Cranberry, Ginger and Orange Chutney recipe

This is a halved, lazy version of a recipe I discovered via Food & Wine.  And it's AMAZING.

ingredients

1 large navel orange
1 bag fresh cranberries
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup turbinado sugar (white or light brown work fine, too)
1/4 cup minced fresh ginger
Salt and freshly ground pepper

2. prep
   

   Using a sharp knife, cut the orange in half and juice. Reserve pulp to add later.

   In a medium non-aluminum saucepan, combine the cranberries and water with orange juice and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

   Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have popped (about 10 minutes). 

   Add vinegar, sugar, ginger and orange pulp and continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until thick (about 5 minutes).

   Remove from heat, let cool slightly, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.

3. *Will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for one week. 

Gingersnaps

Less talk, more recipe:

Cookie dough:

3/4 cup coconut oil (or butter, or shortening) 
1 cup dark muscovado sugar (or plain ol' dark brown sugar)
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 t salt
2 t baking soda
1 T ground ginger
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t cardamom
1/2 t ground cloves
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 large egg
1/3  cup molasses

Finishing*:

1/4 c sugar (light brown or white work fine)
1 t ground cinnamon 
1/2 t ground ginger 
1/2 t cardamom 

Directions: 

Set racks to the middle of oven and preheat to 350°F.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Stir well to mix.

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and at medium speed, cream together coconut oil and sugar for about 5 minutes.

Add the egg and continue beating until smooth.

Lower speed and beat in half the dry ingredients, then add the molasses.

If necessary, stop the mixer and scrape down bowl and beater with a silicone spatula.

Then add remaining dry ingredients, mixing until well combined.

Remove bowl from mixer and, if necessary, use a large silicone spatula to finish mixing the dough.

In a shallow bowl, combine sugar and spice mixture for cookie coating.

Use a teaspoon or small scoop to scoop out 1-inch diameter pieces of dough. Roll into balls, then roll in the sugar mixture.

Place the balls of dough on parchment lined cookie sheets, leaving about 1 1/2 inches all around to allow for spreading.

Bake for 12 minutes (longer for a crisper cookie- but in my oven on my old school IKEA cookie sheets, 12 mins gives me the perfect crisp outside/chewy inside combo). The cookies will spread and crack on the surface.

Slide the papers from the pans onto cooling racks. Store the cooled cookies between sheets of parchment or waxed paper in an air-tight container.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies, depending on size

*Note: add a pinch (or whatever) of cayenne to the finishing mixture for even MORE kick!

This recipe mash-up borrows heavily from Food Network and King Arthur Flour, with a little help from Brannon. 

Happiness in bakery.

note: I do a little eye-roll whenever I pull up this blog. It's turned out to be not at all what I'd originally planned (light on the DIY/heavier on the recipes/overall pretty quiet). But... it doesn't matter that much in the grand scheme of things. It is a handy resource when I'm out shopping or for having a recipe at arms reach within seconds, regardless of where on earth my arms might be! And now for something completely different:

This weekend I was reminded how wonderful baking for someone you love can be, from beginning to end.

From prep cleaning the stainless steel table, gathering ingredients, measuring and staging them to be ready within reach with intended recipient[s] in mind...

To the production process going smoothly due to the diligent prep work... then the warmth of the oven and setting the timer...

To washing up the prep bowls, measuring cups and spoons... while delicious smells come from the oven...

To smiling at the sight of those good things coming out of the oven and placing them on racks to cool...

To those finishing touches and packing it all up for travel...

To the final clean up, wiping down the stainless steel table again with a cleaning solution I made myself, thinking about the friend who shared that particular recipe and about all the good things that were created upon that very table and the happy times sharing good food/drinks/company around it.

Then... the waiting is the hardest part. This cake is going to be amazing!

The Great Pimento Cheese Experiments Begin!

[Another work in progress- I'm getting it down before I forget what I did! ]

Today I finally got around to the first attempt at making Pimento Cheese. I loathed the stuff until about a year and a half ago I tried some AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS stuff at one of my fave pubs. While I won't go near super mayonnaise-y stuff, I love the chunky, a little on the dry side, very cheese-y Pimento Cheese. A lot. 

Mother's Everyday Pimento Cheese recipe at epicurious sounded quite yum and was declared the winner for the first go.  Of course, I made a few changes:

ingredients:

• 1/2 lb extra-sharp Wisconsin white Cheddar
• 1/2 lb extra-sharp Wisconsin (orange) Cheddar
• 1 (7-oz) jar whole pimiento, drained 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/3 cup Duke's mayonnaise

prep:

Grate cheeses in food processor. Once complete dump it in a bowl, allowing yourself to toy with the idea you're gonna mix it by hand.

Change food processor blades from grating to chopping blade, then add mayo, black pepper, paprika, and garlic salt. Let the processor take those guys for a spin 'til well blended.

Then add the cheese back to processor bowl, chopping and blending a bit, and finally add pimiento for one last dance.

Once everything is well mixed, spoon into a covered container and chill for at least 2 hours to allow flavors to develop. 

yield: about 3 cups

note: Pimento cheese keeps, tightly covered and chilled, 4 days.

Note: this was ridiculously good, which has prevented me from tweaking it any further!

The Best Carrot Cake You Ever Put In Your Mouth, via Kimberley

Note: the BFF and I routinely use this blog as our shopping list on the go, and we've finally gotten 'round to parking her AMAZING freaking carrot cake recipe here. The following is simply a testament to my copy & paste skills.

I love Margaret and she asked me to make her a carrot cake for her birthday.  Because I wanted to make sure it was good (cuz I luff her like that, and I'd never hear the end of it if I served a crap cake), I made and trashed 3 cakes until I came up with this combination. This recipe is the end result of a reading a few recipes on line and experimenting a bit until I was satisfied.  I have easy access to a farmer's market and I try to buy organic whenever possible.  It really does make a difference in the flavor of the end product.  

The Carrot Cake of Awesomeosity

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon (yes, I grate fresh cinnamon sticks)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (ayup, I grate this fresh, too)
1 tablespoon-ish freshly grated ginger root (I've never measured this, I typically choose a piece roughly the size of my thumb)
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
4 extra large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cup organic, raw, turbinado sugar
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
2/3 cups firmly packed organic brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract ( I make my own )
1 pound finely grated organic carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (+ another 1/2 cup for garnish if you want)
1 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Prepare 3 9-inch cake pans, lightly coating with oil and lining with parchment paper.  Seriously, this is important, and makes un-panning your cakes super easy.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together.  Set aside.

Mix the eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl.  Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until Incorporated.  Let the batter sit for about 10 minutes. Stir in carrots, ginger, nuts and raisins just until evenly distributed through the batter.

Divide the batter into the three pans and bake on the center rack for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.  You can bake in 2 pan for deeper layers, adjust baking time to 35-40 minutes.

Cool cakes in their pans for at least 30 minutes before attempting to remove them.  Then peel off the parchment paper and continue to cool the cakes completely before frosting.

Speaking of frosting...

Best f*cking cream cheese frosting. EVAR.

This is my take on the cream cheese frosting typically used on THE Italian Cream Cake.  It's an especially nice twist to the typical cream cheese frosting and not what folks will expect when they take that first bite. 

16 oz of cream cheese, softened (room temperature)
4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened (room temperature)
2 teaspoons pure almond extract
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3-4 cups confectioner's (powdered) sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth, add extracts and beat until incorporated.  slowly beat in sugar, 1 cup at a time until frosting has the flavor and consistency you want.

To assemble the cake, place the bottom layer on a cardboard round or other flat cake plate.  Scoop out about 1 cup of frosting and spread evenly.  Add the next layer and repeat. Third layer put the rest of the frosting on top and carefully ease it down the sides. I am not so great at the fancy frosting thing so I use the extra 1/2 cup of nuts to hide that.  Be sure the cake is well chilled before cutting.

Note: This is a really rich cake, it easily serves 10-12 people.