Jellied Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce is supposed to be a cylinder that quivers like jello and has ring indentations from the can. Isn’t it?

That was the standard when I was growing up anyway. But during the years that followed I learned to make cranberry sauce from scratch and concocted or discovered zillions of good recipes, all of the lumpy variety.

One day I decided to cook a homemade version of that jellied, canned looking kind, just for fun.

I served it at Thanksgiving dinner and everyone was a little puzzled because it looked somewhat darker than the usual. Then they dug in and that was the real surprise. I had slipped some brandy into the mix so it didn’t taste a thing like the supermarket variety. And the texture set it apart too. It was smooth, dense, lush.

Here’s the recipe I used. I experimented with it many times after that, sometimes changing the brandy, sometimes adding little tidbits like chopped raisins, currants or crystallized ginger. Everyone is always pleased no matter which version they get. You can make it without the brandy of course, just add a bit more water and, if you like, some flavorful extract (orange, mint, almond).

Jellied Cranberry Sauce

4 cups fresh cranberries (one pound)

1-2/3 cups water

1-1/4 cups sugar

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier, ginger brandy or other flavored liqueur

1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger, currants, raisins, etc., optional

Wash the berries and remove any stems that remain. Drain the berries and place them in a saucepan. Add the water, bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 4-5 minutes until the berries pop open. Crush the berries with a hand blender or in a food processor, then place them in a strainer over a bowl and press down to extract as much liquid as possible. There should be 2-1/4 cups. If not, add some water. Place the liquid in a saucepan, stir in the sugar and bring the liquid to a boil. Cook until the mixture reaches 220 degrees on a candy thermometer or until it is rich looking and dark and can form a gel when you place a drop in cold water. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the brandy and optional ingredients, if used. Pour into clean cans (best to use #2 cans, about 15-16 ounce size). Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. To umold, use the tip of a sharp knife around the edges, invert the can over a plate and shake it out. Makes 8 servings

Parsnip Soup with Croutons

If you’ve never tasted a parsnip go out right now and buy some. They’re sweet and easy to cook and useful for an incredible number and variety of recipes. Parsnips, the vegetable that looks like a creamy-white carrot, is at its finest just after the first frost, when the starches turn to sugar. The season is now and for the next couple of months (of course you can get them all year but they’re best now).

I learned to love parsnips because my Mom always stuck one in the pot when she made chicken soup, and it gave the broth a lovely, sweetness. Fanny Farmer was less than charmed by parsnips than I am. In 1906 she wrote, “Parsnips are raised mostly as cattle food.”

Taste for yourself. Here’s a thick and hearty soup to warm you up on colder days. If you’ve never eaten a parsnip this will give you a good first taste. If you have, well, then you already know how good they are and can add this recipe to your collection.

Btw, this is a terrific first course for a Thanksgiving dinner.

Parsnip Soup with Croutons

2 slices homestyle, firm white or whole wheat bread or French bread

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil

1/2 teaspoon combined dried oregano and thyme (or use mixed dried herbs)

1 clove garlic, mashed

1 large yellow or Spanish onion, chopped

1 pound parsnips, peeled and sliced (1/4-inch thick)

2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks

5 cups vegetable stock

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup half and half cream, whole milk or coconut milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Trim the crusts from the bread and cut the bread into 3/4-inch dice. Place the bread on a baking sheet and cook for 7-8 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Melt 2 tablespoons of the olive oil plus one tablespoon of the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the herbs and garlic, then pour this mixture over the lightly toasted croutons. Toss the bread to coat them with the herbed butter mixture. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside. Heat the remaining one tablespoon olive oil and butter to the saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until softened. Add the parsnips, potatoes and stock and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer the soup for about 45 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Puree the soup with a hand blender or in a traditional blender or food processor. Return the soup to the pan, stir in the cream and reheat. Serve the soup topped with the croutons. Makes 6 servings

Snapper in Coconut Curry

When I was a kid I thought fish was a white rectangle that came from a box in the freezer. My mother didn’t like fish except for salmon, so we didn’t eat it much. My Dad went fishing once or twice a summer and my grandmother would cook some delicious mackerel or bluefish that day. But that was it. That boxed fish tasted like it looked — like a piece of white painted wallboard.

I eventually learned to love fish, fresh fish, later in life. White fish, blue fish, mild fish, strong fish. (This one has a little star! Say, what a lot of fish there are! (thanks Dr. Seuss)).

And although I will sometimes grill or broil a fillet simply, with a brushing of olive oil and sprinkle of salt and some bread crumbs, I prefer to cook fish with sauces, salsas, relishes, compound butters and interesting seasonings so that my husband, who says he likes fish but is really more on my mother’s side of the ledger fishwise, will eat it more readily.

Yesterday I bought snapper and made this spicy preparation that combines tomatoes, ginger, chili peppers and curry powder, balanced with rich, vaguely sweet coconut milk. Absolutely first rate delicious and incredibly easy to cook. And you can see for yourself that it looks good on the plate, so it’s suitable for company. You can make it with any mild, white fleshed fish.

Snapper in Coconut Curry

• 2 pounds snapper or other mild, white fleshed fish

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 3 scallions, chopped

• 2-4 dried red chili peppers

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger

• 1 teaspoon curry powder

• 1-1/2 cups coconut milk

• 1 medium tomato, chopped

• salt to taste

Cut the fillets into smaller pieces and set aside. Heat the vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the scallions, chili peppers, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes to soften the vegetables. Sprinkle in the curry powder, stir and pour in the coconut milk. Add the tomato, bring to a simmer and cook for 8-9 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt to taste. Add the fish, spoon to sauce on top and cook for 5-6 minutes or until cooked through. Nice served over rice.

Makes 4 servings

funny stuff for a monday morning.

sprinklefingers:

the ny times does it again.

first, this piece on being fed-up with foodies.

then grub street picks up on it and has this to say.

fun! and funny! i mean, this IS supposed to be fun and funny, right? we are just talking about food, right? right?


[thanks to missy’s mom for the hot tip!]

Ironic how the New York Times pushes the stuff, then makes fun of the people who read and follow.

sprinklefingers: applesauce makes me forgetful

sprinklefingers:

i had this other elaborate post planned - it involved grits (!!!) but i forgot all about it because i bought 30 apples this afternoon and wanted so. badly. to turn them into applesauce tonight. so, the grits will have to wait.

‘tis the season for applesauce making. if you have a slow cooker i…

Slow cookers are perfect for foods like applesauce that you can let cook and cook and cook and cook. The best tip I can give you in addition to this is to put the slow cooker on when you go to bed and the perfume of applesauce will make you wake up happy.

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread

My camera must have been knocked unconscious yesterday. I dropped it taking a photo of pumpkin bread. I couldn’t see anything in the frame and the camera wouldn’t turn off.

I started to research new cameras. Several hours later though I looked again and the light was off, I pressed the button and — a miracle — the thing was working again. So here’s what the pumpkin bread looks like. It is so fabulously moist and nicely spicy. Great with coffee or tea as a snack or even for breakfast. Give it a try. I’ve reprinted the recipe.

If you don’t have yogurt use buttermilk or milk plus a tablespoon of lemon juice. You can add raisins or dried cranberries and/or chopped nuts if you like (half cup of each).

Pumpkin Bread

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• finely grated rind of one orange (about 1-1/2 teaspoons orange part only)

• 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

• 1/4 cup orange marmalade

• 2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9”x5” loaf pan. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer (or use a hand mixer or sturdy whisk) combine the sugar, brown sugar, orange rind and pumpkin puree and beat at medium speed for about 1/2 minute to combine ingredients thoroughly. Add the yogurt, vegetable oil, marmalade and eggs and beat at medium speed for about 1/2 minute or until well blended. Add the dry ingredients and blend them in thoroughly, beating until smooth, about 1/2 minute. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack to cool completely. Slice with a serrated knife.

Makes one loaf

Pumpkin Yogurt Bread with Orange and Spices

I spent the entire day inside, writing in between baking pumpkin breads. I tried several different recipes basing each one on an original recipe for applesauce spice bread. Changed stuff here and there. Had no applesauce so used pumpkin. Had no buttermilk so used yogurt. Tried different spices and seasoning combinations until I got it right.

I love pumpkin bread. It’s moist, spicy and makes my tongue tingle. Great with coffee or mint tea. Or milk I guess. Here’s the version I liked best. I wanted to take a photo but my camera fell and it broke. Now I can’t turn it off. Or on. Anyway, the bread is a soft amber color and looks lovely.

Pumpkin Yogurt Bread with Orange and Spices

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• finely grated rind of one orange (about 1-1/2 teaspoons orange part only)

• 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

• 1/4 cup orange marmalade

• 2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9”x5” loaf pan. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer (or use a hand mixer or sturdy whisk) combine the sugar, brown sugar, orange rind and pumpkin puree and beat at medium speed for about 1/2 minute to combine ingredients thoroughly. Add the yogurt, vegetable oil, marmalade and eggs and beat at medium speed for about 1/2 minute or until well blended. Add the dry ingredients and blend them in thoroughly, beating until smooth, about 1/2 minute. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack to cool completely. Slice with a serrated knife.

Makes one loaf