Pear Brandy and Walnut Cranberry Sauce

I remember the first holiday my family switched over from the canned “cranberry” abomination to making our own.  It was my third year in college when I spent a lot of time watching the Food Network instead of writing papers.  Which is not to say I didnt write the papers just that I did the writing at literally the very last second before they were due, editing and printing the papers minutes before catching the bus to class.  All the while frantically praying to the goddess of procrastination,  my long time muse.  I did well in all my classes I was just much more interested my new passions born out of living alone for the first time in a big city; cooking, coffee, and beatnik poetry. 

Unfortunately my last minute writing technique was so successful that its the only way I know how to write to this day.  Which is why I often neglect this blog unless someone in my life writes me an email that basically amounts to “blog today or else...”  So if Ive been promising to write about something fabulous I fed you or told you about or a recipe you sent me to try and it isnt blogged about yet, you need to write me a kind but pressing email telling me to hurry up and write about whatever it is.  It works, promise.

Anyway somewhere along the line in the plethora of cooking shows I was watching I got the itch to make real cranberries since my brother was and still is ion love with all versions of cranberry sauce.  So I bought cranberries and enlisted my little brother to help me make them.  We just cooked the simple version off the back of the bag.  Equal parts sugar and water, the bag of cranberries and boil until the berries burst. 

We were fascinated watching the berries burst all over the pot which my mother heard from the other room and probably imagined as something much more dangerous than what was actually happening because she came to watch too.  It really is the simple pleasures in life because we had more fun making those berries than most of the rest of dinner and they were delicious, we never went back to buying the canned stuff

As the holidays went on we got creative and started adding orange zest or cinnamon and comparing them hot versus how good they were cold.  Soon my brother and I were making 3 or 4 batches of cranberries to feast on  while home for the holidays.  It became an obsession and is still a holiday tradition to make too many cranberries.  I certainly wasnt going to shun the tradition this year but since Im making a habit of making new and interesting food I knew I would have to up the ante on the creativity of the cranberries this year.

The fella and I made these for Thanksgiving and fell in love.  They are the best cranberries ever.  With brandy, pears, and walnuts how could you possibly go wrong.  Though they take a little effort they are very much worth it and will wow everyone at the table.  My family, the fella, the chef and I made these disappear very quickly.  We ate them with dinner, then a little bit after dinner, then for dessert, then on top of dessert.  They are great alone but on top of coconut ice cream they are divine.  Dip in a gluten free Christmas cookie and you may never leave the table.  Or you may become so drunk on cranberries you end up playing hours of ridiculous card games.  Either way you will be very happy.

Funny to think my cooking obsession started with cranberries and has led me to French cooking and a food blog.  From playing with food with my little brother to my brother being old enough to drink and me cooking with these two crazy lovable guys.  From living for a year in Iowa with no kitchen to making gourmet meals every night. 

Okay enough end of the year nostalgia.  Its been an amazing journey 2009 but its time to move on to frog legs and shirataki noodles.  In other words, you  havent seen anything yet.

Oh and will someone convince Jacob to share with the rest of the world what he did to the turkey?  It was the best turkey Ive ever tasted and I wasnt around to watch his secret ninja cooking techniques to find out what he did.

Pear, Brandy and Walnut Cranberry Sauce

1/3 cup, plus 2-3 tablespoon brandy, divided use

water

2 cinnamon sticks, each broken in half

8 black peppercorns

12 ounces fresh cranberries, picked over

1/2 cup agave nectar

2 medium firm but ripe bartlett pears, peeled

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

 Pour 1/3 cup brandy into liquid measuring cup; add enough water to reach 1/2 cup liquid total. Set aside. Place broken cinnamon sticks and peppercorns in center of small piece of cheesecloth or large tea bag and tie closed using kitchen twine.

In medium saucepot, combine cranberries, agave nectar and cinnamon-pepper bundle. Using large holes on a box grater, grate pears into saucepot. Stir in brandy-water mixture.

Over high heat, bring cranberry mixture to a boil; reduce heat to medium and cook 10-12 minutes, or until cranberries have burst and the mixture has combined, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Stir in remaining 2 to 3 tablespoons brandy. Let cool. Remove and discard cinnamon bundle. Stir in 7 tablespoons toasted walnuts. Transfer mixture to small serving bowl; sprinkle with remaining walnuts.

Original recipe from Food 52.

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Low Calories Breakfast

#1 Mixed grain bread with a little almond butter, sliced banana, raisins on top, and a sprinkling of cinnamon; serve with a glass of low fat milk.

#2 High fiber cereal, topped with mixed nuts, dried fruit, and a small glass of calcium fortified soy milk.

#3 Natural yoghurt mixed with a chopped apple, berries, and whole grain cereal; served with 100% whole orange juice.

#4 Healthy granola bar, one orange, and a glass of low fat milk.

#5 Whole wheat English muffin, toasted and thinly spread with reduced fat cottage cheese, topped with sliced pineapple; serve with a glass of 100% whole fruit juice.

#6 Natural yoghurt, topped with mixed berries, a teaspoon of ground flaxseeds, a slice of whole grain toast; and a cup of green tea.

#7 Swiss muesli - combine 2 cups of rolled oats, and 1 cup low fat milk or fruit juice, cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning add 2 grated apples, 1/4 chopped hazelnuts, and 200g of low fat honey yoghurt, mix well (serves 4).

#8 Whole wheat English muffin topped with melted reduced fat cheese, a sliced tomato, and a sliced hard-boiled egg; served with a small glass of 100% pure fruit juice.

#9 Scrambled egg, sprinkled with a teaspoon of ground flaxseeds; served with mixed grain bread, fresh fruit salad, and a small glass of low fat milk.

#10 Cooked oats topped with raisins, dried cranberries, sliced bananas, and calcium fortified soy milk.

#11 Brown rice or barley - cook the night before, then in the morning top with some raisins, sliced apple, a sprinkling of cinnamon, and a little reduced fat milk.

#12 Whole wheat pita half topped with grilled Canadian bacon, a little reduced fat cottage cheese, tomatoes, and mushrooms; serve with 100% pure fruit juice.

#13 Fruit smoothie – add strawberries, kiwi, and a banana to the blender, a cup of natural yoghurt, one teaspoon of ground flaxseeds, and a cup of crushed ice.

#14 Mini wheat cereal, dried fruit, mixed nuts, place in a plastic bag and eat on the way to work with a thermos cup of low fat milk.

#15 Breakfast burrito – scrambled eggs, chopped tomatoes, and a little grated reduced fat cheese, wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla, served with green tea and a slice of fresh ginger.

#16 Whole grain bread topped with kippers, or smoked salmon, and sliced tomatoes; serve with two small apricots, and a cup of low fat milk.

#17 Homemade granola – mix 2 cups rolled oats, 1 cup of wheat cereal, 1 cup dried fruits and seeds, 1/4 cup of flaked coconut.

#18 Multi grain English muffin, toasted and spread with peanut butter, topped with sliced apples, and served with a small glass of calcium fortified soy milk.

#19 Multi grain cereal, topped with raisins, a sliced banana, and low fat milk.

#20 Healthy “blobs” – mix 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk, 3 cups crushed flake cereal, and 2 tablespoons honey. Form into “blobs” (should make 10). Wrap each blob in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Grab a couple with a travel cup of skim milk and go! (From Nutritionist Alana Unger)

#21 Whole wheat bagel topped with reduced fat cottage cheese, sprinkled with flaxseed; serve with a small bowl of mixed berries, and a cup of herbal tea.

#22 Scrambled tofu, with onions, and peppers, a dash of light soy sauce, and stir-fry with a little olive oil. Serve with whole grain toast, and a glass of calcium fortified soy milk.

#23 Sandwich made with lean ham or turkey, in whole grain bread, topped with sliced tomatoes, and a small glass of reduced fat milk.

#24 Mini whole grain bagel, topped with almond butter, sliced apples, and a glass of 100% whole orange juice.

#25 Sliced melon tossed in a bowl with the pulp of one passion fruit, topped with natural yoghurt, and a handful of muesli.

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Low Glycemic Ice Cream

Ive been a neglectful blogger, too busy wining and dining friends and just plain drinking wine to find time to post. Tonight I discovered something while shopping that Im too excited not to share immediately. Low glycemic index coconut milk ice cream!

Three months with no ice cream is no way to live. So when I saw this peaking out of freezer case among all the other crazy and expensive frozen treats at Whole Foods I knew even at $5.99 a pint it was coming home with me. I clutched it to my chest and ran to the fella where he was peacefully shopping for vitamins and panted something about “Must...have...now...yum.” Once I got out the words “sugar free” he gladly tossed in our basket, still looking at me like a crazy person hyperventilating over ice cream.

This was worth every penny. It was the best ice cream Ive ever had which is odd considering there is nothing traditionally ice creamy about it aside from being cold. Its dairy free combination of coconut milk and hazelnuts which made is super creamy and sinful. Its sweetened with agave nectar. And its loaded with chocolate and hazelnut chunks. It is delightful. If the fella hadnt been watching there would have been little to keep me from eating the whole pint in one sitting.

Sometimes this diet and its restrictions gets me down. There are a number of days I just want to say screw it and go drown myself in a huge baguette slathered in mayo and deli meat. It would be so easy. No more complicated menus or being picky in restaurants or explaining why I cant eat such and such a thing for the millionth time. Then out of the blue I stumble upon something like this ice cream and the blind excitement of that discovery that makes it worth it. The successes are worth the work. Oh yeah and the living longer and going down two sizes isnt too bad either.

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Lime Honey Does it help in losing weight

Lime juice is a very rich source of vitamin C which helps in boosting the immunity and is a “Liver Detoxifier” while “Honey” is a better form of sugar, which provides many Vitamins & Minerals and is an energy booster; which keeps us active throughout by enhancing our work performance there by resulting in calorie burn. But still moving and exercising is must along with this for weight loss.

Calories in honey negate your weight loss efforts?

You are right - honey contains sugar. But unlike refined sugar, honey contains vitamins and minerals too. Normally, to digest sugar, the vitamins and minerals stored in body are utilized, rendering the body devoid of these nutrients. These nutrients are essential to dissolve fats and cholesterol. Thus when you eat too much sugar you tend to increase weight not just because of the calories but due to lack of vitamins and minerals. On the contrary, honey being a good source of nutrients helps you in reducing weight.

Honey and warm water: Normally fat remains as an un-used resource in your body adding bulk and weight. It is believed that honey mobilizes this stored fat. When this fat is burnt to provide energy for your daily activities, you see a gradual decrease in your weight and obesity levels. It is suggested that you drink this honey (about one tablespoon daily), with equal amount of warm water.

Honey and lemon juice: Honey can also help in weight loss when consumed with warm water and lemon juice. Many people drink this formula first thing in the morning to reduce their weight.

Honey also improves your digestion and thus helps in weight loss. Hence honey is also consumed after dinner especially after overeating.

The latest theory based on the hibernation diet also builds a link between fructose-rich honey and weight loss. It suggests taking a generous spoonful or two of honey at night, either as a warm drink or straight from the jar, and promises to help us sleep and lose weight at the same time by fuelling the liver, speeding up fat-burning metabolism and easing stress hormones.

The good news is that honey, a natural sweetener, contains 22 amino acids and a variety of minerals essential for its metabolism and hence is helpful in preventing obesity. It is believed that drinking lemon juice with a little honey the first thing in the morning is an effective anti-cellulite treatment as it helps to increase body metabolism. If you are determined to shed weight and speed up your sluggish metabolism, try this honey and lemon diet tip.

From: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/ And  http://www.organicfacts.net/

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Organic Gluten Free Low GI Double Down Insanity

Unless you are very lucky or have been living under a rock you may have heard of the new sandwich Kentucky Fried Chicken recently released called the Double Down.  It is two breaded chicken patties (or you can get the grilled version if youre watching your girlish figure), bacon, cheese, and the frightening sounding Colonels sauce which is basically spicy mayo.  No bun, no bread, instead it gets wrapped up in a baggy so the copious amounts of grease dont roll down your sleeve.  Sounds great, right?

It has been impossible to ignore especially as a serious foodie.  At least once a day someone is talking (okay usually rending their hair at the creations ick factor) about this sandwich.  The Jamie Olivers of the world are declaring it the food equivalent of the apocalypse and basically acting like it will be the down fall of civilization.  While the Anthony Bourdains shrug at its impressive caloric content while admitting that it kind of looks like it would be fun to try just once.

I fall somewhere in the middle.  It is a rather unnecessary calorie bomb and the world doesnt really need another bit of junk food.  On the other hand people already eat crap and this actually isnt near to the worst thing you can get in the world of fast food.  Its kind of impressive actually how much press this silly breadless sandwich has gotten and though they are a bit late to the trend it was nice to see a low carb option being marketed.

But mostly Im just sick of hearing about it.  So after an acquaintance of mine ate one and lived to write about it I decided I would make a Double Down that I could eat.  It would be my protest against fast food to try to make a less coronary inducing version of this monstrosity.  The joke was on me however.  By trying the old low carb meat dredging trick of substituting ground nuts for breading  I may have actually made a sandwich even worse for you than the original.  Now that is impressive!

I did however make it will all organic and gluten free ingredients which is not something you are ever going to find in a fast food restaurant any time soon.  So with that small victory I will admit the most embarrassing part of this whole qualifier heavy post is this... 

This was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten!

There I admitted it and as an proponent of healthy eating I shall now hang my head in shame.  The thing is though, Michael Pollan is right, if you are going to eat something this bad for you then you should make it for yourself for two reasons.  One is you can control the quality of the ingredients, limit the calories where possible and if you have to take the time to prepare it you cant impulse eat it.  And secondly after you learn what goes into certain things and how gross and greasy they are you will never ever want to put them in your mouth again.

For example I decided to make homemade mayonnaise for this recipe because I never had before and didnt want to buy a tub of it at the store.  Like so many things Julie Child makes it sound so freaking easy.  This woman had to have the arms of an ox because halfway through the process the fella and I were all out of arm strength in all of our combined appendages.  And after whipping a cup and a half of oil into two egg yolks I realized how sickening mayonnaise is, now that I really truly know what goes into it I have no desire to ever consume it again. 

Which is how I ended up feeling about this entire experiment; it was a fun adventure but I will never do it again.  In fact if I had to suggest to someone how to make a less evil Double Down I would say add some cayenne to the breading, skip the bacon and go light on the cheese.  The mayo and the bacon added nothing to the sandwich.  I know, its blasphemy to speak poorly of bacon but hear me out. 

The fake KFC seasoning mixed in with the ground pecans were what really made this a treat.  That was the truly delicious part and the copy cat blend of spices did taste amazingly like how I remember the real Kentucky Fried Chicken tasting.  So I would perhaps bread chicken that way again in the future.  The other crazy piles of stuff on this sandwich and the extra chicken breast are really just for show.  And it succeeded, we now how far KFC is willing to go to get press.  It worked, were talking about them, even I gave in to the trend.  Darn it.

Organic Gluten Free Low GI Double Down Insanity

1 cup finely ground pecans

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon onion salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon dried powdered rosemary
1/4 teaspoon dried powdered thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 egg 

1/4 cup rice flour

2 large chicken breasts

4 tablespoons oil

4 pieces of cooked bacon

4 slices of cheese (I used organic goat "cheddar")

2 tablespoons of spicy mayo (recipe to follow)

Using a spice or coffee grinder, finely chop the pecans.  They will turn wet and sticky very quickly while being ground so make sure to watch their consistency so that you dont end up with pecan butter.  Also use the grinder to powder any of the spices that arent already ground.  Mix the spices and the ground pecans in a shallow bowl.

Whisk the egg in another shallow bow and set aside.  Place the rice flour in yet another shallow bowl.

Using a mallet pound the chicken breasts until they are an even thickness, about 1/4 inch.  You should have two very large mostly flat chicken breasts.  Cut each into 2 equal sized pieces so that you now have four pieces of thin chicken breast.

Warm the oil over medium high heat in a non-stick pan while you batter the chicken.  First dust the chicken breast with the rice flour.  Next coat the chicken in the egg.  Lastly dredge the chicken in the pecan and spice mixture until well coated.  When the oil is warm pan fry each piece of chicken, trying to avoid burning the pecan coating by flipping the chicken often and keeping the temperature low.  Cook until the inside of the breasts are cooked through then set aside.

Place two chicken breasts on a plate to beginning assembling the sandwich. Place two slices of bacon and  2 pieces of cheese on one of the chicken breasts and 1 tablespoon of the mustard on the other breast.  Fit the two prepared chicken breasts together like a sandwich.  Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make the second sandwich.

Copycat KFC seasonings from this website.

Spicy Mayo

1/4 mayo (make your own or from a jar if you like)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon paprika 

In a small bowl mix everything together well.

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Teriyaki Pork Sandwiches

Dan and I are trying to stick to a budget as much as possible these days. One of the ways we have tried to do that is cooking at home instead of eating out so much. And... lets face it... this will soon be our life once this baby comes so I might as well get some practice in. Anyways, here I go again trying to domesticate myself ;)

Teriyaki Pork Sandwiches (budgetbytes.com)

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. pork butt roast (boston butt)
• 1 medium sweet onion
• 1 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1 can (15 oz.) pineapple slices
• 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 8 pack hamburger/sandwich buns 

Slice the onion and place it in the bottom of your slow cooker.

Remove the pork roast from it’s wrapper and remove any netting surrounding the meat (if any). Cut the pork roast into a few large chunks and place in a single layer in the slow cooker. If desired, trim fat from the pork roast before placing in the slow cooker.

Pour one cup of teriyaki sauce over the pork roast. Pour the juice from the can of pineapple into the slow cooker as well. Save the pineapple slices to top the sandwiches later.

Cover the slow cooker and turn on high heat for two hours then reduce to low heat for another 4 hours. If you do not have a programmable slow cooker or are not home to adjust the heat, set the slow cooker on low for 8 hours.

Carefully remove the lid after 6-8 hours and remove the pork chunks. They should fall apart and shred easily with a fork. Stir 3 Tbsp of flour into a half cup of water then whisk into the juices left in the slow cooker. Set the heat to high, put the lid on and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Stir once half way through.

The juices should have thickened after adding the flour and simmering. Return the shredded meat to the pot and stir into the teriyaki gravy. Serve 1 cup of meat and gravy over a toasted bun with a pineapple slice on top!

This meal wasnt too bad and we had A LOT of leftovers which was nice! Adding all the sauce back to shredded meat made it kind of runny... so if I could do it over again I wouldnt add all the sauce at once but instead just a little bit to each individual sandwich. We paired the sandwiches which chips and dip ;) Easy peasy!

Dan gave this meal 4 out of 5 stars... Hey Ill take it!

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