Summertime Cooking

ON SALE, 99 cents a pint, limit 3 pints. Blueberries on sale? A buck a pint? Be still my fruit loving heart. I could make pie again or...I could try something new. I had come across a recipe for blueberry butter prowling around the web. You know, like apple butter but for blueberries. All that you need is a big pile of blueberries, some sugar and spices and your trusty crockpot. The instructions can be found at the Pick Your Own blog.

These were pretty nice blueberries too. From New Jersey I think. Nine pints of fruit slowly cooked in the crockpot resulting in ten little jars of Blueberry Butter.

But what to use it with first? Luckily the culinary godmother has sent me a recipe that seemed to be perfect for the occasion....Bacon-Jalapeño Cornbread.

Lord knows I've got the cast iron skillet and the bacon goes without saying. And yes, I did put the jalapeños in despite my reluctance but I figured the bacon would rule the cornbread.

(OK, so I went really light on the jalapeños, sue me.)

The blueberry butter turned out well, nice and thick but I think next time I'll use one of the lower sugar content versions. I didn't get as much of the blueberry flavor that I wanted but the constituency is just right. It would be great in some thick Greek yogurt or slopped on a biscuit. Or bacon jalapeño cornbread. But if you're going to run the crockpot for twelve hours in the middle of a brutal two week heat wave, set it out in the garage because the ac bill is going to be high enough as it is and no pile of 99 cent blueberries will save you.

Spicy Edamame

The Culinary Godmother sent me this recipe from The Tasting Table. If you've been in a Japanese restaurant for sushi, more than likely you've started off your meal with an appetizer of warm, salted edamame. These little soy bean pods are just as addictive as pistachios or sunflower seeds. This recipe punches up the flavor with seven different spices.

I passed on adding the Sansho powder since I've never heard of it before and had too much yard work to do to go on a single ingredient hunt in the suburbs of Kansas. I also went with the milder Ancho chili powder because....say it with me...I'm a wimp.

Not too wimpy to plow through a bowl of these. This legume is a great source of protein, easily stored in the freezer and just takes a quick blanching and they are ready to eat. So if you like spicy, healthy snacks, be sure to give this recipe a try.

Snowmageddon 2009

I wasn't supposed to be here. Here being at my house in the Midwest. No, I had a date with some fine Virginia home cooking. Turkey with oyster stuffing, the best mashed potatoes in the world, rich turkey giblet gravy, greens and cranberry sauce. A big date. Not to mention two days of full out grazing on cheese, bread, oyster stew and whatever else my mother and brother would come up with. Instead I got hit full in the face with Snowmageddon 2009. My family got 19 inches of snow in Virginia during the big East Coast storm that fouled up both air and ground traffic earlier in the week. I'm currently sitting at 5 inches of snow with more predicted for tonight and tomorrow. I wasn't going anywhere except the grocery store to stock up on meat and the dvd rental place for some vintage Ab Fab. Still...I was feeling a little......Home Alone-ish. Dang, I knew I forgot something at the store! Old Spice.
I decided to seek solace in cooking up a simple but special meal. Prime Rib Roast, Yorkshire Pudding and Kale with Cranberries.

While I couldn't be with family this Christmas, I am certainly there with them in spirit. I hope where ever you are this holiday season, you are safe, warm and happy. Thanks to all our readers and especially our regular commenters, you guys are the best.

DSS - Thanksgiving - Day 6

Still have some of that wonderful turkey left so I decided to whip up some enchiladas. After some consultation with my culinary godmother, I went with Diana Kennedy's Enchiladas Sencillas recipe and just added my leftover turkey to the filling of onions and cheese.

Enchiladas Sencillas

Serves 6.

Sour Cream:
1/2 pint heavy cream
2 tablespoons buttermilk

Enchiladas:
1/2 cup peanut oil
12 freshly made corn tortillas
2 onions, finely chopped
1 cup grated Chihuahua cheese

Tomato Sauce:
1 pound tomatoes (broiled until blackened on the outside)
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 fresh serrano chiles
2 tablespoons peanut or safflower oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Sour Cream: Mix together heavy cream and buttermilk to make sour cream; set mixture in warm place until it is set, (about 6 hours).

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Blend tomatoes, blackened skin, core, and all, garlic and peppers. Heat the oil and fry the sauce for about 5 minutes, or until it has reduced and thickened. Add the salt; set aside to cool a little. Stir in sour cream and heat through gently. Don't let it boil or it will curdle!

Enchiladas: Heat the oil and fry the tortillas one by one, without letting them become crisp. Dip the tortillas into the warm tomato sauce to lightly cover them. Fill with the onions and cheese. Roll the filled tortillas up loosely and set them side by side in an ovenproof dish. Cover the enchiladas with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese and onion. Heat in the oven for no more than 10 minutes.
Serve immediately.

I like this recipe a lot because you're making a very rustic and smoky tomato sauce. It packs a lot of flavor for such a simple preparation. However next time, I will go with store bought sour cream. 6 hours is a long time to wait for sour cream. One last addition is the addition of a little cilantro to the filling. It tastes wonderful. The turkey soaks up that spicy, smoky tomato sauce and the cheese takes just a bit of the heat off the peppers to give you a nicely balanced, simple dish.
Heritage Turkey, the bird that just keeps on giving.