Pondering Mulled Cider

My post seemed well-timed for the end to this Christmas season (which ended, as far as I know, on Saturday, with the Orthodox Christmas Day). After all, a hot beverage is perfect in winter, it's easy to prepare in large quantities to share at holiday gatherings, and what with the pondering Mary supposedly did (seriously, does not every other verse about Mary say she "pondered...in her heart"?), a mug of mulled cider seems very apropos. Now, of course, I didn't hit the "Publish Post" button until after the holidays are over, so perhaps you'll call me on that one. But I was writing it during the holidays. ;-)

I used to make mulled apple cider by adding three ingrediant together:  apple cider (which, for all intents and purposes, in today's grocery is identical to apple juice. I think a distiction used to be there because cider wasn't pasturized, but that's no longer true, at least in non-speciality stores); cinnamon sticks; cloves. And the only direction I used was this:  heat until hot.

I have since learned that mulled cider can (and should) be much more.  Mollie Katzen has the best home-mulled cider recipe I've found (and just because it's the only mulled cider recipe I've found is irrelivant).


     Mulled Cider from Sunlight Cafe



Note: I couldn't find my copy of Sunlight Cafe, which is why this post is late, but here's the basic gist and I'll update with exact specifications once I lay my hands on my cookbook!

• container of apple cider (or, if you're feeling fancy, your own home-pressed cider!)
• peppercorns, whole (aprox 10)
• cloves, whole (aprox 10)
• cinnamon sticks, whole (aprox 2)
• cardomom pods (aprox 5)
• ginger, fresh

Pour the apple cider into the pot or crockpot. Break up the cinammon sticks into 4 or 6 pieces. Peel and slice up some ginger (I found 1" pieces were good). Add the cinnamon, ginger, and other spices to the cider (either loose or contained within a mulin bag or cheesecloth). Steep and warm on med-low heat for at least an hour or two (though can be drunk [dranken? drinken?] as soon as the temperature appeals to you).

Aromatic. Tasty. Simple. But not boring. This is world-class apple cider. Mmmm....


     

Sweet Potato Sadness

So, overall Thanksgiving was happy and tasty. But... there was one hiccup. Perhaps the worst thing (culinarily) is when you present a recipe made of quality ingredients in the highest of hopes and it doesn't thrill anyone, not even yourself. And it's not because of a mistake the cook made, it's just... the food. That's what happened with my sweet potatoes this year.

Rather than go the typical SAD route of dousing them with sugar and animal hoof goo (i.e. marshmallows) or after baking them in their own skins and splitting them to be served with butter and salt (my favorite!) I tried out a recipe that, well, just didn't work out as I'd wished.

From Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions:

Sweet Potato Puree 

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• grated rind of two lemons
• juice of two lemons
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Boil potatoes in water until tender and then peel while still hot. Place them in a bowl, mash and mix with butter, lemon rind, lemon juice, egg yolks and sea salt. Transfer mixture to a buttered ovenproof casserole and bake in a 350-degree oven for about 1/2 hour.

Frankly, this dish tasted really "healthy," which, as healthy as sweet potatoes actually are, wasn't was I was looking for in a Thanksgiving dish. Left alone to bake, sweet potatoes are divine, sweet, earthy (can something be earthy and divine? If so, it's this root!). This dish was too bright (because of the lemon) and too rich (because of the egg yolk). I forced myself to finish the dollop on my plate and will brave through the leftovers, but I'm not gonna enjoy them. Sadness.

Next time I'll just roast 'em up and let 'em shine on their own---sweet potatoes really don't need anyone to fuss over them. I've learned my lesson.

Thanksgiving Review

Hope your Thanksgiving was as blessed as mine! My husband and I and our girls celebrated at home, just the four of us this year, so we held back on creating too many dishes (okay, my husband reminded me to hold back), and it all turned out very well, over all. I'll be setting up the hyperlinks to my posts on the dishes below as I have time to write them. Stay tuned!

New dishes:
Onion-Cranberry Compote (see below)
Sweet Potato Puree
Cranberry Pie with Whole Wheat Crust

Dishes I've mentioned before:
Sandy's Gingered Squash
Cranberry Sauce


And Justin slow-roasted a turkey and we had Riesling, sparkling pear juice, and coffee.

Really very good!



As an alternate to my usual sweetened cranberry sauce I decided to try out a more savory version this year. And it was good. Very good. (Is it disturbing that so far my only greatest Thanksgiving acheivements can be categorized under "sauce, cranberry")?

From Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions:

Onion-Cranberry Compote

• 1 1/3 cup raisins [the recipe calls for both yellow & dark raisins, I just used all dark]
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 2 lbs small white onions, peeled [I used 1 large yellow onion]
• 3 Tbls butter
• 3/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 2/3 cups fresh cranberries

Soak raisins in water for 10 mins. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute onions in butter until well coated. Add raisins with soaking liquid and remaining ingredients except cranberries. Liquid should just cover the onions--if not, add a little water. Simmer, covered, for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove cover, add cranberries and simmer uncovered for 15 to 30 mins until liquid has thickened. Let cool. Maybe made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Serve at room temperature. Makes 4 cups.

What I most liked about this recipe was it blended so well with the rest of the holiday food! Truly a delicious relish. I personally plan to make this one again next year. Not to replace the sweeter version, but to complement it and give diners a more flavorful plate.

I Cooked Borscht!!!

That's right, I actually got myself into the kitchen and cooked something from one of my cookbooks! I think it was the scent of woodburning stoves permeating the neighborhood this morning; just seemed like a day when one should be in the kitchen, making something warm and nourishing.

I chose to make borscht, since we have a garden full of beets and onions and received even more beets and onion--not to mention tons of raw garlic--in our CSA this weekend.

What I like about this recipe is that it uses the entire beet--root with peel and leaves and stems--not just a peeled root. Waste not, want not!

From The New Laurel's Kitchen

Whole Beet Borscht

• 1 small onion [I used two]
• 1 clove garlic [I used three!]
• 2 tsp oil [I used extra virgin olive oil]
• 2 Tbls flour
• 5 cups stock or water [I used some of the frozen stock we still have saved from this spring]
• 1 bunch beets and their greens (3 large or 6 small) [I tossed in a few extra]
• 1 potato
• 1 carrot
• 1 stalk celery
• 1/2 small cabbage
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 Tbls tomato past or 2 fresh tomatoes, chopped [I used the fresh option, since I had them on hand]

Chop onion and saute with garlic clove in oil. Mash garlic clove when onion is translucent and browning. Stir in flour and cook gently for a minute. Add stock or water and bring to a boil.

Meantime, trim roots of beets, saving the good leaves and stems. Grate beets, potato, and carrot, or slice them thin. Slice celery thin. Add these and simmer 10 minutes while you shred the cabbage and chop the beet leaves and stems small. Add these and bay leaf, salt, pepper, honey and tomato to the vegetable mixture. Simmer until all vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf.

Makes 10 cups.

Mmmm. Nothing quite like beets. You either love 'em or you hate 'em. You've probably already figured-out which side of that fence my family and I are on...

Post In Which I Discuss Frugalness & Cranberries

I actually thought my cookbook buying days were ending. No longer can I pop into Saint Vincent de Paul's and find books for $1.00. No, they've increased their prices to a bloated $3.00-$4.00 a cookbook. And I cannot abide it.

I've held in my hand several Frugal Gourmet cookbooks these past months, nearly talking myself into a splurge. But I've always finally held off, not convinced that my fanatical need for cookbooks is at the stage where I pay more than $2.00 a pop. Especially for a cookbook which contains "Frugal" in its title.

Today, my patient tightwadedness feels triumphant. I can still find cookbooks for less than a buck here in Madison:  at my local library's book sale. I arrived in time for their "we'll sell you anything you can fit into this bag for $3" clearance. And did I ever manage to pack my paper bag full. I believe even a professional grocery store bagger would have been impressed. Final total: sixty-three books, five of which were cookbooks. My haul included Jeff Smith's The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American, which I well remember from my younger days (having read many of Jeff Smith's books and spending hours watching his show on PBS). So HAH, Saint Vincent's! I just bought a cookbook for less than $0.10 and I more than ever convinced that your new $4.00 prices are rip-offs.

Don't be scared-off by the odd Boy Scouts/granny/turkey photo on the front cover. This is a good book!

So, you ask, upon my initial review of the book, what have I discovered? Let me tell you. The chapter on cranberries. It's nearly cranberry season, and I literally had no idea the amazing options we'll soon have. Oh yes, it's beyond sauce. Far beyond. There's going to be:

• Cranberry Fool (sweetened cranberries, almond extract, orange peel & whipping cream)
• Cranberry Cheddar Sandwiches (buttered bread spread with cranberry sauce and cheddar, broiled)
• Cranberry Pie (berry pie! using cranberries!)
• Cranberry Dumplings (Mr. Smith warns that these are addictive)

and

• Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries (fresh cranberries added to a sweet potato souffle)

That's right. I'm actually vowing to begin cooking again soon. Within the month. Exclusively with cranberries.

What?