Fruit Challenge #7: Cranberries

This was a complete spur of the moment idea that struck me about 25 minutes before dinner was to be ready. Boy was roasting a chicken with lemon, thyme, and sage and I was seriously bumming because we didn't have any cranberry sauce to enjoy with it. [That's right Mom, the stuff out of the can. I am a complete convert, I know.]

Being the inventive chef that I am, the light bulb nearly exploded as I remembered that I had fresh cranberries in the fridge from Wareham, MA. [For you out-of-towners, Wareham is about an hour south of the city very near to the Cape.]

Fresh Cranberry Sauce
1 12-ounce package fresh cranberries
1 c. water
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. Cognac (optional, of course)

Rinse cranberries and pick over to discard any that might be funky. In a saucepan, stir together water and sugar until dissolved. Add cranberries and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until cranberry skins pop and mixture thickens, approximately 10 minutes. Add Cognac and continue to cook until sauce thickens, an additional 5-7 minutes. Let cool [it will set up even more] before serving.

[Insert final product picture here, but unfortunately this stuff did not photograph well. Just trust me that it was amazing.]

Veggie Challenge #9: Jalapeño Peppers

While exchanging emails throughout the workday last week, Boy told me he had gotten me a present. Now, if you knew the industry he was in you would be just as not excited as I was. Turns out, however, that Boy knows me a little better than he lets on. Boy has a friend at work that grows his own jalapeño-habanero hybrid peppers [shout-out to the Woo, baby!] and he was going to bring me some. Jackpot!

I love spicy food and I pretty frequently use jalapeño peppers at home. I do not, however, use habanero peppers very often and have steered completely clear of them since one specific incident that involved trying to incorporate them into a roasted pepper salsa. [Complete assault on the taste buds. Ha. Oops.]

I also happened to have this on hand:

I did what any resourceful chocolate lover would do - I made truffles. Jalapeño-habanero chocolate truffles. I have to say, one of the top ten five ideas I have had in a long time. Maybe ever.

I am going to spare you the recipe, because there are some things in life you should enjoy guilt-free and never inquire as to how they are made or if they are "healthy". I can tell you that truffles are health food for the soul. Boy and I had a great time making these as well as eating them. They were the perfect combination of rich chocolate and that burn in the throat that only a habanero chili can bring.

Oh, and I can promise you that I will be playing with my truffle recipe in order to perfect it in the coming months. Maybe in time for Christmas goodie bags. Just saying.

Veggie Challenge #8: Carrots

So I mentioned that I have a hopeless addiction to all things pickled, right? Right. So I went a little nuts the other day (I guess some might categorize it as a binge) and made pickles, spicy pickles, spicy pickled green beans, and - my new obsession - gingered carrots.

Oh.

Man.

I had seen gingered carrots in the grocery store and I finally tasted them at the Boston Local Food Festival that happened downtown a couple weekends ago.  I had to try my hand at making them.

Disclaimer: I winged it.  Like, completely made this stuff up.  I was making pickles anyway that day, so I used the same brine I had mixed up for pickles - half water and half white vinegar. I then  simply layered the carrots in the jar with an obscene amount of ginger. Result? My new favorite pickled snack food. Just add it to the addiction list.

Gingered Carrots
3-4 c. grated carrots
Water and white vinegar brine (1-to-1 ratio)
Fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped

Layer the carrots and ginger in a jar. Be generous with the ginger. Completely cover with the brine. Cap tightly and let stand in refrigerator for 7 - 10 days. Try not to eat the whole jar in one sitting.

An Ode to Fall: Sugar Pumpkins - Part IV

What pumpkin bender would be complete without some roasted pumpkin seeds? Perhaps it has just been a while since I have carved a pumpkin, but sugar pumpkins have a ton of seeds relative to their size. I couldn't just throw them away - I had to roast them.

Simply tossed the seeds - some pumpkin guts still attached for extra flavor - with some salt and my favorite spice mix of all time - Penzey's Northwoods Fire. After about 15 minutes in a 450F oven they were ready to be devoured.

An Ode to Fall: Sugar Pumpkins - Part III

The two on the right are sugar pumpkins while the left-most is a carving pumpkin that will have a face after next weekend.

Here it is. The original reason I said I would learn to use pumpkins from scratch - pumpkin pie. Now, I love to cook, but I enjoy it even more when I can incorporate liquor into the recipe in some fashion. [Into the food or the chef you ask? I'll never tell.] Hot fudge is good, but my bourbon hot fudge is better. Christmas cookies are good, but my rum balls are better. Pumpkin pie is good, but my brandy pumpkin pie is better.

Normally, I use canned pumpkin in my recipe. I was taught that there are certain things not worth the effort to make from scratch and pumpkin is on that list. Mom, I have to gracefully disagree with you on this one. Pie crust I will give you, but I have never had a better pumpkin pie than this one and it started the day as an innocent pumpkin.

I simply baked the pumpkin until it was fork tender. I let it cool and then mashed it until I had the amount the pie recipe called for. Lucky for me (or rather the beneficiaries on the first floor of our building), I had enough for two pies.



































Like so many of my cooking secrets, this is another family recipe and, frankly, I am still on the fence about giving it out. Let me know if you'd like it and we will see how I am feeling that day.

An Ode to Fall: Sugar Pumpkins - Part II

Pumpkin muffins are up next because who doesn't love a little punch of fall in the morning with your cereal? Always on the quest to find guilt-free sweet things (it's true - even says so in the interests portion of my resume) I am constantly looking for ways to cheat and use healthy ingredients instead of endless oils and sugar. I have to say these are a slam dunk.

Pumpkin Muffins
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. apple sauce
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla
3 c. fresh shredded pumpkin
3/4 c. walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325F. Stir together flour, cinnamon, soda, powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, apple sauce, eggs, and vanilla. Once mixed, combine the two bowls and stir to mix. Fold in shredded pumpkin and nuts (if you are using them). Pour into muffin tin and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until knife comes out clean when inserted into the center of a muffin.

The secret? I used the amazing apple sauce I made and canned during apple week. Chock full of spices and cinnamon, this addition to the muffins put them over the top in the flavor category.

An Ode to Fall: Sugar Pumpkins - Part I

To me, fall is synonymous with spiced cider, apple pie, and anything pumpkin I can get my hands on. I was making my favorite brandied pumpkin pie last Thanksgiving and vowed that next (this) year I would get to know pumpkins a little bit better.

Well, I am proud to say I have now had just about every pumpkin beer that New England has to offer [and will be putting Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin in the kegerator next] so it is time to move on to cooking!

I suppose I had never really thought about it, but it turns out that carving pumpkins are not eating pumpkins. Enter sugar pumpkins or "pie" pumpkins. They are just mini-me pumpkins usually ranging in size from about one to three pounds. They are very easy to work with and are very delicious. 

First up are baked stuffed pumpkins. [Yumm.] The fresh vegetables that are available in the fall and winter months can get pretty boring so this is a delicious way to spice up your life.

Baked Stuffed Pumpkins

4 small sugar pumpkins, 1 to 1.5 lbs. each (would work with just about any squash)

1/2 lb. ground turkey

1/4 c. chopped celery

1/4 c. chopped onoin

1/4 c. chopped carrot

1/2 c. white wine

1 1/2 c. cooked rice (I used a wild rice blend)

1 handful fresh spinach

1 1/2 t. dried oregano

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F. Cut about 1 inch off the top of each squash and scoop out the insides. Put a small piece of butter in the bottom of each. Place in a 9x13" pyrex or on a sheet pan lined with parchment. In a large pan over medium heat, brown the turkey until cooked through. Remove the meat from pan, add the olive oil and saute the onion, celery, and carrot until they soften. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Return the turkey to the pan with the cooked rice, spinach, and spices. Heat the mixture through. Divide evenly among the squash. Replace the lids and bake for 1 hour or until squash is tender. So amazing - Enjoy!

Eating Local: Chatham Oysters!

Boy and I got our shellfishing permit this summer.  We started out clueless amateurs, and are quickly becoming, well, savvy amateurs.  Give us two hours at a beautiful low tide and we will bring back more clams than you can eat.  We've done it.

There are lots of things in this world I love.  A recent addition to that category that happened about 2 years ago is my intense love for oysters.  I would like to think it is because my palette is so sophisticated and complex, but I have a feeling it is more likely attributed to the fact they are salty and taste like the ocean. (If it was socially acceptable to have a salt lick in my living room I would.)

September 1 marks the beginning of oyster season. We were out clamming shortly after the beginning of open season and were hellbent on catching a couple. Now, when it comes to oysters, the word "catch" should be used loosely.  You "catch" fish or you "catch" the runner ahead of you, but you do not "catch" oysters.  There is no effort involved.  You step on oysters because they are just sitting there on the sand in about twelve inches of water.  It's amazing.  Because they are so easy to find there were not many to be had.  We ended up finding two.  (Check that baby out! Well, and all the clams underneath - that's right, we caught them all!)

At our seafood store here in the city, the two most common oysters we get are Blue Points (Long Island) and Wellfleets (Cape Cod).  I had never had a "Chatham" before, but it blew the rest of them out of the water.  Now, I understand there is a certain sense of accomplishment that comes with pulling an oyster out of the bay, shucking it yourself, and throwing it down the hatch that might make me slightly biased toward the oysters we caught, but whoa. You will have to take my word for it though, because you won't get any of your own if you come oystering with me.  Sorry!

**A note on preparing clams: Obviously oysters are eaten raw.  I suppose there are people in this world that steam or fry them, but they are not company I choose to keep.  As for clams - yummm - I do enjoy a raw clam on the half shell, but, I prefer to grill mine. That's right. Straight from the basket to the grates of the grill. Wait just long enough for them to open and then enjoy! I find they taste best when eaten right off the grill with a fork, but that is just my opinion.