Saturday, November 15, 2008

Cranberry Sauce Recipe



A week ago I went to an early Thanksgiving dinner with friends from church called "Friendsgiving"
It was a lot of fun and it got me started early on eating way too much in a single meal. The dinner was a potluck and the suggestion was to bring something your family traditional eats for Thanksgiving. I looked up what was eaten at the "first Thanksgiving" but all the recipes I found looked to hard or required baking which I am currently unable to do, so I made cranberry sauce. I had never had cranberry sauce before, so it was a fun and new experience.

Ingredients

* 1 cup (200 g) sugar
* 1 cup (255 mL) water
* 4 cups (1 12-oz package) fresh or frozen cranberries
* Optional Pecans, orange peel, raisins, currants, blueberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice.

Method

1 Wash and pick over cranberries. In a saucepan bring to a boil water and sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cranberries, return to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries burst.

2 At this point you can add all number of optional ingredients. We typically mix in a half a cup of roughly chopped pecans with or without a few strips of orange peel. You can add a cup of raisins or currants. You can add up to a pint of fresh or frozen blueberries for added sweetness. Spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice can be added too.

3 Remove from heat. Cool completely at room temperature and then chill in refrigerator. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.

Cranberry sauce base makes 2 1/4 cups.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

McAlister's Deli



I seem to blog in spurts, sorry about that my one follower.
I have been to McAlister's Deli twice now so I figure it deserves a post.
The first visit was in Roswell, GA on my first day of hurrication. I ordered a pizza on a whole wheat tortilla with some sweet tea. Of course, sweet tea is a must when you are in the south. McAlister's is popular for its tea which you can buy in the gallons. I opted for a large cup of it with free re-fills! McAlister's is a nice place, you get a lot of food and servers bring it to your table for you. A meal is about $7-$11 on average, but you get enough food and drink for two servings.

I love colorful food, so I especially was fond of this pizza. I don't know if color variety is proportional to flavor but I would venture to say that there is some positive relationship between the two. It was a Mexican-inspired dish, with black beans and peppers and corn, not the typical dish you would expect to go along with sweet tea but they still made a good pair.
The second time I went to a McAlister's in Metairie, LA with some people from church.
I got a turkey and cranberry sandwich with bacon! I do love bacon, and this sandwich did not disappoint me. The bacon was delicious and I felt there was plenty to enrich every bite with its greasy and hammy goodness.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Chocolate Truffles


In mid-October I made some chocolate truffles for a women's retreat. They were really tasty! I had a hard time forming them into balls because they melt so fast in your hands. Thus, they took an odd shape, but people seemed to really enjoy them.
I found the recipe on kraft.com

6 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup KARO® Light Corn Syrup
6 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate
2 squares BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate
suggested coatings: powdered sugar, finely chopped PLANTERS Walnuts, BAKER'S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut, unsweetened cocoa
48 REYNOLDS 2-1/2-inch Pastel Baking Cups


PLACE butter, cream and corn syrup in medium saucepan. Bring to boil on medium heat. Remove from heat. Add semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolates; stir until completely melted. Pour into bowl; cover.

REFRIGERATE 3 hours or until firm.

PLACE baking cups on baking sheet or tray. Shape teaspoonfuls of the chocolate mixture into 1-inch balls; roll in 1 cup of the desired coatings until evenly coated. Place 1 in each baking cup. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

satsumas


At work on Thursday a customer and co-worker excitedly explained to me what a satsuma is. The customer had a green/orange citrus in hand that was a size between an orange and a clementine. She explained to me that it is satsuma season and that they are the BEST citrus fruit ever. She explained to me firmness and color of a ripe satsuma so that I would be able to buy some.
The next day Ellen and I went to the grocery store instead of running, and I decided to pick up some satsumas. They look remarkably like Clementine's, only more green and not as uniform in size. After returning home I tried the tasty fruit and discovered that it is very much like a mandarin orange. I then went home and did some research and discovered that the satsuma is the Louisiana equivalent to Florida and California mandarins. I was kind of disappointed to realize that the fruit I thought was exotic is actually just a twin to fruit I grew up with. *sigh*
They are really good, though.