My secret to entertaining is to keep it simple.  I take enormous pleasure from feeding my friends and family.  But as much as I love to cook, bake and feed (and eat) even the smallest of parties can turn into the biggest productions.  So as far as the food is concerned, I tend to entertain with recipes that are easy to execute but still have deep delicious flavor.  And I always like to include one homemade treat to give the party an extra special touch.  Enter these nuts -

One of the simplest little nibbles to serve along cocktails at a party is some mixed nuts.  Unless you’re allergic, everyone loves them.  It’s easy enough to empty a can of bag of store-bought nuts into a nice bowl and call it day.  But when you see how simple these are to make, I don’t think you will ever go store-bought again.

Roasted nuts are as simple as gathering your favorite combination of nuts, coating them with a few seasonings and popping them in the oven, which does all the work.  In this recipe, a combination of cashews, walnuts, pecans and almonds are coated with maple syrup, brown sugar, orange juice, rosemary and chipotle, which makes them perfectly sweet, salty, crunchy, spicy and most of all smokey (thanks to the chipotle).  As easy a getting some from the store is, you just won’t any these flavorful.

And serving them warm at a party is an easy, stress free and simple way to give your guests a lil’ somethin’ special.

Chipotle and Rosemary Roasted Nuts

Adapted From: Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?
Yield: 8-10 Servings

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil
3 cups whole roasted cashews
2 cups whole walnut halves
2 cups whole pecan halves
1/2 cup whole almonds
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons ground chipotle powder
4 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves, divided
4 teaspoons kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brush a half sheet pan generously with vegetable oil.

Combine the cashews, walnuts, pecans, almonds, 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, the maple syrup, brown sugar, orange juice and chipotle powder on the sheet pan making sure to toss and coats the nuts evenly. Add 2 tablespoons of the rosemary and 2 teaspoons of salt and toss evenly again.

Spread the nuts in one even layer and roast for 25 minutes. Throughout the roasting process stir the nuts with a large spatula to ensure even glazing and browning. Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the nuts with 2 more teaspoons of salt and remaining 2 tablespoons of rosemary. Toss well and set aside at room temperature making sure to toss the nuts occasionally as they cool to prevent sticking.

Serve warm or cool and store at room temperature in an airtight container.