The Best Pumpkin Bread recipe yet

Pumpkin Bread recipes are more than a dime a dozen.  They have more varieties using raw, puree or the dreaded already spiced "pumpkin pie" canned stuff.  I love a good pumpkin bread and its taken a few whacks to get one that works consistently.  

The day after Halloween at my house is the day I commit jack-o-cide.  Yup, those adorable decorations get the big dice and roasted off for puree.  A puree that I use for soup, pie or bread as the whim strikes.  I like the flavor even better than butternut squash.

This recipe is easily doubled.  Its good just warm from the oven or the next day slathered with butter for brekkie.  Its all good.  It all works.  Added boner - it really is easy.

Pumpkin Bread Recipe 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cups flour
  
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 cup pumpkin purée*
  
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  
• 2 eggs, beaten
  
• zest of one orange
  
• juice of one orange plus enough water to equal 1/4 cup
  
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
  
• 1/2 cup dried cranberry
  

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda. 

Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in the nuts. 

Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack.

Makes one loaf. Can easily double the recipe.

* To make pumpkin purée, cut a pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff, lie face down on a foil or Silpat lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 min to an hour. Cool, scoop out the flesh. Freeze whatever you don't use for future use. Or, if you are working with pumpkin pieces, roast or boil them until tender, then remove and discard the skin.

This pictures serves to do nothing for the recipe but I do find the whirling and swirling blade hypnotic and a stress reliever.  

This pic does have a purpose.  Though the batter is rather homogeneous it pays to run a knife through it to break up any big bubbles before you bake it.

Redder than Red Cranberry Sauce

There are two kinds of cranberry sauce lovers in my house.  Sweetish and tart.  I like the latter, kidlets seem to prefer the former.  Until now I didn't have a sweetish to make them happy that didn't come out of a can.  Now I do.

I'm a big fan of Nigella Lawson a brit on Food Tv.  The woman cracks me up, but she is spot on target when it comes to fast easy comfort food.  This weekend her Holiday edition included "Redder than Red Cranberry Sauce".  Perfectly sweet tart with a bit of a cherry pie back to it because you use cherry brandy in it.  

Next time I'm in London I need to track her down and maybe get her to sign of her books.  Maybe?

Redder thanRed Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries 
  
• 7 ounces caster sugar 
  
• 3 tablespoons cherry brandy 
  
• 4 fluid ounces water 
  
• Lemon juice, optional 
  

Directions

Place all the ingredients in a pan and cook until the liquids have reduced to a thick cranberry sauce. 

The pectin-rich nature of the fruit means that it solidifies briskly as it cools, so take the pan off the heat to stop it from cooking and reducing when you still think there's too much liquid. Once the berries have burst, which should be after about 10 minutes, it should be ready. Taste to test whether the sauce needs more sugar (if you find it too sweet just add some lemon juice).

Note I skipped the lemon juice and opted to use regular table sugar as "castor sugar" is not something I keep in stock in the old pantry.  I canned up a small jar as a gift for our T-giving guests and the rest was tossed into a serving container for the big day.  Mmmmmm...turkey next

Pomegranate Jelly

Fall means pomegranates come to market.  If you have a tree you have more than you could ever image possible to consume.  Or give away.  The latter is how I wound up a giant grocery bag full of them left on my doorstep the other day by our friend Kate.

They are buggers to clean in order to get to the juicy little seeds inside the pod.  Years ago I believe it was Malto Mario who showed how to cut them in half at the equator and then rap them hard repeatedly with a spoon to knock the seeds loose.  It works and is a lot less messy than trying to carve them out with a spoon.

After last weeks 90+  yesterdays surprise rain here in the SGV brought about some nice cool weather.  That got me in the mood to do some cooking.  The first challenge was what to do with all those pomegranates.  Jelly was the logical answer.  A quick search of the Certo Sure Jell site yielded the recipe.  Of course I can't help but add my own twist, a little lemon juice to tarten it up Just a little.

SURE.JELL Pomegranate Jelly   

• 3-1/2 cups prepared juice (buy about 5 large fully ripe pomegranates)
  
• 2 T lemon juice 
  
• 1/2 tsp.  butter or margarine 
  
• 1 box SURE.JELL Fruit Pectin 
  
• 5 cups  sugar, measured into separate bowl  
  

Make It

 BRING boiling-water canner, half full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling. 

CUT pomegranates in half horizontally. Squeeze out juice from each half with orange juice press or citrus reamer. Place 3 layers of damp cheesecloth or a jelly bag in large bowl. Pour prepared fruit juice into cheesecloth. Tie cheesecloth closed; hang and let drip into bowl until dripping stops. Press gently. Measure exactly 3-1/2 cups juice into 6- or 8-qt. saucepot. 

STIR pectin into juice in saucepot. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon. 

LADLE immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 5 min. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

It is important to measure closely when making jelly and jam.  Probably less forgiving than baking in some respects.  The fresh juice does need to be filtered so you have a clear jelly.  I always start with a bit more juice than the recipe calls for to compensate for the reduction when you filter.  Filtering is easy, use a paper coffee filter and a strainer big enough to hold it then pour the juice through. 

A hard rolling boil looks like this.  It is boiling so hard that you can't stir down the bubbles.  Once at this point cook to the recommended time to ensure the jelly setting.
I've been told the water bath serves two purposes.  The first is to completely sterilize the contents in case you had any contamination in the process of filling the jars.  The other is to ensure a very tight seal.  Don't skip this step as you also have a very strong chance of your jelly not setting, but separating.
Of course that bit of foam and remnant of jelly when skimmed is always put aside in a tiny bowl.  Why?  Obvious is if that bit sets at room temp your canned jelly will too.  Also...you get a little tasty treat for all your labors while you wait for the canned stuff to be ready.

Italian Style Braised Beef Short Ribs

November 1 was officially our first rain day here in LA.  Not exactly a cold rain day but the kind that triggers the yearning for hearty comfort food.  Long slow cooked hearty beef that nurtures the carnivore within kind of comfort food.

Costco has quite the deal on Beef Chuck boneless short ribs.  Big, thick, beautifully marbled chunks of beef.  Even though you don't get the bones and marrow to pick at as you would with a bone in variety it is still a great cut of meat.  Cooked bone-in does yield more flavor but you can compensate for that with some good beef broth.

Short ribs because of all the marbling are best cooked in a slow braise.  That means it is just covered with liquid and slow cooked until all the connective tissues dissolve away and the meat is just fork tender falling apart.  That long slow cook also means the flavor is cooked deep into the meat.

This recipe comes from a lot of different sources.  It is loosely based on a Bolognese style spaghetti sauce that I've seen made by people like Malto Mario on Food TV. The recipe also has some bits based in the classic tomato sauce my Ma makes that she in turned learned from an old Italian lady that lived by us in Iron River MI when I was really little.  

Though they called the sauce "gravy" its still good eats.  The lady's name is lost to memory at this time but this "gravy" is her legacy in the kitchen.  A side bar is that the "gravy"in this recipe is referenced in a stuffed rigatoni recipe that she gave my Mom. It is an extremely labor intensive dish, but my gawd is it good.   Look for that in the coming days.

Italian Style Braised Beef Short Ribs

• 4 lbs boneless beef chuck short ribs
  
• 1 onion
  
• 2 carrots
  
• 2 stalks celery
  
• 1/2 C sun dried tomato in oil
  
• 2 T chopped garlic
  
• 1/2 C loose fresh basil (2T dried)
  
• 1 t oregano
  
• 1 T fennel seed
  
• 2 bay leaves
  
• 2 C Red Wine - use what you are serving with dinner
  
• 2 pkg Beef broth concentrate or bouillon (it would make 1 C each)
  
• 2 Cans diced tomato
  
• 1 Can tomato sauce
  
• 1/4 C flour
  
• 1 T kosher salt
  
• 1 T coarse ground black pepper
  
• 2 T olive oil
  
• 1 T bacon fat
  

Mix flour, salt and pepper.  Dredge beef in the mixture.  Heat large dutch oven over medium heat, add olive oil and bacon fat.  Heat until just smoking and add beef, do not crowd pan, cook in batches.  Sear beef  on all sides until well browned and crusted about 3-4 minutes per side.  Remove cooked beef to platter on side and repeat searing with the remaining beef.

Using a food processor fine chop onion, carrot, celery, sun dried tomato and fresh basil.  Add to the hot pan after the last of the beef has been seared.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir often scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan.  Cook about 10 minutes until onions are translucent and beginning to caramelize.  Add wine and scrape bottom of pan clean to deglaze.  Cook until wine reduced about one half.  Coarse grind the fennel seed and add to pot.  Add oregano and bay leaf.

Add diced tomato and sauce.  Add the beef boulion concentrate.  Stir until dissolved.  Add beef to the top of the sauce.  

Cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer 2 hours.  (You may also slow cook in 325F oven for 2 hours).

Serve over pasta or mashed potatoes. 

Don't crowd the pan while searing the meat.  Doing so will cause the meat to simmer in its own juices rather than get a deep dark sear and crust.  This deep dark sear is what adds to the intense flavor in the final dish.

Searing of the mire poi you will find that a lot of liquid is given off the vegies.  Use that liquid to help deglaze the pan and scrape up all those flavorful bits from the bottom. I little trivia for you the term mire poi is french, the italians call it sofrito.  Still the same fine diced combo of onion, carrot and celery.
A friend turned me on to this brand of liquid beef broth.  It really adds a deep rich flavor to the dish without all the added salt of the traditional little boullion cubes.
Let the meat just sit on the braising liquid, it doesn't have to be covered.  That is the difference between braising and stewing...the latter the meat is completely submerged in the liquid.

Apple Cranberry Walnut Tatin

I've decided about the pissiest presentation these days for a dessert is in individual ramekins (or in this case a mini-souffle).  Skip the big box store for them, head to your nearest restaurant supply and save a bundle.  I bought mine at Surfas in Culver City for $3.50 instead of the around 10+ at the other places you'd find at the mall.  

Over this last weekend we met at my cousins house for dinner, I was in charge of desserts.  For the kids 1 yr to 17 I opted for cupcakes.  For the adults I took an old favorite pie recipe and kicked it up a bit for the adults.

What makes a "tatin" in french baking is the rich caramel poured over the fruit then it is turned upside down after it cooled just enough to thicken up.  For this version I wanted it to be an over the top caramel so I made it with brandy.

The problem with that is that it is messy compared to a regular pie and not exactly the kinda wow you want when people get the dessert.  Putting each serving in its own ramekin allows for good presentation without having to hack up the dessert to get it on a plate.

Apple Cranberry Walnut Tatin

Caramel

• 1/3 c sugar
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 2T water
• 2 T unsalted butter
• 1 T brandy 

Tatin

• 4 lightly buttered ramekins
• 6 medium apples (I used fuji, but gala work nice too)
• 1 T cinnamon (adjust to taste)
• 1/8 t fresh ground nutgmeg
• 8 T fresh ground walnuts
• 1/2 c dried cranberry
• 1 sheet ready made pie crust (like Pilsbury ready made)

For caramel place sugars and water in heavy pan.  Over medium heat bring to boil.  Whisk slowly until dissolved.  Boil gently until thick and turning deep caramel color (about 5-10 minutes).  Reduce heat and whisk in butter 1 T at a time.  It will foam up and stir constantly to reduce the foaming.  Once foaming has settled, REMOVE pan from flame.  Add Brandy and stir constantly until foaming stops.  Carefully return pan to med-low flame, use caution as it could ignite remaining brandy.  Cook gently until it is soft ball stage about 234F.  Remove from heat and allow to cool while preparing the rest of the dessert.

Cut pasty dough into 4 circles slightly larger than the ramekin.  Save remaining pasty bits to cut into decorative shapes.

Peel, core and slice apples.  Toss lightly with cinnamon and nutmeg.  Divide between two bowls.  Lightly butter the ramekins.  Using first batch of apples divide between ramekins, layering neatly into dish.  Divide walnuts and cranberry, using one division to be split between all 4 ramekins in even layers.  Repeat layers ending with the nuts.  Pour about 2T caramel into each ramekin.  

Top each ramekin with pastry, tucking edges in and against the rim.  Cut some vents into the dough to allow steam to escape.  Top each with a pastry shape (I used a leaf shape) that is dampened on the bottom to help it stick.  You can brush with an egg or cream wash then sprinkle with some raw sugar if you want a shiny more decorative top.  Place ramekins on rimmed baking sheet to catch possible boil over and drips.

Bake 30-40 minutes in 350F oven, or until golden brown.  Serve warm.

Assembling the first layer as evenly and flat as possible helps with minimizing the collapse as the dessert bakes and the fruit shrinks while being cooked.

  

Mmmmmm....nice rich caramel, just enough left over to toss on a scoop of ice cream as bakers treat while making these.
Top layer of fruit comes just to the top of the ramekin.   Crappy phone-cam doesn't show the fine details on the one that has its dough top on, but you get the idea of tucking inside the dish and up against the rim.
All fresh out of the oven.  Note the steam vents are clearer in this pic.  Of course since this is fall I opted for a "leaf" design, but you can use hearts, diamonds, or even fruit shapes as decoration made from the left over pastry dough.

Pineapple Cranberry Spread

Paula Deen wasn't kidding around when she says in the south it either starts with a stick of butter or a package of cream cheese.  I got the recipe idea from my sister Niki still in the Ozarks back in MO.  

Back there those little jars of cream cheese with stuff in it are a popular party treat, usually with Ritz, but I won't go there right now.  The usual hands down favorite is the pineapple variety. Those little jars are really pretty expensive if you stop and think about it and that is why my sister came up with her version. 

Her version is simply a can of crushed pineapple and a block of cream cheese.  Not being one to stay in the lines well I took that as the starting point and created my own version.  With two blocks of cream cheese how bad could it be when you have fruit with it?

Pineapple Cranberry Spread

• 2 8oz packages cream cheese - room temperature
• 1 small can crushed pineapple
• 1/2 c dried cranberry
• 1/4 t ground ginger

Put the cranberry in  a small microwave safe bowl.  Drain off the pineapple juice and pour over the cranberry.  Add just enough water to bring cover the cranberry if needed.  Microwave 1 minute and tightly cover.  Let set at least 1 hour.

With mixer beat in ginger and beat until fluffy.  Add Pineapple.  Drain of any remaining liquid from cranberry and pitch it.  Add cranberry to the bowl.  Cold in the fruit.  Refrigerate 2 hours before serving.

Serve with crackers or thinly sliced and toasted baguette.

Asian Style Pickles

This is one of those recipes where I had something that was so good I had to try to replicate it.  There is a local restaurant, Teri & Yaki that specializes in "asian comfort food".  The stuff is pretty darn good.  

I got hooked on a particular side dish a couple of years ago when they opened the one here in outer monrovia.  It is "Spicy Cucumber".  It is obviously cucumber, red pepper flake, very pronounced sesame oil taste but after that it gets to be a little difficult to ID some of the bits and pieces in it, especially the herbage.  

Last spring I bought one of those jumbo packs of "English Cucumbers" from Costco.  I still don't know what possessed me to buy it as there are 4 huge cucumbers in the pack, far more than we could eat in a week or before they went bad.  With all those cukes I decided to try and put together something resembling the "Spicy Cucumber" from Teri & Yaki.  After a couple of tries I put up my first batch.  A couple of times more and I had it.  Now whenever I have something asian on the entree' list I can have my own "Asian Style Pickles".

Asian Style Pickles

• 2-3 Engrish Cucumbers
  
• 1/2 C cilantro - coarse chopped
• 3 small green onions, thinly sliced  including tops
• 1/2 -1 t red pepper flakes (to taste)
• Sesame Chicken Salad Dressing - approx 1 cup to cover.

Using mandolin slice cucumbers very thin.   Put about 1 1/2 inches cucumber in a quart pickle jar.  Add 1/5 of the sliced onion, cilantro and red pepper flakes.  Repeat layers until jar is filled.

Cover with Sesame Chicken Salad Dressing.  Add lid and seal tightly.  Refrigerate for one week.  Will keep up to 2 months in the fridge. 

I use this as a straight up side dish.  Other times I scoop out the cucumbers and dressing and put over cooked chicken and lettuce.  I've even tossed some into cooked couscous or rice for a heartier side dish.  Its pretty versatile and tasty too!