Flavour-Infused Olive Oil

May 16, 2012 by jennifer

We cannot live without these flavoured olive oils – I use them for dipping bread, for making pasta sauce, for making bread and bread sticks, for marinades. Heck I’ve even used it with butter on popcorn! It’s a sickness, I fear.

Ingredients:

• Herbs such as rosemary, thyme, sage, bay, etcetera (whatever flavours you want)Spices such as chili, black peppercorns, pink peppercorns, turmeric, etcetera(You should have enough to fill roughly ¼ of each jar or bottle)Jars or bottles that can be sealed completely

Directions:

1. Place the herbs and/or spices in a heavy bottomed pan and heat over medium for a few minutes. Add enough oil to fill up your bottles and cook on medium – medium-low for about 15 to 20 minutes. The oil will begin to absorb the intense flavors rather quickly.

2. Filter through cheesecloth and store for a few months in a dark cupboard or leave herbs in oil and store in the fridge for up to a month.

3. If you want to work with dried herbs (the flavour won’t be as intense but the oil will last longer) simply select your dried herbs, fill the jar or bottle about ¼ of the way, and top with the oil. You will probably want to give your dried herb blend about a month to reach a strong flavor, but you can store it for about a year in a cool, dry, dark place.

After-Thoughts:

Photos by John-Marc Hamilton

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

Chili Pepper Jam

May 16, 2012 by jennifer

Spicy and sweet, delicious and sticky, this jam is great on your Christmas dinner table or at any time all year round. Use it on turkey sandwiches, as a dipping sauce for shrimp or spring rolls or even a marinade for barbecued salmon. It really is amazing.

Ingredients:

• 400 grams long fresh red chillies: de-seeded and cut into chunks200 grams sweet red peppers: cored, de-seeded and cut into chunks2 kg Jam sugar (with pectin)1200 ml cider vinegar12 x 250 ml sterilized sealable jars (You can halve the ingredients if you want to only make a 6-jar batch…but why would you when it’s so utterly delicious?)

Directions:

1. Put the cut up chillies into the food processsor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the chunks of sweet pepper and pulse again until all are minced, but not liquefied.

2. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a wide, medium-sized pan over a low heat. If you stir and some sugar sticks to the sides of the pan, use a moistened heat-proof pastry brush to wash down the sides of the pan.

3. Add the minced peppers to the pan and bring to the boil and then leave at a good boil for about 10 – 12 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool slightly. The liquid will become more syrupy, then from syrup to viscous and from viscous to more jelly like as it cools.

4. After about 40 minutes, ladle it into your jars. If you want to stir it gently at this stage it will do no harm. Then seal tightly.

Make the jam up to one month before using or giving.
Store in a cool dark place for up to a year.
Once opened store in the fridge and use within a month.

Recipe Origin:

Based on a Nigella Lawson recipe.

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

Recipe: Cranberry Chutney

May 16, 2012 by jennifer

On chicken sandwiches, with roast turkey, even just dolloped on top of some goats cheese on a chunk of french bread, this chutney both melds with the other flavours and stands out from them …it really is amazing.

Ingredients:

• 2 shallots, finely chopped2 small red onions, finely chopped3 cloves garlic, minced1 ½ tablespoons olive oil2 (12-oz) bags fresh or frozen cranberries2/3 cup brown sugar¼ cup apple cider vinegar1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon black pepper1 teaspoon cumin1 teaspoon paprika½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Cook shallots, red onion and garlic in oil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until berries pop and soften, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool and store.

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

Apple Butter

May 16, 2012 by jennifer

In the fall, when there are bushels of delicious-looking apples at every corner store you have to make apple butter. It lasts you through the winter if you preserve it properly and can be used in sweet and savoury dishes alike.

Ingredients:

• 20 (approximately) apples: peeled, cored and quartered1 cup unsweetened apple juice or apple cider2 tablespoons coffee liquer (I used ” “)2 teaspoons ground cinnamon1 teaspoon vanilla extract½ teaspoon ground nutmeg¼ teaspoon all spice1 small pinch of ground cloves1 cup sugar2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Combine apples, cider/juice, liquer, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, cloves, sugar and lemon juice in a large heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring often (to prevent burning) until apples are broken down and look like apple sauce (about 1 hour). Mash any large pieces of apple with spoon to help them to break down.

2. Reduce heat to medium. Scrape out mixture from sauce pan and transfer to a smaller sauce pan. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are completely broked down and butter is very thick and dark (about 2 – 2 ½ hours).

3. Remove from heat and let stand to cool. Store in an air tight container for up to one month in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.

After-Thoughts:

• I really changed this recipe: subbing in coffee liquer for brandy, adding vanilla to it, and I didn’t add ginger or cardamom, simply because I didn’t have any at the time. It turned out fairly delicious, if I may say so myself!

Recipe Origin:

Based loosely on a Martha Stewart recipe

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

Middle Eastern Inspired Marinade

May 16, 2012 by jennifer

A simple but flavourful marinade for summer grilling. It would work with chicken but beef somehow rings true as the proper venue for it…it might be slightly too robust for chicken, but who knows…?

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil½ onion, finely chopped 2 tablespoons sumac*3 tablespoons lemon juice1 teaspoon chili powder3 tablespoons grenadine molasses**salt & pepper to tastemeat – smallish beef or lamb steaks or tenderloin

Directions:

1. Mix olive oil, onion, sumac, lemon juice, chili powder, molasses and salt and pepper together, taste and add more pepper or salt, depending.

2. Put steaks into ziplock bag and pour marinade on top. Seal bag and marinate for at least one hour or as long as overnight.

3. Grill steaks until medium rare, tent for five minutes with foil, allowing meat to rest. Meanwhile, bring left over marinade to boil on stove and keep warm until meat has settled. Slice meat into thin pieces, pour marinade on top and serve.

* sumac is a reddish-brown spice that adds a tangy and aromatic flavor to foods.

** grenadine molasses adds zing to meat glazes, sauces, and soups; look for bottles of it in Middle Eastern markets or gourmet stores.

After-Thoughts:

This recipe could definitely have used chopped garlic in the marinade; that and fresh parsley…it would have deepened the taste, made it slightly more smoky and much more delicious.

Recipe Origin:

A Domestic Goddess original.

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

May 16, 2012 by jennifer

Pesto made with pecans is really quite delicious. The nuts give it a deep aroma and a slightly smokey flavour.

Ingredients:

• 16 pieces of sundried tomato* (packed dry)6 tablespoons pecans6 tablespoons parmesan8 tablespoons spicy, or regular olive oil1 garlic clove, peeled2 garlic cloves, roasted and peeledsalt and pepper to taste*To dry your own tomatoes: 5 pounds Roma tomatoesKosher or sea salt

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until almost smooth. Try a bit, and add more of any of the ingredients to suit your taste.

*To dry your own tomatoes:
1. Preheat oven to 200 F.

2. Trim and discard the stem ends of the tomatoes. Halve each tomato lengthwise. Arrange, cut side up, side by side on cake racks. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

3. Place in the oven and bake until the tomatoes are shriveled and dry, from 6 to 12 hours. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and allow to cool.

Transfer the tomatoes to zipper-lock bags. The tomatoes will last indefinitely.

Makes about 2 cups

After-Thoughts:

This pesto is delicious mixed with a little bit of mayonaise or horseradish and used as a spread for sandwiches.

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

Guacamole

May 16, 2012 by jennifer

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado, choppedjuice of ½ lemon½ teaspoon lemon zest, minced3 scallions, mincedsalt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in bowl and stir together. Refrigerate for at least and hour before serving, covered well.

After-Thoughts:

My older sister told me once that you should leave the avocado pit in the guacamole until just before serving, to "fool" the avocado into believing that it is still inside it’s skin…so it won’t turn brown. Of course, the lemon juice does this job in the chemical way…but I still leave the pit in the bowl in the fridge…for memory’s sake.

Recipe Origin:

A Domestic Goddess original recipe.

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

Tomato Salsa

May 16, 2012 by jennifer

Ingredients:

• 3 yellow tomatoes, chopped2 red tomatoes, chopped¼ large red onion, chopped finely4 scallions, choppedjuice of one lime¼ teaspoon paprikadash of cayenne powder1/8 teaspoon crushed red chilissalt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in bowl and stir together. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving, stirring occasionally.

Recipe Origin:

A Domestic Goddess original recipe.

Related Posts

Tags

Share This