Tomato Jam (Doce de Tomate)
August 18, 2009 by Andrea
Filed under Condiments, Grow Your Own
It’s rich and complex, not your average tomato jam. The cinnamon and cloves spice it up, but the ruby port makes all the difference between an average jam and a memorable jam. It’s good by itself on toast, crackers, or baguette slices, and even better with sheep or goat cheese.
The recipe comes from the newly released The New Portuguese Table (review) by award-winning author David Leite, a book combining culinary tradition with modern flavors. In his version, Leite reduced the sugar considerably, leaving plenty of room for the flavor of the tomatoes to shine. We used our homegrown Cherokee Purple tomatoes, a rich rose-purple colored heirloom. We had several of them ripen at once, giving us the perfect opportunity to try them in this jam. The tomatoes have a sweet, rich flavor that works perfectly with the spices and port. Read more
The Daring Bakers Make Strudel
The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of Make Life Sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague, by Rick Rodgers.
I felt a lot of excitement for this challenge because I adore puff pastry and have wanted to try making my own for some time, and of course anything with apples, spices, and rum-soaked raisins just has to be good, right? And besides, this gave me a chance to play around with my long-forgotten high school German and prepare for my trip to Germany in a few weeks! Read more
Strawberries and Cream with Macaroons
Strawberries are coming in season, one of my favorite food times of the year. Here in northern Virginia we have to wait a few more weeks, but warmer areas of the country are already basking in the glow of the beautiful fresh red fruits. My boys are always excited when we come home with strawberries, and they eagerly watch and try to sneak a few nibbles as I wash and trim the fresh berries for salads, ice cream, granita, pies, tarts, or just eating out of hand.
This recipe for strawberries and cream comes from The Military Wives Cookbook, by Carolyn Quick Tillery. (You can read my full review of the cookbook at Andrea’s Reviews.) It’s an easy dessert that’s elegant enough to serve to guests. We loved the flavor and think the macaroons lend even more taste and texture. Read more
Ideas for a Cinco de Mayo Party or When You Just Want Some Mexican Food
If you are planning to have a Cinco de Mayo party or just want ideas for making Mexican food at home, here are some of our favorites.
Roasted Green Tomatillo Salsa Read more
Rhubarb Margarita
I can’t imagine celebrating Cinco de Mayo weekend or enjoying a good Mexican meal without margaritas. My favorite margarita is the classic tequila/Triple Sec/lime juice concoction on the rocks with a bit of salt on the rim, but I’m always up for trying new varieties. This rhubarb margarita from 101 Margaritas by Kim Haasarud intrigued me, especially since we just added three rhubarb plants to our garden and I’m eager to cook with them. Unfortunately they aren’t ready yet, but rhubarb is coming in season and can be found in grocery stores and farmers markets around the country. Read more
The Daring Bakers Make Cheesecake: Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Cheesecake
The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.
The infamous cheesecake recipe comes from Jenny’s friend Abbey, and in this challenge we were given lots of room for creativity. We had to use the cheesecake recipe as is, though we could flavor it any way we wanted to. We also had freedom to choose the crust and anything else to go with it. I chose to make a variation on my mini chocolate pecan pies and spotted a recipe in one of my mother’s cookbooks that gave me the idea for how to put it together. Bourbon and pecans are a classic combination, so it seemed natural to flavor the cheesecake and the pecan topping with bourbon.
After being on hiatus for several months, I was glad to get back into the fun of the challenges and enjoyed it thoroughly, especially since cheesecake is my favorite dessert. We liked the combination of flavors, and the cheesecake was a hit with all my neighborhood friends. Read more
