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Finally, cherry jam that’s actually tart. After years of using conventional pectin or no pectin, I decided to pursue another route. This is a gorgeous color and really tastes like the fruit itself!
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Put 2 cups heavy cream, 1 cup milk, ½ cup sugar and a pinch of salt in a sauce pan. Add 1¼ tsp root beer concentrate (Schilling’s make this). In a bowl, combine 4½ TBL (that’s a generous ¼ cup) of corn starch and ¾ cup milk. Stir with fingertips to confirm there are no…
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Turn on the vent over your range or your house will smell from vinegar! In a very small saucepan, boil ½ cup wine vinegar ½ cup orange juice on a high heat until the volume is reduced by half. Cool to room temperature and mix in ¼ cup mayonnaise until thoroughly blended. Add 1 TBL…
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Prepare Chipotle Vinaigrette or use some other creamy salad dressing (you want to dilute it a bit if it’s very thick). Pluck and wash ¼ cup cilantro leaves and dry them thoroughly. Roughly chop them and set aside. If you can convince your fish vendor to cut ¼-inch thick slices, do it. If not, buy…
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Our little easy-bake oven of a toaster works for making biscuits. We usually use these for strawberry shortcake, but they can be made for savory foods as well.
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Pit 1 quart of sour cherries and chop them (to make about 2 to 2½ cups fruit). Add sour cherry juice (see note) to make a total of 6 cups fruit and juice. Place fruit, juice and a 57g package of pectin in a large pot. Bring to a rolling boil, add 5 cups sugar…
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This is a complete reworking of a recipe that started out with rabbit meat and cooked in the oven for hours. Years ago, I started cooking this recipe using chicken meat but only recently did I realize how perfect it is for the pressure cooker. It’s much faster, simpler and every bit as tasty. In…
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OK, this is neither Eastern European nor is it Indian, but I like how it tastes. Saute 1 diced onion, 2 cloves minced garlic and 1 seeded and minced jalapeno pepper. When onions are golden, push mixture aside and brown trimmed meat; I used chicken thighs (bone-in, but skinned and trimmed of all fat). When…
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Trim of excess fat and place 8 skinless chicken thighs in a skillet large enough to hold them in a single layer. Add water to cover, 1 TBL ground cardamom, 1 tsp ground white pepper and 1 tsp salt. Bring to slow simmer and cook for 20 minutes; chicken should be cooked through. Remove chicken…
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This dense bread is wonderfully high in fiber, but don’t tell anyone as it will spoil the enjoyment of this delicious bread.
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Cut scapes into 1½-inch pieces. Blanch in boiling water for 15 seconds, just enough for them to turn a bright green. Immerse in cool water and drain thoroughly when they are no longer hot. Process scapes in small batches in food processor with olive oil. Add grated cheese, salt and pepper to taste. If the…
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These rustic ribbons of pasta are delicious buried under a thick sauce on a cold fall evening.
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Shred ¼ to ⅓ head of cabbage. Dress with white wine vinegar and neutral-flavored oil, such as canola. Season with salt (1-2 tsp), pepper, celery seed or whole caraway seeds. Seasonings will vary according to your taste and the size of the cabbage.
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This is the real deal, but it requires a special kind of grinder, designed specifically for grinding poppy seeds. It also requires a lot of effort to grind the seeds (once you have the grinder) but no other method will release the sweet, fragrant flavor of poppy seeds.
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Defrost 30 ounces chopped frozen spinach, and squeeze by handfuls to remove all moisture. Add the following: 3 beaten eggs, 1 cup chopped scallion, 8 ounces cottage cheese, 8 ounces crumbled feta, 2 tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, 1 TBL fresh chopped dill and 4 TBL butter. In blender jar, place 3 eggs (out of…
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Combine 4½ cups flour, 2¼ cups brown sugar, 1½ tsp salt, 2 tsp cinnamon and a generous ¼ tsp nutmeg. Cut in 1½ cups butter. Measure out 3 cups of the mixture and add ½ cup chopped walnuts. In the rest of the mixture, add 1½ tsp baking soda. When mixed, stir in 1½ cups…
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Make Hamentaschen Honey Dough. Roll into a ⅛-inch layer large enough to cover bottom and go up sides of pan; trim off all but ⅜ inch that hangs beyond edge of pan. (You can use a 13×9 or 9×9 pan, depending on how much you want to make.) Spread a layer of filling on the…
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Place ½ cup Quaker corn meal (I prefer this because of the way it’s ground), 2 cups water and ½ tsp salt in a saucepan. Stir continuously until it comes to a boil. Lower heat to lowest setting and cover; let cook for 5 minutes. Add ½ TBL butter and ¼ cup grated cheese, such…
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In a 6-quart (or larger) pressure cooker, heat 1+ TBL oil. (Don’t use less, as it keeps the beans from foaming and causing problems later on.) Saute 1 medium onion, diced, until soft. Add 1 cup dry, rinsed black-eyed peas, 1 minced stalk celery, 1 diced large red pepper, 1 minced jalapeno pepper, 1 minced…
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This started out as potato soup originally, and it’s morphed into a much more interesting dish. Peel and cut up 2-4 potatoes, 4-5 parsley roots, 3 carrots and 2 leeks. place in pot and cover with water. Add 2 tsp salt and bring to a boil; reduce to a strong simmer. Skim any starchy foam…
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Leftovers with leftovers. Combine 2 cups of cooked rice and about 1 cup of milk. Heat in high-power microwave for 5 minutes: the rice will be softened and the milk will have come to a boil. Put it in the refrigerator until it’s cooled. (I was impatient and I transferred the mixture to a metal…
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This is sweet from the honey, but retains a nice bitter edge. It’s simple and delicious. And it’s really fast to make. Pomelos usually show up in the market at the height of winter. They look like really big grapefruit, sometimes having a slight pear-like shape. Skins range from yellow to yellow-green. Find a pomelo…
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Cut 6 Meyer lemons as follows: quarter them (almost) going from just below one end almost down to the other. The lemon will remain intact, but if you squeeze it by pressing the two ends towards each other, some juice will ooze out and the segments will be accessible. Using ¼ cup kosher salt total,…
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Combine ⅓ cup walnuts, ⅓ cup flour, ½ cup brown sugar, 1 cup oatmeal, ½ tsp salt, ¾ tsp baking powder and ¼ cup (½ stick) butter. Mix until it’s crumbly. Peel and cut up 4 cups of fresh fruit (peaches, apples, pears or whatever you like). Mix with ½ cup sugar, 1 tsp lemon…
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Peel 2 celery roots, trimming as needed to clean. Slice thinly across the root to make even slices and then cut these cross-wise to make julienne. (The safe way to do this is to cut the root lengthwise and then work with each half to make the thin slices.) Set the julienne aside. Despite what…
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Wash off and debeard 2 pounds of mussels, discarding any dead ones. While wet, put them in a covered pot and cook on medium-high heat until they have opened; discard any that remain closed. Remove meat from all but 12 of the mussels, reserving the meat and the 12 fully-intact mussels. Strain liquid through a…
Boys of Cooking
Don't wait a for a dinner invitation. Try cooking for yourself for a change.