eat make read

Oooh la la, this is good. Really good. When I saw this recipe over on smitten kitchen and it was titled, ridiculously easy butterscotch sauce, I thought “yes please”. The combination of easy and sweet is more than enough to get my attention, but the richness of this sauce is what makes this a true keeper.

This recipe boasts a mere five ingredients, brown sugar, butter, heavy cream, sea salt and vanilla. If you have those ingredients and ten minutes, you’ll be exponentially happier than you were before, trust me.

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I am constantly enamored by nature’s lovely ways. Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of it when it’s so cold and blistery outside, but take a peek at your local market and you’re sure to find some beauty. Particularly if you happen to find a basket full of kumquats. If you’re not familiar with kumquats, they’re super cute little citrus fruits about the size of large pecans. In addition to being mini and cute, kumquats have a sweet, edible rind with sour flesh. After bringing home a boatload, I needed to use up at least a handful of those orange gems, which is how kumquat salsa came about.

The hardest part about this recipe is slicing the kumquats into thin rounds. Once you’ve gotten past that you’re golden. Chop up a purple onion, toss in some cilantro, a pinch of salt and pepper and maybe a dash of hot pepper flakes if you’re feeling spicy. Let that hang out for awhile so the flavors can meld. Right before you’re ready to serve, slice up an avocado and stir it in with the other ingredients. Read more

Last year I totally flaked on Thanksgiving recipes for eatmakeread, so this year I thought I’d get a major head start and begin the sharing in October. After all, sharing with your favorite people is what Thanksgiving is all about, right?

I’m starting the whole shebang out with homemade butter and buttermilk, a tradition that my cousin Katie always made sure we had at Grandma CB’s table. Katie went the old-fashioned route and shook the butter by hand in a jar, but I’m going to cheat a bit by using the food processor. The food processor makes the whole process ridiculously easy and with only one ingredient to make two Thanksgiving essentials, you’re going to wonder why you haven’t tried this sooner.

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I picked up some of the last raspberries of the season last week and just because I knew they were headed out, I picked up an extra box for good measure. Then they sat in the fridge just waiting as I searched for the perfect recipe. I’m happy to say that just as I was about to put them in the freezer, I found one heck of a recipe to extend their lovely flavor at least a couple more weeks. Raspberry curd is one thing that I’ve never made, in fact, I’m not sure that I’ve made any curd before. Whatever the case, this recipe won me over… especially when paired with pancakes.

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If you’ve visited your local market lately you’ll notice something. Tomatoes. Lots and lots of tomatoes in all sorts of shapes and colors. Each week I’ve been buying bags full and bringing my treasures home to make homemade tomato sauce. I’ve been playing with a few different ways to make it and I just kind realized something. You don’t have to do much to just-picked tomatoes to make a delicious sauce. The hardest part about this recipe is deciding when the best time to turn the heat of the stove on.

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It happened again. I saw pretty fruit at the market and just couldn’t resist it. It’s that time of year when the market is in full swing, with lovely berries, stone fruits, plump tomatoes, all sorts of peppers along with everything in between. I’ve decided this is the summer of salsa, because I’ve been making at least one batch a week. I usually just chop up a bunch stuff, squeeze a little lime juice in it and call it salsa. This time I wasn’t necessarily even looking to make salsa, but I found this recipe that includes cherries, peaches and jalepeños and I was sold. Then I read it was written by Justin Rashid of American Spoon Foods and I knew not only that I was going to make it, but it was going to be awesomely delicious. If you’re unfamiliar with the American Spoon Company, they make delicious jams and spreads and they’re from Michigan, so they have a special place in my heart (I was born and raised in Michigan).

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I had a sandwich recently that left me awestruck. It had honey turkey, manchego cheese and a spicy ginger fig chutney all on ciabatta bread. Each ingredient was delicious, but it was the chutney that really made the sandwich. Each bite brought forth a burst of flavor that was unlike any sandwich I had ever had. That’s when I decided I needed to recreate that magical chutney. Read more

I’m always on the lookout for good salsa, whether it’s a new jarred variety or a new recipe. I love to add salsa to all sorts of dishes to add a little extra ooph. Reader Sven noticed my love of salsa and sent me his recipe, which he said he’s been making for 20 years and loves it. Well, how could I not try that out? Twenty years of making anything seems like it’s worth a try.

Every time I’ve made salsa in the past I’ve used fresh vegetables from the market, but Sven’s salsa called for a combination of canned tomatoes and chiles with other fresh ingredients, although he said you can use all fresh ingredients for a more pico de gallo version. I’m up for whatever, so I picked up a few cans of tomatoes along with a jar of jalepenos.

I ended up using half fresh jalepenos, half jarred, then tossing them along with the cilantro and onion in the food processor. In the past I’ve chopped all my ingredients separately, but now I just toss them in the food processor and chop them all at once. It does the same job, just better and quicker. I added those ingredients in a bowl with the tomatoes, and then gathered the remaining ingredients and put them into the food processor for a whirl. Once everything had been chopped I put it all in one big bowl and stirred it for a while to make sure it was well combined. As I was doing this I realized it was just a little too chunky for me (I like a more saucy salsa), so I gathered about half the salsa and put it in the food processor for one more whirl. I then added it back to the rest of the salsa and let it all rest overnight, because that’s when the magic happens.

The next evening I gave it a taste and was so happy. It was really quite delicious, with a well-rounded flavor. Even though it has plenty of jalepenos, they do more to add flavor rather than heat. I filled four pint jars so I could enjoy it for a while to come. On a chip or on a taco, it’s super tasty any way you eat it. Thanks Sven for such a great recipe!

Sven’s Salsa
makes about 4 1/2 pints

2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes, drained*
2 4-oz cans diced green chiles**
1 small/medium onion, chopped fine
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, skinned
3 pickled jalapenos
¼ c. tomato juice*
1 T salt
1 tsp cumin

1
Put the chopped tomatoes in a large mixing bowl and add the chiles, chopped onion and chopped cilantro.  Stir it up.
2
In a blender or food processor, combine the garlic, jalapenos, tomato juice, salt and cumin.  Blend until smooth.
3
Add everything to the bowl.  Stir for a couple minutes.
4
Cover and refrigerate overnight. The flavor definitely improves overnight.
5
Enjoy!

* I just used reserved tomato juice from the canned tomatos to use as the tomato juice the recipe calls for.

** I had problems finding diced chiles, so I just just a combination of the jarred jalepenos and fresh jalepenos and diced them fine.

I love butter. This is mildy embarrasing to admit, but one of my earliest food memories is sneaking into the fridge and eating a chunk of butter back when I was about 3 years old. It makes me shiver a little now to think about eating a big old hunk of butter, but I think I was onto something way back when. I love the versatility of it. It’s used in so many recipes and can really take something to the next level.

When I saw a recipe in BUST magazine a while back I made a mental note to try it out. Unfortunately my notes up there are a little disorganized, so when I saw a recipe on the Kitchn on my day off, I figured it was time to try it out. It didn’t hurt that I had some cream in the fridge that needed to be used.

Making butter is pretty dang simple. You can keep it super simple and only use cream, but the recipe I followed used cream and sour cream plus a little salt. Apparently the sour cream adds a little tang to it. Initially, you just put the cream and sour cream in a food processor and let it run for a little bit. Once it gathers together and starts to form a ball you can remove it. An added bonus of making your own butter is getting fresh buttermilk. I got about 1/4 cup buttermilk from my 1 cup of cream. The next bit takes the most time, and that’s running it under water until it runs clear. I let water run over it for about 5 minutes or so. Once the water’s clear, press the butter and try to get all the moisture out. This takes a little work and can be tricky if you’re using paper towel, as it tends to stick. But it does the trick. I added a little salt the mixture and tada!

I decided since I don’t make butter everyday I’d get a little fancy and make some flavored butter. I divided the prepared butter in half and added some cinnamon to one half. Yum!

butter!
from the kitchn | makes about 1/2 cup

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1
Whir the cream and sour cream in a food processor for 3-5 minutes. (Alternately: shake energetically in a Mason jar for about 15-30 minutes.) After the cream becomes thick and clotted like whipped cream it will suddenly start spattering against the top again as it clumps into yellow butter. Whip until the butter has formed a solid yet grainy mass.
2
Put a small mesh strainer over a bowl and pour everything into it. Refrigerate the liquid; this is buttermilk and it will last for several days.
3
Put the butter in a small bowl and rinse under very cold water until the water runs clear. You want every bit of the buttermilk removed; any left clinging to the butter will cause it to get sour and bad overnight.
4
When the water runs completely clear squeeze the butter inside a clean paper towel or cheesecloth until dry, then turn out into a crock or small bowl.
5
Mash in the salt and cinnamon, if using.

Refrigerate and use within a week.

One of the many things that caught my eye in this month’s issue of Saveur was a recipe for homemade ketchup. Ketchup is one of those things I’ve never really thought to make before, but I was intrigued to see how different it would taste.

So of course I gathered all the ingredients, or so I thought, and got to work. It’s pretty simple actually. I just roughly chopped some tomatoes, onions and pepper and tossed them in a pot. I kind of missed the ball when I came to the spices though. First, I didn’t have any cheesecloth handy, so I used some cotton fabric I had. Then I realized I didn’t have cinnamon sticks or celery seeds… whoops. I improvised and added a few peppercorns to the little bundle and tied it up. I also added a tiny bit of ground cinnamon, along with a few other ingredients and let it simmer on the stovetop for a while.

Once everything was nice and soft, I took it off the stove and tossed it all in the food processor. I let it buzz for a minute or two, until everything was nice and smooth. After it started to resemble ketchup, I pushed it all through a strainer and let it simmer a little while longer in order to thicken it a bit.

I bet you’re wondering how it tasted. Well, it was definitely different from Heinz. My ketchup was thicker and a bit sweeter than the bottled stuff. It was really quite delicious actually. I think I may have put a little too much cinnamon in it, but other than that it was rich and full of flavor. I think it would taste great on top of meatloaf. I can’t wait to try it again and add a little spice to it, maybe some cayenne or jalepeno.

homemade ketchup
from saveur

4 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1 stick cinnamon*
1⁄4 tsp. celery seeds**
1⁄4 tsp. chile flakes
1⁄4 tsp. whole allspice
2 lbs. tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt
1⁄2 cup white vinegar
5 tbsp. brown sugar
1 onion, chopped
1 anaheim chile, chopped
1 clove garlic

1
Wrap cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon, celery seeds, chile flakes, and allspice in a layer of cheesecloth; tie into a bundle and put into a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat along with tomatoes, salt, vinegar, sugar, onion, and anaheim chiles; smash and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until onions and chiles are very soft, 40 minutes.
2
Remove spice bundle; purée sauce in a blender until smooth. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer into a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 30 minutes. Add more salt, sugar, or vinegar, if you like.
3
Transfer ketchup to a glass jar. Set aside; let cool. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

*I didn’t have a cinnamon stick so I used 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, which was too much. I think just a pinch would be perfect.
** I also didn’t have celery seeds and used peppercorn instead.