(White) Raspberry Jelly

I bought a box of white raspberries at the local Farmer's Market...enjoyed a few handfuls fresh and made a small batch of jelly with the rest. Recipe works with white or red raspberries. I just had one box from the Farmer's Market, but easy to double (or triple) the recipe amounts. :)

Ingredients

1½ C (white) raspberries

½ C sugar

lemon juice to taste

Directions

Combine berries and sugar; refrigerate 24 hours, stirring occasionally. Macerating the fruit draws the liquid out. Just before cooking, add lemon - a little at a time, taste test as you go until the fruit flavor really 'jumps forward.'

Bring it all to a boil, dissolving all the sugar if it isn't already. At first, there's lots of liquid and it's lighter in color. If foam develops, remove from heat briefly to skim off foam. As it continues to cook, the volume will reduce, the color will darken. The bubbles start to get smaller, shinier and glossier and they form small 'wells' of bubbles. The boiling begins to sound more like a rustling.

If you want a seedless jam (jelly), now is the time to pass the jam through a strainer; then complete the cooking process.

As it nears 'done-ness' it's thick enough that as you draw a spatula across the pan it will clearly leave a track before syrupy-thick jam covers the bottom of the pot again. (see pics & jam making tips) The berries are broken down by this point and the jam is more cohesive, rather than chunks of berries in liquid.

The best test for done-ness' is to remove it from the heat, scoop out a small spoonful and put it in the freezer a few minutes -- just to bring it more quickly to room temperature -- to test the texture for spreadable consistency.

Pour or spoon jam in to sterile jars; seal.

Watermelon Rind Pickles

I grew up attending a small, conservative, evangelical, community church where we regularly had old fashioned potluck suppers in the 'fellowship hall' (making me something of a connoisseur of noodle casseroles by the time I was ten). I don't remember who, if I never knew, but someone there would often bring watermelon rind pickles.

Ingredients
4 C watermelon rind, pink flesh and dark green outer skim trimmed off
8 C water
2 T, and 2 tsp salt, divided
2 C sugar
1¼ C apple cider vinegar
8 cloves
8 whole black peppercorns
2 cinnamon sticks
1 bay leaf
¼ tsp mustard seed
¼ tsp dill
¼ tsp allspice
¼ tsp ginger

Directions
Place rinds, water and 2 T salt in large saucepan; boil for 5 minutes. Strain and place rinds in a clean bowl.

Combine remaining 2 tsp salt and all other ingredients in saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Pour over rinds; cover with plate or plastic wrap to keep rinds submerged. Chill 8 hours or overnight.

I taste tested at this point. I love pickled things, even fairly strong pickle flavor and these tasted great even after ONE brining. Unless you like it really strong, once may be plenty. But the recipe says to...

Return brine to saucepan; bring to a boil. Pour again over rinds; chill 8 hours or overnight.

Watermelon Gelato

This makes a very mild flavored, refreshing gelato. Not as creamy as I'd like, but the icy-ness is not surprising with the high water content of watermelon...I'm afraid adding more cream would weaken the watermelon flavor too much. (maybe a little more limoncello?) I may play with the recipe a little next time around.

Ingredients
2 C pureed watermelon
1 C heavy cream
¾ C sugar
1 T lemon juice
1 T limoncello
Optional: ½ tsp mint extract

Directions
Remove rind from watermelon flesh; remove seeds as desired. Purée; strain to remove any remaining seeds and excess pulp.

Add sugar, cream, lemon, and limoncello...and mint if desired. (Because of the high water content in watermelon, the alcohol -- which doesn't freeze -- keeps the gelato from getting too icy, keeping it a creamier consistency. Any alcohol will work; many recipes call for vodka.) Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. If necessary, heat mixture just enough to dissolve all the sugar.

Chill in refrigerator to about 40˚. Process in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

Ginger 'Beer' (non-alcoholic)

I love ginger. Ginger ale is good, but I've found Cock & Bull ginger beer served at a few local restaurants and I think it's far better. It isn't really beer - it's non-alcoholic for one thing - but has much more intense ginger flavor than any ginger ale soda pop. I found this recipe in a magazine (maybe Cooking Light?) with hopes of finding something roughly equivalent to the Cock & Bull drink I like. I have found that available at a couple local grocery/beverage retailers, but not everywhere. This recipe is not quite the same, but very good - especially if I mix it extra strong!

Ingredients
4 oz ginger, peeled and chopped
2 C water
1 C raw sugar
generous pinch salt

lemon juice
soda water

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat; simmer 45 minutes. Cool. Strain ginger syrup through a fine sieve.

To serve: Combine 2 oz ginger syrup, 1 T fresh lemon juice, and 8 oz chilled soda water.




Pictured: mixed to serve on left, pure ginger syrup on right.

Yellow (or Butternut!) Squash and Feta Grilled Crostini

I have folders full of recipes I want to try, saved over months. They're in a drawer in my kitchen, and I DO get them out and make them. Eventually. The inspiration for this one, however, came from this next month's (July 2015) Better Homes and Gardens. I say "inspiration" because I used butternut squash instead of yellow summer squash (it just needed longer to cook) and I didn't have arugula, so just used my own fresh greens. I was a little too heavy handed with the feta for my taste; I like feta, but it's fairly salty and with the cream cheese spread (with garlic and oregano) under the roasted veggies in this recipe, there's already plenty of cheese. But other than that this was a great, light dinner, or would make a wonderful appetizer as well. I get the magazine, but you can find it here:  BH&G Yellow Squash & Feta Grilled Toast

Savory Danishes

Great for brunch!

Ingredients
12 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
¼ C + 2 T ranch dressing
½ C shredded cheddar
1 egg
2 sheets (1 17.3 oz pkg) puff pastry, thawed but still chilled
½ bell pepper, julienned
14 oz (about) Italian dry salami, thin sliced rounds
½ C shredded Parmesan (or Italian blend) cheeses
1-2 T dill
1 tsp black pepper


Directions
Preheat oven to 375˚. In small bowl, whisk egg with 2 tsp water; set aside.

On lightly floured surface, roll each sheet of puff pastry to 12" square. Cut into 9 squares (approx 4" each), and place on parchment paper lined baking sheets.

Place salami slices, evenly divided, in a diagonal (corner to corner) across each puff pastry square.

Blend cream cheese and ranch dressing until smooth; stir in shredded cheddar until evenly distributed. Divide evenly among puff pastry squares, spreading gently over salami.

Top cream cheese mixture with julienned bell pepper strips.

Pull a corner of each puff pastry square over the filing; brush top of dough with egg wash. Fold opposite corner over egg washed pastry, pressing gently to seal. Repeat with all 18 squares. Brush dough all over with egg wash. 

Combine shredded Parmesan, dill and black pepper. Sprinkle over tops of danishes.

Bake danishes until golden brown and crisp (approx. 30 minutes). Remove from baking sheet promptly to avoid sticking. Best served warm.

Blackberry Danishes

Ingredients
12 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
6 T honey
3 T cornstarch
½ C sugar
1 egg
2 sheets (1 17.3 oz pkg) puff pastry, thawed but still chilled
3½ C blackberries
Optional: 2 T turbinado sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 375˚. In small bowl, whisk egg with 2 tsp water; set aside.

On lightly floured surface, roll each sheet of puff pastry to 12" square. Cut into 9 squares (approx 4" each), and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Blend cream cheese and honey until smooth. Divide evenly among puff pastry squares, spreading gently in a diagonal (corner to corner) across each square.

Combine cornstarch and sugar; gently stir in berries until sugar and cornstarch thickly coat berries. Divide berries evenly, spooning them over the cream cheese mixture on each puff pastry square.

Pull a corner of each puff pastry square over the filing; brush top of dough with egg wash. Fold opposite corner over egg washed pastry, pressing gently to seal. Repeat with all 18 squares. Brush dough all over with egg wash. Sprinkle lightly with turbinado sugar, if desired.

Bake danishes until golden brown and crisp (approx. 30 minutes). Remove from baking sheet promptly to avoid sticking. Serve warm or cold.

Mustard Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
½ C white wine vinegar*
2 T dijon mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1½ C olive oil

* I've seen plenty of recipes that use red wine vinegar as well; it will alter the color a bit, of course, but if it's all you've got (or you prefer its flavor) it'll work fine.

Directions:
Blend together vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper until smooth. Drizzle in olive oil, whisking constantly for a smooth, well blended dressing.

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:
1 C heavy cream
2 T corn syrup
2 T butter
¼ tsp salt
1 C sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped out*

Directions:
In saucepan, combine cream, corn syrup, butter and salt. Bring to simmer, whisking; remove from heat.

Spread sugar evenly in a large skillet. cook over medium heat, undisturbed, until sugar melts and starts to caramelize (about 5 minutes). Continue cooking, swirling the pan but not stirring, until sugar becomes dark amber (10-15 minutes).

Remove from heat. Add warm cream mixture. Return to medium heat and bring to a simmer; continue whisking until smooth (another 8+ minutes). Stir in vanilla seeds. Let cool slightly before serving.

* or 2 tsp vanilla extract

Cranberry Orange Cheesecake Cookies

Ingredients:

½ C butter

½ C shortening

¾ C brown sugar

¾ C sugar

8 oz cream cheese

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 T frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

2¾ C flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp salt

1½ C white chocolate chips

²/₃ C dried cranberries

½ C orange juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Put dried cranberries to soak in a small bowl with orange juice; set aside.

Cream butter, shortening and sugars. Mix in cream cheese until blended. Add eggs, vanilla and orange juice concentrate and blend until smooth.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Add to creamed mixture all at once; mix until just combined. Drain cranberries. Add cranberries and white chocolate chips, blending until evenly distributed.

Drop dough by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheet, 2” apart. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool 1-2 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.