A few months ago I saw a pie image on Twitter so creepy, and disturbing, that I actually questioned whether it was too terrifying to post as a video. Usually, Halloween-themed recipes have the opposite problem, as they are almost never actually scary, but that�s not an issue here. By the way, can someone get sued for giving people nightmares?
Anyway, I eventually traced the image back to what I assumed would be some sort of food blog, but it was actually someone�s Etsy shop, where they were selling inedible versions of this basic design. So, I wasn�t able to see how it was made, but did use their �face� as a rough guide, and despite being somewhat anatomically challenged, I thought this came out looking great. And by great, I mean terrible.
If you�re disturbed enough to make this, you can use our tourti�re recipe for the crust and filling, which is exactly what I did here, except for whatever reason I added a touch of ketchup to the meat. Of course, this technique would work for topping any pie, including all your favorite fruit versions, and the next time cherries are in season, I may just have to give this one more try. Or not. We�ll see. In the meantime, if at all possible, please enjoy!
Beautiful in color and sweet with heat; this homemade blackberry- jalapeno jelly is delicious served on top of crackers with cream cheese.
Today' recipe is for an amazingly delicious Blackberry - Jalapeno Pepper Jelly. I love making pepper jelly with garden peppers. Every spring and summer I plant peppers and every year I make pepper jelly for ourselves and for family and friends. Our summer garden has just about dried up, but our jalapeno and bell peppers are still going strong. For some reason my pepper plants seem to do better when September comes along and the temps drop down from the triple digits.
Currently our highs are in the 80's, so I have peppers coming out of ears! I've given away a lot to co-workers and friends, but we still have some in the fridge and more growing in the garden. Soooooooo that means it's time to make pepper jelly again. If you've never tried pepper jelly you sure are missing out. Hot pepper jelly has the perfect balance of sweet and spicy and is made from fresh jalapenos, bell peppers, sugar, apple cider vinegar and pectin.
I've never added food coloring in my pepper jelly because the peppers alone yield a beautiful green color. Once in a while I add frozen berries to make strawberry- jalapeno jelly and this beautiful deep purple blackberry jalapeno jelly. All of the varieties are equally delicious and make wonderful holiday gifts for friends and family. If you love pepper jelly, I hope you'll give this recipe a try.
Blackberry - Jalapeno Pepper Jelly
Ingredients: 7- 8 medium - large size fresh jalapeno peppers 1 - large or two medium size green bell pepper, seeded 2 - cups frozen blackberries, thawed 2 - tablespoons lemon juice 1 - cup apple cider vinegar 3 - cups sugar 3 - ounces Liquid Fruit Pectin (I prefer Certo) 3 - 4 - half pint canning jars with Lids & Bands
Directions: To start wash your jars in hot soapy water and then prepare the boiling water canner. If using a regular large pot place a round rack or dish cloth on the bottom of the pot.
Place the jars on top of rack or dish cloth (this keep the jars from direct contact with the pot or canner). Keep jars, lids and rings in hot water bath until ready for use (do not boil).
Cut off the stems and remove the seeds from the peppers (I recommend wearing latex gloves while handling hot peppers). If you want a bit of a kick leave in half of the jalapeno pepper seeds.
Puree peppers using a food processor or high speed blender with 1/2 cup cider vinegar until smooth (do not strain pepper puree). In a large pot combine pepper puree with remaining 1/2 cup cider vinegar and sugar. Add the frozen blackberries to the blender or food processor and blend the blackberries with the lemon juice until a thick pulp forms. Add the blackberry pulp to a fine mesh strainer with a bowl underneath. Stir, smash and press the pulp through the strainer so all of the juice releases into the bowl. Discard the pulp and add the blackberry juice into the pot with the jalapeno mixture. Bring the mixture to a full boil, reduce heat to a light boil and simmer, stirring frequently. Add the fruit pectin, squeezing the entire contents out of the pouch, continue simmering (to a light boil) until the jelly reaches 220 degrees (the temperature in which jelly sets) on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and skim off any foam (if any). Ladle into hot jar leaving 1/4 inch head space. Wipe rims with a clean cloth. Remove lids from hot water and center lids on the jars. Apply bands but do not tighten too hard.
Add jars to hot water bath (making sure water completely covers the jars) and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes (time starts after water comes to a boil).
Remove jars onto a towel or hot pad to cool completely. Check lids to make they have sealed after 24 hours. Lid should not pop up when center is pressed.
Serve on crackers with softened cream or goat cheese. Recipe yields: about 3 - 4 half pints Adapted from: Jalapeno Pepper Jelly
There�s nothing like a big, steaming bowl of comfort food to make everything seem all right, and this dark, but delightful black lentil stew with sausage and kale is no exception. Whether you�re battling a lack of sunlight, or troubles at work, or you�re a NY Giants fan, a dish like this can do wonders to brighten your mood.
Sausage and lentils is a marriage made in heaven, and so good together, that not even kale can ruin it. I�m kidding, and actually love kale, but if you�re not the biggest fan in the world, maybe try it one more time in this. As long as you cook the greens until they get nice and tender, you�ll be surprised how sweet, and mild they become.
In case that�s asking too much, spinach, and/or other vegetables will also work here, as these types of recipes are a perfect catch-all for seasonal produce. You people with neighbors who grow zucchini should pay especially close attention to that last part. Regardless of what you add, or don�t, I really do hope you give this black lentil stew a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 large portions:
2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion, large dice
1 large carrot, cubed
1 rib celery, cubed
12 ounces smoked garlic sausage, or any kind of sausage (cook fresh sausage first, and then slice)
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups black lentils
6 cups chicken broth
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
2 bunches (about 12 ounces by weight) kale or other leafy dark greens, chopped, washed
This very easy to make candy goes by many names; cinder toffee, sponge candy, and my personal favorite, �hokey pokey,� but no matter what you call it, this eye-catching confection is a proven crowd-pleaser. And, that�s before you dip in in chocolate, as my British friends highly recommend.
It�s no big secret that people love sweet, crispy things, but this also features the most interesting melt-in-your-mouth texture, which is created by thousands of bubbles, trapped in the cooling sugar syrup. As you can see in the video, I did two batches with different amounts of baking soda, and while the second batch did look better, the first batch was crunchier, and didn�t have any kind of aftertaste.
Other than suffering a horrible burn, there�s not a lot that can go wrong with this recipe, as long as you heat the syrup to 300 F. I checked mine with a probe thermometer, although a candy thermometer that attaches to the side of the pan would be a lot easier. Some folks say you can simply go by appearance, and when the syrup goes from clear to slightly golden, it�s done, but that requires a certain amount of experience.
Another method to gauge the temperature is by dropping a little bit of the molten syrup in water to see if it instantly turns into rock candy. That will work, but since thermometers aren�t expensive, and every kitchen should have one, that really is the way to go. Regardless, as long as you promise to be careful, I really do hope you give this gorgeous, homemade honeycomb toffee a try soon. Enjoy!
The next time you hear people arguing about whether Chicagoor New York has the best pizza, politely interrupt them, and make sure they know about Detroit-style, since it really should be part of the discussion. And by discussion, I mean heated argument.
Even though Detroit-style pizza is often referred to as �deep dish,� I don�t think that accurately captures the essence of this crispy, crusty, crazy-good slice. It has flavor elements of a slightly charred, blistered, thin-crust pizza, with the texture of light, airy focaccia. Plus, if you use the properly shaped pan, the edges of your crust get wonderfully crunchy, making for a very unique experience.
If you can�t get the classic 14� X 10� Detroit pizza pan, you can also use a 12� cast iron skillet, although you may need to not use quite as much dough, since I forget how much surface area that has, but it should be close. You can also use two 8� X 8� metal cake pans, but no matter what you go with, be sure it�s at least a few inches deep, otherwise things could get ugly.
Since I�m new to this style of pizza, if you�re from Detroit, please let me know how close I got, and if there�s anything obvious I�m missing. I know I needed more, and thicker, pepperoni, but other than that, I was really happy with how this came out, and hope everyone gives it a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for one 14x10 Detroit-Style Pizza:
For the dough:
1 cup warm water
1 package dry active yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour
For the sauce (you�ll have a little extra):
one (24-oz) jar marinara sauce
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
The rest:
8 ounces sliced pepperoni
12 ounces brick cheese (I used 8 oz. of Monterey Jack and 4 oz. of cheddar)
Michele and I were in Oakland recently, at a restaurant called Southie, when I saw something I�d never seen before; avocado and ricotta cheese paired together on a crostini. I didn�t order it, but was fascinated by the idea, and eventually it turned into what you see here.
By the way, everything we did have was great, so if you�re in the area, check them out. I don�t do a lot of shout-outs here, but that'll make me feel a little better about stealing their appetizer. They actually did theirs with the cheese spread on first, and then sliced avocado placed over the top, but I decided to go for something a little easier to serve, and went with a spread instead.
I found this to be a very delicious combination that was sort of unusual, and yet familiar at the same time. I did roughly equal parts cheese and avocado, but of course you can play around with this ratio, depending on your mood. The same goes for the garnishes, where any number of fresh, or pickled seasonal vegetables would work wonderfully, as would a scattering of crispy bacon.
As you know, we�re heading straight into the heart of entertaining season, and no matter what you decorate yours with, these beauties would make for a great appetizer or snack, which is just one reason I really do hope you give these avocado ricotta crostini a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 6 appetizer-sized portions:
1 large ripe Hass avocado
3/4 cup ricotta cheese (or more or less depending on the ratio you want)
1/2 lemon, juiced (you could also add some of the zest)
1 tablespoon finely sliced fresh basil
salt and cayenne to taste
sliced cherry tomatoes and radishes to garnish
drizzle of olive oil
pinch of sea salt and freshly snipped chives for the top
�Karniyarik� means �split belly,� which refers to the technique used to stuff them, although depending on the size of your eggplant, it could also refer to you after enjoying this delicious dish. By the way, this was my first time making these, and when I mentioned in the video only doing 15 minutes of research before filming, I wasn�t joking. So, you�ve been warned.
Having said that, I thought these came out really well, and I would only tweak a couple minor things next time. I�d sprinkle the insides with salt before stuffing, since there wasn�t enough in my filling to season them to my taste. I�d also toss in some chopped parsley, which would have added a little freshness to the dish, although the dried rosemary did work nicely.
Lastly, I�d take the advice I got on Twitter, and serve them with a yogurt sauce, like our famous tzatziki. That would be an amazing condiment for these, since the cold, acidic sauce would be a perfect foil for the rich, aromatic, slightly sweet flavor profile.
Since I�m fully admitting not knowing what I�m doing, I welcome any and all tips and tricks, but most of all, I really do hope you give these a try. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 Turkish Stuffed Eggplant (Karniyarik:
4 medium sized eggplant
olive oil as needed
1 yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 cup freshly chopped Italian parsley (I didn�t add, but you should)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 pound ground lamb or beef 1 1/2 cups diced sweet and/or hot peppers
1 ounce (about 1 cup unpacked) finely, freshly grated Pecorino cheese, or whatever you�re into
1 cup chicken broth
- Roast eggplant at 400 F. until just barely soft, stuff, and continue baking until very tender.
