I have seen variations of this recipe all over the internet and it was always described as addictive. I liked that idea and thought it would be a perfect thing to make for the holiday party I catered. I could leave bowls of it scattered around the room so if the main food table got too crowded, there would still be something for people to munch on with their cocktails. The nuts came out great. The rosemary gives it a very distinct flavor, it melds so well with the caramelized sweetness of the sugar and maple syrup and is balanced by the salt and kick of cayenne. One guest even asked if he could take home a to-go box full of them!

I don’t drink much beer – the easily available gluten free varieties don’t really tickle my fancy – but I imagine these nuts would be to die for with a nice cold one (someone get to work making a GFree Coors Light, will ya?!)

Ingredients:

- 7  cups mixed unsalted nuts (I used 1 1/2 cup peanuts, 2 cup cashews, 1 1/2 cup pecans, and 2 cup almonds)
- 4 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 4 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 4 tsp sea salt
- 4 Tbsp melted butter

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread nuts onto the baking sheet and toast for about 10-12 minutes (I couldn’t find un-roasted peanuts so I added those in when I mixed the nuts with the sauce.) Remove nuts and set aside until cool.
Mix the sauce ingredients (rosemary, cayenne, brown sugar maple syrup, sea salt, 2 Tbsp of melted butter) in a large mixing bowl.

Add the toasted nuts into a large bowl and stir in 2 Tbsp of melted butter. Stir well until the sauce completely coats all of the nuts.

Pour nuts back onto the parchment lined baking sheet and bake for another 12-15 minutes until golden. Cool for at least 20 minutes and serve.
Makes 7 cups, perfect for a super bowl party!

I hope I can redeem myself from my last heart stopping post with this healthierish one. The blogs have been ablaze the past few months with eaters extolling the virtues of kale chips. “Addictive!” they proclaimed, “Taste just like potato chips!” they promised, “You’ll eat a whole head of kale in one sitting!” they declared. After falling head over heels for kale in this salad, I knew this snack was going to seal the deal. I bought 3 bunches of kale at the farmer’s market, rushed home, cooked em up and…I was underwhelmed. Sad to say. My first batch was too salty. My second was better but it sure didn’t make a kale-aterian of me. I think I might try again with curly kale instead of the flashy Cavolo Negro I used but many other bloggers seemed to love the CN. For those of you who still haven’t tried this recipe (is there anyone still out there?) here is what I did. Please try it and let me know if you think I’m bananas for not jumping on the highway to kale (I’d apologize for the puns, but I’m not sorry!)

Ingredients:
- 1 Bunch Kale (I used black kale or Cavolo Nero, I think curly might work better)
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Tsp Seasoned Salt*

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350

Remove stems from kale leaves. If using Cavalo Nero, cut leaves away from hard stems, if using curly kale, just cut off the stem at the bottom of the kale leaf. Rip or cut kale into bit size pieces.

Wash your Kale well. Mine was from the Organic Farmer’s Market in SaMo and had all kinds of buggies and crusties up in it.

I washed the heck out of it then gave it a long whirl in the salad spinner.

Blot with paper towels and set out until completely dry. Any wetness will cause the kale to steam rather than bake/roast and it will be soggy and not crunchy.

Place dried kale in a bowl and toss with olive oil.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spread kale out in one even layer on baking sheet, you may need two sheets in order to avoid piling the kale up.

Bake for 10-20 minutes or until crispy but not brown.

Immediately after removing from the oven, sprinkle with seasoned salt.
Serve right away!

*I made one batch with kosher salt and one with garlic salt and I wasn’t crazy about the flavor of those two. They were a bit too bitter and waaaaaay too salty. You can play with whatever seasonings and spices you like. Seasoned salt was my fave.

OK, OK, this beef jerky isn’t actually secret (it certainly isn’t now that I am posting it on the internet!) but it is my family recipe. My mom and dad make this jerky a few times a year and it is the best I’ve ever had. Jerky is one of those things you can adjust to your taste by adding any spices you like but I wanted to make this recipe by the book on my first attempt to see if it was as good as my dad used to make. It is. It may be even better because I cut my meat against the grain for a more tender jerky versus my dad’s method of cutting with the grain for chewier jerky, but that might just fall into the personal preference category.
This recipe takes a long time to make; parts of it are labor intensive and it’s messy. Even so, if you like jerky or even if you just like meat, you might want to give this a try. You end up with a LOT of jerky when you’re done and it could last you for months – that is, unless you are me, my sous chef and our friends – then you will be lucky to stretch it out for two weeks! It just goes to show how tasty this is. It’s a great, protein-rich snack that is totally portable. Great for road trips, camping or noshing on in front of Man vs Food. It’s smoky, a little sweet, salty, chewy and crunchy. Everything a good hunk of dried out beef ought to be. Thanks to my mom and dad for the recipe and helpful tips!

- 2-4 lbs lean beef (flank steak, brisket, round steak) -I used a round roast, hence all the cutting I had to do. Steaks make it easier but either will work. Also, you don’t need choice meat, this was just on sale, you can use any grade you like.
- 1/3 cup liquid smoke
- 1 1/2 tsp meat tenderizer (msg)
- 1 tsp seasoned salt
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/3 cup gluten free tamari (or soy sauce for you wheat eaters)
- 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce (most made in the US are gluten free but check your labels)
- 1/4- 1/3 cup brown sugar

Trim any thick fat or silvery membrane from the outside of your meat.

 If you are using a roast like I did, cut the roast into steaks.

Mine were a bit thin, I would aim for 1″ – 11/4″ thick steaks.

 

Cut the steaks into thin strips, with the grain for chewy jerky, against the grain for tender jerky.

Aim for about 1/4 inch thick, not much thicker, but if they get too thin they may break apart. They’ll still taste good though, I promise.

Place meat in a plastic zipper bag and pour in the marinade. Marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.

Drain and dry meat. (I missed this step and ended up with meat juices all over my kitchen. Woops.)
Line the bottom of the oven with foil to catch drippings. This is very important. Your oven will probably never be clean again if you forget to do this!

Arrange the meat strips DIRECTLY ON the oven rack, evenly spaced.
Cook in a 150 degree oven 5 – 7 hours, 170 degrees for 5 hours if oven cannot do 150 (My oven only goes as low as 170.)
 Leave the oven door ajar for the entire cooking process. Test jerky after 5 hours to determine if you want to cook it longer for a crispier texture.

When it’s done to your taste, turn the oven off and let it cool then just pop off your jerky, take out the foil and rinse off your oven racks. Snack away!