Holiday Relish

aka Cranberry Sauce

12 oz fresh, frozen, or canned cranberries
1 large apple, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
1 orange, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp grated orange rind
1/2 cup red wine
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Put all the ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir to combine. Keep stirring and bring the ingredients to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat and simmer gently until relish thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Garnish with orange rind curls.

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The recipe I was following is from Parade, but I made a few changes, some of which I can't remember, but I think I hit most of them. Judging by the picture at parade.com, the original recipe does produce something more like relish than sauce. Adding some wine (mulled wine if possible) makes it more liquid and adds a rich flavor. Based on what was in our mulled wine, one could probably add cloves and allspice to this sauce, or just add it to the wine and enjoy that while cooking for the holidays! (It does wonderful things to pot roast as well.)

Thanksgiving

Well, the roommates, the bf, and I survived our first Thanksgiving on our own. After three days of shopping and price-comparing, two days of cooking, and a full day of eating (and drinking), we are as fat and happy as stuffed turkeys on December 1st. At least, the turkeys who don't realize that Christmas is right around the corner.

Thanks to Betty Crocker, Better Homes and Gardens, and the World Wide Web, we successfully served a 12-pound turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, gravy, spinach salad with pomegranates, and even champagne punch in a fountain--most of it for the first time and all of it from scratch. Granted, we were a little lopsided in our portions. For instance, we have bowlfuls of salad and green beans left over, but hardly any gravy or stuffing. But thank God we have so many leftovers! Any weight I've lost this semester by eating healthy will be back to visit after this week is over.

I'll post the recipes soon, with modifications and exciting stories. Until then, it's off to bed before racing the Black Friday crowds!

Cucumber Avocado Soup

makes 5 servings

2 pounds soft-skinned cucumbers
6 ounces watercress, arugula, OR cilantro
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 small jalapeño pepper (use more if it's very mild)
1 large Haas avocado (7 ounces)
1-2 teaspoons sea salt

Trim the ends off the cucumbers, taste each end, and trim off any bitter part. Cut the cucumbers into cubes. Wash the watercress, remove any heavy stems, and chop it roughly. You should have about 2 cups.

Combine half the cucumbers and most of the lemon juice in the container of a blender or food processor and puree. The cucumbers will soon be a liquid, and you can then easily add the remaining cucumbers, watercress, garlic, and jalapeño. Puree until everything is smooth, working in batches if you need to.

Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, peel the avocado, and cut the flesh into cubes; you should have not quite 1 cup of diced avocado. Add the avocado to the cucumber puree, along with a teaspoon of sea salt, and process again. The mixture will become thicker and creamier. Stir everything together in a bowl and taste. Add more lemon juice and more salt, a bit at a time and stirring thoroughly each time, until the balance feels right to you.

Chill the soup well. Serve it in small bowls, and drizzle each serving with a little olive oil, then scatter a few tomato cubes and croutons on top.

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This is a wonderfully refreshing summer soup--and a great way to eat more raw veggies.

Notes from The Splendid Table: Long, soft-skinned cucumbers, called English, Armenian, or Persian cucumbers, are best for this soup because they can be used with skin and seeds. If they are very large, check for mature seeds and remove them, but a slender cucumber of this type generally has tiny, soft seeds that puree perfectly.

Watercress adds a little bite to the mild cucumber and avocado. Arugula can be used instead, or a bunch of cilantro, but choose one — don't mix the flavors. This recipe is based on proportions for one large avocado and can easily be doubled.

Savory Mushroom Spread

2-3 tablespoons butter
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 tablespoon shallot, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dry white wine
2 tablespoons pine nuts or almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons sour cream
salt and pepper

Melt butter in skillet. Add mushrooms, shallots and garlic and saute about 6 minutes on med-high heat. Add wine and cook 2 minutes longer. Cool mixture.
Remove to serving bowl and stir in sour cream and nuts. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with baguettes or crackers.

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I started making this before realizing that I didn't have sour cream, so I crushed up the toasted pine nuts and mixed them, along with some heavy cream, into the mixture and kept cooking till it thickened. It's cooling on the stove now, so I haven't tested it on bread or crackers, but my spoon tests (and my nose) tell me that "savory" is the right word for this!

Butternut Squash Soup

with curried apples

1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup butter
8 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash (about one squash)
4 cups chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
16-20 oz cream cheese (and/or sour cream)

In a large saucepan, sauté onions in butter until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook 20 minutes, or until squash is tender.

Puree squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan, and heat through. Do not allow to boil.


Curried Apples

2 teaspoons white-wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1 small tart apple (4 ounce) peeled, cored, and diced

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring vinegar, honey, and curry powder to a boil. Add apple; cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes and remove from heat.

Ladle the soup into warm bowls, add a spoonful of apples, a dollop of sour cream, and sprinkle with mint and cinnamon.

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Soup recipe from AllRecipes.com, curried apple recipe from MarthaStewart.com. This is an amazing recipe! So tasty! I used half a squash to test this recipe out, intending to make some kind of pasta dish with the rest, but my roommates all requested more soup instead!

Pancakes

Betty Crocker's new pancake recipe sucks. Just putting that out there. Instead of using 1 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda, it calls for 3 freaking tsp baking powder. So what you end up with is a pancake that tastes like baking powder. No thanks, Betty. I'm sticking with my favorite pancakes.

Tips for making great pancakes:

1. Figure out your stove! I've cooked on a gas stove all my life, so this electric beast in my apartment is throwing me for a loop. Mostly because I can't see how much heat is going into my food. On a gas stove, I'd cook pancakes at about medium heat, but on an electric, it's the medium-high side of low. I burned a depressing number of pancakes before figuring that out.

2. Cook for other people. There is nothing more satisfying or appetite-enhancing than seeing the looks of hunger, desire, and sublime bliss on the faces of those you are feeding.

3. Don't make more pancakes at a time than your pan can hold. If you want to cook a lot of pancakes, use a large electric griddle. If you're stuck with a medium-sized pan, believe me, you're better off making one at a time and ending up with beautifully browned rounds. Trying to flip too many pancakes in the same pan always makes a mess. (If you've got the heat right, you should still be able to cook fairly quickly.)

4. Add extras! Raspberries & dark chocolate, strawberries & bananas, strawberries & blueberries, and a strip of bacon are good starters. (If you don't believe in eating a pancake with a strip of bacon laid across the middle, I encourage you to try it.)

5. If you're adding in extras, mix them in with the batter rather than sprinkling them in once the pancake is cooking. This prevents the fruit/chocolate/whatever from burning.

6. Keep the sizes small! I use about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. They're easier to flip, quicker to cook, and just look darn cute.

7. Use brown (or extra) sugar, real butter, whole milk, and your favorite flavor/extract when making the batter.

Peach Push-up

1 peach, with the skin removed
1 oz vanilla rum
1/2 oz cream

Blend ingredients, shake with ice, and serve.

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I might try thinning this slightly with orange juice in the future...which would make it more of an in-season fuzzy navel.

Following Betty and Julia

I went with my parents to see Julie and Julia the other night. What a great movie! It was thoroughly enjoyable, and after a summer without any real opportunity to cook, tantalizing and mouthwatering. The next day I went to a local used bookstore and bought a few cookbooks. For years, my mother and grandmother have used their respective editions of Betty Crocker's Cookbook and I have been wanting to get my hands on one ever since. Unable to find an older printing, I came home with the 40th anniversary edition from 1991. It's paperback, but I may take it to Kinko's and have it rebound so it is more durable and lays flat. I also picked up a 1965 edition of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, which Kyle's mother uses, and book of bento recipes. The latter, I confess, is more for eye candy since I don't even know where to find some of the ingredients, much less someone who will eat them.

Then I came home and started scouring Amazon for a 1973 edition of Betty Crocker's Cookbook so I could have one identical to my mother's, only to be interrupted by her handing me a box and saying, "Happy moving out!"

What was in the box but a brand-new 2005 Betty Crocker Cookbook, New Edition! Don't know what the lack of possessive in the title means, but I'll take it anyway. So now I have several cookbooks and finally a few American ones. I would like to get my hands on the Julia Child set, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but I can wait.

Inspired by all this reading last night and the fresh, aromatic peaches I found at the farmers' market, I made a Peachsicle (although Kyle also called it a Peach Push-up, which I like better) by pureeing a peach, vanilla rum, and half-and-half. It was yummy. After dinner, I experimented with eggs, trying a Julia Child omelette and toaster-poaching in foil cups and muffin tins. The first omelette I made was near perfect, but I couldn't quite replicate it for breakfast this morning. They were tasty, however.

I'm moving into my apartment at school in a few days, and I am most excited to move into the kitchen. I've been scouring our basement for extra pots pans, and tupperware containers, so I'm well-stocked. I can't wait to start using these cookbooks!

Basil Cream Sauce

makes six servings

2 cups fresh basil leaves
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 ounces pine nuts
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
pint light cream

In a food processor, combine basil and garlic. Begin processing and pour in olive oil in a thin stream. Process for about 40 seconds, or until mixture begins to emulsify. Add pine nuts and Parmesan, then blend for 1 minute.

Heat cream in a saucepan over low heat until simmering. Pour 1/2 of the hot cream into the processor with basil pesto, and pulse for 20 seconds to incorporate. Pour mixture back into cream, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickened.

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From AllRecipes.com. Mom and I made this tonight to go on chicken cooked with mushrooms, tomatoes, and broccoli. It was excellent. I actually used about twice as much cheese, a mixture of parmesan, asiago, and romano. For hors d'oeuvres (so we didn't starve while cooking) we had wheat crackers topped with smoked mozzarella, tomato slices, basil leaves, and drizzled with herb-laden olive oil. To die for!

Beef in Ale Sauce

675 g chuck steak
290 ml brown stock
A little vegetable oil
1 tsp wine vinegar
3 large onions, sliced
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, crushed
A little thyme & nutmeg
2 tsp browned flour
Salt & pepper
290 ml brown ale

Sweat the onions in oil until soft. Cut the beef into large steaks. Brown the beef in a hot pan with very little oil. Turn the beef only when it has gained color. Remove the beef and wash out the pan with water. If it is not burnt, keep it to go with the stock. Add the soft onions to the beef pan, raise the temperature and begin to brown.

Add the garlic and sugar, brown, add the browned flour, let it pick up a bit more color but do not let it burn. Add the ale and boil for two minutes, add the stock and boil again. Add the vinegar (to tenderize) and the thyme, nutmeg and seasoning. Put the meat and juices back into the pan, warm up, transfer to a casserole dish, add a lid and cook in the oven for two hours until the meat is completely soft. Serve with mustard mash & braised red cabbage.

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I haven't actually made this yet; the bf always does the honors. We usually make a double or 1.5x batch, and frequently run out of big enough pans to cook in. The meat always comes out completely tender, no knives needed. It's truly delicious. We serve it with mashed potatoes and a green (asparagus is always a good choice).

Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Frosting

I direct you to Dulcedo, where Dana has posted the recipe along with beautiful photos of sprinkle-laden cupcakes. Thank God for Notre Dame students!

My only addition to her recipe is to fix up some chocolate frosting and mix Bailey's in. Oh, that must be what heaven tastes like!!

Granddad Franklin's Potato Salad

10 white potatoes, still warm
2 medium peppers
2 celery stalks
1 onion
1 large tomato
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp celery seed
4 oz pimentos
1 cup sweet pickle relish

Cut and mix? I haven't made this yet--maybe I'll sit down with Grandma tomorrow and figure some more detailed directions out. She is apparently the only family member (aside from Great-Granddad Franklin himself) who can make this potato salad right.

Scott's Pasta Salad

1 pound pasta
2 heads broccoli
1/2 head cauliflower
2 carrots
1 cup chopped chicken
1 red or yellow pepper, chopped and raw
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Cook and drain pasta. Cut broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots in bite-size pieces and steam until tender-crisp. Throw everything except the cheese into a big bowl and mix it up. The hot pasta will take a little of the edge off the raw garlic. Add the cheese last, on top of each serving if you like.

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I haven't tried making this recipe yet, but when I ate it (straight from the Kirner kitchen) for the first time, it was amazing. Now that I've rediscovered the recipe, I will make it soon!

Most Favoritest Pancakes Ever

makes ten four-inch pancakes

1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp melted shortening or salad oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp almond extract

Beat egg; add remaining ingredients in order listed and beat with rotary beater until smooth. Grease heated griddle if necessary. To test griddle, sprinkle with a few drops of water. If bubbles skitter around, heat is just right.

Pour batter from tip of large spoon or from pitcher onto hot griddle. Turn pancakes as soon as they are puffed and full of bubbles but before bubbles break. Bake other side until golden brown.

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This recipe, originally "Favorite Pancakes" from Betty Crocker's Cookbook of 1969, was a staple of my childhood. I changed the white sugar to brown sugar and added almond extract for truly delicious pancakes that are not your typical breakfast fare. With butter and real maple syrup, they are AMAZING.

Chocolate Martini

2 small orange wedges
A little finely grated dark chocolate or a mixture of equal quantities cocoa powder and confectioners' sugar
2 fl. oz. vodka
1 oz. dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids
1 fl. oz heavy cream
Ice cubes

Rub the rim of a well-chilled martini glass with one of the orange wedges. Dip it in the grated chocolate or cocoa powder and confectioners' sugar mixture. Chill the glass and the vodka bottle thoroughly. Put 1 oz. dark chocolate in a small bowl with the cream and microwave on low power until melted. Stir until smooth. Pour the vodka and melted chocolate mix into a cocktail shaker, add plenty of ice cubes, and shake well. Strain into the chocolate-rimmed glass and serve decorated with the second orange wedge.

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Recipe from 500 Cocktails by Wendy Sweetser. I had my first chocolate martini last night and absolutely had to recreate it!! This recipe qualifies as a dining hall friendly because all of the necessary ingredients (except the vodka, of course) can be found at your local cafeteria of choice. I used a mixture of melted dark chocolate (with half-and-half) and chocolate syrup with the vodka and rimmed the glass with chocolate syrup and dark chocolate shavings. Best hint: make too much...and then drink the leftovers!