Hello everybody! Welcome back to Sunday Gravy.
Damn glad to see you!
Today’s Sunday Gravy may be a bit of a misnomer since this time we are not even going to enter the general vicinity of gravy.
Got something entirely different, very easy to make – AND even easier to fuck up! – and best yet by request!
Homemade roasted nuts!
I’m a daily consumer of the mixed nut/peanut variety, particularly during the week when I am otherwise protein-less. They’re always satisfying, crunchy, salty and a fantastic accompaniment to any adult beverage. Plus they’re damn good for you in moderation and with a reduction in sodium preferred.
Several months ago when we met one of our newest contributors, Alex Demote, he arrived in the clubhouse and mentioned that he had gone through some previous episodes of Sunday Gravy and he had some very kind things to say. I mentioned to him at the time that I also took recipe requests.
After taking some time to process this, his response was “I think it would be really cool if you roasted and flavored your own pistachios or other nuts.”
See? That’s a damn fine idea right there! I haven’t done this before and it’s a super versatile concept that I’m sure most of you would really appreciate.
I mean who the fuck doesn’t love a good roasted nut mix or roasted peanuts?
It’s a goddamn sports staple for sure.
Every. Single. Time I go to a baseball game I am guaranteed to buy a bag of salted/roasted peanuts in the shell.
They are fucking delicious, cheap, filling and boy howdy do they help the beers go down easy.
Get your ass some beers handy right damn now because away we go
Since we’re pretty fucking far from holiday season, finding raw nuts at your basic grocery store isn’t that goddamn easy.
I procured our test products today from none other than “Nuts.com.” Here is test victim number 1.
Mixed nuts today and look at that goddamn assortment! Almonds, cashews, macadamias, pecans, Brazil nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts and filberts. That’s almost all of the nut kingdom!
Spicy Oven roasted mixed nuts!
recipe courtesy healthyrecipesblogs.com
“4 cups raw nuts (about 16 oz total)
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste”
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Next we create the spicy seasoning blend.
I added some additional cayenne because that’s the way I roll.
Place your various nut varieties into a bowl.
See, they’re pretty sexy looking raw. The colors and textures and whatnot.
We’re going to give them a good tossing with some extra virgin olive oil. Use the good shit, this will be part of the flavor profile.
Using a rubber spatula give the nuts a good toss to fully coat with the seasoning blend.
There! Those look nicely coated with spice.
Place in a single layer on the baking sheet and roast away! These will go between 20-30 minutes depending on your oven. Give the pan a turn about halfway through the cooking time.
This is the tricky part here, the done-ness. You don’t want them too raw and you don’t want to over roast them. Think coffee beans and their flavor based on the amount of roasting applied.
You’ll smell the FUCK out of these when they roast and it’s goddamn amazing.
After you’ve consumed multiple handfuls be sure to store them properly in an airtight container.
Here’s another look at the finished product.
It’s a full fledged cornucopia of nuts!
You can tell from looking at the pecans in the lower right corner that these were a tad over-roasted. Shit man, first try! Plus my oven has been an asshole lately and could probably use a new thermostat but as of yet no response from the landlord. Time to text his ass again.
I think I liked the pistachios most of all but the cashews were banging too. Overall a quality product that could use some additional tweaking.
Quick reader survey: When you reach the bottom of a can of mixed nuts what is the predominate remaining nut?
I’ll wait…
If you said Brazil nuts, then you trend just like my household. I like Brazil nuts just fine. Like a big macadamia or some shit. Not everyone is a fan though.
Don’t worry, before all is said and done over these next couple of weeks, we’re gonna show you how to utilize Brazil nuts properly. Promise.
For our second roasted nut test subject I went to a personal favorite.
Shelled Virginia peanuts! Love these things. I forget where I got them, I think it was a Christmas gift food package, anyway there was a small can of extra large Virginia peanuts and holy hot fucking damn were they awesome. This was my attempt to duplicate that exact product.
We’ll keep it simple with no oil added and only salt as a seasoning.
Prepare to roast.
This time it was a 350 degree oven for 24 minutes. Twelve minutes into the cooking process shake the pan and return to oven, twelve more minutes and you’re done.
After roasting give them a very liberal dousing of salt.
There we are! Look at the bottom right of the photo again. Seeing a trend?
Goddamn fucking stove.
Once cooled, place the nuts in a handy bowl for service.
As you can see, some of these were goddamn perfect and a couple went “over” the doneness mark. These also smelled fucking incredible when roasting. With the different levels of roasting there are many different flavor notes in play. A rich nutty note, a deep buttery peanut note and an almost “roasted coffee” flavor were all represented here.
Very cool.
However; I just could not get the salt to stick to the peanuts properly. After eating there was a big ass spoonful of salt at the bottom of that bowl. They were great and all just not salty enough for me.
And now for the real adventure.
We will attempt to roast salted peanuts in the shell.
Keep your fingers crossed. Shit’s about to get weird.
After the roasted Virginia peanuts escapade my brain was determined to get these next peanuts salty.
Tons of goddamn research and recipe browsing ensued but I settled on a recipe from Food.com.
I decided to try the shelled peanuts two ways. Here is the first version.
Once again we go back to the Nuts.com well for the raw ingredients.
Yep we’re going to give them a brine. That recipe link will tell you to add a full cup of salt to a pot of water. Sounding like a lot of motherfucking salt the half cup option was agreed upon.
Here are our victims in their raw nascent state.
Get them little goobers into a pot, a fully goddamn salinated pot. That crazy ass recipe up there said to cook these on a very low simmer for… FIVE FUCKING HOURS!
Ok? If you say so.
It was after a few hours into the long, slow simmer we discovered an important step was missed…
It’s really important to wash these prior to low boiling them. That’s a goddamn mud spa right there. Fuck it. Too late to change course.
We sail on full speed ahead!
Finally after the fucking eternity of simmering we give them a drain in a colander.
According to that whack-ass recipe up there, after draining you will lay the peanuts on a drying rack for, ready for it?
Three goddamn days!
Which, if all goes right, should turn them from the unappetizing dark brown color seen above, to a more palatable and familiar color of a basic peanut.
Hell, they look right.
The peanuts are roasted in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or so according to that recipe.
Here they are after thirty minutes of roasting.
Have you ever eaten boiled peanuts? I swear they’re a real thing. The Filipinos love them. For me I find them a little wet and the soggy texture is a bit unappealing to my palate.
The reason I bring this up?
These were goddamn boiled peanuts. The salt profile was PERFECT but the nuts themselves were soggy as shit.
The nuts didn’t crack right, they stuck to their skins inside the shell. Hell yes I ate a handful but it was NOT what I set out to make.
SO?
Roast ’em again!
Another 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven while shaking the pan a few times.
Better. Still not quite there. They cracked better and were closer to what we’re used to but nope. This ain’t it.
Five goddamn hours in a brine?
The FUCK. You know what, if it was middle of summer with windows open maybe these fuckers dry out in 3 days. But it wasn’t. It was cold and rainy as shit when we did this so take that with an (additional) grain of salt.
Undeterred and still possessing half a bag of the raw peanuts in the shell I vowed I would give them one final try.
Part IV.
Promising myself we would get this shit right, I went straight to the oracle.
Alton Fucking Brown of the Food Network.
While some of his recipes can be a bit unusual and the preparation a bit out in left field, I still trust his recipes and he’s usually the first source I seek out when trying a new recipe. Plus this one was pretty straightforward.
Also I’m a chronic fanboy of his. Still watch Good Eats all the damn time.
Quick rinse of the peanuts this time just to remove the dirt and shit.
Wipe the nuts down or let them dry for a few minutes. Five fucking hour brine my hairy ass!
Once again we line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
This time we’re going to toss the legumes with a tablespoon of peanut oil and a tablespoon of salt. Coating them as best as you can.
Then into a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, giving the pan a solid shake at the 15 minute mark.
Finally…
Welp, they LOOK right.
Let’s give them a try.
These were fucking delicious!
Eh, maybe could have used a bit more salt but the texture and roast and crispness were finally perfect.
I ate the fuck out of these with nary a survivor to be found.
Success!
Four weeks in a row there was nut roasting going on in the right house with decidedly mixed results but all told I had a goddamn blast making these. Fun for the whole family.
Now about those Brazil nuts I mentioned up there. I found a use for the Brazil nuts that turned out to be fantastic!
We will even feature that bonus recipe on next week’s version of Sunday Gravy!
A Part 2 if you will!
How very, very fucking exciting!
Shit Damn!
And there you go.
Thanks for the inspiration Alex, it’s appreciated.
Hope you all have a wonderful rest of your Sunday. Enjoy the Masters or do the Easter thing or whatever makes you happy.
I appreciate you good folks. Truly.
Let’s get together again next week, a’ight?
See you then.
PEACE!
[…] adventure started back a couple of weeks ago with a harmless attempt to roast some nuts, peanuts and mixed […]
RAHM IT!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxcfU1fKW9w
Palmdale or Chino Hills?
Gotta be either Palmdale or parts north
Lancaster
So pretty!
Losing three Super Bowls? Winning and losing the same wild card game? Having the best record in a strike shortened season, but missing the playoffs due to the agreed upon rules? Winning two games running away and then forgetting how to baseball at home? An entire fanbase getting into a pitcher’s mind so hard he forgets how to hold a baseball in the middle of holding said baseball?
Entering the postseason forgetting how to do the thing you’ve done professionally and at least half your life?
More franchise-breaking injuries that you’d think the entire city, state and a good portion of the Northwest Territory was built on a Native American Burial Ground?!
None of that compares to Peak Cincinnati. Behold! A team winning a game 7-5…while being no-hit!
Baseball fans react to insane no-hitter finish (thecomeback.com)
That’s the AA Tungsten Arms for ya.
Patrick Reed is looking positively porky out there. More like Fatrick Feed, amirite?
Speaking of rising from the dead, I notice we have a couple of our nourthern brethren MIA this fine Easter day. I wonder why? Too many carrot muffins?
Probably the moonshine and Skyline chili.
Brooks not able to Koepka with the pressure?
Happy Easter to you, GumbyGirl
Thanks Triple L! I am stuffed with candy!
“THIS ONE GOES OUT TO GUMBYSQUIRREL!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kOlhgyoYDA&ab_channel=jerphunter
Who want’s the lammy dance? I DO! I DO!
Happy Easter!
“Jim Tomsula and a saucy tart walk into a bar…”
Brooksie with an oopsie to start.
“Called It, regarding Arsenal.”
-The Bangles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj7OJeyhq2Q&ab_channel=TheBanglesVEVO
Originally done by Katrina and the Waves!
Katrina and the Waves was one of the worst parts of Bush Jr’s presidency.
Spock!
He was so cool in the video but his responsibility for untold amounts of infant’s deaths? It gives me pause.
Meh, fuck dem bebes.
/watching the golf
“Oh right, just remembered that Phil Mickelson is a complete jackass.”
We go to the Costco and get the big bag of Almonds and roast them at home. I find the salted and roasted almonds from there too salty. And I like how the roast at home isn’t uniform as some that are more done and some that are less and the in between makes for more interesting flavour overall. Kinda like how some like the outside of the brownies or lasagna.
And love me some Alton Brown too. Learned lots from him and his shows. Think I have all of his books to help me cook
Alan Brown?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-43eVhQ5AU&ab_channel=SpazzDHN
How the fuck did I miss this watching the show. This is awesome, so thank you
Mr. Koepka: “Let’s call him ‘Over-Flowing Raging Rivers’-it has a nice ring to it.”
Mrs. Koepka: “WTH? Dial it way back, maybe ‘Clear Running Streams’?”
Mr. Koepka: “That’ll give him a complex, I’m sure. What about ‘Major Tributaries’?”
Mrs. Koepka: “Seriously? Next you’ll suggest ‘Private Streams’. C’mon, be serious.”
Mr. Koepka: “Ok, fine. What about ‘Brooks’?.”
Mrs. Koepka: “I can get onboard with that.”
Mr. Koepka: “Goddamn it! Fine. ‘Brooks’ it is.”
“I really got screwed when they were picking water -themed names.”
-Estuary Koepka, Brooks’ brother
His stepbrother Franz turned out ok though
His nephew, Drainage Ditch, would disagree.
They just really liked the ketchup.
The original Los Angeles Aqueduct
Jawbone Canyon
Easter ruined, FFS
Not a great second half. I’m not sure Curtis Shaw is going to recover from this.
City of Men control own destiny now. Win out and they are champions on GD.
It was away at Liverpool. One point is actually pretty good. It could have been worse.
But of course Curtis doesn’t want to hear that…
No. No he does not.
The rest of Arsenal’s schedule seems very winnable, and they do not have to play the Champions and lFA Cup games that Man City does. They should be able to hang on, but who knows. De Bruyne-Haaland is just such an insane combination.
Fuck it. I’m gonna watch the Masters because there’s nothing going on in my life and I’m bored out of my (Pine) tree.
Sexy Mexy soccer starts in a bit! I mean, if you’re intent on taking a nap, you might as well make it a Sexy nap…
Do those peanuts in the shell spell out some satanic message?
Yes, they say Easter is stupid
They say to stop trying to find words where there aren’t any
[edit: fucking typo]
With kids’ eggs to hunt, my yard looks like it contracted pastel genital warts.
Tossing your nuts in olive oil is great but it’s a bitch getting the oil off.
“True.” — Popeye
And Extra Virgin Olive Oil didn’t have a fucking clue as to what she was doing.
“Oh, is that what she told you?” — Bluto
Watching a live stream from someone named Curtis Shaw. Absolutely hysterical. Arsenal up 2-0 and the title is theirs, they’re so good, nothing can stop them. Liverpool pulls one back, everything is awful, Arsenal is falling apart, they’ll be lucky to avoid relegation. The ref is terrible, that’s a horrible call/non-call, no wait on replay that’s the right call, (Curtis does at least acknowledge when he’s wrong, fair play to him for that), the refs not giving Arsenal anything, oh wait he’s booked someone for Liverpool.
It’s great. I am worried about Curtis’s emotional health though.
Devilled eggs – not quite a recipe.
Mix the yolks, mayo, mustard, salt and Worcestershire sauce together, taste it, modify it. Aim low, because you can add more but you can’t take it back out. You’ll probably need more mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Remember, you want it a little salty because it’s going in an egg half.
Add celery seed when you’ve got the glop right. See ‘aim low’ above.
Put in in the egg halves. I have an icing gun that makes it all classy and shit. Sprinkle it with paprika, or not. Your call.
Note: do not use salad dressing or add sweet relish. Those are an abomination unto the Lord when used in devilled eggs, and he would be especially pissed if his devilled egg had sweet relish or salad dressing in it on Easter Sunday. I might try dill relish in the mix, or a little piece of bacon stuck in the completed egg sometime soon.
I didn’t have a chance to praise you for your phrasing from your toilet post comment.
I have started referring to my 5-year old as a “recalcitrant turd.”
Thank you, good sir.
It doesn’t matter whether I make 8 or 28 deviled eggs for family get-togethers, there will be none at the end of the evening.
You really should add a little bit of horseradish in there. A nice little kick that folks will remember.
I throw in a splash of white vinegar instead of Woostah sauce, cuz that’s how my mom did it.
I make mine with avocado and bacon.
Liverpool fans already leaving Anfield.
Jesus scores on Easter! The greatest story ever told!
He hung out with prostitutes for a reason.
Judging from the epileptic fit that the guy whose channel I’m following audio on just had, it seems Jesus has indeed returned for Easter and scored a goal.
Cancels Klopp’s subscription to the resurrection! Is fookin’ righteoUs.
Klopp is going to forget how to spell German before this season ends.
Another outstanding goal delivery from our magisterial Brazilian pizza boy! Liverpool’s transgender goalkeeper Alisson had no chance!
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Of course NBC puts Arsenal-Liverpool behind a streaming wall to force people to buy Peacock.
In a completely unrelated note, anyone know of any *other* options to watch the game?
These better be served at YR’s expat bar in the +351, American Al’s Beachside Clam Hut.
“The Clam Hut that I go to is in a Florida strip mall, not beachside.”
-Robert Kraft
Watching Koepka almost spin the ball backwards into the water and I’m wondering – can these guys *not* put backspin on the ball? My shots don’t roll backwards at all, they just land and stay put.
I suppose that’s a discussion for Balls Magazine.
Coming this week!
“Spinning the ball is bad. It can cause injury. You want to caress it.”
-Suzee, the “woman of the night” who strolls our downtown luxury hotel bar
You givha five dollar – she maka you holla
My golf balls love water sports.
“I love water sports too. Especially Russian Golden Showers.”
-D. Trump
I don’t like saying anything good about Boston sprots teams, so I won’t.
The Celtics have nice-looking uniforms, if you like the color green.
I mean, the Bruins have absolutely humiliated the Leafs a few times, so there’s that.
Aww but they would have done that to themselves, eventually.
Can any of our golf-inclined brethren explain what will happen with the Masters today? Will they finish Round 3 and they go straight into Round 4?
Why dont they just close the roof?
“THAT’S WHAT A MOTHERFUCKING T-TOP IS FOR, BITCHES!” – Boss Todd
They will do what is called a “Shotgun” start meaning half of the golfers will tee off on number 1 like always, and the other half will tee off on number 10. When the golfers on number one reach number 10 they will play like usual, move right to number 10 tee. When the golfers on 10 reach 18 they will snake back to tee box number 1 and continue their round that direction. Now since they want to finish today the golfers will snake their way around the course playing 36 holes of non stop golf and boring us all right out of our single use diapers.
How dare you. I have multi-use diapers.
I prefer to “double dip” if you know what I mean, it’s warmer.
I have an oven, the one that gets the most use, that does the same thing. I think its one of the coils that is old and on the fritz. I just rotate the tray half way through the cooking time and nobody gets hurt.
Gotta have nuts if you are putting on a “soup to nuts” dinner for guests. And Easter lunch over here is one of those times.
Happy Easter Everyone!
All other nuts can go for a hike. I’ll not take any questions.
Over 8 hours and not a single “deez nuts”, wtf DFO