Category: recipes

Cranberry Chutney

~ cafebedouin

My wife’s cranberry chutney recipe that she makes for Thanksgiving. I’ll add a picture after she makes it.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of fresh cranberries, picked over and washed
  • 2 cups of sugar (or to taste)
  • 2 cups of water
  • 1 large navel orange
  • 1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger

Preparation

  1. Combine cranberries, sugar, water in a medium saucepan and turn the heat to medium-low.
  2. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries are broken. Roughly 20-30 minutes.
  3. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the entire zest (of skin) of the orange.
  4. Cut the orange zest into small pieces and set aside.
  5. Remove the white pith from the outside of the orange.
  6. Separate the orange into sections.
  7. Remove pithy parts from the inside of the orange.
  8. Combine the orange sections, zest and grated ginger in a blender or food processor.
  9. Blend on medium-high for about 1-2 minutes.
  10. Combine the blended mixture from food processor into saucepan with cranberries.
  11. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 15-20 minutes.
  12. Transfer cranberries to a bowl, cool, then chill until ready to serve.

Guacamole

~ cafebedouin

Note: I’ll add pictures after I make this today.

Ingredients

  • Fresh hot chilies, such as Thai, serranoes or jalapeñoes
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 medium white onion, finely chopped (~1/3 cup)
  • 6 oz. (1 medium or 2 plum) fresh tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup of coarsely chopped cilantro
  • 3 medium-large avocados
  • salt
  • juice of 1 lime
  • slices of radish for garnish
  • corn oil
  • corn tortillas

Preparation of Guacamole

  1. Roast chiles, garlic and tomatoes in small, ungreased skillet over medium heat, turning every minute until softened (5-10 minutes)
  2. Remove chili stems, garlic skins and blackened parts of tomatoes,
  3. Mash chilies, garlic into a coarse puree, using a mortar.
  4. Cut tomatoes into small bits
  5. Rise onion in a strainer under cool water, shake off excess water.
  6. Add onion, tomato and chili/garlic puree and stir.
  7. Cut the avocadoes in half, remove pit, score the avocado by cutting half inch lines to the skin using a paring knife.
  8. Scope out the avocado into the bowl with onion and chili/garlic.
  9. Stir avocado into the mixture, but don’t overdo it. Keep it chunky!
  10. Add salt and lime to taste, more lime makes it less spicy.
  11. Garnish with cilantro and radish.
  12. Set aside for flavors to mix while making chips.

Preparation of Fresh Tortilla Chips

  • Heat corn oil over medium heat in medium sauce pan
  • Cut store-bought tortillas into 6 pieces per torilla
  • Fry chips to a golden brown
  • Place chips in a paper towel lined, large bowl.
  • Best to have people eat chips as you make them.

Notes

  • You can use store bought chips. But, frying them yourself is much better.
  • It’s important not to over-mash guacamole. Over-mashed guacamole is what most people serve, and it is inferior.
  • Recipe is based on the classic guacamole recipe in Mexico: One Plate At A Time by Rick Bayless, pg. 4.

Plantains With Jammy Tomatoes and Eggs

~ cafebedouin

“Plantains are nutrient-rich starches that can sweeten as they cook, and, in many parts of the world, they find their way into the best stews and porridges. This recipe is based on “tomato eggs,” a dish popular in Lagos, Nigeria, and across West Africa. Tomato eggs can be made with yams or plantains, and here, firm yellow plantains work best because they hold their shape and texture while absorbing the flavors of the surrounding stew. It’s a perfect meal for days when you want something hot but not too heavy or filling. Any herbs you have on hand will work well, and the dish can be made vegan by substituting medium-firm or soft tofu for the eggs.”

-Yewande Komolafe, “Plantains With Jammy Tomatoes and Eggs.” The New York Times. August 7, 2021.

Saving for future reference.

A Tale of Two Briskets

~ cafebedouin

“The one on the left is a crowd-pleaser, one you could comfortably serve to goys. But the one on the right is the one I grew up with.”

-Hillary Busis, “A Tale of Two Briskets.” AndSmallPortions.com. December 7, 2015

Nonnie’s brisket vs. high-end cookbook recipe. I’ve never cooked brisket, but one thing I notice is the Lipton onion soup packet is also used in the vegetarian meatloaf recipe. Bookmarking this for the future.

Thanksgiving Double Stock

~ cafebedouin

“…I prefer to make what is known as a double stock—in culinary-school terms, a fortified stock, or, Frenchily, a consommé, which classically refers to a clarification of the broth, and perhaps also the meat of more than one species. Whatever name you assign to it, the preparation can be summed up like this: when making stock, use stock as a base instead of water. The result is the most magnificently rich liquid, a concentrated essence of the sort that makes people sink, at first slurp, into a sighing surrender.”

-Helen Rosner, “Thanksgiving Double Stock.” The New Yorker. November 11, 2018.

Caramel-Filled Butter Pecan Cake

~ cafebedouin

Originally published in the December 1988 issue of Southern Living, I have been making this cake for over 10 years (one a year) and have added some detail to the recipe. This is easier if you break the time into pieces and take your time in making it. It will always come out delicious, but often the aesthetics will be off. It’s hard to get this cake exactly right.

Ingredients

Cake

  • 1 cup, shortening
  • 2 cups, sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 cups of cake flour
  • 2.5 teaspoons, baking powder
  • 0.5 teaspoons, salt
  • 1 cup, whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon, almond extract
  • 1 teaspoon, vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
  • a few pecan halves

Caramel Filling

  • 3 cups, sugar
  • 0.75 cups, whole milk
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • pinch of salt
  • 0.5 cup, butter

Buttercream Frosting

  • 0.33 cups, butter
  • 3 cups, powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons, whole milk
  • 0.5 teaspoons, vanilla extract

Equipment

  • 3 cake pans, 9″
  • 1 electric mixer
  • cooling racks
  • parchment paper
  • wooden toothpicks
  • large sauce pan
  • candy thermometer
  • cake stand
  • measuring cups
  • scissors
  • mixing bowl

Recipe

Baking Cake Layers

  1. Cream shortening in electric mixer, then gradually add 2 cups of sugar at medium speed.
  2. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  3. Gradually mix in 3 cups of cake flour, 2.5 teaspoons of baking powder and 0.5 teaspoons of salt, adding 1 cup of milk as needed to keep it liquid.
  4. Add in almond and vanilla extracts.
  5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  6. Grease three 9″ cake pans with shortening (or butter, if you prefer) and line with parchment paper, grease wax paper and cut extra paper off with scissors.
  7. Pour batter into prepared pans.
  8. Bake at 375 degrees for 22-25 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick stick comes out clean after poking it into the center of the cake layers.
  9. Remove from oven and cool in pans for 10 minutes.
  10. Remove cake layers from cake pans and let cool on wire racks.

Caramel Filling

  1. Combine 3 cups of sugar, 0.75 cups of whole milk, a beaten egg, and 0.5 cup of butter in a large saucepan. (Optional: a few oz. of corn syrup can make it creamier with a smoother texture).
  2. Cook on medium-low heat (lower is better!) until the mixture reaches the temperature of 230 degrees, (roughly 20 minutes).
  3. Remove saucepan from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
  4. Beat with a wooden spoon until spreading consistency.
  5. Put first layer of cake on a cake stand, spread caramel evenly on top of layer until it is a quarter inch thick. Add next layer and spread caramel two more times. If the caramel gets hard, bring back to the stove and heat to soften again.

Buttercream Frosting

  1. Cream butter at maximum speed of the electric mixer.
  2. Gradually add in 3 cups of powdered sugar and 0.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
  3. Add in milk until the consistency is right for frosting.
  4. Spread frosting around the outside of the layered cake.
  5. Press chopped pecans into frosting on sides.
  6. Garnish top of the cake with five pecan halves in the center and (optionally) a ring of them around the rim.