girls’ night

Jordan stays late working hard in the psych lab on Thursday nights. I get together with my cousin Katie and my neighbor/new favorite person Robin. We make cocktails and dinner and have a grand old time just us girls, Willow and Honey included.

This Thursday, Robin took the reigns and made a delicious barley and mushroom risotto. I made a salad with arrugula, baby spinach, blood orange and candied nuts. Today, I’ll share my recipe for candied nuts that are perfect in just about any salad.  This recipe was inspired by incredible green beans that my friend Katie Norton made for me while we were in college. (Katie is now a pastry chef in D.C. and you can visit her blog here). Oh how I wish she could attend our girls’ nights!

Candied Walnuts, great for salads or as a ice cream topping
1/2 – 3/4 cup walnuts
2 T butter
1/2 cup sugar, white or brown
2 t worcestershire sauce
a dash of paprika
a dash of salt

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar. Melt the sugar, stirring occasionally until it becomes carmel in color. Add the paprika, salt and worcestershire sauce. Stir. Turn off the heat and add the nuts. Stir to coat. Pour the nuts onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. As they cool, you can break them into appropriately sized pieces. Toss with salad and enjoy!

-Emily