Spiced Almond Brittle Food

CINNAMON ALMOND BRITTLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200°. Grease 2 baking sheets with 1 teaspoon butter; place in oven to warm., In a large heavy saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Using a pastry brush dipped in water, wash down the sides of the pan to eliminate sugar crystals. Cook, without stirring, over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 240° (soft-ball stage). Stir in almonds, cinnamon, salt and remaining 3 tablespoons butter; cook until thermometer reads 300° (hard-crack stage), stirring frequently and brushing sides of pan as needed., Remove from heat; stir in baking soda and vanilla. Immediately pour onto prepared pans, spreading to 1/4-in. thickness. Cool completely., Break brittle into pieces. Store between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container.

SPICED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over a medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer the almonds to a bowl.
• In a small bowl, stir together the cumin, garlic, cayenne pepper and salt. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat. Stir the spices into the oil and cook, stirring until warm, about 30 seconds. Add the almonds and cook, stirring frequently, until the nuts are warm and the spices are evenly distributed. Add the hot pepper sauce and stir to distribute. Remove the almonds from the pan and allow them to cool before serving.

FALL SALAD WITH SPICY BRITTLE

Steps:

• For the spicy brittle: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Heat the sugar, corn syrup, butter and 1/2 cup water in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until the sugar has melted. Stop stirring and continue to cook, swirling the pan occasionally to ensure it cooks evenly, until the mixture reaches 300 degrees F on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes. While this is cooking, combine the chili powder, cumin, and cayenne in a small bowl.
• Carefully, but moving quickly, stir the almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios and spice mixture into the sugar syrup until the nuts are coated. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading it out as evenly as possible using the back of a spoon. Sprinkle over the sea salt. Allow to cool completely, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. When cool, break into shards.
• For the salad: Fry the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Reserve 1 tablespoon bacon fat in the skillet.
• When ready to serve, arrange the salad on a large platter in layers: escarole, radicchio, carrots, apples, onion, raisins and bacon.
• Heat the skillet with the bacon fat over medium heat. Add the vinaigrette, mustard and honey and cook, stirring, until warm. Pour the dressing over the salad. Arrange the spicy brittle shards over the top. Serve immediately.

GINGER ALMONDS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Combine the ginger and salt in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
• Heat the olive oil and sesame oil in a 12-inch saute pan over medium-low heat. Add the arbol chile and cook, stirring frequently, until the chile begins to give off an aroma, 30 to 45 seconds. Add the almonds and cook, stirring frequently until lightly toasted, approximately 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and cook until reduced slightly and the pan looks dry, approximately 1 minute. Immediately remove the nuts to the large bowl and toss with the ginger mixture.
• Spread the coated nuts into a single layer on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the pan to a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes or until completely cool. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

HOT AND SWEET NUT BRITTLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F Place almonds in 15 1/2 x 10 1/2-inch jelly-roll pan. Bake 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown, shaking pan occasionally. Cool almonds in pan on wire rack.
• While almonds cool, in heavy 3-quart saucepan, heat vinegar and 2 cups sugar to boiling over medium heat. Continue cooking over medium heat until mixture turns dark amber in color, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. (If using a thermometer, temperature should read about 360°F.)
• Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix salt, cumin, coriander, ground red pepper, and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Lightly grease large cookie sheet.
• Remove saucepan from heat. Stir spice mixture into hot sugar syrup. Add almonds, and stir until evenly coated. Immediately pour mixture onto cookie sheet. With 2 forks, spread almond mixture to form a single layer.
• Cool brittle completely on cookie sheet on wire rack. With hands, break brittle into small pieces. Store in tightly covered jar or tin for up to a month.

SPICY ALMONDS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. In a small bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients. In another small bowl, whisk egg white until foamy. Add almonds; toss to coat. Sprinkle with spice mixture; toss to coat. Spread in a single layer in a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Spread on waxed paper to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

SWEET AND SPICY ALMONDS

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread the almonds onto a baking sheet, and toast until the nuts start to turn golden brown and become fragrant, about 10 minutes. Watch the nuts carefully as they bake: they burn quickly.
• Stir together the sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper in a mixing bowl; set aside.
• Stir together the water, honey, and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the mixture begins to bubble, stir in the toasted almonds until evenly moistened. Pour the almonds into the sugar and spice mixture, and toss until evenly coated. Spread onto baking sheets in a single layer, and cool to room temperature.

ALMOND BRITTLE

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
• Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat; add almonds, sugar, and syrup. Cook and stir the almonds until the mixture turns caramel in color, about 6 minutes.
• Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet in a thin layer. Cool until the mixture hardens and break into pieces to serve.