Sweet And Salty Bacon And Nuts Food

SWEET, SALTY, SPICY PARTY NUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
• Combine walnut halves, pecan halves, almonds, and cashews in a large bowl. Add salt, black pepper, cumin, and cayenne pepper; toss to coat.
• Heat sugar, water, and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter is melted. Cook for 1 minute and remove from heat. Slowly pour butter mixture over the bowl of nuts and stir to coat.
• Transfer nuts to the prepared baking sheet and spread into a single layer.
• Bake nuts in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Stir nuts until the warm syrup coats every nut. Spread into a single layer, return to the oven, and bake until nuts are sticky and roasted, about 6 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

SWEET SPICY SMOKEY ROASTED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. When cool enough to handle, chop the bacon into small pieces. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, pour off most of the bacon fat from the hot skillet and add the butter. Add the sugar, five-spice powder, cayenne and salt and stir until the sugar dissolves and everything is combined. Add the almonds and stir to coat.
• Spread the nuts on the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Stir in the bacon and serve warm or at room temperature.

SWEET AND SPICY BACON BITES

Steps:

• Place the bacon in an even layer in a large skillet. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often with a rubber spatula, until the bacon is light golden brown, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the maple syrup, black pepper and cayenne in a small bowl.
• Pour off some of the rendered bacon fat, leaving just a small amount. Return the skillet to the heat and pour the maple syrup mixture over the bacon. Braise gently until the syrup thickens and glazes the bacon and the bacon is deep golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

SWEET AND SALTY CRUNCHY NUT BARS

Steps:

• Be still my beating heart! Or perhaps this is not the best thing to say here, given the likelihood of this lusciously over-the-top piece of chocolate excess inducing just such an outcome. I wouldn't want to make this very often, so impossible is it to walk away from with any conviction. I fear it is the kitchen equivalent to crack cocaine.
• Still, as the French say "Everything in moderation, even moderation." This is gloriously intemperate, riotously vulgar. I love it.
• The key is the blaring balance between sweet and salty: it's like several klaxons going off in your head as you eat. And it's strange that while I would normally eschew an all-milk chocolate offering, I prefer it here to the bittersweet-and-milk mixed version. Not that either is bad, and since the jury is matched on this, I feel it only right to alert you to either option. For what it's worth, I like the darker version in the round pan and cut into panforte-type skinny wedges, and my preferred milk chocolate version set in a rectangular pan and cut into chunky, squat slabs (rather as I feel and look like after eating too many of them).
• Line your springform pan with aluminum foil or use a foil pan.
• Break up or chop the chocolate into pieces, and drop into a heavy-based saucepan. Add the butter and syrup, put on a low heat, and melt gently together.
• Tip the peanuts into a bowl, and crush the honeycomb candy with your hands, letting the golden-glinting rubble fall into the nuts.
• Take the melted chocolate mixture off the heat and stir in the peanuts and crushed honeycomb candy, then tip straight into the springform pan or foil pan. Smooth the top of the mixture as much as you can, pressing down with a silicon spatula or vinyl-disposable-gloved hand. Put into the refrigerator for about 4 hours, and once set, cut into slices as desired.
• Make Ahead Note: The bars can be made 1 day ahead. Transfer slices to airtight container, layered with parchment paper, and store in refrigerator. Keeps for 3 to 4 days.

SWEET AND SPICY BACON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Stir together brown sugar, cayenne, and black pepper in a small bowl.
• Arrange bacon slices in l layer on a large broiler pan and bake in middle of oven (or upper third of oven if baking with eggs) 20 minutes. Turn slices over and sprinkle evenly with spiced sugar. Continue baking until bacon is crisp and brown, 15 to 20 minutes more, then transfer to paper towels to drain.

SWEET AND SALTY NUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees, usung about 2 tablespoons butter, generously butter a 15x10x1-inch baking pan,set aside.
• In a large bowl stir together the nuts, grandulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and pepper until well combined; spread in prepared pan.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and bubbly, stirring once or twice; remove from oven; sprinkle generously with raw sugar; toss to coat.
• Transfer mixture to a large piece of foil (Release foil works great), cool completly about 30 minutes; break apart to serve.
• Store nuts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks or in freezer container in freezer up to 3 months.

SWEET AND SALTY CINNAMON NUTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 300 degrees.
• Mix sugar, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
• Place nuts in a bowl and pour the egg white over them. Stir until nuts are coated and sticky.
• Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture over nuts and stir until nuts are completely coated.
• Spread on an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake 30 minutes.