Blueberry Butter

This recipe comes from a new-to-me cookbook, that I borrowed from a friend and decided was so good I just had to have my own copy!  The book is from Michigan, and is called Hollyhocks & Radishes: Mrs. Chard's Almanac Cookbook, which you may remember from the delicious Rhubarb Bundt Cake I posted a few weeks ago. There are so many recipes on my list to try.

I was planning on making this with a case of blueberries I bought, and even successfully found and purchased some mace, but my boys beat me to the fruit.  My friends in Oregon just harvested 163.4 pounds of blueberries, so I am publishing this for them.  I am sure it's fabulous.  Here's the book, you might as well go order your copy now!

Blueberry Butter
Yield:  8 pints
Prepare: 15 minutes
Cook: 1 hour

2 quarts fresh blueberries
8 large, green cooking apples
8 cups sugar
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon mace

Wash and drain blueberries; peel, core and slice apples.  Combine in a Dutch oven or pot with remaining ingredients. 

Bring to a boil, stirring.  Lower heat and simmer 1 hour, stirring periodically, or until right consistency for spreading.

May be stored in the freezer or water-bath canned.  If the latter, process 10 minutes (or adjust for your altitude).

Honey & Chili Chicken

Modified only slightly from theKitchn. Follow link to see a picture.

Honey & Chili Chicken

with Creamy Cilantro Sauce

Serves 8

½ cup amber ale

¼ cup cider vinegar

¼ cup honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons chili powder

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Roughly chopped cilantro for garnish

Creamy Cilantro Sauce

1 cup sour cream

1 ½ cups loosely packed cilantro leaves (about 1 bunch)

1 lime’s zest and juice

½ teaspoon salt

1. Whisk together ale, honey, vinegar, olive oil, and chili powder in a large mixing bowl.

2. Add the chicken thighs to the bowl and stir until the thighs are evenly coated. The chicken can be cooked immediately or marinated in the fridge for up to three hours.

3. Arrange chicken thighs on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan, keeping the chicken pieces slightly separated. Drizzle any remaining dressing over chicken.

4. Roast in 450°F. until cooked thoroughly and the thickest part of the thighs register 165°F. with an instant-read thermometer, about 25 to 30 minutes.

5. If cilantro sauce wasn’t made up to a day ahead, then, while the thighs are roasting, make the cilantro sauce by placing all sauce ingredients in a small food processor.

6. Process continuously until the cilantro is minced very finely and the sauce is light green.

7. Serve the chicken after spooning any extra glaze from the pan over the hot chicken and garnishing it with roughly chopped cilantro. Serve with Creamy Cilantro Sauce.

NOTE: Easy, quick, and delicious! Easily multiplied. Great for a crowd. Good served with rice. Sometime try substituting apple juice for ale.

              Chicken thighs can be grilled covered over high heat for 4 minutes on each side.

Chocolate Coconut Shell for Ice Cream

This is an incredibly easy and delicious recipe I got from Aunt Becky.  I got the coconut oil from Aunt Gina, who got it at Costco.  

You really won't believe how simple this is.  After it is melted together, you just pack ice cream onto a cone and dip it carefully!  Or you can spoon it over ice cream in a bowl.  Or just eat it with a spoon.  There's no judgement here at all.  You can see I used just the right amount of chocolate, it's pooling at the bottom of my very precariously top-heavy cone.

I made 1 batch, covered 4 ice cream cones with it, ate a couple spoonfuls, and still had almost a whole pint of chocolate leftover!  Don't forget to store this in the refrigerator and reheat as necessary.  

Becky uses a microwave, I used a saucepan, it's all good.  I had some Guittard Extra Dark Chocolate Chips in the cupboard, so that's what I used.  Becky told me she uses fancy chocolate sometimes, but usually semi-sweet or dark chips.  I was dreaming of that 11 pounds of gianduja I had once upon a time...might be time to order that again!  (and follow the link, if only to read my story!  Don't worry, I have an email in to the company, asking how I can get more since it didn't come up on a search)

Chocolate Coconut Shell

1/2 cup coconut oil

1-1/4 to 1-1/2 cup chocolate chips (guess which one I used?) 

Gently melt and stir together in microwave or saucepan.  Cool slightly, then dip solidly formed ice cream cones or spoon over ice cream.

Store in a jar in the refrigerator, if you can make it last that long.

UPSIDE DOWN APPLE PIE

UPSIDE DOWN APPLE PIE  Yield: 8 servings.
original recipe from Taste of Home

CRUST:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons shortening (Crisco stick)
2 tablespoons cold butter
5 to 7 tablespoons orange juice

FILLING:
6 tablespoons butter, melted, divided
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
1 cup Imperial Sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (sifted)
1/2 teaspoon rum extract (optional)
1/2 teaspoon maple extract (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
8 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples (I like honey crisp or Granny Smith) (about 1/8-inch thick)

GLAZE:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 to 3 teaspoons orange juice

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in shortening and butter until crumbly.
• Gradually add orange juice, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball.
• Divide dough into two balls. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Line a 9-in. deep-dish pie plate with heavy-duty foil, leaving 1-1/2 in. beyond edge; coat the foil with cooking spray.
• Combine 4 tablespoons butter, brown sugar and nuts; spoon into prepared pie plate.
• In a large bowl, combine the apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and remaining butter; toss gently.
• On waxed paper, roll out one ball of pastry to fit pie plate.
• Place pastry over nut mixture, pressing firmly against mixture and sides of plate; trim to 1 in. beyond plate edge.
• Fill with apple mixture.
• Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie; place over filling. Trim to 1/4 in. beyond plate edge.
• Fold bottom pastry over top pastry; seal and flute edges. Cut four 1-in. slits in top pastry.
• Bake at 375° for 50-55 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown (cover edges with foil during the last 20 minutes to prevent over browning).
• Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack. Invert onto a serving platter; carefully remove foil. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over pie. 

Potato-Fennel Gratin

My friend gave me this recipe after we each received a big fennel bulb in our weekly Bountiful Baskets.  She said it's one of her favorites, and when she says that you know it's good!

This is a savory, comforting dish, with the delicate flavor of fennel and sauteed onions.  I used regular Swiss as I was out of Gruyere and it was great.  Next time I'll watch mine a little closer, I had to run a long errand and put my husband in charge, and the edges were a bit burned, but still delicious!

Try some the next time you run across some fresh fennel!

Potato-Fennel Gratin 
From Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
Total Time: 2 hr 15 min

Prep 20 min
Inactive 10 min
Cook 1 hr 45 min

Yield: 10 servings

2 small fennel bulbs
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 pounds russet potatoes (4 large potatoes)
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese (1/2 pound), or regular Swiss cheese
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter the inside of a 10-by-15-by-2-inch (10-cup) baking dish.

Remove the stalks from the fennel and cut the bulbs in half lengthwise. Remove the cores and thinly slice the bulbs crosswise, making approximately 4 cups of sliced fennel. Saute the fennel and onions in the olive oil and butter on medium-low heat for 15 minutes, until tender.

Peel the potatoes, then thinly slice them by hand or with a mandoline. Mix the sliced potatoes in a large bowl with 2 cups of cream, 2 cups of Gruyère, salt, and pepper. Add the sauteed fennel and onion and mix well.

Pour the potatoes into the baking dish. Press down to smooth the potatoes. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream and 1/2 cup of Gruyère and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, until the potatoes are very tender and the top is browned and bubbly. Allow to set for 10 minutes and serve.

Coconut Granola

I found this recipe for granola on The Frugal Girl, and was intrigued because it uses coconut oil instead of vegetable oil.  Even healthier, right?

The good news is that this granola is fabulously delicious AND easy to make.  I made a double batch and took it to our family quilting retreat this week, and it was a HIT!  We ate it for breakfast two mornings in a row.  It's a keeper!
 
Picture to come!

Coconut Granola
Adapted from The Frugal Girl

6 cups regular oatmeal
1 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds and topped them off with peanuts to make a full cup)
1 cup dried fruit (I didn't use fruit, so I say Optional.  If it's bigger than a raisin, I'd chop it too)
1 cup raw dried coconut (find this in the organic/baking section of your grocery, if you're lucky!)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut oil
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, fruit (if using), and coconut.

Heat the honey, oil and brown sugar on low heat in a small pot.  Stir until sugar is dissolved.  Stir in vanilla.

Pour honey mixture over oat mixture and stir well. Spread onto two rimmed baking sheets.

Bake for 15 minutes, then stir. Bake for another 5 minutes and stir. Bake in additional 2-5 minute intervals until granola is light golden brown.

Baby Nutella Cheesecakes

This month, my assignment for Secret Recipe Club was:

Everything in the Kitchen Sink

As soon as I saw Sarah's recipe for Baby Nutella Cheesecakes, I knew what I was making! 

I only have one mini muffin pan, so the rest of my crust and batter are resting in the fridge for later.  I did have some trouble with the crust.  I couldn't get the crust to stop sticking to my wooden tart former, no matter how much butter I used to grease it.  I added another 1/4 stick of melted butter to the crust mixture, then ended up using a square of waxed paper over the tart former, which worked great.  Otherwise it was too fussy for me, I tried buttering my fingers, everything!

The only other change was halving the sugar in the sour cream topping. 

These little babies are soooo good!  Everyone loved them.  I'm glad I still have more to make.  Perfect little bites.

Baby Nutella Cheesecakes
Adapted from Everything in the Kitchen Sink

Crust:

1 package (about 8 full squares) of graham crackers

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 a stick of butter, melted  (I used 3/4 stick of butter)

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Using the food processor, grind up the graham crackers into crumbs.  Add the sugar and salt, pulse 3 times, then add the melted butter.  Pulse a few more times and transfer to a small bowl, being sure to scrape any butter trapped under the blade.

Add 1-1/2 teaspoon of graham cracker crumbs to each well of the 24-mini muffin pan.  Press down using another mini-muffin pan, a tart former, or your fingers.

Bake for 5 minutes at 350 F.  Let cool while you prepare the cheesecake.

Cheesecake:

1 8-ounce package of cream cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup Nutella (6 ounces)

Let the cream cheese, mayonaise, eggs, and nutella come to room temperature.  For best results, let cream cheese sit overnight and the mayo and eggs brought out 1 hour before you want to bake, just to come to room temperature.  Combine the cream cheese and mayonaise with a hand mixer.  Add the sugar then beat in the eggs one at a time.  Add the vanilla and Nutella and combine well.

Sarah uses ziplocs as pastry bags to distribute the cheesecake filling and topping, but I just used spoons.

Fill the wells with cheesecake batter, almost to the top.  Lightly tap the pans to get rid of any bubbles.

Bake for 12 minutes at 350 F.  The tops will be puffed.  Let cool while you prepare the sour cream topping.

Sour Cream Topping:

1 cup of sour cream

2 tablespoons sugar *(I used 1 tablespoon)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt *(I omitted)

Combine all ingredients.  Fill the divets in the cheesecakes created from cooling.  Bake for 2 more minutes, let come to room temperature, then refrigerate for 2 hours. 

To remove, use a butter knife slightly warmed with hot water to most cleanly retrieve your baby cheesecakes.

Serve chilled.

Greek-Style Panini

 

***Taste & Create is a fabulous monthly blog event 

in which participants are randomly paired off 

to choose and prepare a dish from their partner's blog. 

 If you'd like to join us, please email me at 

cowgirlmin07 [at] gmail [dot] com for more information!  

We'd love to have you.**

 

 

For this month's Taste & Create, I was paired with Pavani of Cook's Hideout.  She has a lot of great recipes, but I wanted something simple and these paninis caught my eye!  Pavani's recipe is for one sandwich, but we have 4 in our family so I increased all the ingredients.  I mixed most of a package of frozen spinach with an entire 4 ounce container of feta, and there is probably enough of the spinach mixture left to make two more sandwiches.  

I was generous with the hummus, using more than 2 tablespoons per sandwich (I just spread some on), and unfortunately I didn't have any roasted red peppers!  Our teeny tiny grocery store doesn't carry them, (quite honestly I was shocked to finally find feta there) and my stash was gone, so I bought some roasted red pepper hummus as a compromise.

 

My panini press is at the ranch and I was making these in town, so I improvised with a cast iron pan that fit inside my regular frying pan to weight the sandwiches down.  Worked great but I missed those signature ridges from the press!

 

 

These sandwiches are light but filling, and my husband and I thought they were delicious although they received mixed reviews from our sons.  I think I'll be making these again, at least for the adults!  I know they'll be even better when I get my pantry stocked up with roasted red peppers too.

 

Greek-Style Paninis

Serves about6

 

6 Kaiser rolls, cut in half

about 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out

4 ounces Feta cheese, crumbled

Jarred Roasted red peppers, cut into thin strips

Hummus (I used store-bought as Pavani did, but I agree, homemade would be even better!)

In a small bowl, combine thawed spinach and feta cheese. Spread this mixture on the bottom roll and top it with the red pepper strips. Spread hummus on the top half of the roll.

 

Heat skillet on medium-high heat. Pour about 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in pan.  Set the sandwiches on the skillet, pour a bit of olive oil on top of each one.  Weigh the sandwiches down with something heavy or with heavy cast iron skillet. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side until toasted and golden.

 

 

***Visit Taste & Create to see what everyone else has made this month!***

 

 

Rhubarb Bundt Cake

This recipe was given to me by my friend Amber, who is a fabulous cook.  She got it from a cookbook called Hollyhocks & Radishes: Mrs. Chard's Almanac Cookbook, which is actually a book from Michigan.  (hey, me too!) It has lots of great recipes in it, and I look forward to purchasing my own copy and trying many more!  Some that have caught my eye:  Old-Time Doughnuts (which I'm hoping are similar to the ones my Great Grandma used to make), Smoked Whitefish Pâté, and Double Chocolate Pound Cake.  These are just the tip of the iceberg!

This cake is pretty easy to put together, as cakes go, and is a wonderfully flavored light cake, tangy with bits of rhubarb.  Yum.  The only problem I had was I felt too anxious to get it out of the pan, so I didn't wait until the cake was cool, and it split in half!  The top half stayed in the pan.  My advice to you:  Grease the pan WELL and WAIT until the cake is cool before you attempt to turn it onto a plate.  I ended up digging the top out of the pan and setting it on top, which is why you may notice there isn't a picture here!  Luckily the mishap didn't affect the flavor of this fabulous cake.

Here's the recipe.  Don't forget to buy the cookbook!

Rhubarb Bundt Cake 
Serves 12 or more
Prepare: 20 minutes
Bake: 1 hour

1-1/2 cups finely chopped rhubarb (I used almost 2 cups)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 cup light vegetable oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups sifted unbleached flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Generously oil a 3-quart Bundt pan.

Combine rhubarb with 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and remaining 2 cups sugar.  Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then oil, lemon juice, and vanilla. 

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir flour mixture into mixing bowl in 3 batches, alternating with milk.  Fold in nuts.

Spoon 1/3 of batter into prepared pan.  Top with 1/2 of the rhubarb mixture.  Repeat, then cover with remaining 1/3 of batter.

Bake 60-65 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.  Set cake pan on cooking rack.  When cool enough to handle, invert onto serving plate.  Before serving, you may wish to dust top with powdered sugar and a sprinkling of cinnamon.  (I felt this to be unnecessary)

By the way, this cake freezes beautifully.

Strawberry Balsamic Freezer Jam

I found this recipe on the Ball website, http://freshpreserving.com/  It is attributed to Barbara H. of Park Hills, Missouri.  And it is fabulous!

I am adding it to my fruit preserving/harvest repertoire, as well as sharing it with you.


Enjoy!

Strawberry Balsamic Freezer Jam

Makes about 5 (8 oz) half pints

1 cup balsamic vinegar
4 cups crushed strawberries
1/2 cup honey
5 tablespoons Ball^® RealFruit^® Instant Pectin

Pour balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until reduced to 3/4 cup. Chill until cool.

Mix strawberries, honey and cooled balsamic vinegar in a large mixing bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes. Add pectin. Stir 3 minutes.

Ladle jam into clean jars to fill line. Twist on lids. Let stand until thickened, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 1 year.