Apricot Almond Conserve

I used scissors to snip half a pound of dried apricots into strips. I combined the apricot pieces with one cup of golden raisins and three cups of water. I covered the fruit and left it to soak overnight in the fridge.

The next morning, I tipped the fruit into a saucepan and added about a cup of water to make the liquid come halfway to the top of the fruit. I added the grated zest of one orange and simmered the mixture for fifteen minutes. When the fruit was very tender, I added one cup of orange juice and the juice of one lemon and two and a half cups of sugar and cooked the conserve, over medium heat, stirring constantly until it was thick, about thirty minutes. I added half a cup of slivered blanched almonds and cooked it for five minutes more, removed it from the heat, stirred in three tablespoons of amaretto liqueur and ladled the conserve into four sterilized half-pint jars. I sealed them following the manufacturer’s directions, labeled the jars when the conserve had cooled and asked Charles to package them up so that they could be mailed to the Noah and Matthew.

There are labels for these goodies that can be downloaded and printed from my blog, a little gift from me to you.

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Leah comes from Atlanta and was amazed that I had never tasted this party classic. She generously shared the collection of cream cheese dip recipes that she had found in her Junior League cookbooks. Leah is a self-described ‘dump-cook,’ she doesn’t measure ingredients and doesn’t cook what she can buy. She used pepper jelly from the market but I prefer the flavor of homemade hot and sweet red pepper jam. This jam uses liquid pectin to thicken and has never failed to gel. Here’s how I did it:

Sweet and Hot Red Pepper Jam

I used a food processor to chop three medium, seeded and de-ribbed sweet peppers, about two cups, and two medium seeded and de-ribbed hot red peppers. I added half a cup of cider vinegar to the food processor and chopped until the mixture was a very coarse puree.

I put the puree into a medium saucepan along with one cup of cider vinegar and one teaspoon of kosher salt and simmered it, uncovered, for five minutes. I removed it from the heat, measured the mixture and added enough water to make a total of three cups of liquid. I added six and a half cups of sugar, brought the mixture to a full, rolling boil over high heat and boiled it for one minute. I removed it from the heat and stirred in a six-ounce bottle of liquid pectin. I skimmed off the foam, cooled the jam for three minutes, and stirred it to distribute the bits of pepper before I ladled the jam into sterilized half-pint jars and sealed the jars following the manufacture’s directions.

I like this jam with roasted chicken or spread on a roast beef sandwich. Whenever I serve it as she did, I think of Leah and her family, back in Atlanta, and wonder what she’s dumping on cream cheese.

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Here’s how I did it:

Vanilla Extract

I split six vanilla beans and put them into a one-quart mason jar. I added two cups of vodka, pushed the beans down so that they were submerged, put the lid on the jar and put the jar in a dark corner of the pantry. I’ll bottle and label the vanilla extract, along with a piece of vanilla bean just before Christmas. Click here  to download a label for bottles of vanilla extract.

When I make only one jar of vanilla sugar, I get a vanilla bean in the spice aisle at the market. But one vanilla bean costs about five dollars and I needed ten beans to make six jars of vanilla sugar and sixteen ounces of vanilla. Luckily, I found Beanilla.com. It is a source for eight varieties of vanilla beans that are significantly less expensive than those bottled individually.

I got a bit carried away when I ordered vanilla beans but I love the intoxicating scent of vanilla that has filled the house. My next project is to try to make a bottle of brandy-based vanilla extract. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

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Vanilla begins as the seedpod of an orchid native to Mexico. Conquistador was my sister’s favorite word, and I remember when she told me that it was a conquistador, Hernan Cortes, who brought both chocolate and vanilla to Europe in the sixteenth century after observing Montezuma drink a mixture made with cocoa beans, vanilla and honey.

Vanilla grows as a vine with white flowers. The Melipona bee, the only insect that pollinates vanilla, is native to Central America, and so when grown in the tropics anywhere else in the world, vanilla must be pollinated by hand. Vanilla flowers last only one day and growers inspect their plantations every day for open flowers. The beans, actually seedpods formed by the pollinated flowers, are harvested by hand and then cured in a four-step process. The first step, wilting the vanilla beans, is done either by a quick dip in hot water, by freezing, or by heating in an oven or in the sun. Step two, sweating, consists of wrapping the beans in woolen blankets and baking them in the tropical sun. The beans are then dried to prevent rotting and to lock in the aroma. The final step, conditioning, is achieved by storing the beans in closed boxes for a few months. The intensity of labor required to grow and cure vanilla makes it the second most expensive flavoring after saffron.Vanilla sugar brings flavor and aroma to coffee and hot chocolate, is delicious when used to sweetened oatmeal, can be sprinkled on fresh berries or on fruit before it is baked. It’s an easy way to add flavor to meringues, marshmallows or custard and is a gift that makes both cooks and non-cooks happy. The six jars I made will be ready by Christmas. Here’s how I did it:

Vanilla Sugar

I put one vanilla bean, split lengthwise, in each one-pint jars, covered the bean with granulated sugar, put lid on the jar and gave it a shake. That’s it! I put the jars on a shelf in the pantry near the tea so I will be reminded to shake them occasionally. In a couple of weeks, the vanilla will have flavored the sugar and I will be wrap the jars and deliver them to friends. I made a label for the vanilla sugar that lists some of its uses, and suggests that, if the jar is refilled with granulated sugar when half of the sugar has been used and then left to steep for a few days, the vanilla bean will continue to flavor sugar until next Christmas. You can download and print the label HERE.Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Here’s how I made them:

Spicy Hot Chocolate Spoons

I used a double boiler to melt eight ounces of semi-sweet chocolate over simmering water. While the chocolate melted, I sifted together a quarter of a cup of cocoa powder, half a cup of confectioners’ sugar, half a teaspoon of cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and a quarter of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. I omit cayenne pepper when I’m giving these spoons to friends who prefer food without a spicy kick.

When the chocolate was melted, I added two teaspoons of unflavored vegetable oil, anything but olive oil will do, and used a spatula to stir in the sugar/cocoa mixture.

I put one tablespoon of chocolate into the bowls of eight Chinese porcelain spoons that I found in an Asian market. I added a tag to each spoon with the these simple directions: To make a sublime mug of spicy hot chocolate, put six ounces of very hot milk in a mug and stir with this spoon until the chocolate has melted.

I used the remaining chocolate to make chocolate cubes with cinnamon stick stirrers by spooning  the chocolate into plastic ice cube trays and poking a cinnamon stick into each cube before the chocolate hardened. Regardless of how they are packaged, it is important to include directions or the hot chocolate cube will be mistaken for a piece of spicy fudge or a chocolate lollipop.

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Spicy Hot Chocolate List

• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
• 1/4 c cocoa powder
• 1/2 c  confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t cayenne pepper
• a pinch of salt

Last Saturday, I created chocolate turtles consisting of five pecans (the head and four legs), held together with a disc of creamy caramel (the body), and topped with dark chocolate (the shell). Creating chocolate turtles is a three-step process: building each turtle body, making caramel and adding the shell.

Here’s how I made them:

Chocolate Turtles

I arranged the pecans to make the legs and head of thirty turtles on a couple of cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

Making the caramel is fussy work. I stirred constantly and paid close attention so that the caramel didn’t scorch. I combined one cup of sugar, two thirds of a cup of light corn syrup and half a cup of cream in a heavy bottom three-quart pot. I brought the mixture to a boil, covered the pot and let it boil for two minutes and then removed the lid and used a pastry brush dipped into water to wash away any sugar crystals on the sides of the pot. I continued to boil the mixture, stirred constantly until it reached the soft ball stage – 234 degrees F, and then slowly added another half a cup of cream, cooked and stirred until the mixture reached the softball stage again. Then I added the final half-cup of cream and continued to cook and stir the caramel until it reached 244 degrees F – the firm ball stage. I removed the pan from the heat, stirred in one teaspoon of vanilla and formed the turtles by spooning a tablespoon of hot caramel onto each group of five pecans.

For the chocolate shell, I melted twelve ounces of good quality, dark chocolate in a double boiler with hot but not boiling water in the bottom. If the chocolate gets even a tiny drop of water into it, it will seize and become a grainy un-meltable mass. Do not despair if this happens, just add a teaspoon of vegetable oil and stir the seized chocolate until it melts and is shiny again. Spoon the melted chocolate onto the caramel turtle bodies and leave to cool until the chocolate has set.

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Chocolate Turtle List

• 1 pound whole pecans
• 1 c sugar
• 2/3 cup  light corn syrup
• 1 1/2  c  cream – divided
• 1 t vanilla

I think a jar of these lemons will help him. This recipe has only two ingredients and needs no cooking so it is a breeze to make. Here’s how I made it:

Preserved Lemons

I washed four lemons and quartered them lengthwise, leaving the pieces attached at the bottom. I spread them open, removed the seeds and rubbed a tablespoon of kosher salt into the center of each lemon. I packed the lemons into a jar, covered it tightly and put it into the refrigerator. After three days, there was some juice in the bottom of the jar and I added enough fresh lemon juice to cover the lemons.

In four weeks, these lemons will be ready to season braised meat or poultry or to add a zing to salad dressing and pan sauces. I’ll include a note with the lemons telling Daniel to keep the lemons in a cool place and to rinse them before he adds the pulp and rind to his chicken tangine.

The sunny yellow jars filled with lemon treats can  be enjoyed in the gray of winter. If my friends return the jars I will re-fill them in the late summer with pickles and chutneys made with the bounty from my garden.

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Preserved Lemons List

• 4  lemons
• 4 T kosher salt

The relish is perfect as a way to add flavor and moisture to well browned chicken.  It will also add a spark to a ham sandwich. Here’s how I did it:

Lemon Rosemary Relish

I used a vegetable peeler to trim the zest from three scrubbed lemons and then cut the zest into fine julienne. To get rid of the bitter taste, I soaked the zest in boiling water while I prepared the lemons by first removing the white pith and seeds and then cutting the fruit into thin slices.

I combined half a cup of water and three quarters of a cup of sugar in a small saucepan and boiled it until it had thickened, about four minutes. I drained the lemon zest and added it along with two small springs of fresh rosemary to the sugar syrup and boiled it for one minute.

I combined the hot syrup with the lemon slices and put the relish into a one-pint jar. This relish must be aged in the refrigerator for at least two weeks to develop the flavor. It has a fresh flavor because the lemons are not cooked. If stored in the refrigerator, this relish will last until there are new shoots on the rosemary bush in Richard’s garden.

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Lemon Rosemary Relish List

• 3  lemons
• 3/4 c sugar
• 2 small springs  fresh rosemary

Lemons are sunny, versatile fruit that can be used to create sweet and savory treats. Blueberry lemon marmalade is the first of three lemon gifts from my holiday the kitchen.

I made this marmalade for Jeanine, a baker – friend, who will appreciate this delicately tinted pink topper for her homemade scones. Here’s how I made it:

Blueberry Lemon Marmalade

I used a vegetable brush to scrub four lemons before I cut them in half and removed the seeds. I used my sharpest knife to cut the lemons, including the peel, into very thin slices to make two cups of fruit and juice. I put the fruit and juice and six cups of water into a pot, covered it and put it in the unheated pantry over night to soak and soften the rind.

The following morning, I simmered the water and fruit mixture for 20 minutes and then put it back in the pantry. On the third day, I divided the marmalade into four two-cup batches. For each batch of fruit and juice I added one and a half cups of sugar and half a cup of frozen blueberries and boiled the mixture until an instant read thermometer reached 220 degrees F.

I poured the marmalade into eight half-pint jars that had been rinsed in scalding water and drained just before they were filled. I put lids on the jars and then sealed them by processing in boiling water for five minutes. When the marmalade had cooled, I labeled the jars and put them on a shelf in the pantry where they will wait until I’m ready to wrap them.

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Blueberry Lemon Marmalade List

• 4 lemons
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2  c  blueberries