Candace in the Kitchen

Archive for July, 2009

Instead of making individual crumbles I made a large one. It was easier to take to work that way. I baked this one night and took it to work the next day. Before I left home I tried a bit. It was super runny and tart. When I got there I baked it again (in the sweet convection oven/microwave that we have ) at 425 for about 20 minutes.

After the second bake it was much less juicy and I heard no complaints of sourness. I might play with the fruit combo in this but will definitely make it again.

Ingredients:

For the fruit

• 2 lbs firm, ripe peaches (6-8 peaches)
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup fresh blueberries (1/2 pint)

For the Crumble

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 lb (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until their skins peel off easily.  Place them immediately in cold water.  Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl.  Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and flour.  Toss well.  Gently mix in the blueberries.  Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes.  Spoon the mixture into ramekins or custard cups.
3. For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas.  Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it’s in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit.  Place the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and back for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  If you want to make these early, store the unbaked crumbles int he refrigerator and bake before dinner. 

 

After three long days the pickles are done. Kidding, it was three days, but they weren’t that bad. Most of the time is hands off. These are sweet pickles. I use them in chicken salad, potato salad and chopped up as relish for burgers and hot dogs. They’re not bad eaten straight from the jar, either.

Ingredients:

10 lbs small pickling cucumbers

2 cups picking lime

7.5 lbs sugar

6 pints apple cider vinegar

handful of pickling spice (I use Sauer’s)

Equipment:

One large stock pot

Sterilized glass canning jars, quart size

Sterilized lids and rings for jars

Canning funnel- Don’t attempt ANY canning without one

Tea ball – only because I don’t like the floating spices in the finished product. If you don’t mind you can skip this.

Large, long handled spoon

Directions:

Day One:

(I usually start this on a Friday afternoon, after work)

Wash cucumbers and thinly slice, remove and discard ends.

Place cucumbers in large pot.

Add pickling lime and cover with cold water.

Stir occasionally for the rest of the evening.

Let sit overnight, covered.

Day Two:

(I start this process in the early afternoon, about 1PM)

Drain cucumbers and rinse well.

Thoroughly wash pot and put rinsed cucumbers back inside.

Cover with cold water and let sit for one hour.

Repeat rinsing and soaking every hour for four hours.

On the last rinse leave cucumbers in colander and wash pot well.

Combine vinegar and sugar in the empty pot stir until sugar starts to dissolve.

Put cucumbers into sugar/vinegar mixture and stir well. Add tea ball filled with about a handful of pickling spices. (If you aren’t using the tea ball, just throw the spices in)

Cover and let sit overnight.

Day 3:

( I start this step around noon)

Slowly bring cucumbers and syrup mixture to a boil over medium heat. (It takes a while)

Let boil for one hour, stirring occasionally.

While the pickles (This is when I start to consider them pickles) are boiling sterilize your jars.

I just put mine in the dishwasher (alone) with no detergent on the high heat wash and dry.

Remove from dishwasher and set them near the pot of pickles. (This is where the flat top stove comes in handy). Don’t forget your funnel!

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil and add the lids and rings.

Fill the jars as much as you can- take a smaller spoon and squish them down. Then add syrup until you reach the neck of the jar.

Get a lid and ring out of the boiling water and put it on the jar. Twist to tighten.

(If you have a few pickles that won’t filla jar just put them into a container and put them in the fridge. It won’t hurt them, you just can’t leave them sitting in the pantry like the sealed jars.)

Set the jars aside and you should start hearing the seals pop soon.

Enjoy!

Pretend that there is  a picture of  a spice rubbed burger with gooey cheddar cheese instead of this text. Because there would be,  if the hub hadn’t said “Can we just eat without taking a picture!?!?!”

We’ve used this on burgers and grilled chicken. It is delicious.

Adapted from Country Living

Ingerdients:

3 heaping T brown sugar

1 t smoked paprika

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t cumin

1/2 t chipotle powder

1/4 t kosher salt

1/4 t freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl.

Place burgers or chicken in the rub and gently turn to coat.

Don’t be shy with it- if you cook on an outdoor grill a lot of the rub/glaze will melt and burn off. Cooking on an indoor grill pan really keeps everything in place but can smoke up the kitchen.

Note- for the burgers- I usually put 1-2 T of the spice rub inside the burger along with 2 cloves minced garlic and a few dashes of Worcestershire.

I made this cake for the 4th of July (obviously) as I do every year. It’s pretty easy, tastes great and always get’s ooohhh’s and aaaah’s. I used boxed cake mix because I was super tired from the festivities the day before.

Ingredients:

One 9×13 cake

1-2 pints raspberries

1/2-1 pint blueberries

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

12 oz cream cheese (1.5 blocks) softened

1.5 cups powdered sugar

2 t vanilla extract

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachement mix butter and cream cheese until smooth.

Add vanilla extract.

Slowly add powdered sugar and mix until throughly combined on low speed.

Turn speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy.

Spread frosting over  cake in a thin layer, reserving some for piping the white lines.

Arrange blueberries as shown above.

Make two rows of raspberries to make one red stripe.

Pipe two lines of frosting below the red stripe to make the white stripe.

Repeat.

Eat.

Note: I usually throw another layer of blueberries on top of the first layer so that the blue part of the flag is the same height as the striped part. You can pipe more frosting onto the blueberries to make stars, I just don’t bother.