Salt & Pepper Cashews

When people come over for a glass of wine at five o’clock, they often don’t leave until very late. Rather than cook a hasty dinner, I prefer to serve heavy appetizers. That way people can nibble a bit of they have other dinner plans, or they can have a satisfied belly if cocktails turns into an all-evening affair.

I always have a variety of nuts in my freezer for cooking, but cashews are my favorite…. and Salt  & Pepper Cashews take my favorite nut and ratchet it up ten notches! The first time I flew business class and was served warm cashews before dinner, my taste buds were in heaven. The wine in business class is never exceptional, but I fell in love with warm cashews with chardonnay many years ago. I have adapted the recipe to my own taste buds, and hopefully you’ll enjoy it as much as I do. The Salt & Pepper Cashews can be served either hot when you first make them–so delicious!–or cold if you don’t have time to make them before company arrives.

Once you taste how good these are, you’ll add this easy appetizer to your list of favorites.

1 cup Cashews
1-2 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper

Heat olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. When oil is hot, add cashews and coat with oil. Add salt and pepper and stir until seasoning is evening coated over nuts. Stir occasionally for 5-8 minutes until nuts are uniformly brown. Serve immediately. Transfer leftover nuts to an airtight container when cool. Will stay fresh for 2-3 weeks, but I bet they won’t last that long!