Jan: Cranberry Hot Sauce

I actually like to make this with the cranberry chutney. It's very easy to make if you have already prepared the chutney...simply put it in a blender with some vinegar, garlic and Habanero. A hand blender (see below) works great for this recipe. When blending, do not incorporate too much air into the sauce.

To make with the cranberry chutney:
(makes about 1 cup)

3/4 cup chutney
1/3-1/2 cup white vinegar or apple cider vinegar (add until it is the right consistency)
1/4+ Habanero, seeds removed (if your hands are sensitive, wear gloves while handling these)
1-2 cloves garlic
2 pinches of salt

Put everything in a blender or the bowl of a hand blender and blend until smooth. Put into a jar or squeeze bottle and refrigerate.

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To make with cranberries:
(makes about 1 cup)

1+1/2 cups cranberries
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water or apple cider
1 pinch salt

1/4+ Habanero
2 medium cloves garlic
3 pinches of salt

Cook the first four ingredients for about thirty minutes in a saucepan over medium low heat. Put in a blender or the bowl of a hand blender with the last three ingredients. Blend until smooth. Put into a jar or squeeze bottle and refrigerate.

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Equipment: Hand Blenders (a.k.a. "immersion blenders")
A hand blender is more than just a compact version of a stand blender. Its signature identity and best feature is the fact that it goes directly into the food you wish to blend. It can be used to blend vinaigrettes, sauces, frozen drinks, and is great for pureeing soups (simply immerse it in the soup and let it rip, making it safer and easier than having to transfer hot batches to a stand blender). The hand blender is also useful for making homemade mayonnaise (or aïoli) with the special bowl it comes with.

Hand blenders are made up of three parts: the motor is housed in the handle area; the blending rod can be plastic or stainless steel and is sometimes detachable (detachable rods are very handy when it comes to cleaning); and the foot contains the blade. When it comes down to it, any blender can puree at least decently, So what to look for is comfort in handling, ease of use and cleaning, and variable speed control is nice too.

As you can see from the picture and by clicking on some of the links below, you can get them with various other nifty attachments. I especially think the whisk attachment would be nice to have when emulsifying a vinaigrette or making hollandaise sauce. Also the chopping attachment could take the place of a small food processor.

Here are some recommended brands:

Braun Professional MR5550MBC - $64.99

KitchenAid KHB100WH - $49.99

Cuisinart CSB-76BC - $29.95

Braun MR400 (ours) - $23.99

Cuisinart CSB-44N (Cordless! Rechargeable!) - $39.95

- Other attachments for some hand blenders -

Jan: Braised Pork Shoulder

This recipe is quite fool-proof really. It is fairly easy to do and very satisfying. To make it more of a meal by itself you could add a vegetable or two that could cook in the braise with the meet. Not only do they take on some of the flavor of the braise, but they add flavor to the braising liquid which later becomes the sauce. Depending on what you're making, some vegetable suggestions would be carrots, turnips, parsnips, potatoes, or cabbage.

The Ingredients:

season and sizzle:
1 pork shoulder, bone in
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

for the braising liquid:
1-2 cups red wine
Smoked ham hock stock (see below) or chicken stock to come halfway up the meat.

to add later:
8 small carrots or baby carrots (not these, these!)

for the sauce
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
3 cups braising liquid
1 stick cold butter, cut into 5 pieces

serve with
Cranberry hot sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 325º. If there is a lot of extra fat on the meat start by trimming some of that off. Season the meat on all sides. Brown it on all sides in a saute pan. Meanwhile heat up the stock in another pan until it is boiling. Transfer the browned meat to an appropriate sized roasting pan or Romertopf. Pour the stock over the meat, and also add the wine at this point.







Cover with tin foil and put in the oven. Cook for about two hours then flip the meat and return it to the oven for another hour. Peel the carrots and add them to the braise. Cook for another hour. During the whole cooking time the liquid should be just barely simmering.

Remove the meat and the carrots from the oven and transfer to a cookie sheet or something. You may need to use tongs to help with this process. Bump the oven temperature to 400º. Strain most of the liquid from the pan into a large measuring cup, bowl, or gravy separator. Return the meat to the pan and put back in the oven for another thirty minutes. Baste with the braising liquid frequently.

To make the sauce, put the vinegar and ginger in a saucepan and simmer for a few minutes. Strain the ginger out. Pour three cups of the strained braising liquid into the saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Reduce by one half (there should be one and a half cups left), maintaining a simmer. Turn of the heat and whisk in the butter one piece at a time. If you want to simplify this recipe you can forgo this sauce and just simply use the braising liquid. Although this sauce will add a nice touch to the dish.

Remove the meat form the oven, and break into serving size pieces. Arrange on a serving plate with a carrot or two. Spoon some of the sauce over the meat. I like to serve this dish with a little cranberry hot sauce (recipe follows), or this is a VERY good premade sauce you can buy, although it could be hard to find locally.

To see a picture of this dish see the post below (Jan: What Makes a Braise). What you see in the photo is just a piece of the shoulder.

Special ingredient: Smocked Ham Hocks
You'll likely be able to find these at your local grocery store. They're not really expensive (we paid $3.65 for those on the left). and they make for a wonderful stock. If you save and freeze the hocks from your hams, those will work for the stock too. Just go to "Dec: Stock Making" and use the hocks in place of the bones. Also, saute the vegetables some before adding them to the stock. When the vegetables are almost done sauteing, add 1/2 cup of tomato paste and continue to cook until it puts off a sweet aroma. also add two or three chipotles in adobo (smock-dried jalapeños, in adobo sauce). These add an exciting element of spice and more smokiness to the stock. Chipotles should be readily available in the supermarket. If not, you'll definitely find them in a Mexican supermarket or specialty store. La Costena is the brand I use.

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Jan: What Makes a Braise

Here it is finally...only three weeks late ˚o˚. Oh well, I hope you haven’t given up on checking in! And actually, this still isn't all...the actual recipe should be up by the end of the week.

Braises and stews were often looked upon as being “peasant food”, because most of the meat available to them was the less expensive and less tender cuts that require longer cooking times. Not to say that you’re peasants that make this dish, but hey, we all like to find more economical ways to feed our families. If you learn to braise properly, you would have greatly expanded your cooking repertoire. Braising allows you to approach and cook a variety of secondary cuts of meat (shoulder, chuck roast, shank, etc.) that you may have shied away from before.

Personally, braising is one of my favorite cooking methods. The meat becomes very tender and rich with the long cooking time which breaks down the collagen and sinew and infuses the meat with the flavors of the liquid you use to braise the meat in. So instead of “peasant food” lets call it “pleasant food”…how’s that?

Braising can be done with variety of foods. From meats to fish to vegetables, you name it, it can likely be braised. And of course, the different foods require different cooking times. The trick is to cook the food gently until it is very close to falling apart, to the point where it is difficult to transfer from the pan to the cutting board or plate.

Adding vegetables to the braise before it is done makes the finished braise a pretty substantial meal by itself. Heat up some rolls and you have a wonderful satisfying cold weather meal! Another advantage to braising is that it is a great make-ahead meal. Most meat braises are even better the second or third day, allowing more time for the flavors to further coalesce.

One of the wonderful things about braises is that they produce a great sauce with minimum extra effort. The sauce could be as simple as just spooning some of the liquid from the finished braise over the meat. Or, if you want to get a little fancier you could reduce it and add some butter.

By the way, braises are great to do in a Romertopf, if you have one. They make for a nice rustic presentation too.

Basic Braising Technique
Braising combines two techniques into one–dry cooking and moist cooking.

1. Brown the food in a sauté pan with some fat. If your pan is not ovenproof, transfer to an ovenproof dish when the food is brown.
   
   
2. Add enough of the braising liquid (stock or wine or both) to surround but not cover the food. Bring to a simmer. If you have transferred the food, heat up the liquid in the sauté pan or a separate saucepan then pour it over the food.
   
   
3. Transfer to a warm oven and cook slowly (250ºF. to 350ºF.). The liquid should be bubbling gently at a low simmer during the cooking process. When the meat is tender and falling apart, remove it from the oven.*
   
   
4. Increase the oven temperature to 400 ºF. Pour most of the braising liquid out (you may have to remove the meat to do this) and return the meat to the oven for another thirty to forty-five minutes to produce a browned and caramelized crust. While the meat is at this stage it is important to baste it frequently.
   
   
5. Strain the braising liquid into a saucepan to make the sauce. Reduce until it is the desired consistency and flavor.
   

*If using the next day, complete step 3 and let it cool down in the braising liquid. Then transfer to a container with the juices and chill overnight or up to 3 days. When ready to serve perform steps 4 and 5.

Jan: Westernized Chutney

The word "chutney" comes from the Hindi term meaning "to taste." It originated in India as a way to preserve fruits and vegetables. Chutney, as a genre, is often similar to the salsa of Latin cooking, or European relish in-so-far as it usually involves a fresh, chopped primary vegetable/fruit with seasonings added, to be used as a condiment for another food. Making chutney is an easy and tasty method of capturing and extending the flavors of the seasons.

Chutney is a classic example of combining seasonal fruits and vegetables into a delicious creation. Make it with ripe firm fruit, vegetable(s) for contrast, and spices. You can even make it with immature fruits which become tender and rich when cooked in a chutney. The concentration of the fruit and/or vegetable with a balance of vinegar and sugar make for a very rich flavor which enhances the taste of many foods.

Just about any firm fruit will work for chutney. It can be made from apples, pears, peaches, mangos, papayas, cherries and melons. Many dried fruits can also be used. Vegetables such as tomatoes, onions and carrots are great chutney candidates too. Nuts such as almonds, walnuts and pistachios add interesting texture and flavor. You could have some fun mixing and matching many of these ingredients.

Cranberry Chutney

With the close of cranberry season, this is a great way to preserve the fruit and enjoy them throughout the year. This chutney is wonderful with meat such as a braised pork shoulder or roasted duck. It is also good with cream cheese on a bagel or as a dip for crackers.

1 medium white onion, chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tsp toasted mustard seeds
1/4 cup minced ginger
1/2 tsp fresh ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground cloves or ground cloves
pinch ground allspice
1/2 tsp salt

1 lb fresh cranberries
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1-2 Fuyu persimmons, chopped (optinal)
Minced Jalapeño (however much you like)

3/4 cups cider vinegar
1/2+ apple cider
Juice form 1-2 tangerine
12 oz can whole cranberry sauce
3/4 cup+ sugar (I use mostly brown)

Sweat onions in some olive oil for a few minutes then add balsamic and cook until evaporated. Add the spices and cook a little. Then add then add everything else and cook until it’s done (up to 2 hours) or until it has reached the desired consistency. You may need to refresh it as it cooks with some water or cider or something. Adjust the seasonings to your liking.

Transfer the chutney into clean glass containers. It will keep in the fridge for several months. You could also can it.

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