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Guava-Piña Cranberry Jam

3 Dec

I wanted to try a few different variations on cranberry sauce… I have relied on my true and tried recipe here for quite some time. It’s been a staple of Xmas for a few years and I’ve had friends and family request it for Thanksgiving and Xmas pretty often.

But I wanted to see if I could give it a more Caribbean twist… something I could put my Latin stamp on. Inspiration comes from many places and Guava-Piña is a fruit combination very popular in Puerto Rico. We happened to have frozen pulp in the freezer, left over from our Guava Fizzy Drink creation earlier and the fresh pineapples from The Boys are extremely sweet and juicy.

Would the flavors the Caribbean go well with the tart northern American cranberry flavors? Check it out for yourself…

 

GUAVA-PIÑA CRANBERRY JAM

1 12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries
1 cup water
¼ cup guava pulp, defrosted
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into small pieces about ¼” thick

 

  1.  Wash the cranberries.  Go thru them and throw away all the ones that have gone soft.
  2. Place the cranberries, water, guava pulp and sugar in a large heavy saucepan.
  3. Bring mixture to a boil.  I cover it so it comes to a boil faster, but watch it, because it can boil over.  After it starts boiling, uncover, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.  The cranberries will begin to pop on their own.  Stir it every few minutes, and as you stir, pop the cranberries that might be still whole.  It’s the pectin inside the cranberries that helps the sauce thicken.
  4. After the cranberries are cooked, remove from heat and mix in the pieces of pineapple.  Let cool.  Be careful, the mixture is VERY HOT and could burn you.
  5. Transfer to smaller jars or plastic bowls.

 

It’s nice because you can actually taste the guava and the pineapple pieces in the sauce.  The flavors do not get masked with the tartness of the cranberries.  This is awesome to serve over pancakes, over vanilla ice cream or to just eat over crackers…

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Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

29 Sep

I have used and re-purposed this salsa recipe into so many dishes that I think it deserves its own Recipe Post.

I think I first learned this recipe from Tyler Florence… but he used jalapeños also in his mix.  Being the wimp that I am in the spiciness department I do not use them.  But feel free to add as much or as little as you want according to your heat tolerance.   I saw Marcela Valladolid make a version of this same recipe but with Serrano peppers… even more spicy.  It’s up to you which version you prefer…

 

ROASTED TOMATILLO SALSA

1 pound tomatillos, husked
1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered
4 garlic cloves
salt and pepper
olive oil
juice of 1 lemon

 

  1. Pre-heat oven to 400degrees F.
  2.  On a baking tray, place tomatillos, onion and garlic.  Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes.
  4. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices from the bottom of the tray to a food processor.  Add the lemon juice and pulse the mixture until well combined, but still chunky.
  6. If for your purposes the sauce is too chunky… just add a bit of water and pulse to loosen it.

 

I’ve used this recipe originally with my Cheesy Rice Burritos, in my Mexican Lasagna and more recently in my Broccoli Rice Burritos.  I will certainly also try it in a Chilaquiles recipe like the one Marcela Valladolid used hers in…  Yum.

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Red Bell Pepper Sauce

5 Jan

I make this sauce to prepare my Sweet Red Bell Pepper Dip… but you can also enjoy it alone as a sauce to enjoy with other dishes, like my Cordon Bleu Quesadillas. 

RED BELL PEPPER SAUCE 

1 red bell pepper, cut in pieces
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

 

  1. Place all the ingredients in a blender.  It might seem there’s little liquid to blend, but it will.  Believe me.
  2. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil and as soon as it reaches a boil, reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes.
  3. Let it cool.

 

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Green Goddess Dressing

16 Jul

This is a dressing I have been making for the Yoga Center Saturday buffets for a while now…  And a new resurgence of retro recipes has made it popular and chic once again…

I make several different version of this dressing, with the pale green color being the common denominator.

 

 Green Godess Dressing

GREEN GODDESS DRESSING

½ cup buttermilk
½ cup plain yogurt
3 tbs of white wine vinegar
2 tsp honey
¼ cup fresh spinach leaves
¼ cup fresh basil leaves
2 scallions, chopped
A handful of fresh parsley, chopped a bit
2 tsp mustard – Dijon or grain mustard will do
¼ tsp salt
A few grinds of black pepper
1 cup canola or olive oil

 

  1. In a blender, mix all the ingredients except the oil.  Blend well and add the oil thru the blender cap while the blender is still running in a thin stream.

 

Use it to dress your salad or as a dip for crudités…  if you’re using specifically for crudités, I may blend also 4oz of cream cheese to make it thicker.

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Basil Parsley Oil

2 Jul

I did this flavored oil to season a nice Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese Toasts… but I was surprised how versatile the oil has proven to dress and season many other recipes.

 

Basil Parsley Oil

 

BASIL PARSLEY OIL

A small handful of parsley – mostly leaves
A small handful of basil leaves
About 1/3 cup of olive oil
Sea Salt – 1 turn around the food processor bowl
About 4 turns of the pepper grinder

 

  1. In a food processor mix together all the ingredients and process until the herbs are chopped super fine.
  2. Let it rest room temperature for about 1 hour so the flavors mix well together before using.

 

If you’d like, you could strain it… but I like it chunky.

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