Home Opener Snack

Tuesday night is the Yanks home opener. So while the fans in the stands are enjoying Bazzini's nuts, you can bake a batch of my spiced nuts for the family. This recipe is easy to prepare and great to do ahead; it just requires about an hour to slowly roast. This is one of those treats that can be dressed up or down; and always receives a raised eyebrow of pleasant surprise. I've been told, "George I need to make double batches because my guests ate them all!"

Serve as elegant munchies, pre-dinner snacks or toss a few in a salad. Be creative; and go Yanks! Enjoy.

Spiced Nuts

recipe by Chef George Hirsch | Makes about 5 cups

from George Hirsch Living it UP! Cookbook, ©2000

 

1 pound unsalted pecan halves, almonds, cashews or walnuts

1 egg white

1 teaspoon water

2 teaspoons hot sauce or chipotle sauce

3/4 cup pure cane sugar

2 Tablespoons curry powder

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

 

Mix sugar, curry powder, and salt.  Heat oven to 250 degrees F. Arrange the pecans on a cookie sheet and toast, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the egg white and water until frothy. Stir in the pecans/ nuts and sprinkle with the sugar, hot sauce, chipotle sauce, curry powder, and salt. Mix well. Lightly coat the cookie sheet with vegetable cooking spray. Spread the pecans in a single layer on the sheet.

 

Bake 45 minutes- 1 hour or until the pecans are dry, stirring once or twice.

 

Cool, store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

chefgeorgehirsch.com

Gone Bananas

After a few days of holiday entertaining, guests and any over indulgences - get through the midweek hurdle with my Banana Smoothy Recipe. 

Banana Smoothie 
recipe by George Hirsch | From George Hirsch Living it UP! TV series companion cookbook

Makes 2 servings, so share

1 cup frozen sliced bananas
1 Tablespoon low fat peanut butter
1/2 cup fat free milk
1/3 cup plain low fat yogurt
1/2 cup crushed ice

Place the bananas in a blender and puree. And the peanut butter, fat free milk, yogurt, and ice. Blend until smooth. 

enjoy!

image, firOOO2

Authentically Greek

Opa! Great way to start your morning. Great quality ingredient. Chobani Greek Yogurt, it's the real deal. And the list of benefits are as long as the ingredients not added. 

All natural. No preservatives. No artificial flavors, synthetic growth hormones: No rBST-treated milk, includes 5 live & active cultures, including 3 probiotics. Made with real fruit. Twice the protein of regular yogurts. A good source of bone-building calcium. Gluten-Free and Kosher-Certified. Safe for people with corn, nut and soy allergies.

Chobani's story begins with its owner, Hamdi, who was born and raised in Turkey; and is a third-generation maker of Mediterranean foods. He started AgroFarma with the vision of bringing high quality, all-natural products to the U.S.. After reaching quick success with Euphrates; authentic feta cheese, Hamdi launched Chobani and formed an expert team. Chobani's Master Yogurt Maker, Mustafa Dogan, custom blends special yogurt cultures just for Chobani.

"Mustafa's custom blends special yogurt cultures; we add these to the milk that we receive daily from local farms to make yogurt. We then strain this yogurt to make it outrageously creamy and ridiculously high in protein.

Did you know it takes three pounds of milk to make one pound of Chobani?"

Next the yogurt is strained to remove excess liquid. This magical step is what puts the ”Greek” in Chobani Greek Yogurt and makes the yogurt so outrageously creamy and rich.

It's made in the authentic Greek tradition, in New York State and available throughout the U.S.

Available at Whole Foods.

iChop

There are a couple of events that have forever advanced the way mankind handles food. First, fire - and you know what that did for us. Next, refrigeration, followed by TV and yes - Julie Child. More recently; like Saturday's release of the iPad - has already impacted how we can spend our time in-and-out of the kitchen. Stephen Colbert has introduced us to just one of the many new apps, iChop - reaching a whole new level in kitchen gadgets.

Cato Cured

Marcus Porcius Cato (234-149 B.C.) wrote about making prosciutto over two thousand years ago and much hasn't changed with the preparation of Prosciutto di Parma. A dry cured ham has only the addition of salt massaged and rubbed into the flesh while dry aging for 10-12 months until the meat is both a flavor of perfect velvet sweet and salt.

Sliced paper thin and eaten with a slight cap of fat is the perfect starter to any meal or just by itself with an accompainment of really crusty ciabatta bread, nuggets of Parmegian Reggiano and definitely a glass of ‘big red’.

Can you imagine that over the past two thousand years the custom of a simple plate of ham, cheese, bread and wine has graced many tables, bringing reason to get together for just simple conversation and good quality food.

So wherever you are in the world, this tradition still holds true today, and it can be as simple as this.