The snowstorm two weeks ago took me by surprise. It isn’t as if the meteorologists got it wrong; as a matter of fact, they pretty much got it right. But I don’t watch local television weather reports: I get The Day every day, along with The New York Times. I TiVo Jeopardy (and lots of other shows, some good enough to talk about, others of which I am ashamed that I watch them.) But I don’t watch television in the morning or from 5 to 7 p.m. I am usually in bed before the 11 o’clock news.
As a result, I realized just Friday afternoon that I would not be driving to New York State for a memorial service for the wife of a high school classmate. On Sunday morning I decided I would miss a Sunday afternoon party at my friend Tracie Armao’s house because I did look at the Weather Channel and thought the melting ice might freeze before I could get home.
What I did, instead, was cook. I had leftover chili, so I also made a meat loaf (for sandwiches, primarily), onion soup, chicken soup (with the chicken I would make into salad for the week), hummus and spiced pecans. Here are the two latter recipes, one for hummus I adapted from Claire’s Corner Copia Cookbook (Penguin, New York, 1994) and the other, for pecans, Kim Severson, Atlanta Bureau Chief for The New York Times, put on Facebook.
Hummus
Yield: serves 8 to 10
2 to 3 15.5-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup tahini (sesame paste, found in health stores and most supermarkets)
One-quarter cup olive oil
Juice of 2 to 3 lemons
One-quarter cup water
Lots of cloves of garlic (I use at least 6 to 8)
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash or two of cayenne pepper
One-half teaspoon paprika
Place all ingredients except salt, pepper, cayenne and paprika into a blender or food processor. Puree into smooth. Taste and add salt, pepper and cayenne (careful about that cayenne!) Pour into a bowl and serve with pita, tortilla chips and/or raw vegetables.
Spiced Pecans
One and one- half teaspoons salt
Three-quarter teaspoon black pepper
Three-quarters teaspoon cayenne
One-half teaspoon ground ginger
One and one-half teaspoons cinnamon
2 to 3 tablespoons brown sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted
6 cups pecans (although less expensive unsalted nuts would work, too)
Set oven at 350 degrees. Whisk all ingredients except pecans together in a small howl.
Brush 1 tablespoon of butter over the top of a large rimmed baking sheet. Add nuts, and toss to coat. Spread nuts in a single layer and bake about 10 minutes.
Place pecans into a large bowl, add remaining butter and toss. Add spice mixture, toss and add baking sheet to the oven. Roast 4 to 5 minutes, stirring once.
Cool and try not to eat them all.