Cranberry Relish

There is only one dish that I have to have at Thanksgiving and Christmas: cranberry sauce.  But not just any cranberry sauce. Aunt Selma's Cranberry Relish.  Yes, the very same Aunt Selma who gave us the wonderful Apple Cake recipe; I've come to the conclusion that she must have been a very good cook.  This is definitely not your average cranberry sauce; it's not the shape of an aluminum can, it doesn't have orange rind in it, and it's not plain cranberries and sugar.  It has the zip of a fresh orange and gets sweetness from dried plums.  In a word, it's delectable.  And it's been a staple on our family table for as long as I can remember for every Thanksgiving and Christmas meal.  I also like that it's quick, simple to make, and can be made a week in advance - which is great when you're trying to make what feels like a million different dishes for a big holiday meal. 

Cranberry Relish
1 pound dried plums, roughly chopped
1 orange, peel and membrane removed, chopped
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
3 cups cranberries

1.  Chop dried plums and set aside. Slice peel and membrane off one orange and slice the meat of the orange into small bite-size pieces (the pieces will remain intact in the sauce, so keep that in mind when you decide how large you want them). Set aside.

2.  Put water and sugar in a medium sauce pan on the stove and boil for 5 minutes.

3.  Add cranberries and bring to a boil.  Boil cranberries until all berries are popped.  It's important that all berries are popped; any un-popped berries in the sauce will be very tart when eaten!  You can smoosh berries with a rubber spatula after a few minutes to see if any still need to pop.

4.  When all berries are popped, add fruit mixture and lemon juice to the cranberries and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.  Sauce will thicken as it sits. If you find your orange pieces are larger than you like, simply take some clean kitchen shears and snip them into smaller pieces in the sauce (it's much easier and quicker than taking them out to cut them!).

Serve warm or store in the refrigerator until ready to eat. May serve cold or at room temperature. After removing from heat, you may can the sauce if desired.

Enjoy!

Chicken Tortellini Soup

Everyone always likes their mother's recipes,* and I'm no exception.  Now, that's not to say that you shouldn't try new things or that there's never room for improvement; I love trying new foods!  But, chicken noodle soup is one food I've yet to find a replacement I prefer to my mom's.  Maybe it's because hers was so simple that, to me, all these chicken soups with lots of vegetables just don't seem right. Carrots don't belong in chicken noodle soup.  Is it called Chicken Carrot Noodle Soup? No. Not a carrot in the title - for a reason, I say! 

Originally my mom made this soup with Klusky extra-wide egg noodles.  Why she specified Klusky, I don't know.  I guess I could ask, but it never occurred to me; it's just how Mom did it.  One day she substituted cheese tortellini and we've rarely gone back to the egg noodles.  The tortellini are a wonderful twist on the classic (see, we do change things up around here!).  They add some extra flavor and I just love the chewy pasta aspect.  What's better on a cold fall day than a hot bowl of chicken noodle soup?

Chicken Tortellini Soup
2 T olive oil or butter
1 cup chicken breast, diced
1 c. sliced celery
1/4 - 1/2 c. onion, diced
1 can cream of chicken soup (low sodium ok)
32 oz. chicken broth (low sodium ok)
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. sage or poultry seasoning
1 - 8oz package cheese tortellini

1.  Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a soup pot on medium. Cook chicken in olive oil with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. When chicken is cooked through, add celery, onion and sage and saute for about two minutes, until onion is translucent and soft.

2.  Add chicken broth and cream of chicken soup.  If cream of chicken soup is condensed, add water as instructed on can. Add tortellini at this time as well. If using egg noodles, use 2 cups of noodles.

3.  Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat and simmer on low until pasta is cooked. Stir in salt and pepper to taste.  If soup is thick, add water or chicken broth to thin to desired thickness.  Leftovers will thicken; add water or chicken broth to thin.

Enjoy!

* I fully understand that not everyone grew up with a mother who was a good cook, in which case you may not prefer any of your mother's recipes. If that's your case, may you find this blog helpful!

Apple Cake

A true family recipe, handed down from generation to generation; I'm at least the third generation to continue the tradition of making apple cake.  The recipe originated in our family from Aunt Selma, an adopted 'aunt' (and Uncle Harry, of course) of my mother's who had no children of her own who adopted my mother and her four siblings as her own extended family.  Aunt Selma and Uncle Harry were included in all of my mother's family gatherings, and I like to imagine this cake was frequently there as well.  It's a very simple cake to make, and pretty quick prep as well.  While it's doesn't look too fancy, it tastes amazing; my friends have frequently asked for the recipe over the years and I am happy to be able to continue the tradition of passing on Aunt Selma's apple cake.  Did I mention it has a caramel frosting?

Apple Cake
Put in a large bowl (electric mixer) and mix until well blended:
2 1/3 c. flour
2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. clove
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

 Add to above mix and blend on medium speed:
4-5 c. chopped, peeled apples (usually 4 large apples)
1/2 c. soft butter
1/2 c. chopped walnut (optional - I never use!)
2 eggs

Note:

• The dough seems very dry at first when you add the apples, but don't worry, the apples quickly juice out and the dough becomes very wet.
• Be sure to butter and flour the pan (esp. if using a Bundt pan); this cake has a tendency to stick.
• If using a Bundt pan, allow cake to cool in pan for a few minutes, then tip cake out and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Bake at 325. 9x13 = 45 min. Bundt pan = 60 min. (until a tester comes out clean)

Caramel Frosting
In a small pan on a stove:
1/3 c. melted butter
add 1/2 c. brown sugar, melt.
add a dash salt and 3 T milk.
Boil. Cool 10 minutes.
Add 1 1/2 c. confectioners sugar and 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Beat with a spoon until smooth.
Add small amounts of confectioners sugar with sifter to thicken, if needed. You don't want it to be so thin it runs off the cake, or so thick it won't drip down the sides a little bit (if using a Bundt pan).
Spread over cake.

 

Enjoy!

Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake

I wasn't sure whether to put the chocolate or the orange first in the name of this post. Between the chocolate ganache flowing down the sides and the chocolate chunks inside, you can't help but have chocolate on your mind after the last bite is gone.  But then there is the orange zest in the cake itself that is so fresh, and the orange juice in the glaze that peeks out in a sneaky little way.  Then I remembered that I was stealing the recipe from Ina Garten (again, I know) so I better stick with her name for it, and it made my decision easy.

Last Monday was Halloween and as I flipped through my cookbooks I came upon this recipe. I thought it very festive and the perfect recipe to try for the holiday being that it was orange and brown (which when it comes to cooking, is close enough to black!) It was amazingly delicious and was sliced up and whisked away rather quickly by my co-workers (nothing like job security through food).

This would make a great Autumn dessert, whether for Thanksgiving, a dinner party, or a casual Sunday football party.

Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake
1 c unsalted butter at room temperature
2 c sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
1/4 c grated orange zest (2 large oranges)
3 c flour plus 2 T
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 c fresh squeezed orange juice
3/4 c buttermilk at room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups good semi-sweet chocolate chunks (I used Ghiradelli chocolate chips)

For the Syrup
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c freshly squeezed orange juice

For the Ganache
8 oz. good semisweet chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli chocolate chips)
1/2 c heavy cream
1 tsp. instant coffee granules (I used Starbucks Via)

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.

2.  Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and then add the orange zest. (When zesting, be sure to grate only the orange part, not the white underneath!)

3.  In a separate bowl, combine the 3 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (I stir with a whisk to combine).

4.  In a third, smaller bowl, combine the buttermilk, orange juice and vanilla. (something with a spout would be helpful in this case)

5.  Add the flour mixture (in fourths) and buttermilk mixture (in thirds), alternately to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

6.  Toss the chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons of flour and add to the batter.  Pour batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 45 - 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

7.  While the cake is cooling in the pan, heat the sugar and the orange juice in a small pan on the stove over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves to make the syrup.

8.  Remove the cake from the pan and set it on a wire rack and spoon the orange syrup over the cake. For easy clean up, place a sheet of wax paper under the wire rack before spooning the syrup over the cake - it will catch any dripping syrup!  Allow the cake to then cool completely.

9.  Once the cake is cooled completely, make the ganache in a double boiler (a glass bowl placed on top of a pot of simmer water - be sure the bowl does not touch the water!) Melt the chocolate, heavy cream and coffee in the double boiler until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.  Drizzle over the top of the cake.

Enjoy!!