cranberry sauce circa 2010

I got the inspiration for this watching Iron Chef America the other night. Bobby Flay did something similar. Here is my version for this year.

1 bag fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 poblano pepper, pureed
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 /4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard

Pour everything into a saucepan, bring it to a boil, and then reduce the heat until the berries burst and the sauce thickens. It is an interesting mix of sweet and savory. I think it's going to taste great with our turkey.

Peace,
Milton

caramel custard pie

I found this recipe in The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion. I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, though I did make a little extra custard to see how it tasted – and I’m not sure I melted the caramel as well as they intended for me to do. Nevertheless, here’s the recipe:

Preheat oven to 425.

1 pie unbaked 9-inch pie shell
1 egg yolk, beaten

Partially bake the crust for 15 minutes, weighing it down to keep it from puffing. (I put parchment paper on the bottom and then fill it with loose change because I’m too cheap to buy pie weights.) Remove it from the oven, take off the weights, brush it with the egg yolk, and return it to the oven for five more minutes. Remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 350.

1/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs

Mix the sugar and eggs together in a bowl until well combined.

1 3/4 cups milk or cream (I used half and half)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup butterscotch chips or caramel chips

Heat the cream, salt, vanilla, and caramel in the microwave until the caramel is melted. I did it in two minute increments and whisked the mixture in between. Pour a little of the mixture into the eggs and sugar, while the mixer is running, and then a little more, and so on to keep the hot mixture from cooking the eggs. Pour the filling into the pie shell and cook for 20 minutes. The center will look set, though still be wobbly and the custard’s temperature should be 165 on an instant read thermometer. The filling will thicken and set while it cools. Let it rest for an hour or two.

Peace,
Milton

fudge pie

My students said they wanted a chocolate pie for our Thanksgiving potluck on Tuesday, Here’s what I made.

Preheat oven to 375.

1 pie unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Partially bake the crust for five minutes. Set aside.

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
12 oz. chocolate chips, melted (microwave, 2 mintues)
2 teaspoons instant coffee grounds
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Add melted chocolate, coffee grounds, vanilla, and salt. When it everything is mixed well, add flour and then the nuts, if you so choose. Pour into the pie crust and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for at least 70 minutes before serving.

Peace,
Milton

chocolate pecan pie

1 pie unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Preheat oven to 375.

4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon bourbon
1 /4 tablespoon instant coffee grounds
pinch salt

Mix the eggs and sugars together until creamy, then add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. In the bottom of the pie crust, spread

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Pour the mixture over the chocolate and pecans. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the filling sets. Let cool for at least an hour before serving.

Peace,
Milton

sweet potato chess pie

I came across this recipe (and now I can't find the link). It combines two of my favorite things.

Preheat oven to 350.

1 pie shell

1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer until fluffy. Then add

2 tablespoons self-rising cornmeal
1/3 cup milk
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Add the cornmeal, then the milk, then the eggs, one at a time. Finally add

1 cup mashed sweet potatoes (you can use canned; if you use fresh, don't season them -- just boil and mash.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Mix well and pour into pie shell. Bake for 50 minutes, until pie is browned and a knife inserted about an inch from the edge comes out clean. The center will still be a bit shaky, but will set up as it cools. Let it stand for an hour or two.

Peace,
Milton

pear and cheddar pie

This is one of the new pies I'm trying this year. I'm sharing it with a neighbor, so I will have to wait for their review, but it sounds good.

1 unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 400.

6 cups pealed and sliced pears (I used Bosc)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Slice the pears fairly thin and toss them in the lemon juice. In a separate bowl, mix together

1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Add the mixture to the pears and toss until pears are coated. Pour them into the pie shell. Then mix together

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)

Pulse the mixture in a food processor until it resembles coarse crumbles. Pour the mixture over the top of the pears. Bake about 45 minutes, until the topping is golden brown.

Peace,
Milton

sweet potato, roasted corn, and plantain risotto

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into small dice.

1 1/2 cup corn kernels
1 1/2 cups small diced plantains, not overly ripe
olive oil

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water, combined with stock and heated

Let’s start with the sweet potato: you can either roast or boil it. To roast, toss the diced potatoes in some olive oil with salt and pepper and then spread on a baking sheet. Cook at 375 for about fifteen to twenty minutes, until brown and soft. To boil, cover with water and bring to a boil. Let cook for ten minutes or so – until potatoes are soft. Drain before adding to risotto.

Heat a flat-sided sauté pan and add olive oil. I choose to do these separately, even though it takes a little more time. Let the plantains get browned and soft, then set aside. Add more olive oil. Cook the corn until it really starts to caramelize, then add the rice to the pan and stir for about a minute. Pour in wine and deglaze the pan. When the wine has almost evaporated, begin to add the stock/water in batches – about a cup and a half at a time. The mixture should be bubbling, but not on high heat. When the liquid is almost gone, add more until you use you what you have.
After the second infusion of stock, I add the sweet potatoes so they can cook into the risotto a bit. I add the plantains after the third infusion. When you get down to the end of the stock, Keep stirring until the mixture is thick, but still shows a bit of liquid. Turn off heat, stir well, and let sit for about ten minutes before serving.
I often add about a cup and a half of cheddar cheese to this recipe, but leave it out when I am serving it with the Pimento Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops.

Peace,
Milton

pimento cheese stuffed pork chops

Yes, you read it correctly.

And yes, it is a bit strange that I've gone months without posting any recipes and now you get two in one day. I am ready to bring this blog back to life and I'm heading into my favorite cooking season of the year, so why not?


This recipe grew out of trying to figure out a way to make dinner out of what I had on hand. Why I didn't think of it sooner, I don't know.

3/4-inch thick boneless pork chops
pimento cheese

flout
egg wash
plain bread crumbs

oil for cooking

Cut a small hole (not more than an inch) in the side of the pork chop. Then carefully move the knife around inside the chop to make a good sized pocket without cutting through the sides. Take your time. You can do it in stages, stopping to put your finger inside the chop to gauge how big the pocket is.

Put the pork chop on a cutting board between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound it gently with the side of a mallet to flatten it to about a half and  inch, again being careful not to puncture the chop.

Then take a small spoon (or you can use a pastry bag if you have one) and push the pimento cheese inside the cavity. You want to get a good bit in there, obviously, but you also don't want to overstuff it. We're talking 3 or 4 tablespoons, probably.

Roll the pork chop in the flout to dust it, then in the egg, and then in the bread crumbs.

Heat the saute pan and add enough oil to cover the bottom. When the oil is hot, place the chops and cook about three minutes a side, until they are nice and brown. Then set them in a 350 degree oven for five or six minutes to let them finish cooking. That part depends on how you like your chop.

I served it with a sweet potato and plantain risotto (recipe forthcoming).

Peace,
Milton

apple cider doughnuts

Fall has finally arrived in North Carolina; my seasonal clock is still on New England time, so the colors are late, though quite beautiful. There are a couple of tenacious souls who have figured out how to grow pumpkins down here, but what passes for a pumpkin patch knows nothing of life in Western Mass. or New Hampshire. Still, we have our colors and we have pumpkins on our porch. What we don't have -- anywhere -- are apple cider doughnuts.

So, I made some.

Start with

1 cup apple cider

In a small saucepan, bring the cider to a boil and reduce it to 1/4 cup; set aside to cool.

1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening (Crisco)
1 cup sugar

Cream the shortening and sugar together in a mixer until smooth, then add

2 large eggs

and mix together well. Add

1/2 cup buttermilk
the reduced apple cider

Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Add to the liquid ingredients and mix just enough for it to combine. Roll it out on a floured board until about 1/2 inch thick and cut. You can use the doughnut holes, or bunch them back together and recut the dough.

Fill a deep pan with about three inches of oil. Heat the oil to 375 and fry the donuts in batches until they are browned and cooked through, which is about two minutes on each side. Don't crowd the pan. Remove them to a paper towel-lined plate and let them drain. Then roll them in granulated sugar.

Peace,
Milton