Apple cranberry sauce

Adjust the proportions here according to taste; they can vary pretty widely. Mine comes out quite tart and not too sweet.

Note that applesauce requires almost no water; you just add enough to allow the apples to steam themselves into a sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 lbs granny smith or other sour apple, peeled, cored and quartered
  
• 1 lb. fresh cranberries, rinsed
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
  
• 4 cloves, whole
  
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Mix thoroughly and turn heat to low. Let cook for 8-10 hours, stirring occasionally. Mash before serving. Refrigerate unused portion.

Ashkenazi Charoset

During the Passover holiday, when Jews tell the story of the biblical Exodus from Egypt, one of the ritual foods we eat is a paste called charoseth. Consisting of sweet fruit, nuts and wine, charoseth symbolizes the mortar which the ancient Israelites were said to have used during their enslavement to the Pharaoh.

Whereas Ashkenazi Jews tend to eat coarse, moist charoseth made from fresh fruit such as apples, Sephardic Jews prefer a smooth concoction made primarily from dried fruits. For a Sephardic charoset, see the 'Fig and Banana Paste' recipe below.

The most basic recipe for Ashkenazi charoset is to combine 2 parts chopped apples with 1 part chopped almonds or walnuts, then add about 1 tbsp. extra sweet red wine and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon for every apple used.

Here I have used some dried fruit, which was an action motivated out of desperation as I ran out of walnuts and had added too much cinnamon. But the results were good.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 crisp apples (such as Fuji or Gala), peeled and cored
  
• 3/4 cup walnuts
  
• 3/4 cup black raisins
  
• 6 black mission figs
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. honey
  
• 1/4 cup extra sweet red wine
  
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves

RECIPE:

1. Chop the apples with the sharpest chopping knife you have (to prevent bruising) and immediately combine with lemon juice in a bowl.
2. Chop the walnuts by hand or in a food processor into 1/4" pieces. When chopping hard foods by hand, make sure that you cut with the rear of the blade (closest to your hand) while steadying the knife from the front with your off hand. This will keep the food from flying off the cutting board.
3. Chop the raisins and figs in the same fashion.
4. Combine all ingredients.

Serve within a few hours. It will still be delicious for a couple of days, but it will discolor and grow less crisp as time goes on.

Fig and Banana Paste

This rich, smooth fruit and nut butter is one of the most attractive toppings for crackers or bread that I've ever tasted. It is a dark, intense paste with the consistency of peanut butter and a rich, aromatic body. Top with a bit of goat cheese on toasted baguette for a formidable hors d'oeuvre.

I originally posted it as a Sephardic charoseth recipe, and indeed it is based on one, but I simply felt it was unfair to limit it to that role.

INGREDIENTS:

• 20 black mission figs
• 1/4 cup raisins (dark or golden)
• 1 banana
  
• 1/4 cup very sweet red wine
  
• 3 tbsp. honey
• 3/4 cup walnuts
• 3/4 cup almonds (chopped, slivered or sliced)
  
• 1 tsp. fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1 tsp. cloves
• 1 fresh jalapeño, stem and seeds removed (optional)
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put the figs in a food processor and puree for about a minute. (You may want to hold onto the food processor for this.)
2. Add the banana, honey and wine and jalapeño to the food processor and continue to pulverize for another minute or two.
3. Add the nuts and spices and continue to process until smooth, which may take several minutes.

Refrigerate if preparing ahead of time. Serve at room temperature.

Sausage with sweet and sour pears

Another gem from Rafael Pereira's tapas class. This has some of the fruit-and-wine flavors of sangria in a food context. This is a fine example of the kinds of foods that keep me from ever going strictly kosher. However, I think that this could be kosher-ified by replacing the sausage with a spicy beef meatball.

UPDATE 4/26/08: I tried this with apples and it was still quite tasty. Use crisp apples. Also, a clarification: do not peel the fruit. Finally, a thickener such as cornstarch is recommended. I have updated the recipe to reflect all three of these things.

UPDATE 6/29/08: I tried this with peaches and chourizo. Very delicious. Use somewhat under-ripe peaches so that they hold their shape. Also, when using a softer sausage like chourizo, consider cooking it in larger pieces and then cutting it into diagonals. This way, it will hold the shape that you cut much better.


INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 lbs (1 package) linguica, sliced 30 degrees askew into 1/4" slices
• 1 cup sugar if using dry wine, or 1/2 cup sugar if using sweet wine
  
• 1 cup red wine vinegar (or 3/4 cup white vinegar and 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar)
  
• 1 cup red wine (if using sweet wine, reduce the amount of sugar)
  
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 pears (Rafael used green; I prefer Bosc or Asian) or crisp apples, cored and cut up (not peeled)
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine the sugar, vinegar, wine and cinnamon in a saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil and let simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
3. Add pears and let simmer, covered, for 20 more minutes.
4. Let this mixture sit out (at room temperature) overnight.
5. THE NEXT DAY, remove the pairs from the sauce and set aside.
6. Bring the sauce to a simmer; add the linguica and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
7. Remove the linguica to the container with the apples, keeping the liquid in the saucepan.
   
8. Stir the cornstarch into two tablespoons of water (or wine or vinegar, if you prefer), then stir this mixture into the sauce. Allow to thicken for a couple of minutes at low heat, stirring occasionally.
   
9. Pour the sauce over the linguica and apples and serve.

Candied citrus fruits / Citrus syrup

This is a two-fer kind of recipe. After you've done it, you've got two wonderful things: candied citrus fruits, and citrus syrup.

Add water or seltzer to the syrup (along with lemon juice if you want it tart) and you've got a delicious beverage, iced or hot. For a beautiful mojito, mix it with seltzer, lemon juice, rum and fresh mint. Pour hot over ice cream. The possibilities are endless. If you want to get fancy, you could throw a little mint or ginger in with the fruit while they're cooking, which will further improve the syrup.

A lot of people use candied oranges or lemons as the base of a more complex candy, but I think they're fine just like this. Muchas gracias to this orange candy recipe, which showed me that you really need an unbelievable amount of sugar for this to work.

If you're new to cooking and don't know what kinds of pots to use: for things that get very hot, such as frying oil or candy, you really want to stay away from nonstick and aluminum in favor of a non-reactive, heat-tolerant metal pan such as stainless steel or (if you can afford it), copper.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2-3 lbs. oranges, lemons, limes or grapefruit
• 5 cups granulated sugar (divided use)
• 2 cups water
• Dash of salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Slice the citrus fruits in half through the axis with the stems. (That is, if you had a navel orange, you'd be cutting the navel in half on one end, and the green stem at the other end.) Slice the halves into 1/4" thick slices, leaving the peel intact.
   
2. In a deep, non-reactive skillet or a saucepan, add the water, salt and 3 cups of sugar and combine.
3. Bring to a boil (warning: this will be much hotter than 212˚ F!).
4. Add fruit with a slotted spoon and reduce to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, occasionally pushing down pieces that are on top.
5. Turn off heat and allow the mixture to cool.
6. Transfer the fruit to a cookie rack to dry.(You probably want to put something under that cookie rack.) Don't put them on top of each other or they'll stick!
7. Strain the syrup through a fine strainer into a glass jar. The syrup will be very thick and have an intense, mildly bitter taste (like fresh marmalade).
8. Allow the fruit to dry for 24 hours or more.
   
9. Dredge the fruit in sugar.
10. If you have time, you could let them dry for another day; otherwise, they're ready to serve.
    

The candy will keep reasonably well in an airtight container. Arrange the fruit in layers, separated by wax paper, so they won't stick together. Enjoy!

Sour cranberry applesauce

I think this tart applesauce is absolutely delicious. It's also very easy and you can use old apples for it. I'm planning on serving it with sweet potato latkes and sour cream. A variation I'd like to try is to use fresh rhubarb in addition to, or in place of, the cranberries. If you do that, compensate with extra lemon juice; rhubarb, though tart, is not as sour as cranberries.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4-5 lbs. apples, peeled and cored (firm, crunchy apples like Granny Smith and Golden Delicious are good)
• 12 oz. package fresh cranberries
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp. nutmeg
• 4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. whole allspice (or 1/2 tsp. ground)
  
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 cup water
• Granulated sugar to taste (I used about half a cup)

RECIPE:

1. Cut the apples into quarters. Combine all ingredients except white sugar in a pot.
2. Heat until water is boiling, then reduce heat to a simmer, covered, for about 25 minutes.
3. Mash with a potato masher, then begin adding granulated sugar and tasting until you've reached the desired level of sweetness. (Warning: this is going to be REALLY SOUR before you start adding the granulated sugar!)

Mom's Jello Mold

I am only slightly embarrassed to put a Jello mold on this blog. But one of its main functions is to catalog the foods that my family and I care about, so haute cuisine be damned: this Jello mold has been showing up at family functions since my grandmother came up with it long before I was thinking about being born.

Anyways, I think it's pretty and I like it better than cranberry sauce to have with my turkey. It's dark red, it's tangy, it's got texture. It's very 1950s. You can imagine some people getting back from the Catskills and trying to decide what to serve their neighbors for dinner:

"What do you think of liver and onions, Candice?"
"Well, Fred, we served it to the Horowitzes the last time they were here. How about some nice kishkas?"
"Kishkas! But I..."
"'But I' what? Nu? Solomon, you hear your father? Complaining about Kishkas? Tell him--"
"Alright, Candice, Alright. But only if you make that Jello mold with the plums."

So...anyways:

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 6oz. packages berry (cranberry, raspberry, strawberry, etc.) Jello
• 2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups seedless tangerines or oranges, cut into pieces
• 2 large golden delicious apples, sliced and diced
• 1 grated orange peel
• 2 (15 oz.) cans whole cranberry sauce
• 1 can purple plums, pitted and chopped
• Non-stick cooking spray

RECIPE:

1. Boil 2 cups of water and put in a large bowl.
2. Dissolve Jello in the water, stirring constantly to prevent lumps.
3. Add 2 cups of cold water and grated orange rind.
4. Refrigerate until "jiggly": 30-60 minutes.
5. Break up the cranberry sauce and add the fruit and nuts to the Jello.
   
6. Spray an 8-10 cup mold with cooking spray and pour in the Jello mixture.
7. Refrigerate until the Jello is set.

Solomon, Candice, Fred and the Horowitzes will all be pleased, I'm sure.

Banana Ketchup

Real ketchup has very little in common with the highly-processed red stuff you get in the plastic bottle. It also doesn't have to contain any tomatoes at all, although this recipe happens to have a little. Use this banana ketchup anywhere you would have used ordinary ketchup--on meat, eggs, fries, whatever. The banana flavor provides a smooth, gentle balance to the zesty sweetness of the vinegar and spices.

One note: this recipe produces a lot of ketchup. If you double it, you had better be planning on giving some away. (Although you should always give away jars of homemade sauces, preserves and jams: people will think of you whenever they eat it!)

My recipe is based on this one, with some significant modifications. In particular, I thought theirs was far too acerbic, not thick enough, and I strongly disagree that the ketchup should be strained: the good stuff is what was left in the strainer!

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 large, ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1 medium onion
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 3 oz. tomato paste
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup dark molasses
• 1 1/2 tsp. (=1/2 tbsp.) salt
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• Hot pepper to taste
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Chop onions in a food processor with the metal blade.
2. To the onions, add bananas, raisins, garlic, tomato paste and vinegar to the chopped onions. Puree until smooth.
3. Transfer the puree to a nonstick saucepan. (Nonstick or you'll be sorry!)
4. Add 1 1/2 cups water, the lemon juice, brown sugar, salt and hot pepper; stir thoroughly.
   
5. Bring to a gentle simmer and allow to simmer, uncovered, for 60 minutes, occasionally stirring and removing the scum from the top.
6. Add the molasses and the spices; let cook for another 30 minutes or until desired consistency is reached.
7. Let stand for 10 minutes.
8. Pour into glass jars, and/or set some aside to make barbecue sauce.

Refrigerate. Keeps for 1 month.