to simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture becomes syrupy and coats the back of a spoon. (about 8-10 minutes)
4. Remove from heat and strain the syrup through cheesecloth, tea towel, or strainer. Depending on the type of strainer you use, you may need to strain the syrup twice.
5. Allow the syrup to cool,  then add sweetened condensed milk.
6. Refrigerate the syrup in a tightly closed jar for up to a month.

Beef carpaccio is one of those dishes that looks incredibly ambitious.  The fact that it’s main component is raw beef can seem daunting to the home cook, as well.   But it is a dish that can be easily replicated at home, if given the proper preparation.

First and foremost, get the best, freshest, highest quality beef you can find.  You don’t need a lot of it, half a pound easily serves 4-5 appetizer portions, but it needs to be great quality.  If you have a local butcher, then get your meat there.  I generally use Filet Mignon when I make carpaccio, but tenderloin works just as well.

As long as you start with the highest quality meat, and keep it below 41 degrees F until it is consumed, you shouldn’t have any worries about contamination or food borne illness.  I like to put my serving plates in the freezer before I plate this dish, also, to help keep the meat at a nice, cold temperature.

Beef Carpaccio with Horseradish Vinaigrette

adapted from Darina Allen’s Forgotten Skills of Cooking

1/2 lb of organic, Prime Filet Mignon (fresh, not frozen)

1 cup arugula

Horseradish Vinaigrette

2 egg yolks

2 TBS dijon mustard

1 TBS sugar

2 TBS red wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1 TBS prepared horseradish

1 tsp fresh chopped parsely

1 tsp fresh chopped tarragon

Place the meat, well wrapped, into your freezer to firm up while you put together your vinaigrette (if you are prepping your vinaigrette in advance, just freeze the meat for an hour before you slice it).

In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, mustard, sugar, and vinegar. Mix well.  Whisk in the oil drop by drop, as though making a mayonnaise.  When all oil is incorporated, add the horseradish, parsley, and tarragon.  Refrigerate until ready to use.
Remove filet from freezer (after allowing 30minutes to 1 hour for the meat to firm up).  Slice the meat, carefully, with a very sharp knife into 1/2 slices.  Place a slice of meat  between two sheets of oiled plastic wrap or parchment paper.  Roll, gently, with a rolling pin until translucent and doubled in size.  Peel away one layer of plastic wrap, place the meat on a chilled plate, then remove the other piece of plastic.  Repeat for each slice of meat.  Drizzle with horseradish vinaigrette, and top with arugula.

om nom nom

Almond Brittle is a great snack with coffee and tea, as a garnish on a dessert, or as a lovely gift for the holidays.  This recipe is for a small batch.

Almond Brittle

1/4 cup sugar

1 TBS water

1 TBS corn syrup (could sub Lyle’s Golden Syrup)

1 TBS butter

pinch of salt

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Line a 13×9 inch baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Butter the foil/ parchment paper and set aside.  Get all of your ingredients together, pre-measured before you begin, because it comes together quick.

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine water, corn syrup, and sugar.  DO NOT STIR THE MIXTURE IN THE PAN. Slowly and constantly swirl the pan, keeping the sugar moving slowly over the heat, until the sugar melts and carmelizes.  It will look prettty jagged and rough for a the first few minutes, but as it reaches it’s melting point, the sugar will form a smooth syrup.  Cook until sugar reaches your desired color (i like a dark mapley color).  Then add the butter, salt, vanilla, and almonds. Stir to combine, then turn out onto your buttered baking sheet and spread thin.

Allow toffee to cool, then break into pieces.

Try not to eat it all in one sitting.

use an egg carton to organize your ingredients

When I am cooking several dishes in the same day, or trying to get a head start on prepping ingredients for tomorrow’s cooking, I like to use egg cartons to keep me organized.  I can write the dish name on the side of the carton (i.e. “Ingredients for Horseradish Vinaigrette” ), then pre-measure away.  For wet ingredients, however,  I typically put them in small glass prep bowls, then nestle those babies into the hollows of the carton.  then I’ll pop the carton in the fridge until I’m ready for it (but no longer than 24 hours).

It makes me feel like I have my own prep cook!

I enjoy these almonds alone, or tossed with kale chips. I’ve plowed through bowls of this Almond-Kale mix while watching the NBA Finals, or a good Rom-Com, it is the crunch of popcorn combined with a sweet, salty, spicy flavor punch, and minus any of the empty calories.

So here it is….

recipe after the jump….

Toasted Almonds:

If you don’t have garlic infused olive oil, you can quick infuse some in a skillet over low heat with a 3 cloves of garlic. Just warm the oil, and let the warm oil steep with the garlic for a few minutes.  If you don’t wanna do that, then just substitute melted butter for the garlic oil, slightly less healthful, but oh, yummmm…..

1 cup slivered almonds

1/2 tsp dried rosemary (or 1 tbs fresh)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp sea salt or kosher salt

2 tsp garlic infused olive oil

Combine salt, spices, and oil in a large bowl, and set aside.  In a heavy bottomed skillet, spread the almonds in a single layer.  Toast over medium-high heat, swirling every thirty seconds until the almonds warm and just begin to brown (about 3-5 minutes).  As soon as you see the nuts beginning to take on a golden color, add the nuts to spice mix and toss to coat.  Allow to cool for a 3-5 minutes before chowing down.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container.