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.

Mini Raspberry Almond Tarts

I am so excited to share this recipe with you.  It came to me last night as I was thinking what I could make with these fabulous Driscoll Raspberries!

I was contacted through The Daily Meal by Driscoll's with an offer to come up with a raspberry recipe in exchange for some coupons on there fabulous berries. Okay!  Twist my arm, I will do it.  Nonsense.  No twisting necessary.  I love Driscoll Berries.

So here is my idea.  Since I am nearly sugar free, trying to take off, taking off some major poundage, I decided to go as sugar free as possible and up the protein content.  So many people are into low carbs and high protein.  Why not?  Now, good carbs, like raspberries rock my world.  I love raspberries!

Mini Almond Raspberry Tarts

Crust:

1 cup almond flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Filling:

2/3 cup Greek Plain Lowfat Yogurt
1 tablespoon sugar- of course you can replace it with honey or something
1 large egg

Topping:

Why beautiful raspberries of course!

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line mini muffin tins with mini cupcake liners.

With a fork combine almond flour and baking soda- then ad in egg and vanilla.  Mix until combined. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar and egg. Set aside.

Get a little bowl with some water in it.  Set near work surface.

Spoon a scant teaspoon of almond mixture into cup. Fill all the little tins.  THe mixture is just enough.  So borrow from one to another if you need to to make sure all 24 cups have the almond base in them.  Next, dip your finger tip in the water and smush the almond crust into the bottom of the cup.  The water will help with the stickiness.  Once you have dabbed down all those little crusts flat, wash your hands.

Pour a scant two teaspoons of filling into the cups.  Keep going to make sure all 24 cups get the filling.  Divide as evenly as possible.  You should have just enough.

Bake in a preheated over for 20 minutes. They should be lightly golden.  Remove, cool, and then chill.  Top with AMAZING raspberries!

Canned Grape Pie Filling

I am really not a pie fan but there are a few I love. Pumpkin, coconut cream, banana cream, chocolate silk ( I do see a common thread).  Maybe I should say not a fan of fruit pie (besides cherry and apple...). Hmmm, maybe I am more of a pie fan than I think.

Maybe it is a crust thing because most of the time I shave the filling off of it and just eat the pie insides.  Heck, I even make crustless pumpkin pie.
 
Though, I find, as the years go by that I like fruit pie more and more.  This grape pie is one of my favorite kind of pies. The recipe for the pie can be found here.

At the market last week I found a peck of Concord grapes.  Yes, I bought a peck!  I was busy.  Seriously busy.  You have to slip them all.  What a freaking job! So worth it.  Most anything you really have to work for ends up good.

Grape Pie Filling No Additions

You want about 7 pounds for 2 quarts of filling. That is about a half of a peck, depending on how full your peck basket is.

Slip skins from grapes, set skins aside. Bring pulp to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until the grape pulp starts to fall apart. Press through a sieve to remove seeds. Add skins to pulp, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add to jars, filling to within a 1/4 inch of the rim. Put lid and ring on. Place jars in a canner and process for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and remove lid.  Let sit for five minutes then remove jars from canner.

OR

Basic Concord Grape Filling

This recipe is from Jerome's U Pick.  You can visit their site here.

6 cups Concord grapes
2 c. sugar
6 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Remove grapes from stem and wash. Measure six cups grapes. Slip skins from grapes, set skins aside. Bring pulp to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Press through a sieve to remove seeds. Add skins to pulp, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Combine cornstarch and sugar, mixing until well blended. Add this and the lemon juice to pulp and skin mixture, bring to a boil again and cook 5 minutes or until thick. Cool. May be stores in tightly covered container in refrigerator for several days or frozen. To can: Process 20 minutes in boiling water bath. Note: Grapes may be put in the blender for a few seconds after adding skins. Makes about 4 ½ cups.

Use for pie, over ice cream or filling in other grape recipes. 

Canning Peaches: A Step by Step Process

I have been canning peaches since I was a kid.  Ahem, well, assisting my Mom as a kid.  Peaches are a little very messy and with all that sugar, a little very sticky too.

First, prepare light or medium syrup. I prefer light syrup. Simply heat water and sugar in a sauce pan until sugar dissolves. Bring it to boiling point and boil one minute, making sure all sugar is dissolved.

• Light – 2 cups sugar to 1-quart water
• Medium -3 cups sugar to 1-quart water

I did a bushel last time, yielding 21 quarts.  I needed just under 5 quarts of water/ 10 cups sugar.

Second, scald the peaches.  They don't need to be in there real long- a minute or less will do.  This part will loosen the skin of the peaches and take the fuzz away.  If your peaches are really ripe the skin will come off easily without this.  But really ripe peaches make for soggy canned peaches. Some kinds of peaches give up their skin easily, others do not. Unfortunately the ones below did not give up their skin to easily.  Note to self buy the first freestone peaches that are out at the market.

When doing a lot of peaches I lay them out on a cookie sheet to cool while I peel them. 

Third, Place peeled, sliced and cooked peaches into a jar.  Pack them in pretty good without smushing them too much.  Pour hot liquid into the jar.  Wipe rims to make sure there is not any stuff on it.  Place lids and screw on the rings. Give a nice firm, twist. Place in hot water in canner.

Fourth, bring canner to a boil. This is called the water bath. Once it has reached the boiling point, time it for 20 minutes.

Here is one tip that will save you some effort and a lot of time.  After you have processed your peaches, let them sit in the canner for five minutes with the lid off and the heat turned off for five minutes.  After that, pull the tray up and then remove your jars from the canner.  This step will prevent bubbling over.  If you take the jars out right after you turn the heat off, they sometimes will bubble over, creating a hot, sticky mess.

I place my jars onto a glass cutting board.  I never place them directly on the counter.  If I am canning a lot I will place them on heavy towels.

Another little tip is to place any hot pads that you might have gotten wet, onto the jars while they are cooling.  The heat from the jars will dry them out real quick.

I leave them out all night on the counter.  The next morning I make sure that all the tops are depressed making sure they have been processed adequately.  Then I clean the jars.  In recent years I actually remove the ring, clean it real well and store without the rings.

If any of your jars did not seal properly, place them in the fridge and eat them up! Honestly, this does not happen very often.

Blueberry Tart

We had our annual blueberry picking expedition last week.  And oh the blueberries were amazing.  I froze a good amount of them but definitely left some to eat by the handfuls and a dessert or two. This was a really delicious tart recipe that I found on Joy Of Baking- a great site.  This tart does not disappoint.  The middle layer - you can't really see it- is a baked blueberry filling that ends up tasting a lot like jam.  Once you bring this out of the oven you press the fresh blueberries into it. So you get a creamy middle with the taste of fresh berries in every bite. Brilliant!

Blueberry Tart
Longbotham, Lori. 'Luscious Berry Desserts'. Chronicle Books. San Francisco: 2006.

Recipe found here at Joy of Baking

 

Pastry:

1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) salt

2 tablespoon (25 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) (113 grams) unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch (2.54 cm) pieces

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 - 2 tablespoons ice water

Filling:

2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons (20 grams) all purpose flour

Garnish:

2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar

Pastry: In your food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds). In a small bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla. Then gradually pour in a steady stream, with the motor running, through the feed tube until the pastry just holds together when pinched. Add water, if necessary. Do not process more than about 30 seconds.

Transfer the pastry to an 11 inch (28 cm) fluted tart pan, and press evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Cover and place in the refrigerator while you prepare the blueberry topping.

Preheat the oven to 425 degree F (220 degree C).

In a large bowl combine the sugar and flour. Add 2 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries and toss to coat. Remove the chilled pastry from the refrigerator and evenly pour in the blueberries and sugar/flour mixture. Place the tart pan on a large baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and continue to bake until the pastry is golden brown (about 30 - 35 minutes). (Halfway through the baking time, stir the berries if there is any flour on them.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Top with the remaining 2 1/2 cups of blueberries (crown side up), pressing them gently into the hot blueberry jam. I like to make concentric circles with the blueberries, starting at the outside edge. Let the tart cool to room temperature before serving. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with softly whipped cream or ice cream. Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Makes one - 11 inch (28 cm) tart.

 

Apricot Tart

With company in and some cooler temps and some fresh fruit- it was the perfect time to make a tart.  If you are expecting sweet - don't make this tart.  We like desserts that are lower in sugar (except my kids of course).  Sprinkle confectioners over top if you like.  We thought it was perfect.

We took a ride to Letchworth State Park.  It was a beautiful day for being at the park.  We have spent many a days picnicking there. Lots of reunions visiting there.  Days spent with my cousins in from out of the town exploring the area. Lots of dates (in my single days, of course) there at the park as well. It holds significant meaning there and fond memories. Here are a few pics of the beauty you can find there.

Apricot Tart
Adapted from this recipe at Tartelette.

6 to 10 apricots, pitted and halved

pastry crust:

1 1/2 cups flour
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks
1 to 2 tablespoons water

filling:
8 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup honey
1 cup almond meal or ground almonds
2 eggs
1/4 cup half and half

In a processor or with a pastry blender combine flour and salt, stir.  Work in butter.  If using a processor drop by pats into the flour as the machine is running.  Add in egg yolks and then a couple tablespoons of water (or a little more, depending on the humidity in the air). As soon as the dough forms a ball turn off the processor.  Gather all into a ball and place in plastic wrap, form into a disc and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to a couple days.

Remove dough from refrigerator and roll in between sheets of plastic wrap to make a large circular shape to fit your tart pan (or square, rectangle- whatever you have).  If dough should tear, repair with bits of dough from edges.

Pierce dough with fork tines repeatedly. Fill with beans or pie weights and bake in a 350 oven for fifteen minutes. Remove.

In a large bowl beat butter and honey, add in eggs one at a time.  Add in almond meal. Remove beaters and gently stir in half and half.

Arrange apricot halves over tart crust and then pour filling over top.  Bake in a 350 oven for 30 to 35 minutes.

Canning The Harvest, Part II Jams and Jellies

JAMS AND JELLIES

Apricot Jalapeno Jam


Apricot Jam


Blueberry Vanilla Jam



Currant Jam



Orange Marmalade


Peach Amaretto Jam



Pineapple Preserves



Strawberry Freezer Jam
 

Strawberry Margarita Preserves
Peach Amaretto Jam
My personal favorite.  Since I make it as gifts for a few people that have tried it- I'd have to say it is a real winner.

So there you have it- my canning collection in two parts.  This has made me realize how many of my canned goods I haven't posted.  Stay tuned I am sure they will be forth coming with a new round of the harvest this year.

Cranberry Bread

While in Cape Cod, at the Cranberry Festival, we bought some fresh cranberries, well, LOTS of fresh cranberries.  I could not wait to get home and make some cranberry dishes.  This is the first one I made.

A nice breakfast treat. Not as good as say, eggs, but WAY better than dough nuts. Right?  Right?  I need some back up here.

Look at all those yummy, tart, cranberries. I was suppose to chop those cranberries, but as you can see I missed that part of the recipe and added them whole.  I didn't mine biting into that tart berry, nor did anyone else apparently because this was eaten up, no problem.

Cranberry love!

Cranberry Bread
Recipe largely adapted from this recipe at the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association. If you want to know more about the festival, click here.

1/2 cup butter
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan.  Beat butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.  Add in vanilla and orange zest.  Add eggs, mixing well after each addition. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt, add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating at low speed just until blended. Fold cranberries into batter. Turn into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes. Cool slightly in pan. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

And here are some scenes from the Cranberry Festival in Wareham, Massachusets at AD Makepeace Farms.

This festival is a great place for families to go to. Lots of great activites and lots of learning about cranberries.  Wagon rides, pony rides, cooking demonstrations, crafts, little train rides for the kiddo's, and other various demos. It has the distinction of being one of the ABA's 2013 Top 100 Events. Go here to see what others have made that list.

 Lots of bags of cranberries all around.... so yum!

Amazing process of loading the cranberries onto the truck!

Look at all those cranberries!

 Love this pic!

This is how the cranberries grow.  This is before they comb it out and all the cranberries float tot he surface.  Such bounty!

 Some young chefs preparing amazing food with cranberries!

Luscious, cranberries!

Peach Cobbler

Well, its the last of the peaches...  summers end.  It officially ended a week or so ago.  With all the harvest going on, September and part of October become my busiest time of year. Lots of canning- tomatoes, apples, peaches, pears, plums and freezing- peppers (hot ones and regular), corn, and fruits too as there seasons come and go, like raspberries, strawberries and blueberries.  The bulk of the canning- tomatoes and apples happens around September.

While I am canning, chopping, freezing, sometimes I grunt and complain- I get resentful because there are so many things I would rather be doing- playing with my kids, going on corn maizes and the like but you know it is all worth it in the winter when I can still eat local from my freezer or my canned goods.  And knowing that I am giving my children good nutrition and homegrown goodness makes it all worth it. Sincerely, it is well worth the effort.

I encourage you to do it as well.  You don't have to go to a grand scale or anything.  Even if you just throw a small bag of chopped up peppers or corn into the freezer, I feel there is great rewards.  Think small to get started- you won't feel so overwhelmed by the Wonderful Harvest Monster (like I do).  Trust me, I am grateful, so don't get me wrong.  I am very mush grateful for the bounty that surrounds me. 

Peach Cobbler
This is one delicious recipe.  We loved it. Largely adapted from this recipe.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups sliced peeled peaches, reserved in bowl

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt butter and pour in a 13 x 9 dish. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Stir in milk and sugar to form batter. Pour batter into baking dish. Spoon peaches and any peach juices evenly over batter. Bake until batter rises and browns on top- a nice golden color.  This should take 30 to 45 minutes. The more juices there are the longer the baking time.

Just Peachy

A really simple treat. Peaches and cream.

Today I canned some of my peach amaretto jam,  froze some peach chutney and made some pesto with my husband (which we froze).  Too tired to make dinner.  We had leftovers with this for dessert.  I thought the kids would not like it.  Wrong.  They loved it.  Score.


No recipe necessary, although I did add the jam that remained after the pints were filled along with some lemon juice to keep things looking pretty.  Other than that, whip up the cream and voila, peach beauty in a bowl.

Later this week.  Peach chutney coming your way and peach barbeque sauce.  Sounds peachy doesn't it?

Share with me your simple summer luscious recipes/ideas.