Beer Pickles

While visiting Boston on Halloween weekend, I was telling Scotts and Pans about Kool-Aid Pickles and how gross they sounded. I wondered why they couldn't be made with something delicious, like beer, instead. Well, it turns out they can, but then you have to change the name to beer pickles.

Beer Pickles

1 jar of pickles

1 beer

Drain pickle juice off pickles. Slice pickles in half and return to the jar. Pour beer over them until they are all covered. Refrigerate for 2 weeks. I used Bitburger (because it was that or pumpkin ale and that actually sounds worse than kool-aid pickles).

Clearly these are very simple to make. I had a few questions going in to this like: what will happen to the carbonation? Will they taste anything like pickles at all? How gross will this be? If I can make beer pickles, surely I can make gin olives, right? (coming soon to a blog near you!)

Here are the answers! The carbonation gets absorbed by the pickles - a similar result to making jello with 7-up - and you have a tangy treat. The pickles were not as crunchy as they were in their own juice, but retained some nice pickle flavor. They aren't gross at all, but could be if paired with something non-delicious with pickles (like Kool-Aid, for example). They do take a little getting used to, though.

I decided to make a hot-dog relish from the pickles. I chopped them and mixed them with yellow mustard. A delicious hot dog topping! (and I found New England style buns in Virginia! Who knew!?! Oh, Trader Joe's, you never cease to amaze me...)

Tune in next week for Fried Green Tomato's Martini Tapenade made with Gin Olives!

November assignment: a condiment of choice, from scratch. First thing that popped into my mind was a relish with onions and cranberries. Why not? So I did. But I added other things as well and by the looks of the picture of the empty bowl, I must have hit upon a great combination. I served it to a group of friends along with a chicken casserole. When it was time to clean up, the empty bowl appeared in the kitchen from the table - a sure sign that what I had prepared was enjoyed by everyone. The second picture is a small bowl of what was left that did not fit into the larger bowl, so Jim and I were able to have some with the left over chicken casserole the next night. This recipe is a definite keeper with no changes necessary!

Not only did we have it with a chicken casserole, but Jim and I tried it on top of a slice of Brie on a butter crisp cracker. That was very good. This recipe has potential for being very versatile. I think it would also work as a topping for a cheese bruschetta using either Brie or goat cheese on a toasted piece of a French baguette.

Cranberry Sauce

1 TBSP olive oil
½ cup chopped sweet onion
1 - 12 oz. bag fresh or frozen cranberries
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup raspberry jelly
1/4 tsp Saigon cinnamon
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp orange zest
1 ½ tsp of small slivers of orange peel
1/3 cup toasted, chopped slivered almonds
salt - a shake or two

Heat olive oil on medium in small frying pan. Add onions and saute until light in color. About 10-15 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, place the next 9 ingredients plus the sauted onions and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to a slow simmer and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add almonds and salt. Let cool. Serve either at room temperature or chilled. Refrigerate the left overs.

Cranberry Parsnip Chutney

For this month's recipe, I wanted to use Fall ingredients and warm, spicy flavors. On the way home from a Habitat house build where I'd spent all day hammering outside in the cool, crisp Autumn air, I came across a roadside produce stand. I left with some beautiful parsnips, cranberries, and cider, and decided to

feature these flavors in a chutney. I kept the ingredients seasonal, opting for ground ginger instead of fresh, although I'm sure fresh ginger would also be wonderful.

When I was trying out the spices for the chutney, I started with the heat of ground ginger to complement the parsnips, and rounded it out with the allspice and nutmeg. If you stop there and add 1.5-3 more cups of chopped apples, you could have a lovely spicy cran-applesauce. But for a chutney, I found it really needed something extra. The curry powder was the solution. It added complexity and the hint of Indian cooking that is necessary for a good chutney, and brought the parsnip back into play. I'd hit the chutney trifecta: sweet, sour, and savory.

Aside from being healthier for you, the honey adds a mellowness that sugar could not provide. If you don't have that much honey, though, sugar could be substituted (note: you'll need to add more water if you use sugar). Altogether, it makes for a lovely warm, rich, tasty chutney.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups peeled and diced parsnips

1 tbsp unsalted butter

a pinch of salt

1 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp hot Indian curry powder (curry powder from an Indian store is a million times better than McCormick)

1.5 cups diced cooking apples (keep the peels on)

12 oz. (1 bag) fresh cranberries (if you're using frozen, you can use them straight out of the freezer)

1/2 cup water (add more if needed)

~3/4 cup honey (adjust to taste)

Directions:

Sauté parsnips in butter and salt until browned. Add spices and stir for about 30 seconds, until the scents are released. Add apples, cranberries, and 1/2 cup water. Simmer until soft (it will be like a lumpy applesauce). Stir in honey to taste.

I served the chutney with pork chops that were sautéed with a sprinkle of curry powder and salt. To accompany the main dish, I had honey glazed parsnips, baked sweet potato, and broccoli. Since I was out of white wine, I chose a dry hard cider (Strongbow - my favorite!) that worked very well with the dinner. I would suggest a ripe pear and piece of milk chocolate Bliss for dessert. (I had my pear before dinner, and was so happy with the dinner flavors that I never got around to chocolate afterwards, but I can imagine that it would go beautifully).

I would also recommend trying the chutney with thick slices of a butcher-made spicy pork or chicken sausage. Mm...

Red Pepper Ketchup

Two straight years for Christmas I've asked for xanthan gum, to keep in the kitchen pantry for thickening food. You know how much xanthan gum I have? None. You know what I could've used for my recipe? Xanthan gum. November's recipe, red pepper ketchup, tasted great, but was just a little too thin. I strained out the excess liquid, which was helpful. But I would rather be able to use the xanthan gum.


Overall, this worked really well as a topping for a lamb burger with feta cheese. I went so far as to grind the lamb meat myself, but if you find it already ground in your local market, that is a good route to take.


On to the recipe!

• 2 red peppers
• 3 tomatoes
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp salt

To start, preheat your oven to 375, and cut up the peppers and tomatoes into small pieces. Toss with a little olive oil and sprinkle some salt and brown sugar on them. Roast for 20 minutes, tossing a few times as they cook. Once done, put into a food processor and add brown sugar, salt and vinegar. Process the food. If it appears too thin and you want it to more closely resemble the viscosity of ketchup, strain out and discard the liquid. That's it! It's that simple. Condiments are easy. And really tasty.

What I'm happiest about is how little goes into the recipe, and how good the end result tasted. It was very similar to regular ketchup, with the noticeable-but-not-overwhelming taste of the peppers. This made leftovers, which are currently in ice cube trays in the freezer, saved for future use.

November - Condiments

This month's recipes should be made-from-scratch condiments. This can really be anything- ketchup, mustard, mayo, pickles, bbq sauce, salad dressing. Totally up to you, but it has to be made from scratch. Enjoy!

Note: It's condiments. Not mint condoms. Completely different.