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Spiced Peach Cranberry Compote

Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

Spiced jarred peaches and cranberries come together for a delicious warm compote. Perfect for Christmas morning or… even Christmas Eve morning!

Spiced Peach Cranberry Compote

Recipe by Hilary

1 28-oz jar Rosie’s Spiced Peaches* 
1 bag frozen or fresh cranberries
Dash of cinnamon
Sugar to taste

1. Drain syrup from jarred peaches into heavy medium saucepan.  Add cranberries and stir.  Heat on medium, covered, stirring occasionally, until cranberries pop.

2. Think about how large you want your peaches to be in the compote.  If you’re serving the dish on its own plate, perhaps you want to keep the peaches as halves.  Or, maybe you want them to be smaller, in which case you should cut them now.  Also, discard the couple of cloves from the jarred peaches- they’ll be difficult to remove (and to remember to remove) from the final dish.

3. Add peaches to cranberries and stir.  Sprinkle the dash of cinnamon (being careful not to let it get clumpy) and stir again.  Add a bit of sugar and taste.  Then continue adding sugar until you’re happy with the level of sweetness.

4. Serve warm.

*I was very pleased with Rosie’s Spiced Peaches (Stello Foods) in this recipe.  The peaches are beautiful and the spices add a wintry flavor and aroma to the compote.  You could also use your own canned peaches and spices.  Fresh peaches technically could work, but fresh peach season doesn’t align with hot-fruit-compote season so well. 

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Croutons Homemade by Mari

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

As a kid I ate only croutons from a salad.  Now I love salad and eat everything in them but the croutons since they usually taste old and bland.

Leave it up to my friend Mari to bring over homemade croutons that leave me loving them again.  Crispy with olive oil and garlicky, they’re lovely on her velvety chestnut soup or any salad.

Mari’s Croutons

5-6 slices white bread, crusts removed
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Lay one bread slice flat, cut 1/2″ strips lengthwise, then 1/2″ strips crosswise (resulting in small cubes).  Repeat with remaining slices.  You should have about 3 cups of bread cubes. Put them into a large bowl.

2. In small bowl, whisk garlic into olive oil.  Pour over bread in large bowl, tossing quickly to evenly distribute among cubes.  Don’t get too much oil onto any cube or it will turn out soggy.

3. Spread onto baking sheet and bake, turning frequently, for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown on all sides.

In Mari’s words, “Crunchy Fun!”

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Chestnut Leek Apple Parsley Stuffing

Monday, November 24th, 2008

Gourmet Thanksgiving in Advance (described here) Recipe #6

You will never eat bagged stuffing again. The chestnuts are a tasty but pricey addition; the stuffing would still be delicious if you decide to leave them out.

Chestnut Leek Apple Parsley Stuffing

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine’s Chestnut, Leek, and Apple Stuffing

What I changed (reflected below) and why: Used a combination of white bread and whole wheat bagels since I had both around; Did not discard crust because that seemed like a waste (and who wants to de-crust a bagel?); Halved the butter since it seemed plenty; Did not peel apple for nutrition; Lessened chestnuts since 14-16oz appeared way too many; Substituted half-and-half for cream; Increased parsley for nutrition and for stronger flavor.

6 cups (1/2-inch) bread cubes (mixture of types is fine)
3 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), cut into 1-inch pieces (4 cups)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 celery ribs, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 cups bottled peeled roasted chestnuts (about 10 oz), halved
1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Bake bread cubes in a large 4-sided sheet pan in upper third of oven until dried slightly, about 15 minutes, then remove from oven. (Alternatively, leave out to dry at room temperature 8 to 24 hours.) Then increase oven temperature to 450°F.

2. Meanwhile, wash and chop leeks. Melt butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, then cook leeks and celery, covered, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add thyme, apples, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until apples are just tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and toss with bread, chestnuts, half-and-half, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread in a 2 1/2-to 3-quart shallow baking dish.

3. (Stuffing can be assembled, but not baked, 1 day ahead and chilled and covered. Bring to room temperature before baking.) Bake, uncovered, in lower third of oven until heated through and top is golden, about 30 minutes.

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Homemade Salad Dressing: Tarragon vinaigrette

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

I bought a bunch of fresh tarragon at the market because I don’t think I’d ever bought fresh tarragon before.

Then it sat in my fridge for a while, making me feel guilty.

In the nick of time I used it in a delicious homemade salad dressing.

Now I can buy fresh tarragon again!

Fresh Tarragon Vinaigrette

Adapted from Wasabi Bratwurst’s Everyone’s Favorite Fresh Herb Salad Dressing

What I Changed and Why: Kept the fresh herb to tarragon only to highlight its flavor; Kept the vinegar to just balsamic for simplicity; Adjusted other spices to taste.

3 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves, finely minced
1/2 Tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper, fresh ground
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salad greens (such as one small head red leaf lettuce)

1. Shake all of the ingredients together in a jar with a tight fitting lid. (If you do not have such a jar then first whisk together all ingredients, adding the fresh herbs at the very end.)

2. Toss the greens & the dressing in a large bowl and plate it.

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Sweet Potato Stacks: Tri-color, garlic, fried sage

Monday, November 17th, 2008

Gourmet Thanksgiving in Advance (described here) Recipe #4

Quite possibly the best sweet potato recipe ever.

Tri-Color Garlic Sweet Potato Stacks

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine’s Roasted Sweet-Potato Rounds with Garlic Oil and Fried Sage

What I changed and why: Didn’t puree garlic with oil because I didn’t want the mess; Used pre-chopped jarred garlic because I’m lazy; Used three kinds of sweet potatoes because they all looked so good in the store (the flavors melded beautifully, and the various colors looked pretty); Didn’t peel the sweet potatoes out of laziness and for added nutrition; Made the olive oil extra virgin since its flavor is paramount in the final dish; Increased cooking time since tenderness is important; Changed presentation to stacks just for fun.

1 Tbsp chopped raw garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 large sweet potatoes: one garnet, one jewel, one Japanese (about 2 1/2 lb), washed and sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
24 fresh sage leaves

1. Preheat oven 450°F with rack in upper third. Toss garlic with olive oil and mix thoroughly with sweet potatoes in large bowl. Spread in 1 layer in a 15-by 10-inch shallow baking pan.

2. Bake until soft, about 30 minutes.

    3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a small heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then fry sage leaves in 2 batches, stirring, until crisp, 30 seconds to 1 minute per batch. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

    4. To serve, stack sweet potato slices, alternating colors. Place sage leaves on top.

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    Recipe: Wild Mushroom and Collard Green Bundles

    Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

    Gourmet Thanksgiving in Advance (described here) Recipe #2

    Perhaps the most delicious way to eat collard greens, particularly for those who dislike bitter-tasting collards and/or vegetarians who can’t do the collard greens & bacon thing.

    When you get to step 3, be generous with the filling in each leaf. I had extra which I put in romaine leaves. As you can see in the photo, they’re not as pretty (though surprisingly still tasty, but not as good as the collards).

    Wild Mushroom and Collard Green Bundles

    Adapted from Gourmet Magazine’s Wild-Mushroom Bundles

    8 large collard leaves, stems and thick portion of center ribs removed
    1/2 cup vermouth
    2 tablespoons shallot, finely diced
    1 teaspoon minced garlic
    4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
    1 lb mixed fresh wild mushrooms: shitake, oyster, and chanterelle, cut into wedges (6 cups)
    1. Cook collards in a large pot of boiling water with 1 Tbsp salt until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes, then drain. Transfer to a bowl of cold water, then spread leaves, undersides up, on paper towels, overlapping cut edges slightly, and pat dry.
    2. Bring wine to a boil with shallot, garlic, butter, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper in a heavy medium saucepan. Add mushrooms and cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 12 minutes. Butter a 2-qt shallow baking dish, then strain mushroom juices into baking dish, reserving mushrooms.
    3. Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in lower third. Mound a 1/4 cup mushrooms in center of each collard leaf. Fold leaves to enclose filling and arrange bundles, seam sides down, in 1 layer in baking dish and cover the dish with foil. (Or, if making in advance, at this point refrigerate the baking dish for up to 1 day. Bring to room temperature before heating.)
    4. Heat in oven until bundles are hot and juices are bubbling, about 20 minutes.

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    Recipe: Cranberry, Quince, and Pearl Onion Compote

    Monday, November 10th, 2008

    Gourmet Thanksgiving in Advance (described here) Recipe #1.

    A refreshing, sweet/tart accompaniment to turkey and mashed potatoes. It’s worth it to find quince, which has a pear-like consistency when cooked and a festive winter holiday flavor.

    Cranberry, Quince, and Pearl Onion Compote

    Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, November 2008

    1/2 lb pearl onions (2 cups) – the recipe says “red preferred,” but I could only find white
    2 cups organic apple juice
    1/2 cup (raw) sugar- the recipe called for 1 cup but I found half to be very sweet
    2 T cider vinegar
    6 cloves
    1 tsp coriander seeds- next time I might crush them or use a powdered form since the crunchy seeds stand out in the finished dish
    2 quinces, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
    1 (12-oz) bag fresh or frozen cranberries (not thawed if frozen)

    1. Trim root end of each onion and cut an X in it. Blanch in boiling water 1 minute, then drain in a colander. Cool slighly, then peel. Be liberal in what you peel off, since the fibrous outer layers will compete with the texture of the final dish.

    2. Bring juice, sugar, vinegar, and spices to a boil in a 3-qt heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Add onions and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add quinces and continue simmering, uncovered, stirring occasionally until both onions and quinces are tender but not falling apart.

    3. Add cranberries and simmer until tender but not falling apart, 5 to 8 minutes. Discard cloves (easier to find than I had feared!). Trasnfer fruit and onions to a bowl using a slotted spoon, then boil syrup, if necessary, until reduced to 1/3 cup. Pour syrup over compote and cool to room temperature. (May be made 3 days ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

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