It’s fireside season, meaning it’s a great time to perfect your cheese board skills with nibbles featuring our new Reininger and Helix release wines. With nary a carrot or celery stick in sight, these homemade crackers and spiced nuts ala Ina Garten, plus cheese and fig savories from the Runaway Spoon are quick to make, require only a few ingredients, and taste delicious!

Rosemary Cashews

Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. roasted unsalted cashews
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh rosemary
• ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. light brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spread the cashews out on a sheet pan. Toast in the oven until warm, about 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar salt and butter. Thoroughly toss the warm cashews with the spiced butter and serve warm.

Parmesan and Thyme Crackers

Back to Basics by Ina Garten

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ lb. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 oz. freshly grated parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)
• 1 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for 1 minute. With the mixer on low speed, add the Parmesan, thyme, salt, and pepper and combine. With the mixer still on low, add the flour and combine until the mixture is in large crumbles, about 1 minute. If the dough is too dry, add 1 teaspoon water.
2. Dump the dough onto a floured board, press it into a ball, and roll into a 9-inch log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 days. (You can also roll ahead and freeze it up to 6 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and then slice and bake when ready to serve.)
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the log into ⅜ inch rounds with a small, sharp knife and place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 22 minutes, until very lightly browned. Rotate the pan once during baking. Cool and serve at room temperature.

Blue Cheese and Fig Jam Savories

Epicurious from the Runaway Spoon

INGREDIENTS

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• ½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 4-5 oz. (about 1 c.) blue cheese or gorgonzola, crumbled
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Fig Jam (about ½ jar of Dalmatia Fig Spread)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl of a food processor, place the flour, butter and blue cheese plus a few grinds of black pepper. Process until the dough just comes together and starts to form a ball.
3. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to pull the dough together. Roll out to ⅛ inch with a floured rolling pin. Cut rounds of dough with a floured 1 or 2 inch cutter and transfer rounds to the baking sheet.
4. Using the back of a teaspoon, or your thumb, make an indentation on top of each dough rounds. Spoon about ¼ teaspoon of fig jam onto each indentation.
5. Bake the savories for 10-14 minutes until the jam is bubbling and the pastry is light golden on the bottom.
6. Grind a little black pepper over the top, and let savories cool on the baking sheet for at least ten minutes, then remove to a wire rack.

Make ahead: You can make these the day before and keep them in two layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container.