Seasonal spiced pecans.

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.