Food, Photography and Bons Mots

Author: Blue Cayenne

Blueberry-Buttermilk Pie Bars
December 11, 2022

Blueberry-Buttermilk Pie Bars

Blueberry Custard. Does that sound good or what? These Blueberry-Buttermilk Custard Bars are all that and more. There’s the slightly sour bite of the blueberries, the sandy crunch of the shortbread crust, and the glorious eggy custard.  This recipe is from Dorie Greenspan’s epic cookie…

Desserts, Vegetarian
Mango Lassi
November 25, 2022

Mango Lassi

This is a “No recipe recipe.” My good friend Joyce gifted me a huge Keitt mango the other day. There it sat on my counter this morning enjoying its 15 minutes of perfect ripeness. I couldn’t look away. So…I made my absolute favorite smoothie, a…

Drinks, Vegetarian
No Same Old Same Old Here: Cranberry Chutney
November 23, 2022

No Same Old Same Old Here: Cranberry Chutney

I don’t know about you, but I grew up with  cranberry sauce right out of the can for Thanksgiving. You know…the jellied sauce with the ridges.

It’s somebody’s birthday this year.

This year marks the 110th birthday of the canned jellied treat. Invented in 1912 by Massachusetts farmer (and future founder of the Ocean Spray Cooperative) Marcus Urann, cranberry sauce is a solid American Thanksgiving tradition.  Ocean Spray sold an amazing 75 million cans of the stuff last year. Just Wow!

In recent years, though, home cooks have gone a bit rogue with the holiday treat–making their own and experimenting with all sorts of additions.

I love the stuff and usually make mine following a sweet spicy recipe I’ve used for many years. (You can find that sweet recipe here.) 

I’ve also experimented with other “takes” on the treat. Here is a recipe that incorporates jalapenos into the sauce: Cranberry Sauce With Jalapenos. 

 

Here is still another: Cranberry Relish With Jalapenos.

 

Today, I’m featuring  yet another idea, a piquant Cranberry Chutney recipe from David Lebovitz. (You can find the original recipe here: Cranberry Chutney.)  It’s  homemade, piquant, and edgy with a vinegary bite.

Wishing you a happy holiday. 

Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen. 

Cranberry Chutney

November 23, 2022
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Ingredients
  • 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries
  • 1 C. diced dried fruit (I used raisins and apricots)
  • 1 tart apple (peeled, cored, and finely diced)
  • 2/3 C. firmly-packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 C. orange juice
  • 4-6 T. apple cider vinegar (to your taste--the vinegar bite of the apple cider vinegar moderates as the sauce ages)
  • 1 T. honey
  • 1/4 t. ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 t. ground dried ginger
  • 1/8 t. ground cloves
  • Pinch red chile flakes
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 generous T. whiskey (optional)
Directions
  • Step 1 Combine all the ingredients (except the optional whiskey) in a large sauce pan.
  • Step 2 Set your stovetop to the medium-high setting and cook the cranberry mixture until the berries pop, the diced apple pieces are cooked through, and the mixture becomes juicy. This should take about 10 minutes.
  • Step 3 Remove from heat. Stir in the whiskey.Cool. Serve.
Fruit, Fruits, Vegetarian
Two Oldies But Goodies For Your Holiday Table: Cranberry Relish and Squash, Apples and Cranberries
November 16, 2022

Two Oldies But Goodies For Your Holiday Table: Cranberry Relish and Squash, Apples and Cranberries

Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.”  Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipes are for holiday dishes involving cranberries–one a home-made sauce and the other a squash side dish.  You can…

Berries, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Wine-Braised Mushrooms With Gnocchi
November 15, 2022

Wine-Braised Mushrooms With Gnocchi

I finally got my hands on a copy of Melissa Clark’s Dinner In One cookbook. To say that the cookbook’s delivery was “delayed” is an understatement. Seems that in the crush of pandemic-delayed shipping, the original cargo container carrying Clark’s cookbook went plunging into the…

Main Dishes, Mushrooms, Uncategorized, Vegetables, Vegetarian
It Gets An “A” Grade: Pear Fritter Cake
November 12, 2022

It Gets An “A” Grade: Pear Fritter Cake

My neighbor Sarah gives this little cake an “A.”

I have to agree with her. I’ve been testing it all morning (a bite here, a bite there…you know how that goes!). It’s spicy delicious with all the right fall flavors. 

This recipe is adapted from  the “Bake From Scratch” magazine. You can subscribe to the magazine here. It is a great magazine if you love to bake.

You need to try this one. Sarah is a tough grader. No grade inflation there!

Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen. 

Pear Fritter Cake

November 12, 2022
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Ingredients
  • For the Cake:
  • 2/3 C. granulated sugar
  • 2/3 C. firmly-packed light brown sugar (divided)
  • 1/2 C. plus 2 T. grape seed oil (or other neutral oil)
  • 1/2 C. sour cream at room temperature (I used Mexican crema)
  • 1/4 C. water at room temperature
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 t. vanilla bean paste
  • 2 1/2 C. plus 1 t. all-purpose flour (divided)
  • 2 t. baking powder
  • 1 t. kosher salt
  • 1/2 t. ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 t. baking soda
  • 1 1/4 C. chopped Bartlett pears (divided)
  • 2 1/2 t. ground cinnamon (divided)
  • For the Vanilla Glaze
  • 1 1/3 C. powdered sugar
  • 1/4 t. vanilla bean paste
  • 1 1/2 T water
Directions
  • Step 1 Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Step 2 Prepare a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan by spraying it with cooking spray and then lining it with parchment paper. Cut the parchment paper larger than the pan and let two of the sides hang over the long edges of the pan by about 2 inches. This will give you handles to remove your cake from the pan without breaking the cake.
  • Step 3 For the cake, whisk the granulated sugar, 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, oil, sour cream (or crema), 1/4 C. water at room temperature, eggs, and vanilla bean paste together in a large bowl. Set aside.
  • Step 4 In another bowl whisk 2 1/2 C. flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and baking soda together. Mix this flour mixture into the wet egg mixture a little at a time. Stir the mixture just until all the ingredients are combined. Don’t overmix.
  • Step 5 Chop the peeled pears into 1/2 inch pieces and toss with 1 t. cinnamon and the remaining 1 t. flour. Fold this pear mixture into the batter. Be careful that no flour pockets remain in the batter but, again, don’t over mix the batter. Set aside.
  • Step 6 Prepare the remaining brown sugar topping. Stir the remaining 1/3 C. of brown sugar together with the remaining 1 1/2 t. cinnamon. Set aside.
  • Step 7 Spoon about one-half of the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle about half of the brown sugar mixture over the batter. Spoon the remaining half of the batter into the pan. Distribute the remaining chopped pears over the top of the batter. Use your fingers to press the pears into the batter. Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar mixture over the top of the pears. Use a butter knife to mix the brown sugar topping decoratively on top of the cake (use a swirling motion).
  • Step 8 Put the cake into the 350 degree F. oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the top of the cake comes out clean. (Rotate the cake in the oven after 35 minutes and top the cake with a piece of aluminum foil to keep the top from getting too brown.)The original recipe called for baking the cake for 70 or 80 minutes. My cake took an additional ten minutes. Times will vary depending upon your oven.
  • Step 9 Once your cake is fully baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool completely on a rack. While your cake is cooling, make your glaze. Once the cake is completely cool, drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake.

 

Breakfast Dishes, Cakes, Desserts, Fruit, Fruits, Pears, Vegetarian
Baked Beans With Apples
October 29, 2022

Baked Beans With Apples

For me, baked beans hit all the right flavor notes–sweet, savory…a bit of tang. As a home cook, I love the long slow baking process and the wonderful aromas that waft through my kitchen when I bake beans. I’m not alone in this romance with…

Beans, Main Dishes, Side Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Avocado Green Goddess Dressing (or Dip)
October 26, 2022

Avocado Green Goddess Dressing (or Dip)

Who in the heck was George Arliss and what does he have to do with Green Goddess Salad Dressing?  Arliss was a British actor in the early 1900s–sort of the Michael Caine of his day. He was the first British actor to win an Academy…

Dip, Salad Dressings, Vegetarian
Oldies But Goodies: Shaved Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad
October 19, 2022

Oldies But Goodies: Shaved Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad

Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.”  Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is for a Shaved Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad. You can find the link here.

You don’t want to miss this great recipe…again.

Want to dive deeper into our recipe archive? Just click one of the categories at the top of this page or use the category search drop down menu on the right side of this page.

And…here is a link to Blue Cayenne’s main page: Blue Cayenne.  If you are in the mood to cook (or eat!), we hope you will take a moment to look at the many excellent recipes we have featured.

 

 

Oldies But Goodies, salad, Salad Dressings, Salads, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Esta es La Pera: Pears Poached in Red Wine and Cassis
October 16, 2022

Esta es La Pera: Pears Poached in Red Wine and Cassis

In Spain,  Esta es La Pera is a popular idiom used to describe a particularly enjoyable experience. Literally translated, it means “This is the pear.”    So, in the spirit of this season when pears shine, here is a “no fuss” dessert that showcases one of the best…

Desserts, Fruit, Fruits, Pears, Vegetarian

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