Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Of Cranberry Marmalade and Christmas Martinis

For the first time in several years, I made cranberry marmalade. It's good, but there are so many possibilities when you get on a binge with canning, and this one fell out of rotation for a few years.
 
 
Most people like the flavor, if they are marmalade fans, and it's undeniably Christmassy; it makes a good gift. It's great on toast, swirled into yogurt, or used as a relish. Try it over a block of softened cream cheese; serve with crackers.
 
 
I make mine a trifle more bitter and tart than most, as I use not only lemon and orange, but grapefruit, for the citrus elements.
 
 
As you can see below, scissors can be used to sliver the peel. I like a serrated knife for trimming away excess pith.
 
 
 
 


Here it is not long after being put on the stove; most of the berries will have burst by the time it's ready for processing.


The processed jars. I let them sit overnight. In the morning, I check the seals, wash the jars and lids, and make sure they are completely dry before adding labels.




A Christmas martini.



 The final product. I got eleven full jars, and another about 2/3 full, which went into the fridge. I had some this morning. We were out of bread, so I had it on a buttered crumpet.


Monday, November 28, 2016

Let the Baking Begin! (Not to mention the canning).

For Thanksgiving, I made one of my very favorite desserts: a cranberry tart with a polenta crust. It's divine, especially with a cloud of freshly whipped cream, barely sweetened with a bit of powdered sugar and a dash of vanilla.

I changed the corn syrup to Lyle's Golden Syrup, but otherwise it's about the same as the printed recipe.

Cranberry (Polenta) Tart

This is crisp and bright in flavor, a nice change from some of the very sweet desserts more traditional at Thanksgiving.

We went out for dinner this year, to a wonderful old tavern about an hour away. My husband and I took a friend who wasn't able to get home for Thanksgiving.

Here we are, after dinner.




 
 
I have also started with the mince pies; this year made from cranberry mincemeat, rather than green tomato mincemeat. I am also considering a batch of traditional mincemeat.
 
 





Below are apple marmalade, and spicy pork and apple pie, as mentioned in the previous post.




I happened on some good sized quince in the market today, so tomorrow will probably be something or other with the quince, and I also plan to make another dozen mince pies.

In knitting news, I have finished a beanie for my mother-in-law, and found some coordinating leather mittens; I am trying to finish a ruffled necklet scarf to match.

These past few months have been some of the worst I can remember; not only for us, but for so many other people. I am trying, with some success, I hope, to burnish up the good things, to make them stand out and remind us that there are still good things, and good people in this world.

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

A is for Apple

In spite of the plans, we didn't get to go apple picking this year. The orchard the group went to see stopped the pick-your-own early; another orchard employee elsewhere told me that a lot of orchards did that this year, due to the odd weather we've been having.

So...today I drove out to a local orchard that still has one (elderly but still producing) R.I. Greening apple tree. These--as I've said before--are my favorite apples. They're tart, crisp, and the best ever for cooking. I think that we'll be having pork and apple pie this week.

I don't have the recipe to hand, but in general: peel and core some sour apples; thinly slice some yellow onions; cook about a pound of ground pork with minced garlic, a bit of onion, some tomato paste, sage, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and black pepper; let the meat mixture cool.

Layer meat/apple/onion (and repeat to the top of the dish); cover with a pastry of your choice; I generally use cream cheese pastry, though Catherine's Pastry (see Fanny Farmer; it's a butter and lard pastry) is also very good.

Cut some slits for the steam to escape and bake at about 425 F until the juices bubble up and the crust is golden.

More ideas: applesauce, apple marmalade, cranberry applesauce, apple pie, Dutch apple cake.

Oh, and apple brownies aren't so bad, either.

Happy picking and eating.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

The Preparations Begin

What a year it's been. For the most part, not a very good, or a very nice year. There's the obvious of this past week--the election.

Five weeks ago I cut my finger badly while working in the kitchen (two ER visits)...not a lot of fun, that. It's going to be weeks or months before I can go without a dressing on the wound, but it is beginning to heal nicely.

We've had colds, bronchitis, food poisoning...yikes.

Well, enough of that. Thanksgiving is in a couple of weeks. Before that, there's a lovely vintage market to attend in Boston, and on the following day, I've organized a group to dress up in 20s garb and go to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

It's really been a funny year. For one reason and another, I have done very little canning. Only one batch of jelly, one of marmalade, and a few pints of pickles. Good thing that past couple of years have been so productive! I count on those things for Christmas presents, and use them as hostess gifts.

Finally, this past week I made mincemeat. Not the traditional stuff, but a cranberry mincemeat. It's good, but rather tart, and not as rich as the green tomato mincemeat I've made in the past. I am considering my first batch of real mincemeat, too.



Two fruitcakes are maturing in the cellar; a white one, a light one, and a third (dark) is in the works; the fruit and nuts are soaking in brandy now.



There will be little or no Christmas knitting. What with all the weirdness, and then the hand injury, it's just not going to happen. I can knit, but not marathon style, and as I'm so far behind, that's the only way I'd manage it!

For Thanksgiving my husband and I are going out to dinner with a friend who lives in the area; we'll be dining at one of the old, traditional New England restaurants we're so lucky to have here.

I just might make a Thanksgiving dessert, though. Possibly. We'll see...but it would be a lovely excuse to come back here, light a fire, and have dessert, tea, coffee, and brandy at our leisure.

Wednesday, November 02, 2016

Quince Brandy

 
 
About five years ago I planted a small quince bush. I haven't had any viable fruit--either it just didn't set, or the squirrels bit into it and threw it away (someday I will write a monograph on the Squirrel Mafia in our town).
 
THIS year, a miracle occurred. I found not one, but three--very tiny--fruits on the bush when I went into the garden today. The large fruit next to them is half of a lemon.



I wasn't sure what to do with such a small yield, but finally decided that to maximize what I had, a cordial of sorts was the answer. Even for a cordial, though, that's not much fruit, so I got inventive, after digging around through some of my British cookbooks and online sites.
 
 
I made quince-lemon brandy (at least, I hope so).
 
 
Quince-Lemon Brandy
 
1/3 c. finely minced or shredded quince
juice and zest of half a lemon
1/4 cinnamon stick
1/4 c. sugar
1 scant pint of brandy or cognac
 
Combine all ingredients in a Mason jar, stir well, cover tightly, and put away in a dark place for three months.
 
Strain and re-bottle; taste and add additional sugar, if necessary.
 
 
In three months I'll either let you know how it turned out, or I'll have forgotten about it entirely!