guinness barbecue sauce

Guinness. Barbecue Sauce. 'Nuff said.

4 tablespoons butter
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup molasses
1 can Guinness Stout
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
*1/2 teaspoon cayenne
*1 teaspoon cumin
*1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1 8 ounce can tomato paste
1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple 

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat; add the garlic sauté until it is tender and beginning to caramelize -- six to eight  minutes. Add the molasses, beer, brown sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper and spices; bring to a boil. Lower the heat a bit and let it cook at a simmer for about ten minutes. Stir occasionally so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the saucepan. Mix in the tomato paste and pineapple and lower the heat and let the sauce simmer for thirty minutes, continuing to stir every few minutes. I used my immersion blender to puree the sauce. Let it cool to room temperature before serving.

*The spices are an approximation. I wanted a sauce more sweet than hot. Adjust them to your liking.

Peace,
Milton

guinness chocolate sauce

Good ice cream needs a good sauce.

1 cup Guinness Stout (about a half a can)
2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Bring everything to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and let it thicken up -- about five to seven minutes. Let it cool before serving.

This went with these cookies and this ice cream.

And I found the original recipe here.

Peace,
Milton

peach and fig compote

It’s fig season, it’s peach season: it’s sauce season!

1 pint fresh, ripe figs, washed6 fresh, ripe peaches, unpeeled, washed1 cup brown sugar1/3 cup balsamic vinegar2 tablespoons bourbon1 teaspoon cinnamon1/2 teaspoon salt

Trim the stems and bottom core off of each fig and then quarter it.

Pit the peaches and then slice them thinly.

Put figs and peaches into large saucepan and add remaining ingredients. Cook over medium heat till fruit softens, then stir well to make sure the fruit is covered by the liquid. Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 1-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken a bit. It works served either warm or at room temperature.

Peace,
Milton

summer peach marinara sauce

Let me begin by saying that I realize when you write a recipe you are expected to give amounts of ingredients. The problem with a good pasta sauce is there is a fair amont of improvisation, of wiggle room, when it comes to exactly how much of something goes in the mix. With that in mind, a couple of weeks ago I got a great deal on a big box of tomatoes at the Durham Farmer’s Market. I also two big bags of basil. I keep a bunch of garlic around the house all the time. I came home to make Marinara. When I got home, I remembered the box of ripe peaches we had and decided to try something based on a recipe I have for a tomato-peach jam. The result was a Tomato-Peach Marinara that is light and sweet and awesome.

Here’s the recipe. Find your way to the taste you want.

40 garlic cloves, crushed 

10-12 large tomatoes, blanched, peeled, and crushed 

8-10 ripe peaches, blanched and peeled 

all the basil you can get your hands on 

salt 

pepper 

cinnamon (start with 1/4 teaspoon)

The easiest way to peel tomatoes and peaches is to blanch them, which means to get a big pot — and I do mean a big pot — of water boiling, cut a one-inch “X” in the bottom of both the peaches and the tomatoes, and then drop them in the boiling water. I did the two fruits separately because the peaches need to boil for about three minutes and the tomatoes should go no more than thirty seconds. Lift them out of the water and put them in a bowl to cool for a minute (again, I kept them separate), then peel them. Slice the peaches and set them aside. Put the peeled tomatoes in a  bowl and crush them with your hands until they are a big chunky mess.

Cover the bottom of your stock pot with garlic. I mean cover it. Then cover the garlic with olive oil. Yes, cover the garlic. I don't mean pour deep fry the stuff, but you're going to put about a cup of oil over that much garlic. Then put it on medium heat, cover, and let the garlic cook for about ten minutes, until it begins to brown and it softens. Add the tomatoes and peaches and reduce the heat to medium and cover the pot. When the sauce begins to simmer, lower the heat a bit and uncover it and let it cook for two or three hours, until the tomatoes have mostly cooked away and the peaches are falling apart. Chiffonade or chop the basil and add it to the sauce and stir. Let it simmer another fifteen minutes or so and then purée the sauce using an immersion blender, or you can transfer it in batches to a food processor or a blender. (If you do it that way, be very careful.) Once it is smooth, add salt, pepper, and cinnamon, tasting and adjusting the flavors to your liking.

I’ve used it on ravioli and pasta and eggplant parmigiana. I’ve also just eaten it with a spoon. This summer sauce is amazing. And yes, you can freeze it.

Peace
Milton

avocado hollandaise

I found this recipe in a recent issue of Food and Wine. It works on everything from breakfast to dinner. The picture shows in on top of roasted pork with a corn, black bean, and plantain salsa.

1 ripe avocado
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2/3 cup hot water
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Chop up the avocado and put it in a food processor or blender. Add lemon juice and hot water and blend until smooth. This will take a couple of minutes. As the machine is running, slowly add the olive oil. I also think it would work if you wanted to add a little jalapeño or poblano to give it a little kick.

Peace

Milton

blackberry balsamic sauce

1/2 cup blackberry preserves
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Combine the ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat. Bring it to a simmer and let it reduce by half. Let it cool a bit before serving.

Peace,
Milton

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

pork for pasta

This recipe grew out of my trip to the Durham Farmers' Market today. And it was good.

1 pound ground pork or fresh sausage, uncased
2 onions, chopped
1 small eggplant, diced small
2 carrots, diced small
3 tomatoes, diced small
fresh herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano0
salt and pepper
olive oil
1/4 cup red wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
parmesan cheese to garnish

In a large skillet or fry pan, cook the pork until it’s done. You may want to add a little bit of olive oil to keep it from sticking. Add onions and continue cooking over medium heat until the onions are translucent. (If you want a more caramelized taste, cook the onions separately to get some color on them and then add them to the pork.) Add the tomatoes, eggplant, and carrots and let them cook until most of the natural juices have been reduced. Add the herbs and about a half a cup of red wine. Stir well and let it continue cooking until the wine is almost cooked away. Add the chicken stock. Stir well and let it continue cooking until the sauce is thick and does not have a lot of liquid left. (If you want a creamier taste, you can add a half a cup of heavy cream and cook for a few minutes more.)

Serve over pasta. Top with cheese.

Peace,
Milton

balsamic berry chicken

This has way more to do with the sauce than it does the chicken.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Grill the chicken or saute it. Remember, we're trying to get to the sauce. If you saute the bird, remove it from the saute pan and set aside. If you grill it, you can start the sauce while the chicken is on the grill. Add

8 oz raspberry fruit spread
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 small finely diced onion

Cook over pretty high heat until it begins to bubble; lower the heat and let the sauce reduce by about half. You can either add the chicken to the skillet to coat, or plate them and pour the sauce over the top.

Note: I found a good deal on fresh raspberries at the grocery store and covered a pint of raspberries with water and added about 3 tablespoons of honey and let it simmer until the berries fell apart. Then I added the balsamic vinegar and finished the sauce.

Peace,
Milton

simple alfredo sauce

Yes, it's butter, cream, and cheese. That's what makes it so good.

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the cream, stirring well. Cook until cream is simmering, but not boiling. Take some time here. The longer it cooks, the more the naturally thickens. Keep stirring. Add cheeses and cook some more until the cheese is melted and well integrated into the sauce. When you add the salt and pepper, go slowly with the salt because the cheese has some already. You can also add other flavors -- garlic, cajun seasoning -- to your liking. If you don't want flecks in the sauce, use white pepper.

Serves 4.