preserving persimmons.

so after eating a whole bunch of persimmons, i think i've been a little persimmoned out. i still had about 15 very ripe fruits left and i though i'd try my hand at making some jam or preserves. this recipe seemed easy enough, so i adapted a little bit and changed it here and there.

i used about 9 to 10 persimmons in my recipe. after debating for a hot minute, i decided to go through the "preserves" route...leaving the fruit semi-chunky. that meant that i didn't have to strain the pulp, and therefore reducing one step in the process. yay for laziness! then i slowly reduced it for over two hours and added a box of pectin that was dissolved in some water at the end. i let it boil, cooled to room temp, then stored it in the freezer. easy-peasy, if not a little time consuming making all that pulp. it did taste awesome with the persimmon bread though! would i try this again? maybe. probably with sweeter persimmons next time.

Persimmon Freezer Preserves
(adapted from Epicurious Community Table)

4 cups persimmon puree (i used 8 to 9 very ripe fuyu persimmons)
1 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 tbsp lemon juice
dash of cinnamon
1 tsp kosher salt
1 box fruit pectin
3/4 cup very hot water

Stir the fuyu persimmon puree, sugars, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt together in a large pot and let the mixture cook, over medium-low heat, until reduced by half (about 2 hours). Stir constantly to prevent the bottom from burning.

in a microwave safe bowl, heat the water on high for three minutes until it comes to a boil. Remove carefully and add the pectin gradually, stirring to prevent clumping. Once all of the pectin has dissolved, add to the puree mixture and stir. Increase heat and let come to a boil for about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Ladle the preserves into clean jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace to allow for expansion during freezing. Once the jars are filled, put the lids on and let the preserves stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, then place in the freezer. Defrost in refrigerator before using.

Note: If keeping in the fridge, this will keep for about two weeks. If keeping in the freezer, preserves will keep for about a year.

jammin' with apricots.

one thing that i find that sits in my pantry is a bottle of jam or preserves. call me crazy, but i rarely eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. why? i have no idea...probably because it's a little too simple and i like me a challenge. not to say that making a kick ass pb&j sandwich won't be challenging, but i rarely have sliced bread in the house so that adds to the difficulty of things. and so now, i currently have both apricot and strawberry that's slowly inching it's way to expiration. lucky for me, i still have about november of next year before it goes bad.

so what to do? omgoogle, of course! using jam or preserves in cooking isn't a new thing for me. i've cooked with it before and it turned out pretty awesome. this time, after googling "apricot preserves" i stumbled on this recipe for grilled chicken. rosemary? apricot? winner!!

followed the recipe ingredients and added some paprika (just because it's my favorite spice) and deviated from the directions entirely. the result? not too sweet, a little tangy, and very prominent rosemary flavor. definitely a permanent fixture in my recipe repoitoire. and so is the quesadillas i decided to make out of them!!

 

Apricot Rosemary Chicken
(adapted from A Kitchen Muse)

3 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary, divided (didn't divide mine)
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar (didn't have it, used light brown sugar and closer to 1 tbsp)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (used a peppercorn medley grinder, about 10-12 turns.)
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1¼ lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes (skipped this and left the chicken whole, about 2-3 medium-sized thigh meat)
¾ cup apricot preserves
3 tablespoons soy sauce (didn't have any regular, subbed ponzu soy sauce)
½ teaspoon hungarian sweet paprika

Take chicken and pierce with a fork all over (this is to help with the marinade process). Combine all other ingredients well and place everything in a ziploc bag. Marinate for 1-2 days, turning bag occasionally. When ready, take chicken from bag and drip off excess marinade. Grill until done and let rest ten minutes before serving. Discard marinade or cook in pan until reduced and thickened to drizzle over chicken. (this is where i deviated from the recipe. to see original instructions, click here.)

(serves two to three)  

(not my picture but it looks similar, lol.)

Apricot Rosemary Chicken Quesadilla with Wild Arugula and Marinade Reduction
(serves one)

1 Apricot Rosemary Chicken thigh
handful of wild arugula (i got mine from trader joe's, also labeled "wild rocket salad")
a couple handfuls of mexican four cheese blend
2 medium flour tortillas
½ cup marinade from the chicken, cooked until reduced and slightly thickened
chopped italian parsley (optional, for garnish)

1. roughly chop chicken into bite-sized pieces. set aside.

2. take one tortilla and toast on one side. flip over, add a handful of cheese just enough to cover the tortilla and let melt.

3. when melted, add the chopped chicken. drizzle wih a couple spoonfuls of marinade then add arugula. cover with the rest of the cheese and top with the other tortilla. let sit to slightly melt the new cheese then flip over. toast the bottom tortilla until crispy.

4. remove from heat, cut into fours, and drzzle top of quesadilla with remaning marinade reduction. garnish with chopped parsley if desired. enjoy! :D <

game time.

cornish game hen, that is. picked a couple of these up in walmart the other day and wanted to see if i can do anything with it. searched around on a few sites then saw a reference for cooking light's roasted cornish game hen. i happen to love cooking light's cookbooks and for the most part, their recipes have always been spot-on with me. so...decided to give it a try. :D


i followed the recipe for the most part. anything i didn't have, i substituted as usual. the glaze itself has a pretty similar base to the balsamic one i always do. so, to change it up a bit, i added a touch of rose water, a pinch of savory, and a dash of pepper give it a little bit of complexity. the side was just asparagus with crispy pancetta, garlic, and red onion sauteed in a little bit of olive oil. also, butterflying the hen turned out to be super-duper easy! thank you, youtube! and thank you, mr. ramsay, for showing how to do the drumsticks! XD

one thing i have to say tho...it definitely needed a starch of some sort. the portion still left me and the boyfriend a tad bit peckish and i think having some sort of starch would have probably fixed that problem. that or serve a whole cornish hen to each instead of halving it. who knew they were such small portions? :/ ah, well...c'est la vie.
 

Roasted Cornish Hens with Cherry-Port Glaze
(from Cooking Light)

1/2 cup cherry preserves
1/2 cup port
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 tbsp rose water
1/4 tsp savory
1/4 tsp paprika or ancho chile powder
2 (1 1/2-pound) Cornish hens
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400°. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet; coat rack with cooking spray.

Combine preserves, port, ginger, vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small saucepan (added the rosewater, savory, and paprika/ancho chile here as well). Bring to a boil; cook 9 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.

Remove and discard giblets and necks from hens. Rinse hens with cold water; pat dry. Remove skin; trim excess fat. Working with 1 hen at a time, tie ends of legs together with twine. Lift wing tips up and over back; tuck under hen. Sprinkle evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Set on wire rack on baking sheet.

Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Brush hens with cherry mixture; bake 40 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the meaty part of thigh registers 165°, brushing with cherry mixture every 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let stand 5 minutes. Remove twine; split hens in half lengthwise.
 

Asparagus and Pancetta Saute
(makes 2 servings)

half bunch asparagus, cut into thirds
2 to 3 slices of pancetta, roughly chopped
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
salt and pepper

Slightly caramelize onion and garlic together in a little olive oil. Add pancetta and cook until crispy. Add the asparagus and saute until tender, about 2 to 5 minutes depending on thickness. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

heart-y not-so-scones.

this morning, i woke up uncommonly early and had the urge to make some scones. now, i've never ever made scones in my life so i omgoogled for a bit and found a promising jam-topped almond scone recipe. It seemed simple enough to do so i decided to make a go for it.


so, being the person that i am, i of course didn't have the right ingredients on hand so i substituted this for that and crossed my fingers for the best. looking back now, i shouldn't of beat the batter so much and i wish these were more thicker when i made them. the ending result was a very doughy consistency much like thick bread and not light and fluffy at all like i hoped they would be. one redeeming quality of the experiment is probably the gooey globs of jam and the nice crunchy crust from the sugar i topped the "scones" with. next time, i would definitely go with a more traditional recipe made with chopped cold butter. :/

 

I Love You Scones
(from Celebrate with Style)

1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup applesauce
2 Tbs. butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp. almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 1/2 tsp. strawberry or raspberry preserves
Powdered sugar

Heat oven to 400ºF. Grease cookie sheet.

Beat egg slightly in medium bowl. Stir in milk, applesauce, butter and almond extract. Stir in remaining ingredients except preserves and powdered sugar just until moistened.

Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls about 3 inches apart onto cookie sheet. Pat into heart shapes about 3 inches wide and 1/2 inch high, using fingers dusted with flour. Make shallow well in center of each heart, using back of spoon dipped into flour. Place 1/2 teaspoon of the preserves in each well.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar while warm. Serve warm.