Onion Jam

December 26, 2011 Leave a Comment

It’s not as gross as it sounds. In fact, it’s friggin’ yummy on toast with some cheese or with grilled meats. On my first attempt, I tried making an onion and rosemary confiturra off of this blog entry that I chanced upon a while back. It was sweet and acidic with a depth, the rosemary fragrant – just delicious.

A couple of days ago, Christmas Eve to be exact, I was gonna roast a chicken for dinner and I wanted to make some more of the stuff. I also wanted to try a different recipe so after reading the blog entry again, I decided on sweet onion jam ironically because the author points out that it’s the most savory of the lot. I also liked that it used red wine – my goddaughter Asha (well, her mother really) had given me a bottle of red wine for Christmas and I wanted to cook with it. Too cute.

For the sweet onion jam, you’ll need:

2 1/2 cups onions (white, red, yellow or a mix)

1 T unsalted butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup dry red wine

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/3 grenadine

1/4 t thyme

a pinch of salt

1. Chop the onions. Melt the butter in a medium pan over medium heat. Add in onions and sautee until they start to become translucent.

2. Add in the rest of the ingredients. Cook while stirring until the liquids thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 35 minutes. Up until this point, I was thinking of the amount of sugar in this recipe. A half cup seemed like a lot considering there was 1/3 cup grenadine in the recipe as well – all that for 2 1/2 cups of onions? I wasn’t too sure about that. I decided to use half the sugar first and add some more later after tasting. I also couldn’t resist adding some thyme. THYME GOOD.

3. I thought the liquid was a little loose but that’s probably because I only used half the sugar and I’m so glad I did. This was plenty sweet by the time it was done. Besides, it thickens more with cooling. Transfer to a bowl and serve.

Even with only half the sugar, this was too sweet for me. It’s like cranberry jelly-sweet and I get why I might want to eat this with a roasted bird but it’s not what I had in mind. I’m also not a big fan of the “claret” color or maybe I am but it was unsettling to see my fingers turning red after a couple of enthusiastic mouthfuls. I do think it’s neat though that this is all it yields. That’s it to the last drop. At least I’m not stuck with jars and jars of it. OK, that makes it sound like this is horrible and it’s not. But if you’re gonna make onion jam, I recommend you make the confiturra. You’ll have to chop 10 cups of onion though. Worried about all the tears you’ll have to shed doing that? Read on.

P.S.

Merry Christmas! :)

Fun Food Fact: Enzymes are released when you chop an onion and they irritate your eyes, thus the stinging and crying. Try refrigerating your onions prior to chopping to slow down this process.

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Bacon and Cashew Caramel Corn

December 17, 2011 Leave a Comment

This was probably the most stressful experience I’ve had in the kitchen and it’s all because I’m an idiot. It didn’t help that I was in a pissy mood for some reason. For this entry, I’m including the recipe from Bon Appetit verbatim albeit chopped up and how I unsuccessfully maneuvered my way around it.

Makes about 15 cups
  • PREP: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • TOTAL: 3 hours (includes cooling time)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 6 ounces bacon, chopped
  • 1/2 cup unsalted raw cashews (one 2.5-ounce package)
  • 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt or coarse sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 oolong tea bag
  • Nonstick vegetable oil spray
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Heat popcorn and oil in covered heavy large pot over medium-high heat until kernels begin to pop. Using oven mitts, hold lid on pot and shake pot until popping stops. Pour popcorn into very large bowl.

I put off preheating the oven and start with popcorn. Why should I have to deal with a pot that’s threatening to explode and scrub it after? No. I decide to use microwavable popcorn instead. I go a step further and buy the salted kind without partially hydrogenated oils cos that stuff’s nasty. It turns out great – it cooks perfectly, is delicious and I get to skip the salting part. I give myself a pat on the back. Problem is, I have no idea how much popcorn 1 and 1/2 cups of corn kernels yield. So I pop 2 bags.

2. Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until almost crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain; cool.

Having gone through the comments, I know that there’s not enough bacon in this recipe. According to my non-existent math skills, a 200g pack of bacon is a little shy of twice the amount in the recipe. I figure it would do. I’m mildly annoyed at the heavy large skillet instruction.

3. Add bacon and cashews to bowl with popcorn. Sprinkle with coarse salt and cayenne; toss to coat.
I realize at this point that I might have way too much popcorn, at least to mix everything in one go. I decide to mix everything in batches and transfer some of the popcorn into a medium bowl. I mentally ration the bacon and cashews and it becomes clear that I have too much popcorn. I stuff my face with it between sprinkles of cayenne pepper.
4. Bring cream and tea bag just to boil over medium heat. Remove from heat; let steep 15 minutes, occasionally pressing on tea bag with back of spoon to release flavor. Discard tea bag.
Aargh! I knew I forgot something! I don’t have oolong tea!!! Having just come back from the grocery store, I decide against going back just to get tea bags. I’m pretty sure I have black tea somewhere. They’re nowhere to be found. Crap. Oh wait, 7-11 sells individual tea bags and it’s just down the street! They seem to have every single kind except black. I walk back home defeated and grudgingly open a green tea bag. Now. How to heat up a quarter cup of cream? How to heat up a quarter cup of anything? Really, Bon Appetit? The microwave it is. I check back after 15 minutes and nothing has been released into the cream. The sight of the soggy heavy cream-dipped tea bag makes me sad.
5. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil; coat with nonstick spray. Coat 2 wooden spoons or heat-resistant spatulas with nonstick spray; set aside.
My spatulas make me smile. I preheat my oven.
6. Stir sugar, 1/4 cup water, and corn syrup in large saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high; boil without stirring until syrup turns deep amber, occasionally swirling pan and brushing d0wn sides with wet pastry brush, about 13 minutes.
I keep stirring and stirring and wonder why it won’t come to a boil. I read the instructions again and realize I’m not supposed to stir once everything is dissolved. I leave it alone and it magically starts to boil. Sugar starts to crystallize around the edges of the pan. I couldn’t be bothered. I also don’t own a pastry brush. What color is amber again? All I know is that it’s the color of Nicole Scherzinger’s energy.
7. Remove from heat and immediately add cream (mixture will bubble up). Stir until blended.
Once my unflavored cream hits the sugar, the caramel bubbles up violently. It’s also very hot. How can you be so stark raving calm, Bon Appetit?!

8. Immediately drizzle caramel over popcorn mixture; toss with sprayed spoons until evenly coated. Transfer to sheet.
Things are starting to stick everywhere. The sprayed spatulas were a great idea.
9. Place caramel corn in oven and bake until caramel is shiny and coats popcorn, tossing mixture occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool completely on sheet on rack, tossing occasionally to break up large clumps. 
I smell something burning about a minute into baking. I check on the caramel corn and some of it is charred around the edges. I get everything out of the oven and it’s just madness – smoke, hot, sticky wet caramel, where’s my bowl, ouch I need new oven mitts, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? I manage to transfer everything into a big bowl. I check the recipe, check my oven temperature, trace back to when I preheated my oven. I had used an iPhone kitchen units app to convert F to C. Instead of typing in 300, I had typed 500. 

What to Drink

The folks at Colt & Gray suggest The Derby, a classic cocktail made with bourbon, Bénédictine, and bitters.
I wanna chug a bottle of soju.
As tragically as it all ends, I summoned enough willpower to finish a batch. Sweet and salty with a little kick, this is caramel popcorn elevated to an art form. But I’m picking up a tub at Chef Tony’s next time.
Fun Food Fact: Cashews are always sold shelled. The shell is known to contain a toxic oil similar to the one found in poison ivy.
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Plan B: Lemon Cheesecake with Pecan Graham Crust

December 11, 2011 4 Comments

Plan A was cheesecake with lemon curd but sadly, my lemon curd was a disaster. It tasted horribly metallic. I turned to Twitter to seek solace and a chef friend of mine asked if I whisked it in a non-reactive bowl. Look at the recipe, does that look like a non-reactive bowl to you? It only mentions ‘heat proof’. What the hell is a non-reactive bowl anyway? I used a stainless steel bowl and metal whisk. I’m thinking I should use a glass bowl and maybe even a silicon whisk to cover all bases next time. In the meantime, I am grieving. I was really looking forward to making lemon curd. I dreamed it would be like dessert hollandaise. It’s so wrong, it’s right.

I had my mind set on making cheesecake so I had to think of an alternative and this is what I came up with. It features my go-to cheesecake recipe, tweaked a little bit to make room for lemon and pecan. I used this recipe when I made cheesecake for the first time in my life and I’ve stuck with it since. It’s smooth, rich, creamy and very cheesy just the way I like it. It’s also very easy and I like that, too.

For the crust, you’ll need:

1 1/4 cups crushed graham crackers

3/4 cup toasted pecans

1/4 cup white sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

1. Toasting the pecans isn’t necessary but they’re so much more flavorful when you do. Besides, all you have to do is pop them in the toaster/oven for a few minutes. Just make sure to keep an eye on them – it goes from done to burnt very quickly. Anyhoo, finely chop the pecans or, if like me you don’t feel like dealing with nuts flying all over the place, crush them with your fingers after they’ve cooled.

2. Place all the ingredients in a big bowl and mix well.

3. Transfer to a 9″ springform pan. (Don’t you think springform pans are genius??) Flatten evenly with a spoon. Bake in an oven preheated to 190 C for about 8 minutes. You can skip the baking part if you’d like but I think it makes for a sturdier crust which I prefer.

4. Tada. Set aside and turn down the oven to 175 C.

For the cheesecake, you’ll need:

4 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese

1 1/4 cups white sugar

3/4 cup milk

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 T vanilla extract

1 T lemon juice

2 t lemon zest

1/4 cup flour

All ingredients must be at room temperature so leave them out an hour or so before you plan to start baking. This is crucial in the ingredients blending well together.

1. You know how your oven has a rack and a tray? Fill your tray with water and place it in the oven under your rack. This is called a bain-marie or water bath.

2. Whisk the cream cheese and sugar in a big bowl just until smooth. Don’t over-beat. If you go through the comments section of the cheesecake recipe, you’ll see a lady who INSISTS IN ALL CAPS THAT OVER-BEATING YOUR CHEESECAKE MIXTURE WILL CAUSE THE CHEESECAKE TO CRACK AAACCCK!!! Listen to Crazy Lady. We want cheesecake like crack, not cracked cheesecake.

3. Abandon your whisk and switch to a wooden spoon. Add the milk and mix just until it’s incorporated. Add the eggs one by one and mix in gently. I like to crack the egg into a separate bowl before adding it into the mixture to prevent egg shells or, God forbid, a rotten egg from ruining the entire thing. Add the sour cream, vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir lovingly. DON’T OVER-BEAT.

4. Stir in the flour. This will look a little lumpy but don’t worry, it works itself out in the oven.

5. Grease the sides of your springform pan and pour the cream cheese mixture into it. We’re done! All we have to do is bake this at 175 C for 1 hour. When time is up, leave it in the oven for 5-6 hours. I’m serious! In that time, the cheesecake sets and cools gradually. So basically, you pop it in the oven and forget about it for a while.

Chill for at least 3 hours and this, my dears, is the finished product. I had some fun with the Foodie Snap Pak on Hipstamatic, a really cool lomo photo app for the iPhone. I luuuurve.

I didn’t know a tablespoon of lemon juice and a couple teaspoons of lemon zest could go such a long way! It added just the right amount of lemon flavor and it’s great with the smoky nuttiness of the toasted pecans in the crust. My cheesecake always comes out pretty browned on top unlike all the other pictures of cheesecake I’ve seen which look snowy-white. I think this is because my oven is a small rinky-dinky one that can only fit one 9″ springform pan at a time (never more than 6 medium muffins, 12 cookies) and it sits pretty close to the heat source. But I don’t mind. So. Let’s have our cheesecake and eat it, too.

 

Fun Food Fact: The graham cracker is simply a whole wheat cracker that is sweetened with honey or molasses. It was named after its creator, Rev. Sylvester Graham.

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