Rosemary Roasted Cashews

Last August I hosted a simple dinner for a few friends. I don’t even remember why I did it. I didn’t cook anything except for these rosemary roasted cashews. I’m lucky I have a good cook who did all the cooking for dinner.

I got this recipe from Ina Garten aka The Barefoot Contessa. The original recipe came from the Union Square Cafe’s famous bar nuts which they serve warm at the bar.  Nigella Lawson’s recipe for that can be found here.

I used Ina’s recipe which called for all cashews instead of mixed nuts since it’s easier to find in the supermarket. I bought this 500 gram bag of Heritage raw cashew nut from Unimart for P419.50. The whole bag was just perfect for one recipe.

It’s very easy to prepare. Bake the nuts for 10 minutes or until they turn golden brown. The second time I made this I toasted it more golden than the ones in this picture.

Combine the fresh rosemary, sea salt, muscovado sugar and cayenne pepper in a bowl.

Add the melted butter.

Mix well to combine.

Add the warm nuts, toss until well coated. Serve warm. The smell is just wonderful.

My friends all loved the savory, sweet, fragrant cashews. We all couldn’t stop munching the nuts before, during and after dinner.

Rosemary Roasted Cashews
(c/o Ina Garten)
1 1/4 pounds cashew nuts (500 grams)
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar (I used muscovado sugar)
2 teaspoons kosher salt (I used sea salt)
1 tablespoon melted butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the nuts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until they are warmed through. Meanwhile, combine the rosemary, pepper, sugar, salt and butter in a large bowl. Toss the warm nuts with the rosemary mixture until the nuts are completely coated. Serve warm.

These are the dishes my cook prepared. My cook used to work in a Chinese restaurant and he’s also the one who cooks all the delicious meals I sell in my store, Small Office Solutions. So I can’t take credit for all the good food. In case you’re wondering what I ate? I ate my regular Cohen meal. Sad huh? I did try a little of this and that.

pickled vegetables

I love this tofu that’s a little sweet and a little spicy. It can be served hot or cold.

marinated tofu

We also had pinakbet and monggo but they’re not photogenic. The biggest hit as expected was my cook’s ultra yummy and crispy lechon kawali.

lechon kawali

Rochelle brought 2 boxes of Cassava Creme Royale and it was all our first time to try it and we loved it!

Cassava Creme Royale

The base was a typical gooey cassava cake topped with a creamy, cheesy topping. It wasn’t too sweet so you can eat a lot. The topping reminded me of leche flan.

Look at all that creamy goodness!!! You can eat this chilled straight from the refrigerator or warm it in the microwave. I prefer eating it cold since I don’t want to waste time nuking it. I cheat with just 1 or 2 spoonfuls.

cheese cassava P170

The other variant was macapuno or coconut sport. Even though macapuno is typically super sweet this wasn’t.

Still good but not as creamy as the cheese.

macapuno cassava P170

The next two pictures came from Cassava Creme Royale’s Facebook page.

Hmm coffee or chocolate cassava? I wonder what that tastes like.

Cassava Creme Royale
277 P. Guevarra St. San Juan
telephone: 545-8742