Quince Jam

Quinces

I'm writing while the jam is cooking, so I can't give a something good rating yet. Even if none of us like it, I wanted to post on it because I had never seen a quince until about a week ago when a friend gave me a bag of them. They look a little bit like a pear but shorter. When raw, quinces are very hard and tart, but they soften when cooked. They also are supposed to turn rosy colored when cooked (still waiting to find out if that will happen). Surprisingly, there are a lot of recipes out there using this unusual fruit. I decided to make jam with mine. My friendly fellow kitchen experimenting neighbor, Jen, also received the gift of quinces and also planned on making jam--great for me because she did hers first, so I was able to change my ratios based on how hers turned out. I looked at about five different recipes, and this is what I came up with.

Quince Jam
6 cups chopped quinces
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 1/2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• Wash the quinces to remove any dirt and the fuzzy layer on the peel.
• Remove the cores, and chop into small pieces (I used the food processor).
• Add the lemon juice as you go to prevent over browning.
• In a large pot, heat the water. 
• Add the chopped quinces, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon, and bring to a boil.
• Simmer until rosy and thickened (mine took over an hour and was sort of orange).
• Puree with a blender to smooth out any large pieces.
• Transfer jam into sterilized jars, wipe the rims, put on the lids and rings, water bath for 10 minutes.

Bread with Quince Jam

 The little guy and I like the quince jam. No one else would give it a try. The whole house smelled like potpourri while it was cooking. Definitely something interesting. :)

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Vodka and Vanilla Beans New Batch/Old Batch

Making your own vanilla extract is very easy and less expensive buying it at the store. It does have a waiting period of about 2 months for the flavor to develop, so make sure to plan ahead. The taste and smell are worth the wait.

For the best deal on vanilla beans, try ebay, although the prices on Amazon are pretty good too. There are many differences in opinion on the bean to alcohol ratio. I go with 3-4 beans per cup of alcohol. I use vodka, but rum, bourbon and brandy can be used as well.

Homemade Vanilla Extract
4 cups vodka
12 grade B vanilla beans

• Cut the vanilla beans in half crosswise and lengthwise.
• Place them in a quart jar.
• Fill the jar with vodka.
• Let the jar sit in a cool, dark place for about 2 months, shaking occasionally.
• After 2 months it's ready to use.
• Pour some of the vanilla into a separate jar to use.
• Then top off your quart jar with more vodka.

Notes: You can reuse the beans, but I only reuse them 2-3 times before starting fresh.

Pizza Sauce

Pizza Sauce with Fresh Herbs

Here is our basic pizza sauce recipe. The kids prefer if I leave out the fresh herbs--too much green is scary.

Pizza Sauce
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
14 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon oregano or Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon fresh herbs, chopped (basil, parsley, oregano)

• Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
• Add tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Puree with a blender or food processor.
• Add herbs if desired.

Notes: This recipe makes about 1 cup and is easy to double or triple. You can refrigerate or freeze the leftovers.

Mom's Marinade

Grilled Chicken with Mom's Marinade

I don't think my mom even measures when she makes her marinade, but I forced her to write down the recipe a few years ago because we all like it so much. This marinade is great for chicken, pork, or beef.

Mom's Marinade
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons brown or Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
salt and pepper to taste

• Combine ingredients in a bowl.
• Set aside 1/4-1/2 cup of the marinade for a dipping sauce if desired.
• Place 4 pounds of meat in a zip bag.
• Pour remaining marinade over meat.
• Let sit, refrigerated, for at least an hour.
• Grill or broil the meat; discard the marinade that was on the meat.
• Serve meat with reserved marinade.

Notes: The chicken tenderloins in the above picture were on a hot grill for about 7 minutes.

Pie Crust (cookies)

Pie Crust Cookies

It seemed appropriate on Pi day, March 14 (3/14), to post on something "pie" related. The place to start with pie is the crust. This crust recipe is from my grandma. However, as with many recipes from Grandma, I have a list of ingredients but not many instructions. So, the ratio is Grandma's, but the method is not. If you don't like my method, give Grandma a call; I'm sure she'd love to talk you through it.

Pie Crust (makes one double or two single crusts)
3 cups flour
dash salt
1 cup lard
1 cup or less ice water

• Use a pastry blender to cut the lard into the flour and salt until the texture is consistent, mealy with pea sized balls.
• Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough holds together in a ball.
• Flatten the ball into a disk.
• Wrap the disk in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• On a floured board, cut the dough disk in half. Set one half aside.
• Roll out the other half into a long rectangle. 
• Fold the dough over on itself so that you have a squarish shape.
• Roll out into a circle large enough to fit in your pie pan, about 12 inches for a 9 inch pan.
• Repeat with the second half of the dough for the top crust, pie crust cookies, or another single crust pie.

Pie Crust Cookies

• Use the dough trimmings leftover from your pie or make a whole batch of crust into cookies.
• Follow the above method for making and rolling the dough.
• Cut out into squares or cookie cutter shapes.
• Place on a cookie sheet.
• Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and sugar.
• Bake at 400* until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
• Remove from the pan and cool before eating.

Notes:  Make sure to add more flour when rolling the dough if it starts to stick. The rolled dough should end up about 1/8 inch thick.

Question: Which part of the pie do you like the best, the filling or the crust?

Chipotle Enchilada Sauce

Enchilada sauce is normally made with powdered chiles (not to be confused with chili powder). I started trying to make some homemade enchilada sauce with chipotle peppers when I had a partial can of chipotle in adobo to use up. It was delicious but much too bold and spicy for my kids. I've tweaked the recipe, creating a mild version for the kids and a bold version for the adults. Even making two kinds of sauce wasn't enough to use up the can of chipotle in adobo, so, because I hate to throw anything out, I quadrupled my recipe and froze it in quart freezer bags. The mild version uses such a small amount of the chipotle sauce that it barely dents the can; the rest of the chipotles and sauce was the perfect amount for 4 batches of bold enchilada sauce. The recipes below each make a single batch, about 3 1/2 cups, enough for a 9x13 pan of enchiladas.

Bold Chipotle Enchilada Sauce
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup salsa
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper

• Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
• Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until the onion is soft.
• Add the garlic, chipotles, and flour and cook for one minute.
• Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, salsa, chili powder, oregano, and cumin and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and puree until smooth.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Mild Chipotle Enchilada Sauce
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon chipotle in adobo sauce
1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper

• Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
• Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until the onion is soft.
• Add the garlic, chipotle sauce, and flour and cook for one minute.
• Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, salsa, chili powder, oregano, and cumin and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and puree until smooth.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Notes: Makes about 3 1/2 cups, enough for a 9x13 pan of enchiladas.

Question: How do you use up the leftovers from a can of chipotle in adobo?

Chicken Stock

Here’s a pantry staple. I do sometimes buy chicken stock, but I like the flavor of homemade and like to make use of leftover chicken bones. I got started making my own stock with a recipe from my Betty Crocker Cookbook for Chicken and Broth that uses a cut up raw chicken. Occasionally I use still use the raw bones method, but generally I like to use the leftovers from a roasted chicken.

Chicken Stock

1 3-4 lb. rotisserie or roasted chicken

12 baby carrots

2 stalks celery cut into large chunks

1 onion quartered

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs fresh parsley

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

• Take the meat off the chicken—save it for soup, enchiladas, chicken potpie, etc.
• Put the bones, skin, and juice/pan drippings from the chicken into a medium sized pot.
• Add the carrots, celery, onion, bay leaf, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add about 5 cups of water, enough to cover the bones and veggies.
• Bring to a boil with the pot uncovered at medium heat.
• Cover the pot and reduced heat to a simmer. Simmer for 2 hours.
• Strain off broth. Discard the rest. (I do usually save the carrots because the little guy likes them.)
• Pour broth into a gravy separator or refrigerate to make it easier to skim the fat.
• Yields about 5 cups broth and 4 cups chicken.

Notes: You can easily double this recipe; just use a bigger pot. This flavorful stock can be frozen in smaller amounts so that you can take out however much you need at a time.

Question

What is your favorite use for chicken broth?