Category Archives: non-local luxuries

Texas Grapefruit & Tahitian Vanilla Bean Marmalade

21 February 2011 by local kitchen

I had such high hopes for this marmalade: the flavor of the Rio Red grapefruit from G & S Groves was nothing short of amazing; the aroma of the fruit, simmering on the stovetop with Tahitian vanilla bean, was glorious; I was determined to add enough water this time, and enough sugar, to achieve the perfect trifecta of taste, appearance and texture. Well, as they say: 2 outta 3 ain’t bad. Marmalade set is notoriously tricky: even experienced jammers have difficulties. The […]

Categories: canning, citrus, preserves, preserving, winter • Tags: breakfast, canning, condiments, cooking, food, grapefruit, local, marmalade, preserving, recipes

Use It or Lose It! Glazed Blueberry Tart with Lime Curd

17 February 2011 by local kitchen

We had a dinner guest last night, a former colleague and my former boss, in fact. We’ve both moved on in our careers since then, but I’m not above trying to impress the old boss, nor above trying to impress anyone who tastes my cooking for the first time, if truth be told. I wanted an impressive dessert, but I’ve been absolutely swamped with work this week, so it needed to be fairly easy to throw together. I had made […]

Categories: berries, citrus, dessert, Use it or Lose it!, winter, year round • Tags: baking, berries, blueberries, cooking, dessert, food, local, recipes, tart

Cara Cara Chile Marmalada

9 February 2011 by local kitchen

After my last orange marmalade candy-in-a-jar experience, I did quite a bit of research before starting this one. I had some beautiful organic oranges from my local whole foods market and I knew which recipe I wanted to use as a base: an orange chile marmalade from the Ball book. That recipe, however, specifies nine (9!!) cups of sugar, which I knew was never going to work for me. So, I looked at traditional marmalade recipes in Gourmet Preserves, The Glass […]

Categories: canning, citrus, condiments, hot chile peppers, preserves, preserving, wine, beer & liquor, winter • Tags: canning, cara cara, chiles, condiments, cooking, food, local, marmalade, preserves, preserving, recipes

Roasted Flageolet Beans & Vegetables with Preserved Lemon

8 February 2011 by local kitchen

Update: The original was good, but as I suspected, additional vegetables and preserved lemon take this dish over the top. Updated to detail the most recent version, this one with carrots, parsnips, leek + scallions, preserved lemon, dried mint and yes, more free spice mixes from Penzeys, this one Turkish Spice. Enjoy! ———————————————————– After the excess of “man-food” over Superbowl weekend (Why is it that men lay claim to meat & grease why women get salads & ‘light’ pasta? Food/gender […]

Categories: beans, citrus, garlic, heirloom beans, quick & easy, roasting, side dish, vegetarian, winter, year round • Tags: beans, cooking, flageolet, food, heirloom beans, local, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in (Butter)Milk

3 February 2011 by local kitchen

When Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution first aired, I was impressed by the show and thought that maybe I should try out some of his recipes. As I discussed in that post, I haven’t been a big fan of Jamie Oliver, or of celebrity chefs in general, especially ones who tout quick-n-easy “recipease” (blech); therefore I stay away from celebrity recipes in general, and had never tried one of Jamie’s. However, I was impressed enough by the show, and by Oliver’s mission to improve […]

Categories: braising, chicken, citrus, garlic, main course, sage, winter, year round • Tags: braise, chicken, cooking, food, jamie oliver, local, recipes, roasted chicken

Orange Cranberry Marmalade

31 January 2011 by local kitchen

Well, it’s been six months since my last Ferbering, the bitch-slap that Fate likes to hand me now and then for daring to question the Queen of Confitures. I suppose it was about time, and I know it is all just payback for claiming that her jams are too sweet (philistine) or, even worse, not safe for canning (Mon Dieu!), but publishing a marmalade recipe with no added water just to get back at me? De trop, Madame. De trop. […]

Categories: canning, citrus, condiments, cranberries, holiday, preserves, preserving, winter, year round • Tags: canning, condiments, cooking, cranberries, food, holiday, local, marmalade, preserving, recipes

Eggless Oatmeal Cookies

18 January 2011 by local kitchen

Hey, guess what? The weather is nasty. Well, it is winter after all, and it is the Northeast. Snow, sleet and freezing rain are to be expected, but a steady pummeling of “wintry mix” (that most cruel of winter weather euphemisms), temperatures hovering in the mid 20’s, and ice slicking the already-two-feet-worth of snow on the ground is reason enough to make me want to curl up on the couch with a mug of tea and a good book (or, in real life, a […]

Categories: baking, chocolate, dessert, oats, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, cookies, cooking, dessert, eggless, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Browned Butter Rice Krispie Treats

4 January 2011 by local kitchen

You know how I’ve been organizing? Well, I had half a bag of these gigundo marshmallows leftover from Tai’s birthday weekend: seriously, these things were huge, too big for roasting over a fire, really, as the middle did not get melty even when you burned the crap out of the outside (my preferred marshmallow ‘technique’ – set ’em fire, blow ’em out, enjoy). And since my organizing fever tackled the Dread Food Cabinet (no, not “dreaded;” “dread” as in Dread Pirate Roberts), […]

Categories: dessert, non-local luxuries, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, food, quick & easy, recipes, rice krispie treats

Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

22 December 2010 by local kitchen

From the archives ~ A Christmas tradition Chez Porter. Now updated with weights and non-crappy (well, less crappy) photos! Merry, merry! ———————————————————– When I was a kid, my Mom always made cranberry nut bread around the holidays. Now, I’m 99% certain that this was from a mix; my Mom was (and is) a horrible cook. But I loved this bread, and to this day, cranberry nut bread reminds me of Christmas. Mom is coming up from Asheville, NC tomorrow; she’s […]

Categories: baking, breakfast, citrus, cranberries, eggs, fall, non-local luxuries, nuts, winter, year round • Tags: baking, bread, breakfast, cooking, cranberries, food, local, recipes, walnuts

Dry-Brined Roasted Turkey

19 December 2010 by local kitchen

What do you cook for Christmas Day? Do you have a leisurely day of cranberry nut bread and eggnog, like we do? Do you whip up a full breakfast of eggs, bacon and pancakes? Or do you go all out with a traditional dinner, roasted turkey or goose, plum pudding and the works? Just in case roasted turkey is on your Christmas dinner agenda, I thought I would share my Thanksgiving turkey recipe with you: a simple dry-brine with sage, bay and orange […]

Categories: citrus, fall, holiday, main course, roasting, sage, turkey, winter • Tags: cooking, dry-brine, food, holiday, local, main course, recipes, turkey

Apple Jelly with Lemon & Lavender

18 November 2010 by local kitchen

Another jelly? Could it be that I’m becoming a jelly fiend like someone else we know? Not bloody likely, but, I do like how this one came out. With the extra acid from a full sliced lemon, it took a little less sugar than the apple quince jelly to yield a gel. The set is a little more firm, but still satisfyingly squishy, almost, but not quite, the set of a marmalade. Not surprising as the poached lemon peel in the […]

Categories: apples, breakfast, Can Jam, canning, citrus, fall, jellies, preserving • Tags: apples, canning, cooking, fall, food, jelly, local, preserves, preserving, recipes

Use it or Lose it! Fruit Butter Granola

16 November 2010 by local kitchen

Ever since I tried the pumpkin granola recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod (thanks to Marisa’s link) I’ve been thinking more about the potential for using fruit purées, sauces and butters in granola. The concept of replacing oil with fruit purée is not a new one: applesauce, prunes and dates are common replacements for oil in many a quickbread. I just had not thought to apply this method to granola; I’m so glad that Maria & Josh over at Two […]

Categories: breakfast, fruit, grains & legumes, nuts, oats, snack, Use it or Lose it!, year round • Tags: baking, breakfast, food, fruit butter, granola, local, quick & easy, recipes, snacks, vegetarian

Pumpkin Granola

4 October 2010 by local kitchen

Since I made my very first batch of homemade granola last year, based on Kristin’s recipe at The Kitchen Sink, I’ve never gone back. I’m not the biggest granola fan, but Tai loves it, and will gladly eat a bowl of granola in milk every morning of his life, and I have to admit when this granola comes out of the oven I find myself sneaking pinches of sweetly-spicy oats & nuts as it cools. Let me tell you folks – […]

Categories: apples, breakfast, cranberries, fall, nuts, oats, quick & easy, snack, winter squash, year round • Tags: breakfast, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes

Salsa Verde

2 September 2010 by local kitchen

All the cool kids are doing it. My version of salsa verde – long live the tomatillo! Adapted from Tomatillo Salsa in The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, J. Kingry & L. Devine, eds. ——————————————————— Salsa Verde INGREDIENTS 4 cups (about 2 lbs husked) tomatillos, husked, rinsed and finely chopped 1/2 cup red onion, diced to 1/4-inch (about 1 tennis ball-sized) 1/2 cup Cubanelle peppers (or green bell peppers), diced to 1/4-inch 1/2 cup minced jalapeno & long green chile peppers, […]

Categories: canning, cilantro, citrus, hot chile peppers, preserving, salsa, summer, tomatillos • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Wild Purple Scones

29 August 2010 by local kitchen

Because woman cannot live on jam alone: wild & crazy purple scones for your Sunday morning. Made with wild black raspberries from my backyard, these delicious scones get their wild purple color (and flavor!) from slightly smushed black raspberries in the dough. Much like many of the area farms, we’ve had a terrible wild berry crop this year; I only saw a few black raspberries on the bushes, the wineberries came and went in a flash, and I haven’t harvested […]

Categories: baking, berries, breads, breakfast, citrus, milk, whole wheat flour, wild foods, year round • Tags: baking, berries, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, whole grain breads