Plum Perfect

It's the height of plum season and the markets are overflowing with plums in dark purple, pale yellow, ruby red. The variety is amazing - some have yellow flesh, others are bright red.

I love how plums, when made into jam, or chutney, or this delectable Asian style sauce, glisten like rubies.

I use this sauce as a dipping sauce for fried wontons stuffed with sauteed shitake mushrooms, ginger & garlic. But mostly I use this sauce for grilling - pork, chicken or tofu marry perfectly with the zippy fruity tang.

I made up this recipe for Plum Sauced Pork Tenderloin last year, as my first entry to food52. It was selected as a finalist, but was bested by this brilliant smoky pork burger recipe by my friend Jen. (Try the burgers - ambrosial!)

But I'm getting off track.

Recently, I didn't have a tenderloin, but I did have two beautiful pork chops, so I treated them the same way. On a very hot grill, quick sear the chops on each side, then move them off the direct heat to finish the cooking indirectly, basting with the plum sauce from time to time. My chops were pretty thick and took 16 minutes on the grill, total, and then rested for 10 minutes before serving with warm plum sauce.

Spicy Asian Plum Sauce
adapted from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving
makes 5-6 half pints

2 lbs pitted and chopped plums, any type, any color, but try to get some tart and some sweet
1/2 c white sugar
1 c packed dark brown sugar
1/2 c cider vinegar
1/2 c chopped onion
1-4 chopped jalapeno or mixture of hot peppers
2 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T fresh gingeroot, minced
1 t galangal (substitute ginger, if necessary)


Bring all ingredients except plums to a boil in a non-reactive pan. Stir in chopped plums. Reduce heat and simmer until thick, stirring often - about 30-45 minutes, depending on the moisture content of the plums. The mixture should be reduced by half.

Puree in a blender, or use an immersion blender, or even mash with a potato masher - the sauce can be smooth or chunky. I prefer pieces of plum, so use my immersion blender.

Fill hot half-pint jars with hot sauce, leaving 1/4" headspace.
Process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

Weekend Project: Sour Cherry Pie Filling, Apricots in Vanilla Syrup, Cherries in Chipotle Syrup

It's Friday, and the weekend is upon us. Around here, that means contractor-free days. Not that the guys who've been here every day for the last three weeks aren't really nice, but it is such a treat to walk freely - no plastic door coverings - for a couple of days.

Last weekend, I celebrated the Fourth of July, and three full days without workmen, by canning. Saturday, I had the pleasure of participating in a fantastic Can-O-Rama, hosted by a food52 member - Christine - in her inviting Carlisle, PA, kitchen. Twelve of us gathered with half a bushel of apricots and 28 quarts of sour cherries to "put-up" old-style. 

There were moments that day, looking around, when I thought - anywhere in the world, almost any era, there would have been similar scenes of women gathering with the sole purpose of easing the enormous effort/burden of preserving the harvest.

Apricots and sour cherries are a great example of this. They ripen in two weeks and then they are gone. They are ambrosial fresh off the tree, but retain such a bright flavor when canned, they cry out to be put in jars. 

I love the taste of apricots fresh, but somehow they are even better with a little bit of cooking. I've included the recipe here for raw packed apricot halves in a very light vanilla syrup. These are sweet and tart and are perfect addition to a piece of pound cake, a bowl of vanilla ice cream, or even lowfat yogurt, if you're being virtuous. I've also used them with pork roasts and think they might be an interesting addition to barbeque sauce (I'll be testing that theory later this summer.) Scroll down for the apricot recipe.

Right around July 4th on the East Coast, for several years, I've canned 8 quarts of sour cherry pie filling. I taught the food52'ers all about canning, and divulged my very easy recipe for this pie filling, so now I thought I'd share it here. 

When Thanksgiving rolls around, I'll roll out a pie crust, empty a one quart jar into the crust, cover with another lattice-d crust, et voila - summer in every bite.

 

Sour Cherry Pie Filling

Sour, or tart, cherries, are available for two or three weeks in late June/early July. They are very delicate and should be pitted and used within two days, but preferably same day you get them.

You will never find sour cherries at the grocery store - you need to make a connection with a farmer/orchard. Once you know when your cherries will arrive, make sure you have all the ingredients on hand, including jars.

Make this pie at Thanksgiving and you will have a very happy crowd.

Makes one 9” pie, or a cobbler, buckle or crisp.

Per Quart:

5 c cherries

1/4 c water

3/4 c sugar

3 T cornstarch

2 T lemon juice

1/2 t almond extract (optional)

Clean and pit cherries. Pit over a bowl to capture all the juices.

Put water, sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch in a large, heavy pan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Add the fruit, bring to a simmer and cook about 5 minutes. Add extract, stir well.

Funnel the filling into a quart jar leaving 1” headroom.

Wipe the rim clean, add lid and ring, finger tighten

Process in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes.

After processing, remove to a towel, separate the jars and allow them to cool naturally. 
Try not to disturb the jars for 24 hours, then test the seal.

To bake a pie, you’ll need two basic pie crusts. Roll out the bottom crust and line a 9” pan. Pour in the pie filling. Roll out the top crust, and cut into strips for a lattice for the top crust. Pinch the crusts together and make a pretty edge. Place the whole pie in the freezer for 20 minutes, or refrigerate for an hour.

Bake in a preheated 425° oven for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350° and bake another 45-55 minutes until the filling is bubbling.

curious about those pints? scroll down for another quick recipe with cherries!

Apricots in Vanilla Syrup

This is a beautiful jar to give as a gift, if you can bear to part with it. The apricots are delicious over ice cream, pound cake, or used for a sauce to serve with pork or chicken. I just eat them out of the jar, ice cold.

You must use exceptional, perfect, beautiful apricots for this recipe. Buy freshly picked apricots two or three days before canning and allow them to finish ripening in a cool spot (basement? garage?) but not the refrigerator. The scent of them ripening will drive you crazy.

This method will also work for pears or peaches. Consider other flavorings - ginger, star anise, clove, cardamom.

Per Pint:

1-1/4 lbs. perfect apricots

3/4 c water

1/8 c sugar

1/2 vanilla bean

1 T lemon juice

3-4 additional lemons

Prepare syrup by combining sugar and water with whole vanilla beans, heating gently until the sugar has dissolved.

Wash, dry, halve and pit the apricots. Put them in a large bowl filled with water and the juice of three or four lemons, so they don't brown as you finish the process.

Pack the fruit directly into sterilized canning jars. Pack tightly, without bruising. You can nestle the apricots together, like spoons, to fit more in. The packing is the hard part of the recipe. After processing, the fruit will float to the surface, so try to get as many apricots as possible into your jar.

Pour lemon juice over the fruit.

Pour hot syrup over the fruit, leaving 1/2" headroom.

Wipe the rims of the jars, add lids and rings and finger tighten.

Process in a water bath for 25 minutes.

After processing, allow jars to rest on a folded towel. Try not to move them for 24 hours. Check seals.

Here's another quick recipe if you have any cherries leftover!

Cherries in Chipotle Syrup

3# sour cherries, weight before pitting
2 dried chipotle peppers, rinsed
2 c sugar
2 c water


Make a simple syrup by simmering the water, sugar and chipotle until the sugar is dissolved. Allow to steep for 1 hour.
Pit the cherries and pack into a sterilized pint jar.
Warm the syrup and pour over the cherries, leaving 1/2" headroom. 
Stem and seed the chipotle. Cut into 1/2" rings and place one ring in each jar.
Process for 25 minutes in a boiling water bath.
Remove from processor and allow to cool naturally. 
These are smoky, hot and wonderful cherries. I'm marinating some in maraschino liqueur for spicy Old Fashioneds. And I'll be making a bbq sauce for sure, as they'll be perfect with pork shoulder.

Four Cherry Preserves with St. Germain

Last weekend's farmer's market brought the sad news that the annual tart cherry crop I depend on was hit by hail at the blossom stage, and the crop was lost.

I nearly had a full on anxiety attack. Life without tart cherries? Tart cherries are - maybe - my favorite food on earth. And every summer, I can 8 quarts of sour cherry pie filling and 12 pints of tart cherry jam. The one that didn't gel, as I lamented in my post on apple pectin. My cherry pie is anticipated at Thanksgiving's Dead Poultry Society party.

Don't worry. I've located some cherries. Once again, food52 connections came through - there will be a Canorama in Pennsylvania next month, with a world of cherries ready to be canned.

In the meantime, when I saw first of the season sweet cherries last week, I brought home deep red, nearly maroon, super sweet, velvety cherries, bright red slightly tart cherries and Emperor Francis, a yellow heirloom beauty, streaked with pink that straddles tart and sweet with rare perfection. The next day, I spied two pints of tart cherries (Montmorency) at another market. I had the weight for jam, but not the recipe.

After consulting several canning books, I came right back to Christine Ferber, of course. She has a half sweet and half tart cherry preserves, flavored with Kirsch. As I am not a big fan of Kirsch, and I am a big fan of herbal tones in jam, I turned to my favorite cocktail enhancer, St. Germain. Elderflower liqueur. So French!

AND -- drumroll please -- I used my new apple pectin. And it worked. Perfectly. This preserves has a very nice gel that's soft set, with the whole cherries suspended in the gel. It's beautiful in the jar, on the spoon, on top of homemade ricotta, stirred into yogurt, spooned over ice cream or pound cake.

If you don't have apple pectin, substitute one package of commercial pectin and follow the directions on the box for finishing the preserves.

Oh, did I mention my beautiful new copper preserving pan? I love it. Yes, it really does make a difference.

Four Cherry Preserves with St. Germain
makes six half-pint jars

1.25# sweet cherries, preferably varied in taste and color
1.25# tart cherries
2.5 c sugar
Juice of one lemon
2-5oz packages of apple pectin
1/2 tsp butter
1 oz St. Germain liqueur

Pit the cherries over a bowl, capturing all the juices.* Add the sugar and lemon juice and allow the mixture to sit for an hour.

In a preserving or other wide and deep pan bring the mixture to a simmer. Remove from the heat and pour the jam into a glass or ceramic bowl, cover with parchment and allow to develop overnight.

The next day, strain out the cherries, capturing all the juices in your preserving pan. Bring this to a full, rolling boil. Described in most preserving books as 'a boil you can't stir down.'

Allow the syrup to boil for 5 minutes and skim the foam as completely as possible.

Add in the fruit, bring the preserves back up to a boil, then add 2-5oz packages of apple pectin and the butter. Butter added at this point will break down any remaining foam.

Bring back to a boil for one minute, test the set. Once the preserves forms a jelly, turn off the heat, add the liqueur, stir well, and allow the preserves to rest for five minutes. This will keep the fruit from floating to the top of your jars.

Fill half-pint jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. Seal with lids and rings. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Remove to a towel on the counter and allow to sit, undisturbed, for 24 hours. The preserves will further set up during the resting period.

*I have never used a cherry pitter, but I've only canned tart cherries, the ones that need only the thumbnail to pluck the pit out. The sweet cherries are a whole different beast. Now, I'm in the market for a cherry pitter. Anyone have a favorite?

In The Book - Food52 Love

I'm honored, thrilled and just plain floored that a recipe I have been making for nearly 30 years has been selected today as the Best Salmon Recipe on Food52. Salmon with Sorrel Sauce.

The recipe will be included in the cookbook coming out sometime next year, I think. I'm just so excited to be in such good company.

If you've been following along here, you know I am a huge Food52 fan. It's completely replaced Gourmet magazine for me. (I miss the travel writing, but ...)

The very concept - estabilishing a place for home cooks to gather and creating two contests a week that get your cooking mojo going? It's a food-loving competition! How can this be bad? In fact, it's been great. Thank you, Amanda Hesser & Merrill Stubbs.

I've found a wonderful community of fellow cooks *out there* on the Interwebs, made friends, met for lunch, hosted a potluck and so much more. Food52 is brilliant.

In The Spotlight

I am delighted and overwhelmed to be featured on Food52 today. Here's the link.

Thanks, Amanda & Merrill - for putting together such a wonderful community of home cooks. I feel like I've got a bunch of great new friends and it's been ages since I turned to a cookbook for inspiration. I'd much rather click over to Food52.

Day Two: Week of Eating In

It was a day of catching up on pantry basics here. I put up a pint plus of duxelles using gorgeous organic cremini, button and shitake mushrooms from our CSA. The recipe is Eugenia Bones' - saute diced mushrooms in olive oil with shallots until dry, add some wine or cognac and cook it off, then pack in jars, cover with olive oil, and store in the refrigerator for as long as a couple of months. I use these mushrooms for many things -- pizzas, focaccia, crostino, scrambled eggs, tucked under chicken skin, tossed with noodles, and spooned into soups.
I started another loaf of no knead bread. And I worked on some cooking projects destined for another post.

Breakfast was toast, cheese and an apple. (Dennis had his granola and berries.)
Lunch - easy! - leftovers from last night's Indian feast.
Dinner was one of our standard meals. Black bean Borrachos, from the freezer. Wrapped in a tortilla for Dennis. As a salad for me. Oven fried sweet potatoes. Salad greens with shallot, sherry vinegar, crunchy fleur de sel, cracked black pepper, and a very green, first pressing olive oil.
The magic zing-a-ling? That secret sauce pictured at the top of the page? One of my favorite cooks/twitter-friends - SavoryKitchen - sent me this bottle of her secret tasty sauce. I don't know if it's the honey from her own hives, her magical setting near one of my favorite spots in the world, Plum Island, or just the extra special niceness of an unexpected gift of homemade food, but it just made the dish. I hope to trade comestibles from our pantries again, and soon! Check out Mary's blog at Cooking 4 the Week.

Another day of Eating In. Tasty.
Black Bean Borrachos
adapted from LastNightsDinner recipe on Food52.
(I love Jen's recipe as is, but Dennis doesn't like spicy/hot and isn't so crazy for chunks of tomatoes, so I subbed tomato paste and add jalapenos to my own bowl of beans, after the cooking.)

1# black beans - I prefer Rancho Gordo's Midnight beans
1 bottle Guinness or other dark beer
2 Tbls tomato paste
1 onion, chopped rough
1 garlic clove, chopped rough

Rinse the beans in cold water, then, in a large stockpot, cover with boiling water by 2".
Add beer, tomato paste, onion and garlic.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 2-3 hours.
I freeze half of the beans. It's a weary cook's lifesaver to take a bag of these beans out for dinner.

Oven fried Sweet Potatoes
Serves 2 (with extra for the clean-up snacking)

3 medium sweet potatoes, skin left on, cut into thin wedges
3-4 T olive oil
2 tsp Penzey's Southwest Seasoning

Preheat oven to 375
Line a baking sheet with parchment
Toss sweet potato wedges with olive oil
Place in a single layer on the parchment.
Sprinkle with Southwest Seasoning
Bake for 20 min
Turn the wedges over
Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes

Went on Vacation and My Attitude's Adjusted

carnival dancers

I've been away. Really away. I have thought about writing. Even started a few posts, but I just couldn't get all the ducks in a row until right now. Many things have happened. It snowed. It snowed again. I had a birthday. I made three cakes and invited the kids in the 'hood to come to my birthday party. If ever you are fighting the big bad blues on your birthday, just invite some ten year olds over. They know how to do a birthday party.


Then, my computer quit on me. Died. Bought a new one. Waited a few days to get data from old to new. Sent old one off for new logic board. Computer drama is now officially over.

Then, we went on vacation. Mexico. It was heavenly. I highly recommend Playa del Carmen and send shout outs to all who provided names of hotels, restaurants, transportation, massage, sight-seeing insights. Thank you so much for the direction - it made the trip all that much better.

I expected to do some writing while away, but a spotty wi-fi connection was all the excuse I needed to procrastinate. And the garden at the hotel.



Now, home again, spent the last two days at farmers markets and CSAs, so the refrigerator is full. The laundry is sorted and underway. Bathing suits and t shirts put away. I have no more excuses.

I signed up for the Week of Eating In challenge from The Huffington Pos and from 2/22 to 2/27 I'm going to report on what's going on in my kitchen.

Also, on Thursday, we're co-hosting a get-together for Bending Bridge Farm (our winter vegetable CSA) and the other CSA members and friends. It's a potluck, aptly titled Parsnip Appreciation Night - an opportunity to celebrate the fantastic winter vegetables Audrey and Cameron have been providing and shake off the winter blues.

Tonight, our first home-cooked meal, I went to Food52 and enjoyed the recent winning recipes from two of my favorite bloggers - Jennifer Perillo, In Jennie's Kitchen, and Kelsey, The Naptime Chef.

Jennie's Manicotti is so delicious! I had a pint of last summer's oven roasted tomato sauce in the freezer, made some fresh ricotta, the crespelles, and had a delicious dinner ready in no time at all.


And Kelsey's easy Bundt Cake made tonight's dinner seem like a special occasion. I used olive oil and baked it in my favorite fancy bundt pan.

A wonderful vacation. Nice to be back.

the amazing ruins at Tulum - I had no idea - expected a pyramid, not an entire city

the architecture is very complex, and imagining the structures with bold painted exteriors blew my mind

I hate to sound trite, but this really was one of those experiences that made me feel like a blip on the timeline of the world.

one happy camper

Eating Other People's Food

It’s been a dreadful few days of computer drama. All self-inflicted, actually. Somewhere in my brain, I decided I needed to back up my data, photos, and who knows what else resides on this machine. And from there, into the land of software updates I ventured, only to take down computer, network, and ultimately, my sanity.

It’s still not completely fixed. I can get connected while sitting in one room of the house - neither the kitchen nor my studio, mind you. It’s like the olden days before wireless.

So, other than melting down over technology, I’ve been enjoying a quiet week of cooking from other food sites, using what was available in the pantry and freezer. Eating other people's food. Food52 is the most amazing resource. It’s my go-to site when I’m deciding what to cook, because I know those recipes have been made in a kitchen like mine, by a cook like me, and they never fail to impress, expand my imagination, and solve the “what’s for dinner” question. Returning from eating gloriously (fattening!) food in New York, I craved simple tasty vegetarian fare.

Here are a few highlights, and links to some fantastic blogs, as well.

Borrachos - an amazing recipe from LastNightsDinner, a friend from food52. This easy, tasty bean recipe has been fantastic. Because Dennis isn’t much for jalapenos, I just open a jar of my pickled jalapeno slices and spoon a generous helping right into my serving of the cooked beans. The tomatoes melt away and the beer provides a nice hoppy undertone.
We had burritos the first night - one of Dennis' favorite ways to enjoy beans. Breakfast for me was a bowl of these drunken beans, topped with a poached egg and some sriracha. And one night, I served the beans in bowls garnished with toasted ancho chili strips, avocado and creme fraiche.
I tried my hand at making corn tortillas, something I was quite good at the last few times, but this effort was a total failure. The beans, however, shine through everytime. For this particular recipe, I used Rancho Gordo Santa Maria pinquito. A tasty bean that makes me want to say Toothsome. (what a great word)

We both adored Macaroni, Cauliflower and Cheese from TasteFood. Another food52 contributor, Lynda’s twists on classic recipes are spectacular, as you can see in this simple, tasty dish. I made a full recipe, divided it into four gratin dishes, and froze two. It was the perfect dinner for Dennis when I was off in New York.

Dennis and I took a field trip to a Thai grocer in Silver Spring. What a great place - my only regret is eating lunch before I went! The food on the carryout side smelled great. A very helpful guy helped me gather all the ingredients to start cooking from Andrea Nguyen’s Asian Dumplings.

And a few other ingredients, too, the most intriguing, perhaps, is the Black Sweet Soy Sauce. I first heard of it through the fun blog Big Girls, Small Kitchen. These up and coming food world stars, Phoebe and Cara, have been around food52 and I got to know them there, and on Twitter. There was a great shout of Hooray! from the Twitterverse when their book deal was announced. Their recipes are spot-on - easy, tasty and always inventive. I made their version of Pad See Ew, and we loved it, and when Dennis tossed some chopped peanuts on top, we loved it even more.
So, New York was absolutely fabulous! Perhaps my favorite moment was walking out of the hotel into a sea of teenage girls. Yes, indeed, Nick Jonas was pulling up just around the corner. What a hilarious, noisy experience.
The baby shower was delightful, especially getting to see the gal pals from Martha’s Vineyard Weekend twice this year! Wow! (We missed you Kathleen, Carole, Ellen.) Jessie glowed. Seriously. What a gorgeous mother. Driving to and from Where-The-Hell-Are-We-Is-That-Really-Belmont-Park-OMG-and-Flushing-Meadows-Too?, Long Island, was -- well, just was.

Other highlights - meeting the glorious YummyMummy for a good talk about this world of blogging. She provided great ideas and insights in her inimitable hilarious way (read her blog for some hardy belly laughs and great recipes, to boot.) We pinky-swore to go to BlogHer this August in NYC. Can Not Wait.

The food in New York was just fantastic. Our dinner at the Fatty Crab was exceptional - especially the Crispy Pork Belly and Pickled Watermelon.
The lobster rolls downstairs at the Brooklyn Flea were OutOfThisWorld.

Momofuko Ramen. YES.

No food trip to NY seems complete these days without a stroll through Chelsea Market, especially when it’s full of people and musicians and children. Beautiful fish market. Superb Italian market (fig vinegar!) Eye candy everywhere.
Dinner at Landmarc - luscious roasted marrow bones, a sharp frisee salad, highly acidic and a great counterpoint. The Union Square Greenmarket, even in the cold of January, offered gorgeous mushrooms, root vegetables, some yummy pretzels and a loaf of sour rye that made me immensely happy. Lunch at Union Square Cafe - yes, the service really is that good. And the food was perfection, as was the company, reconnecting with a mentor/friend from a million years ago.
So, to wrap up a few days of eating other people's food, I asked Dennis if he would go with me to a class taught by Patricia Jinich at the Mexican Cultural Institute.
An evening of tamales sounded pretty darn good to me, but I had NO idea! They were spectacular. Three types - veg, chicken & beef - taught in a breezy, charming way, making it all look so easy and approachable! Yes, I will have a tamale party this year!
For now, it's back to the kitchen. Presuming I can overcome these technology burps, here's what's coming up. Jim Lahey's No-Knead bread. The Asian Dumpling experiment. And making bacon.