Blue Cayenne

‘Tis the season.

You can’t have Thanksgiving (or Friendsgiving–what a great idea!) without cranberry sauce and this cranberry sauce recipe is a stunner with a bit of a southwestern kick–chiles.

Cranberries are, of course,  a part of America’s history. Reportedly, cranberries were served at the first Thanksgiving celebration although there is no proof that actually happened. Whether pilgrims actually ate cranberries or not at that first feast, cranberries were, without a doubt, a distinct part the early American food story. One of only a few native North American fruits, these bitter-sweet fruits were an important part of the native American diet, often served with venison.

Once cranberries caught on among the new arrivals in America, subsequent American settlers co-opted the fruit and turned it into the ubiquitous sauce that graces just about every Thanksgiving table–sometimes, sadly, as that ridged gelatinous mass that wiggles out of the can onto the serving plate.

This year, “just say no” –with apologies to Nancy Reagan– to that canned cranberry abomination and make this recipe or the one that I posted last year or anything other than the canned stuff. Anything! ( Not My Mother’s Cranberry Sauce)

Here is yet another cranberry sauce recipe from Blue Cayenne (Cranberry Sauce with Jalapeños).

It is not like you don’t have access to a lot of fresh cranberries to use in your Thanksgiving recipes. Americans consume about four hundred million pounds of cranberries each year with twenty percent of those cranberries being consumed during the Thanksgiving holiday. Today, about one thousand cranberry bogs provide the cranberries to meet the nation’s cranberry needs–a lot of those bogs being located in the Pacific Northwest. Competition is beginning to creep into the cranberry market, though, with  imports entering the market from Canada and Chile.

For the most part, all American cranberries are wet harvested. This means the bogs are flooded with water and the cranberries that float to the top are scooped up and sold by cranberry farmers. How cool is that?

An interesting website, kitchenproject.com, has a lot of information about cranberries and takes a kind of grim (and funny–if you enjoy dark humor) view the fruit: “Cranberries are like the ex-wives of the fruit world. It’s love at first sight, and then wham ! They hit you with an almost violent, face-contorting blast of bitterness that changes the way you ever thought about it.”

Whoa! Someone at kitchenproject.com needs a hug.

Cranberry Sauce with Chiles

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Ingredients

• Zest of one lime (1 teaspoon) divided
• 2 dried chiltepin, chile pequin or bird chiles (to taste) crushed in a spice mill or a mortar and pestle
• 3/4 pound fresh cranberries
• Zest of 1/4 orange
• 1/3 cup sugar (more to taste)
• 1 clove (crushed in a mortar and pestle or ground in a spice mill)
• 1/8 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 ground nutmeg
• Fresh chile peppers to garnish

Instructions

1. Zest your lime and set aside 1/2 of the zest for the garnish on your cranberry sauce.
2. Using a large saucepan, combine all the remaining ingredients and 1/4 C. water. Bring to a simmer and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until your sauce is thick. Stir often. Remove from the heat.
3. Spoon your sauce into a serving bowl Let it cool and then garnish with lime zest and fresh chile peppers.

Notes

The chile pepper flavor in this dish is subtle as written. You can adjust the amount of chiles you use upwards if you want more heat.

Nutrition

Calories

419 cal

Fat

1 g

Carbs

114 g

Protein

3 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

7.8.1.2

100

https://bluecayenne.com/ole-cranberry-sauce-with-chiles

Here is the link to the original Martha Rose Shulman recipe: Martha Rose Shulman’s Cranberry Sauce with Chiles

Happy Halloween from those of us here at Blue Cayenne.

Juliet, our chief quality officer, is particularly into the Halloween party mood today. She is all dressed up in  her frilly Halloween collar and can’t wait until the doorbell starts ringing tonight. Did I mention that Juliet is the most social pup on the planet? She loves everybody–even the little ghouls and goblins who venture  out on Halloween dressed as Moana or Jack Sparrow or Big Bird. The way Juliet sees it, it’s all good.

While you are passing out Milky Way bars to the trick-or-treaters, why not make this pretty banana-cardamom upside down cake for yourself? No costume required. Well, maybe an apron. If any of the little goblins ask, you can tell them that you are dressed in honor of Julia Child. That should get you either stares of incomprehension or “just give me the candy, lady” tantrums.

This wonderful little cake is a cinch to make. You are in and out in about an hour.

Banana-Cardamom Upside-Down Cake with Salty Caramel

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Ingredients

• Banana Topping:
• 4 T. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 C. packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 t. kosher salt
• 2 firm-ripe bananas (peeled and sliced)
• Cake Batter:
• 1/2 C. granulated sugar
• 1/2 C. packed brown sugar
• 6 T. (3/4 stick)unsalted butter (cubed and at room temperature)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 bananas (peeled and mashed)
• 3/4 C. sour cream or yogurt or a combination (preferably full fat)
• 1 t. pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 C. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 t. baking soda
• 3/4 t. baking powder
• 1 1/4 t. ground cardamom
• 1/2 t. kosher salt
• Chopped roasted walnuts (optional-to garnish)
• High quality vanilla ice cream (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Using a 10 inch cast iron skillet, melt butter and stir in the brown sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until the sugar and butter and salt are completely combined (1-2 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat.
3. Cut the bananas in half crosswise and then slice the halves lengthwise into thirds. Arrange the banana slices (cut side down) on top of the butter/sugar mixture in the skillet.
4. Set up your stand mixer with the paddle attached. Mix granulated sugar, brown sugar, and soft butter and mix (on high) until light and fluffy. This will take 3-5 minutes. Reduce the speed of your mixer to medium and mix in the eggs (one-by-one). Then, add the mashed bananas, sour cream (or yogurt), and vanilla extract. Mix until all ingredients are well-combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.
5. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, cardamom and salt. Slowly (and carefully) mix these dry ingredients into the stand mixer bowl with the wet ingredients. When these ingredients are well mixed, pour the batter over the caramel and bananas in the cast iron skillet. Smooth the top.
6. Set the skillet on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F. until the cake is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake. This will bake 40-45 minutes.
7. Remove cake from oven and cool completely. When the cake is totally cool, run a butter knife around the edge of the cake. Then, set the skillet back on the stovetop over very low heat and warm the cake until it is just barely warm on the bottom (about 2 minutes). Remove the skillet from the heat and carefully invert the cake onto your serving platter.
8. Serve garnished with chopped walnuts and a scoop of high quality vanilla ice cream. (Why not try the vanilla ice cream recipe on Blue Cayenne? It is delicious and easy to make.)

Nutrition

Calories

5111 cal

Fat

238 g

Carbs

708 g

Protein

69 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

7.8.1.2

96

https://bluecayenne.com/happy-halloween-from-blue-cayenne

This recipe was adapted from one by Gail Simmons that appeared on The Splendid Table website. Here is the link: Gail Simmons’ Banana-Cardamom Upside Down Cake

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Mark Twain wrote that “A cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education.” Funny.

Think about it. Cauliflower:  B.A., M.A., Ph.D.–and that is just one of those plain vanilla white cauliflowers.

Who even knows how many degrees one of those splendid romanesco cauliflowers has? Probably a well-earned Juris Doctor degree at the very least.

If you are not familiar with the neon-hued romanescos, you are in for a real treat. The romanesco cauliflower, which tastes a bit like broccoli, is a natural approximation of a fractal. Each bud in the spiral floret is composed of a series of smaller nearly-identical buds. These agricultural wonders didn’t occur naturally in nature, though. It is believed that they were the result of selective breeding in 16th Century Renaissance Italy. They are, by design, so spectacular that I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find them pictured among Leonardo’s doodles in his Notebooks.

Whatever its degree and pedigree, cauliflower is having its moment.

Sur La Table Cooking School has a whole class devoted to sublime cauliflower recipes including wok-fried cauliflower rice and an amazing cauliflower-crusted grilled cheese sandwich. “Cauliflower steaks” are making an appearance on the menus of fine restaurants (see Farmhouse Restaurant at Roger’s Gardens in Newport Beach.) Just Google “cauliflower recipes” and watch your screen explode with options.

Last night, as I struggled to find something interesting to cook for dinner, I came across this Martha Rose Shulman recipe for Sicilian Cauliflower wth Black Olive Gratin. Who wouldn’t find that recipe title appealing? I certainly did.

.

Sicilian Cauliflower and Black Olive Gratin, Ph D.

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Ingredients

• 1 generous head white cauliflower (2 1/2 pounds)
• Salt
• 1 small onion (finely chopped)
• 3 T. extra virgin olive oil (or more)
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1/2 sweet red bell pepper (diced)
• 16 imported oil-curred black olives (pitted and chopped) Save a few whole olives for garnish.
• 3 T. minced fresh parsley
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 C. freshly-grated Parmesan

Instructions

1. Break cauliflower into medium-sized florets, toss florets in a generous amount of olive oil with salt and pepper, and bake in a 375 degree F. oven for 10-15 minutes.
2. Heat 1-2 T. olive oil in a large skillet.Sauté onion and red pepper over medium heat for approximately three minutes. Add a pinch of salt and the chopped garlic to the pan. Cook for about 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant and translucent. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chopped olives.
3. Using a large ceramic baking dish, place the cauliflower in the baking dish and add the onion and olive mixture. Stir in the remaining olive oil, the parsley and half the cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread the mixture out on the baking dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese on the top.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. Serve hot or warm.

Nutrition

Calories

1301 cal

Fat

75 g

Carbs

119 g

Protein

51 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

7.8.1.2

90

https://bluecayenne.com/sicilian-cauliflower-ph-d

Here is the link to the original Martha Rose Shulman recipe from which this recipe was adapted: http://Martha Rose Shulman’s Sicilian Cauliflower and Black Oliver Gratin

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