Category Archives: Sauces and Dressings

Lime Dark Rum Cranberry Relish

Posted on by November 24, 2014

I love cranberry relish, and no matter my theme, it’s going to be at my Thanksgiving table in some form or the other. So when I took on a Caribbean menu, there was no doubt that I would still make a cranberry relish no matter how foreign cranberries may be to the Caribbean and that was enough to make this Lime Dark Rum Cranberry Relish possible. I just needed to add the right flavors and accents to make the cranberry relish fit in with some of my more traditional dishes on the menu, like the jerk turkey. I also knew that since my classic relish is raw, I would need to combine it with a sauce of some sort if I wanted to sneak in something as bold as dark rum. So here we are with a best of both worlds Lime Dark Rum Cranberry Relish that combines a cranberry sauce and cranberry relish. While you’re making the relish, be sure to keep tasting both sauces throughout both processes (which is, of course, a good general practice) because while I like things a little tart, you may not, and should feel justified in upping the sugar just a bit here and … Continue reading →

Baked Goat Cheese and Homemade Pepper Jelly

Posted on by February 12, 2015

Baked Goat Cheese and Homemade Pepper Jelly is one of those dishes that was absolutely inspired by the hosting skills of others. Some friends of mine have a lovely Christmukkah party annually that often includes the crowd-pleasing cream cheese with pepper jelly appetizer. In fact, they always have lots of fun old school apps and cocktails. Mike is one of those people who is good at guessing which spirit comes next in the trend book. He was mixing 60’s cocktails before Mad Men was all the rage. In fact, I’m still waiting on the rum explosion he swears is coming, because I believe him. Next to their Mad Men style revival cocktails you’ll find lots of appropriately 60’s snacks, including, the aforementioned cream cheese with pepper jelly, which is one of those appetizers that I forget all about in between Christmukkahs. It’s a funny little dish, and not particularly my style; perhaps I am even a little surprised to realize I absolutely love it. Then again, how could you not? Cream cheese and spicy sweet jelly as an excuse to have fresh baguette… Fair point, well made. So last Thanksgiving, when I was perusing magazines for recipes that might fit … Continue reading →

Guanciale Béchamel Runny Egg Pizza

Posted on by November 19, 2014

Guanciale Béchamel Runny Egg Pizza is my knockoff of the Uova Pizza da Barbuzzo Restaurant in Philadelphia. Barbuzzo is one of my favorite restaurants in Philly, and the Uova Pizza is one of my favorite pizzas. They don’t make it year ‘round though; come springtime, quite seasonably reasonably, Brussels leaves give way to shave asparagus, much to my consternation. If you aren’t lucky enough to live in Philly, where you can go out for this Guanciale Béchamel Runny Egg Pizza, now you can make it at home so you’ll know what you’re missing, and why you need to come visit Philly ASAP. And you should absolutely let me know how close my Guanciale Béchamel Runny Egg Pizza is to the original. Of course, I don’t have a wood fire pizza oven, (dreams, right?) but with a pizza stone and a very hot oven you can get kind of close. But the sauce, well, let’s just say I think I nailed it with my guancial béchamel sauce. Mostly, this Runny Guanciale Béchamel Runny Egg Pizza is a really fun project that makes you appreciate all the work that went into the original and reinforces making a reservation at Barbuzzo. * One of my … Continue reading →

Tomatoes on a Fence

Posted on by November 10, 2014

I’ve now had the pleasure of dining at Blue Hill in New York a couple of times. Last fall, I took my parents when they were in town visiting, and it was the catalyst for these beautiful photographs. Of course the whole meal was wonderful, but to my dad, who is a master craftsman when it comes to all things carving a woodworking, the highlight was the amuse bouche. Tomatoes on a Fence is a tribute to both Blue Hill, and my father, who share the gift of helping others see the art in the beauty of the natural word and appreciation for the nourishment we take from it. The amuse was in many ways, the simplest of things. It featured tiny heirloom vegetables blanched or served raw on a “fence”. Dad was so entranced by the beautiful fence that he made me one for Christmas. It’s definitely not a serving item that I use all the time, as it really does require tiny vegetables to make the scale work, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to share this lovely sculpture with you during the height of heirloom tomato season. The beautiful tomatoes look like precious gems or painstakingly … Continue reading →

Peach Jam with Jack Crane

Posted on by October 25, 2014

My friend Jack Crane wanted to make Peach Jam as a thank you gift for his teachers, and he wanted some help. Thoughtful last day of school gift, right? I planned a little field trip of my own to help Jack learn how to make Peach Jam, but I may have been more harm than help. Things didn’t go quite as we’d planned, but the day was both a lot of fun, as well as a good lesson in how to roll with it and have fun in the kitchen. We ended up making shelf stable peach compote, rather than jam, but it was truly delicious, and we had a ball. We also learned a lot about how to prep for our next canning adventure. I have to say that making Peach Jam with Jack Crane was one of my favorite days in the kitchen to date. We wanted to make low sugar jam with local peaches, so we used the recipe on the Ball low-sugar pectin. They were so beautiful and delicious that we had to sample some of them. Here’s the website: http://www.freshpreserving.com/tools/pectin-calculator# It turned out that we cut the sugar too much, didn’t cook the jam down … Continue reading →

Edamame Tacos with Chipotle Mayo

Posted on by January 20, 2015

I love these Edamame Tacos with Chipotle Mayo. They came about during my time teaching Public Health Law at the University of Pennsylvania. One of the easiest ways to get lunch at Penn is from food trucks, and many of us eat from the trucks almost every day. So you can imagine how exciting a new truck is. New options, new everything. One of the new trucks that opened while I worked there was called Tyson’s Bees. It was Korean Taco fusion and it was really really popular. So popular that sometimes the line was so long that I couldn’t wait for tacos, even if I really wanted to. And one of my favorite lunches was their, you guessed it, Edamame Tacos with Chipotle Mayo. They were really simple and good and just enough spice and I realized that I needed to learn to make them myself. So this is my take on Edamame Tacos with Chipotle Mayo inspired by the original Tyson’s Bees truck. These Edamame Tacos with Chipotle Mayo, quickly became one of my all-time favorite weekday meals (especially in the summer). They are really quick and easy and light and refreshing. But in our house, we eat … Continue reading →

Blackberry Sage Refrigerator Jam

Posted on by January 22, 2015

I love preserving, but when it comes to jam, I tend to make refrigerator jam for a variety of reasons. This week, my Blackberry Sage Refrigerator Jam was made with a very specific recipe in mind. Having a specific recipe in mind is a huge part of why I make refrigerator jam instead of true preserves. See, I like lots of flavors. I like to pair jam to my season and my breakfast. Another great reason to make refrigerator jam? I often have fruits I want to use up. Those tangerines that are going bad in the winter? That looks like orange marmalade to me. The raspberries and peaches that you bought for a dollar from the farmers market? That looks like refrigerator jam perfect for topping french toast. Serving Spanish blue cheese and manchego? Why not make your own quince jam? See what I mean? Finally, I don’t have a lot of storage space for lots of back stock jams, so I tend to only make one or two jars worth at a time. And this week, I was making a champagne, breakfast for dinner, bon voyage party meal (Blue Ridge Mountain Benedicts) that called for Blackberry Sage Refrigerator … Continue reading →

Pantry Tips: Buttermilk in a Pinch

Posted on by October 25, 2014

What do you do when you really want Flaky, Buttery, Food Processor Buttermilk Biscuits, but you’re out of buttermilk? Dirty Laundry Kitchen Pantry Tips: Substitution Edition: Buttermilk in a Pinch to the rescue. Correct me if I’m wrong, but buttermilk is one of those weird ingredients that is never around when you need it. I feel like I buy it for a specific purpose and then there’s a ton leftover, so it sits in my fridge a long time until the carton is bulging and I’m very afraid. Then, I throw it away without recycling because I’m unwilling to open it long enough to rinse it out. Or, I get really excited and make a few recipes all at once, only to find out I’m actually short a half a cup. Never fear, this problem is history with this helpful Pantry Tip: Substitution Edition: Buttermilk in a Pinch. 1 cup milk (2% or higher if you’re trying to be very authentic) 1 tablespoon (or a little more) of lemon juice or vinegar Buttermilk was traditionally a by product of liquid that was leftover when cream was churned into butter. The tangy flavor came from lactic acid. Today, the commercial product … Continue reading →

Smoky, Spicy Buttermilk Dressing

Posted on by January 23, 2015

When I know I’m going to serve my guests something like the Seriously Good Extra Crispy Fried Chicken I’m about to unleash on my Updated Southern Supper Menu, I do more than start them off with a really light appetizer like my Spicy Mint and Dill Quick Pickled Beans and Carrots. I also make a lightweight salad that’s super simple, but packed with all the flavor of a Smoky, Spicy Buttermilk Dressing. The most important ingredient in this recipe is the buttermilk itself, so if you have a brand you love, or know where to get some from a local farmstand, it will make a huge difference. I love the buttermilk from Fair Food Philly in the Reading Terminal Market. They have amazing dairy in general; it’s where I get sheeps milk for my Lemon Verbena Ice Cream and they even sell raw milk there. It’s worth experimenting with different brands and figuring out what is most flavorful to you because it absolutely makes this salad special. The dressing is so good and the lettuce is so tender and mild that some super sweet tiny tomatoes and thin radish slices are all you need. Trust me, you want this Smoky, … Continue reading →

Snappy Green Salad: beyond leafy greens

Posted on by January 26, 2015

My Snappy Green Salad: beyond leafy greens was perfect for our Summer Kick-Off, Chesapeake Bay Adventure. The old-fashioned fun of board and yard games made me nostalgic for all things Summer, and the Snappy Green Salad fit the theme perfectly by requiring a little bean snapping. Both bean snapping and corn husking are romantically nostalgic tasks from my childhood that take me to July in Wisconsin- long summer nights- watching the diamonds on the water, and helping mom make dinner. This time, I was in charge, and I got to hand off the corn-husking and bean snapping to my trusty sous-chefs. They were reclined in their Adirondack chairs and sipping Racer 5, so they didn’t mind a lick. Just like I never did as a child. And if no one was watching, I tended to eat the inevitably extra ear of corn raw, sweet as it was in the summertime. I noticed my sous-chefs keeping the tradition alive by enjoying raw green beans when they thought no one was the wiser. Aside from the nostalgic tasks associated with my Snappy Green Salad: beyond leafy greens I can vouch for its simple deliciousness. I love salads to have lots of stuff … Continue reading →

Winter Salad with Green Apples and Golden Beets

Posted on by February 24, 2015

In the Winter, it can be hard work to make salads that excite and inspire the senses, which is precisely why I love this Winter Salad with Green Apples and Golden Beets. It’s chock-full of texture, flavor, and color, the keys to making any salad exciting. And this time of year, when root vegetables are feeling more blessing than burden to me, exciting is very welcome. The bright and beautiful yellow hue of the golden beets cheers me up and drives away the winter blues and using them raw instead of cooking them provides crunch as well as a brighter flavor. The lemony caraway seeds (which you may remember from my kale salad) are an unexpected and delightful addition to the fennel and dill and provide little pops of flavor. The razor thin slices of fruits and vegetables create an easy elegance (and an excuse to get out the mandoline). It’s quite easy to put together and is definitely a change from plain greens and store-bought dressing. All in all, I’m sure you’ll love this Winter Salad with Green Apples and Golden Beets. … Continue reading →

Mold-Free Coeur à la Crème

Posted on by February 12, 2015

Just the way you want Coeur à la Crème, right? Without the mold? Not that there’s anything wrong with mold, in the right contexts, but in this case? My mom makes Coeur à la Crème frequently. Probably because it’s great for a last minute, but special dessert, if you use her “serve it fresh” variation. She made it in the summer, when we had fresh berries, and sometimes around Valentine’s Day- after all, it is named the heart of the cream. And the best part about this recipe? It’s not to late to stop by the store on the way home and splurge on fancy berries rather than the heart-shaped chocolate assortment and surprise your loved one (or yourself) with your culinary abilities and whip up (literally) some Coeur à la Crème. This classic French dessert is a combination of cream and softened dairy that then is placed in a special draining mold (which is usually heart-shaped) and chilled until the liquid (whey) drains out and what remains (the heart of the cream) firms up into a solid form. It’s often served in an island of fruit puree, but that takes time, which we don’t have. So we’re serving the … Continue reading →