Homemade Crème Fraiche
Servings: 1 cup
Ingredients
- 1 cup organic heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons plain whole milk yogurt or buttermilk I use yogurt
Instructions
- Stir the cream and yogurt or buttermilk together in a bowl. Cover and let sit out on your kitchen counter for 12-24 hours until it reaches desired consistency. This will depend upon how warm your kitchen is – the warmer it is, the quicker it will thicken. Store it in your fridge and start dolloping. It will keep for a few weeks.
Notes
January 2013
Clotted Cream
Ingredients
- 4 cups heavy cream
Instructions
- 8 x 8-inch glass or ceramic baking dish
- Bake at 175-180 F. for 12 hours.
- Chill overnight before separating the “clots.”
- Use the reserved liquid for baking biscuits.
Notes
From Scott
Homemade Mayonnaise
Fast and easy to make in a blender or food processor. So much fun
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
- 1-1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1 cup oil peanut or corn
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Place everything but the oil and lemon juice in the blender or processor container.
- Process 5 seconds in the blender; 15 seconds in the processor.
- With the motor running, add the oil, first in a drizzle, then in a thin, steady stream.
- When all the oil has been added, stop the motor and taste.
- Add lemon juice to your taste. If the sauce is too thick, thin with hot water or lemon juice.
- If too thin, process a little longer.
Notes
June 2013
Crock Pot Applesauce
Servings: 6 cups
Ingredients
- 4 lbs tart apples cored and sliced thin
- ½ cup sugar I used scant ¼ C and then none at all the second time
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Mix apples (about 12 cups) with cinnamon and sugar and put into crock pot.
- Pour water and lemon juice over apples. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.
Notes
October 2012
Dill Dip
Servings: 2 cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 ½ tablespoons minced raw onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley optional
- 1 ½ tablespoons dried dillweed
- 1 tablespoon Beau Monde seasoning
Instructions
- In bowl, combine all ingredients and stir well. Serve chilled with assorted fresh vegetables.
Creamy Mushroom Gravy Recipe
This easy creamy gravy, spiked with Marsala wine, can be whisked together while the main event of your meal is cooking. Start by browning mushrooms in butter to give the gravy plenty of savory flavor. Add flour to thicken, simmer in Marsala wine and beef broth, and finish with heavy cream. Serve this versatile gravy with everything from meatloaf to beef Wellington.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 ounces cremini mushrooms stems trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup dry Marsala wine
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth or stock
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until foaming. Add the mushrooms and shallots and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring rarely, until the mushrooms are slightly browned and soft, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium, sprinkle in the flour, and stir to coat the mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the flour is lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine is completely reduced, about 30 seconds.
- Slowly pour in the broth or stock and whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the gravy has thickened and coats the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Basic Turkey Gravy
Servings: 3 cups
Ingredients
- Pan drippings vegetables, and turkey neck from our Basic Roasted Turkey
- 1 cup white wine or sherry
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 3/4 stick
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Pour off the drippings from the roasted turkey into a small heatproof bowl. Let sit for a few minutes for the fat to rise to the top, then skim the fat off with a spoon and discard; set the drippings aside.
- Place the roasting pan across two burners over medium heat. Put the onion and celery from inside the roasted turkey, along with the roasted turkey neck, in the pan. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a flat spatula.
- Add the wine or sherry while scraping the bottom of the pan and simmer until reduced by half. Add the reserved drippings back to the pan. Pour the mixture through a strainer set over a medium heatproof bowl and set aside. Discard the solids from the strainer.
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When it foams, sprinkle the flour evenly over it.
- Whisk the flour and butter together and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture (known as a roux) turns the color of peanut butter, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- While whisking continuously, slowly add the chicken stock or broth and the strained pan juices. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, being sure to whisk at the edges of the pan, until the gravy thickens slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Stir Fry sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dry sherry
- 2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Notes
December 2015
Basic White Sauce – microwave
Ingredients
- 1 C milk
- 2 T all-purpose flour
- ¼ t salt
- ⅛ t pepper
- 2 T butter
Optional:
- Egg white sauce – add finely chopped hard boiled eggs
- Cheese white sauce – ¼ t dry mustard and ½ C shredded American cheese when stirring in step 2.
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in 2 C measure cup
- Microwave in HIGH for 2 minutes.
- Stir and continue cooking on HIGH for 1 – 1 ½ minutes more, until thickened.
Basic Brown sauce – microwave
Ingredients
- 2 T butter
- 1 small onion
- 2 T all-purpose flour
- 1 C beef broth or pan drippings
- ¼ t salt
- ¼ t pepper
Instructions
- Combine butter and onion in 2 C measure
- Microwave on ROAST for about 2 minutes until onion is partially cooked.
- Stir in remaining ingredients.
- Microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes.
- Stir and continue cooking on HIGH for 1 to 12 ½ minutes more, until thickened.
Grilled Pepper, Onion and Olive Relish
Consider this versatile, Mediterranean-inspired olive relish to be the perfect addition to your summer grilled meals. This relish is a terrific addition to grilled chicken, pork tenderloin or bone-in pork chops. Grill a butterflied leg of lamb or rib chops and spoon some olive relish on top. Sliced flank steak hot-off-the-grill is a sensation when paired with this olive relish. It pairs well with grilled fish such as halibut, swordfish, tuna, and salmon. Think of it as an appetizer topper for bruschetta, or even added to pasta for either a hot entrée or cold as a summer salad.
Ingredients
- 2 large red bell peppers quartered
- 1 medium sweet onion cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 2/3 cup sliced Lindsay® Naturals Green Ripe California Pitted Olives
- 2/3 cup sliced Lindsay® California Ripe Pitted Olives
- 1/4 cup capers rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
- 1 large clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Kosher or sea salt optional, to taste
Instructions
- Heat grill to medium-high heat*
- Brush peppers and onion slices with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
- Grill peppers and onions on covered grill. 2 to 3 minutes per side or until grill marks appear and the peppers and onions are crisp-tender.
- Transfer to a cutting board; cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
- Transfer to a large bowl; add remaining ingredients and remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil; mix well. about 5 cups relish.
- *Or, a ridged grill pan over medium-heat may be used to grill peppers.
Fresh Tomato Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 med onion cut in 1/8ths
- 1 med green pepper cut in 1/8ths
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ c parsley sprigs
- 2 med tomatoes cut in 1/8ths
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp pepper
- ⅛ tsp cumin
Instructions
- Place onion, green pepper and parsley in blender or food processor (with blade) coarsely chop with on, off pulse. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and cumin. Chop on and off until tomatoes are in 1/4 inch chunks.
Homemade Sauerkraut in a Mason Jar
Ingredients
- 1 medium head green cabbage about 3 pounds
- 1½ Tbs kosher salt
- 1 Tbs caraway seeds optional, for flavor
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Chef’s knife
- Mixing bowl
- 2 qt widemouth canning jar or two quart mason jars
- Canning funnel optional
- Smaller jelly jar that fits inside the larger mason jar
- Clean stones marbles, or other weights for weighing the jelly jar
- Cloth for covering the jar
- Rubber band or twine for securing the cloth
Instructions
- Clean everything: When fermenting anything, it’s best to give the good, beneficial bacteria every chance of succeeding by starting off with as clean an environment as possible. Make sure your mason jar and jelly jar are washed and rinsed of all soap residue. You’ll be using your hands to massage the salt into the cabbage, so give those a good wash, too.
- Slice the cabbage: Discard the wilted, limp outer leaves of the cabbage. Cut the cabbage into quarters and trim out the core. Slice each quarter down its length, making 8 wedges. Slice each wedge crosswise into very thin ribbons.
- Combine the cabbage and salt: Transfer the cabbage to a big mixing bowl and sprinkle the salt over top. Begin working the salt into the cabbage by massaging and squeezing the cabbage with your hands. At first, it may not seem like enough salt, but gradually, the cabbage will become watery and limp — more like coleslaw than raw cabbage. This will take 5 to 10 minutes. If you’d like to flavor your sauerkraut with caraway seeds, mix them in now.
- Pack the cabbage into the jar: Grab handfuls of the cabbage and pack them into the canning jar. If you have a canning funnel, this will make the job easier. Every so often, tamp down the cabbage in the jar with your fist. Pour any liquid released by the cabbage while you were massaging it into the jar.→ Optional: Place one of the larger outer leaves of the cabbage over the surface of the sliced cabbage. This will help keep the cabbage submerged in its liquid.
- Weigh the cabbage down: Once all the cabbage is packed into the mason jar, slip the smaller jelly jar into the mouth of the jar and weigh it down with clean stones or marbles. This will help keep the cabbage weighed down, and eventually, submerged beneath its liquid.
- Cover the jar: Cover the mouth of the mason jar with a cloth and secure it with a rubber band or twine. This allows air to flow in and out of the jar, but prevent dust or insects from getting in the jar.
- Press the cabbage every few hours: Over the next 24 hours, press down on the cabbage every so often with the jelly jar. As the cabbage releases its liquid, it will become more limp and compact and the liquid will rise over the top of the cabbage.
- Add extra liquid, if needed: If after 24 hours, the liquid has not risen above the cabbage, dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of water and add enough to submerge the cabbage.
- Ferment the cabbage for 3 to 10 days: As it’s fermenting, keep the sauerkraut away from direct sunlight and at a cool room temperature — ideally 65°F to 75°F. Check it daily and press it down if the cabbage is floating above the liquid.Because this is a small batch of sauerkraut, it will ferment more quickly than larger batches. Start tasting it after 3 days — when the sauerkraut tastes good to you, remove the weight, screw on the cap, and refrigerate. You can also allow the sauerkraut to continue fermenting for 10 days or even longer. There’s no hard and fast rule for when the sauerkraut is “done” — go by how it tastes.While it’s fermenting, you may see bubbles coming through the cabbage, foam on the top, or white scum. These are all signs of a healthy, happy fermentation process. The scum can be skimmed off the top either during fermentation or before refrigerating. If you see any mold, skim it off immediately and make sure your cabbage is fully submerged; don’t eat moldy parts close to the surface, but the rest of the sauerkraut is fine.
- 10. Store sauerkraut for several months: This sauerkraut is a fermented product so it will keep for at least two months and often longer if kept refrigerated. As long as it still tastes and smells good to eat, it will be. If you like, you can transfer the sauerkraut to a smaller container for longer storage.
Notes
Larger or Smaller Batches: To make larger or smaller batches of sauerkraut, keep same ratio of cabbage to salt and adjust the size of the container. Smaller batches will ferment more quickly and larger batches will take longer.
Hot and Cold Temperatures: Do everything you can to store sauerkraut at a cool room temperature. At high temperatures, the sauerkraut can sometimes become unappetizingly mushy or go bad. Low temperatures (above freezing) are fine, but fermentation will proceed more slowly.