Grand Mariner Cranberry Sauce

Its almost time for Thanksgiving.  One of my favorite meals of the year.  Its so epic.  I know not everyone goes crazy over turkey but I love it. I always do Alton Brown's brined turkey recipe.  Comes out moist and delicious and we all love it.  I like to do the cranberry sauce ahead of time and freeze it.  One less thing to do when there are a thousand other things to do.

Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce

24 ounces cranberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
2 teaspoons orange zest


1.  Zest oranges. Set aside.

2.  Cook cranberries and zest until cranberries have mostly broken down. 

3.  Add sugar and Grand Marnier and cook five minutes more.

Dill Mustard Sauce

Last summer, at Ikea, I picked up a bottle of their delicious mustard dill sauce!  Insert a choir of angels here and the heavens opening with light and joy.  Love this stuff, its a Swedish sauce called,  Hovmästarsås, it is incredible.  I was hooked but with Ikea two hours away and in another country, yes, that's the closest one to me, I had to find another alternative.  Behold, the amazing internet.  After looking at a few recipes, and they are really simple, I came up with my own interpretation.  I have a bit more dill than most recipes.  But I really like the dill. AMAZING stuff. Picture it if you will in a potato salad. I am picturing it and I will be making it tonight!

Dill Mustard Sauce

1/4 cup Dijon Mustard
1 tablespoon Grainy Mustard
1 tablespoon cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 generous tablespoons honey
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped finely

Whisk together the Dijon, oil, vinegar and honey.  Drizzle in oil, whisking constantly.  It will emulsify easily because of the honey.

Hushpuppies With Remoulade Sauce

I have made hushpuppies before.  I made them for New Years.  I have never made the sauce to go with them.  I did use a different recipe this time but I have to say I liked the ones I have made before better.  So if you want the recipe, just click the hushpuppy link above in this paragraph.

Can you tell I am catching up giving you all my Holiday recipes.  No time and no natural light during the season. Sigh. Better late than never.




Remoulade Sauce

1 cup mayo
2 teaspoons mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons hot sauce
2 tablespoons scallions (use as garnish in sauce when serving)

Whisk all the ingredients until fully incorporated.

Around the internet some other remoulade sauces to try:

Simply Recipes. Remoulade

Allrecipes

Enchilada Sauce

Usually when I make enchiladas I am busy making the filling and totally not in the mood to make enchilada sauce.  I usually will pour some of my canned tomato sauce with a little taco seasoning in it and call it done.  That's okay but sometimes I want things really cooked through and thought out for a better depth of flavor.  So on my canning bucket list this summer was enchilada sauce.  I didn't think I was going to get to it but the end of summer tomatoes were a perfect fit for the sauce.  I ended up having 6 pints when all was said and done but it will largely depend on how long you boil it down.

I am pretty stoked about having ready made enchilada sauce in my pantry!

Canned Enchilada Sauce

24 cups  (about 3/4 peck) tomatoes
juice of 2 lemons
4 large cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons cumin
1 teaspoon chipotle powder
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
2 teaspoons oregano
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1.   Fill the canner with water, cover and turn the heat on medium.
2.   Cook tomatoes, boiling them down for about 60 minutes.
3.   Add the remainder of ingredients and taste.  If you want more heat, add in some more chipotle.
4.   Bring to a boil again for about five minutes.
5.   Blend the sauce being careful not to burn yourself as hot liquid in a blender builds pressure and can blow the lid.  I always put a towel over top.  I also only fill my blender 2/3's full.
6.   Strain seeds and skin out.
7.   Sterilize jars and while still warm pour the sauce into jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space.
8.   Run fingers around the rim to insure there are no chips or food particles on that would get in the way of a good seal.  Put lids and rings on.  Tighten rings firmly.
9.   Place jars in canner.  Add more water if necessary.  Water should be one inch above the tops of the jars. Once the water starts to boil, this is called processing, process for 30 minutes.
10. Turn off flame, remove lid of canner and wait five minutes.
11.  Use the canning tongs to remove the jars and lids one at a time from the canner. 
12.  Listen for a ping as the jars cool and the lid pops into place. You dont have to be there to hear the ping but it is a gratifying sound.  It means the lids have sealed.  
13.  Before you store them you do want to check to make sure the lid is depressed.  This means they are sealed properly.  If the lid is not depressed store in refrigerator and eat. Let the jars rest 24 hours.
14.  Store in a dark place.

BBQ BAKED BEANS

Summers coming.  It has been so cold and not wanting to warm up here for Spring, like, at all.  This week 70's are in the forecast!  Yeah!  I will take it.

These beans can be easily translated to a crock pot too. Lay it all in there with the bacon on top and turn it on low and slow.  Come home to baked beans.  Don't think the slow cooker is just for the winter months.  The slow cooker is your ally in summer too.  Just set it outside.  If you have it in the sun it will really turn up the heat on whatever you are cooking so be mindful of that.

BBQ BAKED BEANS

1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter
3 cans of pinto bean, liquid dumped until it reaches the bean line
2 tablespoons brown mustard
2 teaspoons Creole Seasoning
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 cup Barbeque Sauce (recipe below)
6-8 slices of bacon


In a Dutch oven saute onions in butter until golden.  If you do not have a Dutch oven then do this in a soup pot.  Add in the remainder of the ingredients. Transfer over to a casserole pan when ready to put in the oven.   Lay bacon slices over top of beans.  Cook in a 350F oven, uncovered for 60 minutes.



Barbeque Sauce

2 tablespoons pork fat or bacon grease
1 cup brown sugar
3 medium onions (about 3 cups)
3 cups ketchup (I used 2 1/2 homemade Eureka ketchup and regular ketchup)
1/2 cup salsa
8 cloves garlic, minced (I used my canned pickled garlic)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 teaspoons pepper
1 teaspoon liquid smoke (to taste)

Saute onions in fat until golden, deeply golden.  You want them caramelized.  Once they are caramelized add in ketchup, salsa and the remainder of the ingredients. and cook for 30 minutes at a simmer.  Remove from heat and cool a little.  Blend.  Set aside.

TRINIDAD SALT COD FRITTERS

I saw this recipe in Food and Wine the other day.  It was one of those moments when a visual cue of a recipe, the contents of your refrigerator and your mood for a certain food all collide into one Perfect Storm of a Foodie Moment.  Next thing you know, its there in front of you.  Color me blessed that I can say that.  It happened twice in the past couple weeks, once with these amazing fritters and once with a recipe I will share in the next couple days.   Both times we were rewarded with amazing deliciousness.

TRINIDAD SALT COD FRITTERS

This recipe is adapted to suit me and my family's taste.  I combined two recipes. The first one I used for the pepper sauce. If you want to see the original recipe, go here to Food and Wine. The second one is the one I used for the actual fritters.  If you want to see that recipe at Food and Wine, go here. After looking at the original recipe you might ask why I chose to use sparkling water.

PEPPER SAUCE
1/2 small onion, coarsely chopped
6 scallions, green parts only, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 roasted red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 roasted serrano chile, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/2 small Scotch bonnet chile, seeded and minced

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons peanut oil
Salt

FRITTERS
1 1/2 pound dried salt cod, rinsed in several changes of cool water and soaked overnight
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup cornstarch
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups cold sparkling water (Yes, it made a difference)
1 large onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
3 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 small green bell pepper
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
Vegetable oil, for frying



For the pepper sauce:
In a food processor, puree the onion, scallions, garlic, bell pepper and serrano. Pulse to incorporate. Let cool to room temperature. Add the lime juice and peanut oil and season with salt. Pulse briefly, then transfer to a serving bowl.

For the fritters:
Saute onions and peppers in a tablespoon of butter until softened. Add in garlic, cook one minute more.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Rinse the cod and pat dry. Using your hands, shred it into small pieces. In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder. Add the eggs and sparkling water and whisk just until combined. Fold in the chopped cod along with the onion, garlic, bell pepper and black pepper.

In a large, deep skillet, heat 1 inch of vegetable oil to 375°. Working in batches, scoop tablespoon-size mounds of batter into the hot oil and fry, turning once, until the fritters are deeply golden all over, about 1 1/2 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Transfer to a platter and serve hot, with the pepper sauce.

Raspberry Sauce

Love raspberries.  Besides a great mango, this is my most favorite fruit! Love the flavor and the tartness.

I recently had the good fortune of having a Driscoll coupon for berries.  I chose some luscious raspberries at the supermarket.  They looked outstanding.  As much as I would have liked to eat the whole package of berries, I decided to make something that would last and we all could enjoy.  And we did.  Over pancakes.  Wonderful.

 My husband I had our pancakes with the sauce and walnuts.

The kids had theirs with just some sauce and powdered sugar.

Raspberry Sauce

2 cups fresh raspberries ( you could use frozen too)
1/2 cup sugar
juice of half a lemon

In a saucepan, on a low flame, heat the raspberries and lemon.  Once the raspberries start to break apart add in the sugar.  Let it cook for about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and once it cools a little, blend.  Chill.

Peach Barbeque Sauce

 
I made this barbecue sauce before and totally forgot to blog about it.  Over the winter I used it all.  It was a very delicious recipe.  I can tell you for sure that it is on the canning "to do" list to be sure.  Won't be long and peaches will be in full throttle and I will be canning this stuff to be sure! If you can, I highly recommend you do too.

Have you ever wondered about the spelling of barbeque, I mean barbecue?  You can read about it here, from The Grammarist.  I choose barbeque.  Deal!

By the way, the sauce does darken over time. If you make it and wonder why mine is darker- that's why.

Zesty Peach Barbeque Sauce
BALL Complete Book of Home Preserving 400 Delicious Recipes For Today; Robert Rose Publishers.

• 6 cups finely chopped pitted peeled peaches (about 3 lb or 9 medium)
• 1 cup finely chopped seeded red bell pepper (about 1 large)
• 1 cup finely chopped onion (about 1 large)
• 3 Tbsp finely chopped garlic (about 14 cloves)
• 1-1/4 cups honey
• 3/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp hot pepper flakes
• 2 tsp dry mustard
• 2 tsp salt
• 8 Ball® (8 oz) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands 

1. PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil.  Wash lids in warm soapy water and set bands aside.
2. COMBINE all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens to the consistency of a thin commercial barbeque sauce, about 25 minutes.
3. LADLE hot sauce into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.
4. PROCESS in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

Enchilada Sauce

Enchilada's have become a way for me to clean up leftovers.  There are a couple other leftover-cleaner-uppers- soup and fritatta's.  For the enchilada's, if you are armed with some Mexican flavors (cumin, lime, chili, cilantro...) and some tortillas, you too can clean up your leftovers and no one would be the wiser.  Shh, don't tell the family.  Like especially the kids.  My husband does a little happy dance (well, not really) when I clean up leftovers.  He hates wasting food (as do I). For the most part I can keep on top of stuff in the fridge.  Mostly due to him as he is a champ for cleaning up leftovers.  Sometimes I am sad about this because leftovers from some meals are even better than the night they are first served.

My friend, knowing I love Mexican food, sent me this recipe for enchilada sauce.  You can go to the link here, at A Simple Pantry.  This blogger has lots of Mexican meals, lets of good food to check out and drool over.

I did change up a few things from the original recipe.  First, because I had no chili powder (that, like, never happens, me- running out of a spice!) I had to grind some of my chilies.  OMG, let me tell you, while it upped the flavor quotient, it also upped the spicy quotient.  I was okay with it- but the kids, not so much. I recorded what I did in the recipe below but honestly, if you use fresh dried chilies, lower the amount unless you can take the heat! I also, added the tomato juice to kind of buffer the heat.

BEST DAMN ENCHILADA SAUCE

Recipe adapted from this recipe at A Simple Pantry Blog.  Swoon, people, swoon.

4 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons chili powder, freshly ground*
1½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon Mexican oregano
4 cups beef broth, chicken, or vegetable broth
2 cups tomato juice*

In a soup pot heat the oil, then add in the flour.  Toast the flour, stir frequently, when the flour is lightly golden add in the broth, then the remainder of ingredients.

*See italics in paragraph above.
 

Mustard Chicken With Blackberry Sauce

 

I was at the Farmers Market last week.  Along with the farmers that sell there, there are many vendors from the local food warehouses that sell their goods as well.  When lots of stuff is fresh and local, I buy from the farmers, of course, but in the colder months I buy from the warehouses as well.  I scored a huge container of black raspberries.  I had seen this recipe in a magazine called Eating Well when I was at a doctor appointment and had copied it down.  I knew I had to make it when I found the blackberries.  Yeah!  You can find that original recipe here.

Seldom does that happen where I find the recipe and the ingredient at the same time.  How many times I have cut out a recipe, gone to the store at some other time, bought what I needed and then could not find the recipe.  Ha!

 Isn't it a beautiful color?  So rich and delicious without being fattening. Score!

Then I knew I had to make this other recipe as well.  I love how it turned out with the layers of flavor both in the chicken as well as the sauce. It was easy too.  Flavor it all up and place in the oven.

And for dessert.  Oh YEAH!

Mustard Chicken

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons of Dijon
1 tablespoon Italian Herb seasoning (or a combination of basil and oregano)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 large chicken breasts

In a baking pan 9 x 9 mix olive oil, dijon, garlic and Italian seasonings together until combined.  Place breasts in mixture and coat evenly.  Bake at 350F oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until done.

Blackberry Sauce

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
6 ounces blackberries

Make this sauce at least a couple hours before you are ready to use it.  Place honey and Dijon in a food processor or blender. Whirl it until it is combined and add in blackberries.  Whirl until the blackberries have been chopped and it is a nice smooth consistency.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  It will keep for a few days and actually get better the next day.

Crockpot Apple Butter

Polish folk art or wycinanki (pronounced vee-chee-non-key)  Source:  Polish News Seattle

Happy New Year!

The end of 2014 had some rough spots for us.  The flu hit us this Holiday Season.  Also, the passing of a man that I babysat when he was young.  He leaves behind a wife and three young children.  Sadly.  His death has hit me hard.  My sadness is for his family.  I love them so.  Seeing them hurting just breaks my heart to pieces.  Sadness because he was too young and too precious to go.  A beautiful spirit.  41 is just too young.  A brain tumor. 

My best friend lost her father a few days after Christmas.  I sat in Church, during the service, thinking about how he touched my life.  When I was in my early twenties I had the good fortune of going with my friend, her sister and her Dad to Poland.  I was very fortunate to go and am still very grateful about that! We stayed with his relatives in Gydinia and Gdansk. My friends father, in his younger days, was a Merchant Marine.  He sailed the world over and learned many languages.  I always thought that was very mysterious and exciting.  

It is really the kindness of someone that you remember.  I sat there, in Church, thinking about that.  How kindness really does matter.  Sure the accomplishments of an individual you remember too.  But what really is the stand out for me is the love and kindness that the person extended to you and the world.  (And really in some cases the lack there of- let's be honest). 

I am looking forward to this New Year. Besides the fact that I don't really have a choice, 2015 is here.  Period.  I do like the freshness of a new day.  The freshness of a New Year!  How the slate seems to be wiped clean in some ways.  But new beginnings are really in every moment.  Aren't they?  Each moment is a decision to be a better person, to live a better life, to give to someone.  It is true there is no greater gift than the giving of one's self to another.  The moments you spend with your children, your spouse, your friends, your parents.  Or even the small kindness you give to a stranger. 

The hardest part of this recipe is chopping all the apples.  The rest?  Easy Peasy.  Place in crock pot, turn it on and forget about it.  You don't have to even stir it.  Just let it simmer away.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

18 large apples
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cider or water

Fill crock pot with apples.  I use the above as a guide for about how much spice to put in.  Don't add your spices until right at the end.  Since everything will cook down quite a bit the flavor will condense as well.  The vanilla will just cook out so wait until the end for that as well.  Mine was in the crock pot for 12 hours.  It never stuck to the pan at all.  

 

Cranberry Port Gelee

I am not use to cooking with juniper berries.  Though I am sure use to drinking them in my day.  I use to love to have a gin and tonic when I was out with friends.  It was one of my favorite drinks.  Gin, if you don't know, is made from juniper berries.  Juniper comes from a type of pine tree called, Juniperus communis.  All juniper bushes grow juniper berries, however most are too bitter to eat.

I saw a recipe similar to this on Food 52, which is quite a stellar site.  Lots of great recipes from various sources.  I had a bit more cranberries than it called for and I had some Lingonberry Preserves that was not getting eaten. 


Cranberry Port Gelee
The jumping point for this recipe.

1 cup port
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 jar of Lingonberry Preserves
6 cups cranberries (fresh)
1 tablespoon juniper berries
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

Mix all except sugar together in a saucepan.  Cook until heated through.  Add sugar and cook until berries are popping. Mash with a potato masher and strain pushing some of solids through.  Pour and refrigerate.

Sweet and Sour Sauce - Fast Food Style but Homemade

This. is. the. BEST. recipe for sweet and sour sauce.  Seriously super satisfying sauce.  No kidding.  I loved it.  Dippin' my baked egg rolls into it was freaking heavenly!

I have been trying to recreate the big chain hamburger joint, sweet and sour sauce recipe for years! Thank you Todd Wilbur!

This is it! Nuff said!

Sweet and Sour Sauce
Adapted from this recipe.

1/4 cup apricot preserves
1/4 cup canned peaches
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
5 teaspoons white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons water

Place everything but the water in a blender and give it a good blending!  Pour into a saucepan, add the water and bring to a boil.  Once thickened remove from heat.

Pasta with Roasted Pepper Sauce

Today, while my brother was visiting, we took a ride over in the Finger Lakes region of New York.  I like to go to a few Mennonite stores there.  I buy a few things there that are hard to find in other places.  Like a 50 pound bag of flour.  Yes, I know, you are thinking that is HUGE.  You are right it is, but if you bake bread, you go through it quite quickly.

Since I hear this is going to be a rather cold winter again, I am thinking I will be making bread on a regular basis and may not get back there for a while.  I don't know, I say that, and then I always end up going back in a couple months anyway when there is a break in the weather.  

This pasta is delicious.  A but sweet so it is totally a good idea to sprinkle some Asiago over top to offset the sweetness. We also enjoyed the pasta mixed with tomatoes as the acid offset the sweetness of the pepper sauce as well. 

If you have two components, which I did, this recipe is stinking easy to whip up.  I suppose tomato soup would work in a pinch.  Combined with roasted red peppers.

I roast some peppers every year around this time.  I stash them in the freezer.  Boy, are they good on a sandwich! In the winter time that sure is appreciated by me. I had a jar of them in the refrigerator.

roasted peppers
tomato sauce

You could totally make this with store bought stuff.

If you want to get all domestic though, do this:

Tomato Soup

2 quarts tomatoes
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
4 cups milk
1 large onion, diced

Core and peel some tomatoes.  Place them quartered, in a large soup pot.  Cook them down until they are pretty soft.

In a frying pan fry onions in butter.  Continue to saute for about five minutes, just until the onions are transluscent.  Add in flour.  Be patient.  You want the flour to begin to brown.  This is what gives a nice rich flavor.  Once your flour clumps are golden, whisk in milk. Continue to whisk until all the clumps melt.  Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for one minute.

Meanwhile puree the soup, either in the blender or with an immersion blender. 

Pour the milk mixture into the tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Done!

Roasted Peppers

On a cookie sheet.  Place in oven and broil.  You want the pepper skin charred all the way around.  Check and turn often.  It gets real hot so you have to watch this process pretty close. 

As soon as one pepper gets done place immediately in a pot with a cover or a bowl with a cover.  The steam will help the pepper seperate from the skin.

Once you are all done roasting then you have to peel the skin off.

Yes, it is an exhausting process but worth evey little effort later on.  The flavor is WAY better than the jarred kind in the store.  By the way, do not run it under any water when peeling.  You will lose flavor.  Yes, the little seeds will drive you crazy.

Once you peel it all, cut in strips, season with salt and pepper, a little olive oil and a little red wine vinegar.  Let sit overnight for maximum flavor.  If you can stand waiting that long.

Peachy Pepper Sauce

It's even more orange than it looks here.

I made some hot sauce a few years ago.  I never wrote what I did down I just threw somethings into the pot.  Some tomatoes, some hot peppers, some carrots...  It was kind of what I had on hand along with the other usual suspects, alt vinegar etc.  This time I am making something different.  Not sure how it will come out so I am writing it down just in case I love it and want to recreate it.So far I am loving the flavor of this sauce.  My guess is that it will get better over time.

I have this thing with mango hot sauce.  Since mangoes are not exactly plentiful around here I decided to use the closest thing to it- peaches.  If I had some apricots I would throw them in there as well.  But lets just stick with this so far.

A few tips about making hot sauce

1. The more seeds you put in the hotter it will be.  The seed is the heat center of the pepper.
2. Use stainless steel, ceramic or glass for everything it touches. Its pretty caustic, especially when you add in the vinegar.  It will eat away at plastic and aluminum.
3. Do wear gloves, if you don't have them use a sandwich bag or a plastic bag to protect the hand that touches the peppers.  Don't touch your eyes through out this whole process.  If you got an itch, get a clean towel and use that. Just ask me how I know these things...
4. Cover the pot, this will cut down on the amount of heat going into the air.  The hotter your peppers, the more cautious you need to be about this.  It can burn your lungs, eyes, whatever. Respect the heat!

Cherry Peppers

Peachy Pepper Sauce
Makes about 2 quarts.

1/3 cup chopped garlic
8 cups peaches, peeled pitted and sliced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon neutral oil
18 cherry peppers ( you can go as hot as you like here- I started out with these)
1 cup onion
1/2 cup carrots
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon of ascorbic acid*, citric acid or the juice of half a lemon

In 1 tablespoon of oil sauté onion, carrots and peppers until translucent.  I covered it once it started to really cook.  Too much fumes. One it gets to the point where the veggies are a bit more tender you can add the water, vinegar, garlic, salt and peaches. Let the mixture cook until everything is super soft.  I simmered it, covered, for about 40 minutes.  Add in the sugar and ascorbic acid. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.  I did not can this because I am not 100% sure that there is enough acid in this. I am guessing there is.  I half of it.  The other half is in my refrigerator.  I am thinking it is going to go pretty fast. 

Why ascorbic acid? Basically all this is- is vitamin C.  It helps to maintain the color, preventing browning, at least for a little while.

Sweet Potatoes in Bourbon Sauce

It's sad and lonely, one sweet potato in a sea of delicious sauce but it is all I have left people!  These were eaten rather quickly.  At the dinner table it was too dark for pictures.  But I must share it with you because it is a fabulous way to make sweet potatoes.

Yesterday, I made my way through tons of boxes, tissue paper, bows and wrapping paper in my storage area.  All piled there just to get it out of the way.  It's all neat and organized now and in its proper spot.  Whew, that makes me feel so much better.  Sometimes I put it off and it is like a thorn in my side, driving me crazy.  Why do I put it off when it makes me feel so good to do it?

Which led me to thinking as I lay sleepless in bed last night.  Why do I not do things specifically that would make myself happy?  Now, I am not a resolution kinda girl anymore because it just never works for me.  Last night, I did make a resolution, to love myself more.  Love myself by doing nice things for myself.  Eating right, getting exercise and cleaning the house more because it makes me happy.  If I am eating right and exercising more then I will have more energy to clean the house, right?

I think this is the best resolution that I can make or have ever made really. I know its kind of late in the game but I did give up smoking 16 years ago on Martin Luther King.  It wasn't necessarily a resolution but definitely on my list of habits that had to go.  Sixteen years later I couldn't be more happy about that decision.  It was pure freedom.  I no longer had to worry about where my pack of cigs were or if I had my lighter or not.  Cause DANG it sucks to have a cigarette and not have anything to light it with.  Its like a piece of meat hanging in front of a starving lion just out of his reach. 

The goal I always want to have is to lose weight.  That this will be my year.  But I have shifted my thinking.  Loving myself and honoring myself enough to do what is right will likely have the desired result of losing weight but it is where my attention will lay that will serve me much better.  Towards the end of 2013 I did lose 10 pounds and have managed to keep it off over the holidays.  I like that kind of momentum.  And you know I deserve that kind of momentum.  So onward ho!

Just a little tidbit about diets.  I very much believe in eating a healthy, well balanced diet.  That means eating carbs.  I know the rage is no to low carbs with this whole Paleo thing but I have to tell you, unless you are eating tons of fruit you probably will not get the carbs your body needs.  And your kidneys don't like that.  Read about ketosis some time.  If you want, ask me and I will put together an article about it.  Ketones are VERY bad for your kidney and can potentially shut them down.  I worked in dialysis and the last thing you want is for your kidneys to shut down because you did not eat enough carbs.

Simply cutting back on your carbs will have the desired effect.  Certainly choosing the right carbs will also be very beneficial to the level of insulin and satiety. So do your research.

You will find the usual here at my blog.  While I will certainly be eating less sugar that is not to say there won't be an occassional treat.  I also believe in whole, real foods.  No diet crap.  Have the real thing but less of it.  So don't worry, it will be more of the same thing my blog has always been.  Salads, mains, desserts, snack and appetizers and so on.

Whew, that was probably one of the lengthiest posts I have ever wrote. Onto the recipe people! Yeah!

Sweet Potatoes In Bourbon Sauce (swoon)
This recipe, found in December 2013 issue of Southern Living.  Adapted.
My version printable found here.

4 large sweet potatoes, unpeeled
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons bourbon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon butter
Sea salt

Preheat oven to 425°. Pierce potatoes several times with a fork. Place directly in oven.  Bake until done but not mushy. It should still feel a little firm but have give to it.

While the sweet potatoes are baking, bring orange juice and next 5 ingredients to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer, stirring often, 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat.

Without bringing your fingers. I used a fork and a delicate hand to peel the skins off the potatoes.  You can certainly wait until they are more cooled but I was kind of in a hurry.

Place in a 9 by 13 pan cut side down and pour sauce over them, return to oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, depending on how much you had previously cooled them to peel them.  I like having them in the oven and already to go for company.  It was pretty too. If you want them browned , you can put them under the broiler but you need to watch them very closely as they will go from pretty to charred in no time.

Green Tomatoes and Salsa Verde

What do you do when you get a whole lot of green tomatoes at the same time?  Now that is a good question.  I have made green tomato jam before, well, actually a couple times because frankly it is just that good. But how much jam can you have?

I have made fried green tomatoes before, at least once per summer.

But now I have a new favorite with about six containers in my freezer to prove it.  Salsa verde.  Now, before you go getting your panties in a ruffle, I know salsa verde is traditionally made with tomatillos.  And yes, I make that and I love it.  But why not green tomatoes?  They are green and I turned them into sauce- thus salsa verde.

Then I used them for this great idea for zucchini and mushrooms  enchiladas.  An idea that came from here. A good idea in fact- they were quite tasty.  If you want to follow the recipe, hop on over to Closet Cooking.

I collected some ingredients that I would normally throw into tomatillo type salsa verde. But I added a few more things.

Salsa Verde, Green Tomato style
This recipe will make enough salsa that you can freeze about 3 cups of it and have some for this dish as well.  If you do not want so much, halve it or quarter it.


8 cups quartered green toamtoes
4 cloves garlic
1 large onion, chopped roughly
1 yellow bell pepper (this will help with the color)
1 jalapeno, more or less depending on your heat preference
3/4 teaspoon epazote (if you dont have this just omit)*
3/4 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon cumin seeds**
1 tablespoon oil

In a dutch oven or a heavy bottomed pot, saute onion until translucent.  Add cumin seeds and toast lightly.  Then add all the rest of the ingredients.  How easy is that.  Cover the pot and let it all cook for about an hour.  You want your green tomatoes to be tender.  Puree once it is all cooked.  Use salsa in recipes that call for salsa verde.


*  epazote is an herb used in Mexican cooking.  It is actually stink weed dried up.  It is pretty powerful stuff so you just want to use a little.  It really lends a lot of flavor and makes things taste mroe authentic.

**  cumin seeds are worth any time it takes you to find them. They are nice and fresh and give lots of flavor.  If you want them ground, just grind them in a spice grinder and voila, ground cumin with lots of POW.

Gourmet Spiced Ketchup - it dances on your tongue

One of the things my Mom experimented with when I was a child was canning ketchup.  We liked it okay but it was a tad on the clove-y side.  She didn't make it again.  Was not impressed- too much work and it didn't have a wow factor.  I wish she did try it again with some different spice combinations.  Well, I picked up the torch, despite my past mediocre experience, I made ketchup.  I am glad I did- this stuff rocks.  It makes regular ketchup seem so ubiquitous.  This ketchup has spices that get up and dance on your tongue and party in your mouth.  I can't wait to try it with a burger.

I didn't can/process this.  I gave away some, froze some and refrigerated some. 

Gourmet Spiced Ketchup


4 quarts peeled and chopped tomatoes
1 cup white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon canola oil or other flavorless oil
2 cups chopped onions
1 teaspoon cayenne*
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes*
1 teaspoon allspice, ground
1 teaspoon coriander, ground
1 teaspoon cardamom, ground


1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons paprika


Spice Bundle Contents
You can use a coffee filter or cheesecloth to make your bundle, tie up with string and drop in to the tomatoes.


4 cloves
2 tablespoons celery seeds
3 tablespoons mustard seeds
1 cinnamon stick
3 garlic cloves, halved


In boiling water drop tomatoes and let boil for one minute.  Set on a cookie sheet and when cool enough to handle, core and peel tomatoes, cutting off any bad spots. Cut into quarters. 


In a large soup pot heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil and saute onions until translucent.  Add tomatoes and the remainder of ingredients.  Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and let the mixture simmer uncovered for a couple hours.  Stir occassionally, especially toward the end of the cooking process when mixture has reduced considerably.  You want the mixture to plop of the spoon rather than pour.


Remove spice bundle and blend mixture in batches, pouring into decorative jars for gift giving.



*This stuff has some serious kick, if you do not like hot spice in your food I recommend reducing it or omitting it all together.  I would put in some peppercorns (about a teaspoon) to the spice bundle if you omit the heat.

Daring Cooks: Enchilada Sauce and Red Mole

Salsa.  Here the accent?  Makes me want to dance!  That is why I love Zumba so much, but I digress. This is about food not exercise after all.

Sauce is really the thing that always takes a dish go from plain to dressed up.  A stir in for a soup, a dressing for a salad or a sauce for your enchiladas.  The complexity, the flavor, the BANG in your mouth! 

I have made mole before but it was the quick recipe.  I have wanted to make a-spend-the-day-in-the-kitchen kind of mole for a long time.  Make no mistake, it is a day in the kitchen.  In the end, you are rewarded with one of the best tasting sauces you ever had.  And you have a bucket of it to boot.  So you freeze a couple jars and wow your friends when they came over.

A couple pieces of equipment are truly necessary for making mole.  One is a splatter screen.  This will save you a whole lot of clean up.  Two, a slotted spoon that can withstand the temperature of hot grease.  Stainless steel, not plastic.  Chenois for straining, medium not fine.  Besides the other normal things like pots and bowls these will be the things that are indispensible.

I used Rick Bayless recipe for red mole as he is kind of the ambassador of Mexican cuisine (besides Diana Kennedy of course).

Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.

Please note that the Daring Cooks recipe was for enchilada sauce.  We were allowed to make a different sauce if we had made enchilada sauce before.  SInce I can enchilada sauce I decided to go with mole.  But I also made some green enchilada sauce which I have also never made adn wanted to do.  I love tomatillos so it was a welcome addition to my foodie repertoire.

Classic Red Mole
Mole Rojo Clasico

Makes a generous 3/4 gallon of mole

Recipe from Season 7 Mexico - One Plate at a Time


10 ounces (5 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1 1/3 cup (about 6 1/2 ounces) sesame seeds
1 cup rich-tasting pork lard or vegetable oil, plus a little more if necessary
6 ounces (about 12 medium) dried mulato chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into large flat pieces
3 ounces (about 6 medium) dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into large flat pieces
3 ounces (about 10 medium) dried pasilla chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into large flat pieces
8 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup (about 4 ounces) unskinned almonds
1 cup (about 4 ounces) raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon, preferably freshly ground Mexican canela
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, preferably freshly ground
1/2 teaspoon anise, preferably freshly ground
1/4 teaspoon cloves, preferably freshly ground
2 slices firm white bread, darkly toasted and broken into several pieces
2 ounces (about 2/3 of a 3.3-ounce tablet) Mexican chocolate, roughly chopped
3 quarts chicken broth
Salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
Directions

1.   Preliminaries.  On a rimmed baking sheet, roast the tomatillos 4 inches below a very hot broiler until splotchy black and thoroughly soft, about 5 minutes per side.  Scrape into a large bowl.  In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds, stirringly nearly constantly, until golden, about 5 minutes.  Scrape half of them in with the tomatillos.  Reserve the remainder for sprinkling on the chicken.

2.   Brown other mole ingredients.  Turn on an exhaust fan or open a kitchen door or window.  In a very large soup pot (I typically use a 12-quart stainless steel stock pot or a medium-large Mexican earthenware cazuela), heat the lard or oil over medium.  When quite hot, fry the chiles, three or four pieces at a time, flipping them nearly constantly with tongs until their interior side has changed to a lighter color, about 20 or 30 seconds total frying time.  Don’t toast them so darkly that they begin to smoke—that would make the mole bitter.  As they’re done, remove them to a large bowl, being careful to drain as much fat as possible back into the pot.  Cover the toasted chiles with hot tap water and let rehydrate 30 minutes, stirring frequently to insure even soaking.

Remove any stray chile seeds left in the fat.  With the pot still over medium heat, fry the garlic and almonds, stirring regularly, until browned (the garlic should be soft), about 5 minutes.  With a slotted spoon, remove to the tomatillo bowl, draining as much fat as possible back into the pot.

Add the raisins to the hot pot.  Stir for 20 or 30 seconds, until they’ve puffed and browned slightly.  Scoop them out, draining as much fat as possible back into the pot, and add to the tomatillos. Set the pan aside off the heat.

To the tomatillo mixture, add the cinnamon, black pepper, anise, cloves, bread and chocolate.  Add 2 cups water and stir to combine.

3.   Blend, strain, cook.  Into a large measuring cup, tip off the chiles’ soaking liquid. Taste the liquid:  if it’s not bitter, discard all abut 6 cups of the liquid. (if you’re short, add water to make up the shortfall).  If bitter, pour it out and measure 6 cups water.  Scoop half of the chiles into a blender jar, pour in half of the soaking liquid (or water) and blend to a smooth puree.  Press through a medium-mesh strainer into a large bowl; discard the bits of skin and seeds that don’t pass through the strainer.  Repeat with the remaining chiles.

Return the soup pot or cazuela to medium heat.  When quite hot, pour in the chile puree—it should sizzle sharply and, if the pan is sufficiently hot, the mixture should never stop boiling.  Stir every couple of minutes until the chile puree has darkened and reduced to the consistency of tomato paste, about a half hour. (I find it useful to cover the pot with an inexpensive spatter screen to catch any spattering chile.)

In two batches, blend the tomatillo mixture as smoothly as possible (you may need an extra 1/2 cup water to keep everything moving through the blades), then strain it in to the large bowl that contained the chiles. When the chile paste has reduced, add the tomatillo mixture to the pot and cook, stirring every few minutes until considerably darker and thicker, 15 to 20 minutes. (Again, a spatter screen saves a lot of cleanup.)

4.   Simmer.  Add the broth to the pot and briskly simmer the mixture over medium to medium-low heat for about 2 hours for all the flavors to come together and mellow. If the mole has thickened beyond the consistency of a cream soup, stir in a little water.  Taste and season with salt (usually about 4 teaspoons) and the sugar.

Lacquered Chicken
Rick Bayless

1/2 cup agave syrup (preferably organic raw) or dark corn syrup
24 portions of chicken—24 leg-and-thigh pieces, 24 bone-in chicken breast halves or a mixture of the two
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Reserved toasted sesame seeds from the Classic Red Mole recipe
Sprigs of watercress or flat-leaf parsley for garnish

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a small (2-quart) saucepan, mix together 1 cup of the mole with the agave nectar or corn syrup.  Simmer over medium heat until glossy and reduced to 1 cup, about a half hour.  On rimmed baking sheets, lay out the chicken in a single layer.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake for 45 minutes (the chicken should be tender to the bone at this point—leg-and-thigh portions should register 165 degrees at the thickest part on an instant-read thermometer).

Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees.  Tip off the juices that have collected around the chicken, then brush the pieces liberally with the glossy mole mixture.  Sprinkle with the reserved sesame seeds.  Bake for 10 minutes to set the glaze.

Remove from the oven, let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, then slide into a very low oven to keep warm until serving time—preferably no longer than 30 minutes.

Serve each portion of chicken with about 1/2 cup of warm mole, decorated with watercress or flat-leaf parsley.

Green Enchilada Sauce

1 pound tomatillos (roasted)
2 medium white onions coarsely chopped
1/4 cup canola oil
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 large roasted Anaheim chili, skin peeled as much as possible
3 cups chicken broth

Saute onions in oil and cook until soft. Add the garlic and the roasted tomatillos, pepper, chili powder, cumin and broth.  Cook until everything is tender. Cool a little and place in blender or processor to desired consistency.  You can freeze it at this point.  The flavor of the sauce will be much better the next day so if possible make this a day in advance.

I almost forgot to post this tortilla stack as that was a part of the challenge as well.  It really is a nice way of doing the tortillas.  I toasted my tortillas first before doing my stack.  I think the toasting helped bring out their "corny" flavor. This particular stack was made with my homemade, canned enchilada sauce.

Penne Vodka

The title of this post isnt really true is it? Its more like Farfalle Vodka. Its just the shape that has changed though because it has all the goodness of the penne vodka. The cream, the vodka, the tomatoes... and from there everyone's penne vodka is a little different. The recipes are as varied as the proposed origins of this dish. Some say it came out of Italy, some say America and some say the vodka company, which is in, oh, I dunno, Russia?! (Read more about it here.) It's a good thing, so of course everyone wants to say it was their idea. No disrespect but it really doesn't matter as long as I can make it in my kitchen. Not only can you make it in your kitchen but like most pasta dishes, it's a snap to prepare.

Lori's Farfalle Vodka
interpreted from my friend "D" who got us all hooked on the stuff.
filled with lots of commentary, cause I am part Italian

pasta, any shape, your choice, after all it will be your dish when all is said and done.
1/4 - 3/4 cup vodka (depending on what a lush you are)
4 cups tomato sauce (fresh tomatoes in the summer totally rock this dish)
2 cups chopped ham
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup half and half
3 - 6 tablespoons tomato paste (depending on how thick you like your sauce)
1 1/2 cups peas
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
fresh basil or a spoonful of pesto
parsley, if you are feeling fancy- decorate it

In a large pot boil your pasta. This sauce will cover about a pound of cooked pasta.

In a large skillet, saute onions until soft. Add minced garlic and cook one minute more. Pour in your tomato sauce, ham and vodka and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Add the peas, basil and half and half and let the sauce get warm again. Stir in your pasta and it's ready to serve. Sprinkle with more basil (if you have fresh) and parsley.