Tiers of Joy

It's been awhile since I've had dessert and with the holidays right around the corner, that streak will be coming to a screeching halt.
Making a dessert like this is generally not too time-consuming which is a game-changer during the holidays when we are all pressed for time and running on empty.

This particular trifle comes together fairly quickly since there is no cooking to speak of, just a bit of manual labor and even that is minimal.
Trifles are a bit like window shopping... because they are usually served in a clear vessel, you can take a look at what you are getting before you decide to plunge in.

They are lovely with all of their layers and I like doing these individually so everyone gets a beautiful dessert all to themselves. (and the fact that I don't own a proper trifle dish has something to do with that decision as well...)

Amaretti Trifle

• half of one store-bought pound cake, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 1/4 cup black currant or seedless blackberry jam
• 8 oz mascarpone
• juice of one lemon
• 2 tbsp milk
• 4 tbsp. powdered sugar
• 4 oz. amaretti cookies
• 6 tbsp Kahlua
• 2 tbsp. toasted, sliced almonds

1. Make little sandwiches out of the pound cake and the jam.  Cut them into 1 inch cubes and set aside.
2. In a food processor,  reduce the amaretti cookies to crumbs. (or if you are having a bad day, put in resealable plastic bag and whack with a rolling pin)
3. Combine the lemon juice and the powdered sugar.  Mix well so the powdered sugar dissolves.  Add milk and 2 tbsp Kahlua, then add to the mascarpone.
4. Using an electric mixer, whip mascarpone mixture until it is light and billowy.
5. Brush the little sandwiches generously with the Kahlua.
6. Place your tipsy pound cake into the glass and press them down into the bottom.  Cover with some of the amaretti cookie crumbs. Dribble a little more Kahlua over the cookies.
7. Spoon in the mascarpone to cover the soused cookies.
8. Add another layer of amaretti crumbs and finish with a layer mascarpone.
9. Sprinkle with amaretti crumbs and toasted, sliced almonds.

serves 4

Squashing Hunger...

Acorn squash is one of those little gems that most people probably just pass on by at the store and don't even give a second look.

Well, stop and give it a second glance.  Squash, whether they be acorn, butternut, spaghetti or any other variety you happen upon at the store (or ahem...  Farmer's Market) are delicious and now is when they are at their peak.  They are wonderful roasted in the oven or scooped out and stuffed with whatever you can dream up.

This humble little vegetable may not be the latest "in" thing on the restaurant scene or some new discovery that will help you live to over 100 years of age but what it is...  is delicious.
The flesh takes on an almost buttery texture when roasted and the caramelized squash is sweet and melts in your mouth it's so tender.

For those who are less than thrilled about eating vegetables or are less inclined to try new or unfamiliar things,  roasting veggies is almost always a hit.  Roasting them brings out their natural sweetness making them more palatable to picky or less-adventurous eaters.


Stuffed Acorn Squash

• 2 acorn squash  (cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed)
• 1 cup cooked wild rice
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/2 pound ground Italian sausage
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
• 1 tbsp fresh marjoram, chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut off a small piece from the outside of the squash so you will have a flat surface on the bottom to prevent it from rolling over.
3. Place acorn squash on oiled sheet pan, cut side down (inside), and roast in oven for 40 minutes.
4. While squash is in oven, make the filling...
5. Heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat, add onion and cook until translucent.
6. Add sausage and cook thoroughly, add cranberries, rice, chicken stock, salt & pepper.
7. Let the filling simmer for about 10 minutes and remove from heat.
8. Add pine nuts and marjoram. Check for seasoning and adjust if needed.
9. Remove squash from oven and carefully turn over.  Turn oven down to 350 degrees.  Fill each half, dot each with a little butter and put back in the oven for another 30 minutes.

ready for the oven...

Done!

Football Fare

Every football fan knows that food is an integral part of the game-watching experience, or is that just me?!
Well, in our house we planned it out like it was a major holiday.  The Ohio State-Michigan game was the pinnacle of football season and for the majority of my football-loving friends and family it still is.
There was one particular year that we had everything you could possibly imagine on the table for the game,  I secretly dubbed it "pig-fest" (you know, pig-skin, football, food, gorging oneself...)  It was unbelievable.  To this day there has never been another one like it, which for our own health is probably a good thing.

Chili is a great football food, you can make it in a huge batch the day before or the morning of the game and the longer it sits, the better it gets.

I made some last night in preparation for today's Buckeye game and as good as it was last night, I know it will have developed even more flavor today.
This recipe is courtesy of my Dad (thank you!) and it's the only chili I ever make.  It is delicious, but it reminds me of home and as is the case with most of the things I make for myself it is familiar and comforting food.

Turkey Chili

• 1 lb. organic ground turkey
• 2 cans diced tomato (14.5 oz can)
• 2 medium yellow onions, diced
• 3 or 4 stalks celery, diced
• 2 cans kidney beans, rinsed (15.5 oz can)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• a few tbsp sugar (to cut acidity from tomatoes)
• 3 - 4 tbsp chili powder
• salt & pepper
• 2 tbsp canola oil

1. Heat canola oil over medium heat and add onions and celery.  Cook until soft and translucent.
2. Add turkey, break it up and cook through.  Add whole, crushed clove of garlic, chili powder and season with salt & pepper.
3. Add diced tomato and  sugar.  Simmer for at least a half hour, stirring occasionally.
4. Add beans and simmer an additional 30 minutes, check for seasoning and adjust as needed.
5. Remove clove of garlic, and dig in.

Soup's On!

While the cooler temperatures are not my cup of tea, the food that comes with them is.  I love soups, stews, braises, roasted dinners, etc.
It is comforting, stick to your ribs kind of food and when the weather is chilly that's exactly what I want.  Gone are the days of salad for dinner...

One of the benefits of  this type of cooking is that you have leftovers.  This for me is key because along with this time of the year comes my hectic work schedule and being able to come home and heat something up instead of trying to figure out what I'm going to cook is a life-saver.

This particular meal comes together in no time at all as long as all of your prep is done ahead of time.
When I have a few extra minutes, I make sure all of my ingredients are ready to go so that the actual cooking part is a snap.  This is perfect for a weeknight meal when energy is not in abundance.

This recipe uses leeks and if you have never worked with them before, this is how to handle them:
- use only the white and light green parts
- split in half lengthwise and rinse VERY well, there is sand between the layers that needs to be removed.


Potato Corn Chowder with Leeks & Bacon

• 1 cup bacon, cooked and diced (reserve 1 tbsp bacon fat)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 4 cups diced leeks
• 32 oz chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 5 small yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 cups corn
• 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 1 1/2 cups milk *

1. Heat the bacon fat and butter in a stock pot and add leeks.  Cook until soft.  Like onions, leeks will cook down quite a bit. 
2. Add flour to make a roux.  Let this cook out for a few minutes until it starts to turn a golden blond color.
3. Add chicken stock and water, whisk to combine.
4. Add potatoes, corn, garlic and pepper.
5. Simmer for about 20 minutes until potatoes are cooked through, remove garlic clove.
6. Add bacon and simmer an additional 5 - 10 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and add milk.  *if you are a size 6 or less, please substitute heavy cream for milk.  
8. Garnish with fresh herbs.

Gettin' Figgy With It...

I LOVE figs and lucky for me I live in a predominantly Italian neighborhood where fig trees are the preferred lawn ornament.  Now is the time when the branches are heavy with fruit, hanging low enough that plucking them from the tree does not prove to be very difficult.
(and don't think I haven't contemplated enlisting my friends for a little late-night recon mission to "obtain" said fruit)

Figs are in season from late summer through early fall, so if you happen upon them at the farmer's market or the grocery store,  get them while you still can.

I had never made fig jam before but I figured since I  love the fruit, the jam would be a sure hit (it was) and with this recipe,  canning season for me comes to a close.
While this is a sweet jam,  it can be used as a base for other add-ins...  caramelized red onions or bacon for example.  This can be turned into a topping for crostini with a little fresh goat cheese or perhaps on a half bagel, with some crispy crumbled bacon and then topped with a fried egg for breakfast?  (just brain-storming here...)

Finding a recipe for fig jam wasn't as easy as I thought it would be,  but I eventually stumbled upon one.  I used it as a guide,  but ended up changing a few things.  I rarely stick to an exact recipe unless it's baking,  those you really can't veer off too much or it could prove disastrous.

The recipe I found called for 6 cups of sugar & only 4 cups of figs.  I thought this was a bit much on the sugar so I adjusted it.  Jam should be sweet,  but it shouldn't cause a diabetic coma or send you to a dentist...


Fig Jam

• 4 pints figs, roughly chopped (about 28 - 30)
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp butter
• 3 cups sugar
• 4 tbsp low sugar pectin
• 8 half pint glass jars (with lids & bands)

1. Prepare water bath.  Heat jars and lids in simmering water.  Do not boil.
2. Cut stems off figs and roughly chop.  I used Black Mission figs here, but any variety of fig will do.

3.  Combine figs, lemon juice, water, butter & sugar in an 8 qt pot and bring to a rolling boil.
4.  Add pectin and continue hard boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

5.  Ladle hot jam into jars leaving 1/4 space. Wipe rim, put lid and band on. Do not over-tighten.

6.  Process in a water bath for 10 minutes.  Remove jars and cool.

7.  Check for seal.  If you have one that did not seal properly, refrigerate and use within a month.



 Rosy- Hued Fig Jam

...Eating Her Curds & Whey

What exactly is poutine you might ask...   besides ridiculously good and wrong on so many levels,  poutine is a Canadian dish consisting of 3 ingredients: french fries topped with cheese curds & smothered in gravy. The tell tale sign of good cheese curds:  they squeak when you bite them and squeak these did!  You can imagine my skepticism, being a Midwesterner (and half Canadian) of finding good cheese curds in Brooklyn of all places.  As those of you familiar with it know, the East coast isn't exactly "poutine" country.   I was happily surprised...  let the gluttony commence.

What may be a new discovery for some,  the rest of us have known for awhile.  Poutine is delicious, but here's the thing...  you shouldn't exactly make it a habit,  unless of course a diet of cholesterol & high-blood pressure medications are what you are aiming for.

I know that not everyone's world revolves around food like mine does, but I know that I am not alone in certain memories being linked to food.  I remember the first time I ever had french fries with gravy on them.  I was in Newfoundland with my younger cousin (Nancy) and we were sitting in a red vinyl- covered booth  in a little diner in the mall.  I remember thinking "this is FANTASTIC,  why don't we ALWAYS put gravy on fries?" (I have ever since...) Now, add fresh cheese curds to that & we are in business!

Last weekend,  I happened to be perusing one of my food magazines and there it was:  a mention for a restaurant in Brooklyn serving poutine.  You can imagine my next thought (go there immediately), so we did.  The smell of french fries lingered in the air,  beckoning us over the threshold into full-on bliss.  I was hoping I wouldn't be disappointed and I wasn't.  The poutine delivered, in a big way.  It was delicious.

While sitting there eating my curds and fries I stopped and just started to laugh.  I looked at where we were sitting and thought "Deja Vu".   We were sitting in a red vinyl booth...

In a Pickle...

In the Midwest, and certainly other parts of the country, the end of summer marks canning season at it's height.  This is when the air smells of ripe tomatoes being "put up",  jars of preserves and jams lining the kitchen counter like a glass army of winter provisions...  cabinets and cellars receive the summer's bounty before colder temperatures bring the first frost.

Canning may be a lost art form in other parts of the country,  but if you're near an agricultural area you are very familiar with the process.

My step-dad & I used to do this as a two man operation...   It was a bit of an elaborate set-up.  There were two stoves working simultaneously, I was at one cooking the fruit and he was at the other sterilizing jars.
We'd meet at the halfway point for the hand off: 
He'd sterilize the jars,  bring them to me piping hot,  I'd fill them and put the lids on then take them back out to him to process and seal.  We ran our operation like a well-oiled machine (he IS German, so there's really no other acceptable way).

Bread and butter pickles have always been my favorite.  They are sweet and yet have a little bite from the vinegar and they remind me of my Grandfather, they were his favorite too.  I sometimes feel obligated to "Chef" it up a bit,  but at the end of the day I'm just a girl from Ohio and the simple, familiar things are what I crave.

For this recipe,  I used Kirby cucumbers that I bought at the farmer's market.  
The beauty of this is there are few hard & fast rules, but if you chose to use a different cucumber, make sure it is a pickling cucumber.

Bread & Butter Pickles

• 6 medium Kirby cucumbers, about 7 lbs.
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 3/4 c. salt
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 4 c. sugar
• 2 c. white vinegar
• 2 c. apple cider vinegar
• 1 c. water
• ice cubes
• 4 tbsp. pickling spice blend
• 1 1/2 tsp. turmeric

Pickling Spice

• 6 tbsp. mustard seeds
• 3 tbsp. celery seeds
• 2 tbsp. coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp. whole allspice
• 4 bay leaves, crumbled
• 1/4 tsp. white peppercorn
• 1/4 tsp. green peppercorn

1.  Slice cucumbers into rounds,  the easiest and fastest way to do this is with either a food processor or a mandoline.   I have an inexpensive Japanese style mandoline that I use and it works perfectly.  A mandoline or food processor will ensure that the slices are uniform and you'll be done in a fraction of the time it takes to slice everything with a knife.

2. Combine sliced cucumbers, sliced onions and crushed garlic with salt in large bowl and toss to coat evenly with the salt.  Cover with ice cubes and let stand.  The purpose of this is to pull some of the moisture out of the cucumbers.  The salt will leach the liquid out of the cucumbers and onions helping them to retain a crunchy texture.  They can stand anywhere from 3 hours to overnight,  but patience is not a virtue I possess, so 6 hours was my limit. 

3. Sterilize your jars and lids and let them sit in the hot water until you are ready to go. You could take them out and let them drain if you like, but I was told to just leave them in the hot water until I am ready to fill them, so that's what I do.

4. Drain the cucumbers and rinse if you like.  Discard the garlic.  (Salt & I are very good friends, so I chose not to rinse mine, but if you two aren't as close perhaps you'd care to rinse some of the salt off before you proceed).

5.  Combine the vinegars, water, sugar, turmeric and pickling spices in a large pot.  Bring to a boil,  then add in cucumbers and onions.  Return to a boil and then shut off.  Do not boil the cucumbers, get the liquid back up to the boiling point and then immediately turn off the heat.

6. Ladle pickles into glass jars, leaving about a 1/2" space on top and put the lids on.  Do not tighten the lids to the point that the air can't escape from the jar, but tighten enough that water won't go pouring into your pickles.

7. Carefully lower them into the pot and process.  I had a few different sized jars, so I pulled the smaller ones out at 10 minutes and left the large ones in for another 5 or 10 minutes after that.  If you do not have special "canning" tongs that are coated with rubber, make sure to wrap a dish towel around your metal tongs when removing the jars from the hot water.  (don't take a chance on chipping or cracking the glass).

8. Leave them to cool on the counter, step back and swell with pride at your creation.