The chutney is versatile and could be used as an accoutrement to many dishes.  Not only does it pair well with crackers and cheese, it could be used in place of cranberry sauce for a turkey dinner.  It can be used as a filling in a wrap or panini.  This chutney also can be made quickly and can be served warm or cold.

If you’re looking to make cheese and crackers more interesting or to provide a different sauce for your turkey dinner, give cranberry-pear chutney a try.

Cranberry-Pear Chutney

1 cup cider vinegar

2 shallots, diced

1 cinnamon stick

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 cup cranberries

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 bosc pear, peeled, cored, & chopped

Combine vinegar, shallots, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes in a medium pot over high heat.  Boil for 5-10 minutes, or until liquid reduces by half.  Add cranberries, sugar, and pear, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat, and discard cinnamon stick.  Serve immediately, or store in refrigerator.

One of my best friends loves the combination of sweet and salty, such as chips and soda.  When going out for munchies, she has been known to request some tortilla chips after an especially sweet dessert.  Over time I have come to appreciate the way in which these two opposites make such a fine combination.

I made two different salts for her, Sun-Dried Tomato Salt and Citrus Salt.  The Citrus Salt had a delightfully strong aroma of fruit and would provide  extra flavor in a Caribbean inspired chicken dish.  I also thought it would work well as an accoutrement for a margarita glass.  For the perfect sweet-salty combination, I would recommend mixing an even amount of the salt with sugar to rim the glass.

Citrus Salt

1/2 cup kosher salt
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lime
zest of 1 orange

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  To get the most flavor, massage the ingredients with your fingertips to help the zest release its essence.  Spread in a thin layer on a plate and allow to sit for 12-24 hours in order to dry thoroughly.  Store in an airtight container.

Some toppings were quickly discarded, such as caramel because it seemed too sweet.  Macerated strawberries were considered, but I wasn’t sure how well strawberries and eggnog would pair.  Then it occurred to me that a bourbon sauce might work.  I had made one previously but thought I would create a recipe that had more bourbon flavor and less butter.

The addition of bourbon adds a smoky flavor and reduce the sweetness of the sauce just enough.  Yes, this is a sweet dessert, but not so much that it is cloying.  Give it a try on some homemade (or store-bought, if needed) ice cream.

Bourbon Sauce

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water, divided
1 Tb. cornstarch
1 Tb. vanilla
2 Tb. bourbon
1/2 Tb. butter

Place sugar in small pot and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sugar has melted and is amber.  Add 1/2 cup water to the melted sugar, and stir until combined.

In a separate bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup water and cornstarch.  Add cornstarch mixture to sugar mixture, and cook over heat, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens.  Add bourbon, vanilla, and butter.  Once butter is melted, remove from heat and serve.

He always has been a fairly adventurous eater.  As a toddler he requested pasta, like all toddlers, but he liked it best with spinach sauce.  While a little face covered with green can be messy, it always was a thrill to know that he enjoyed healthy foods.  When I originally made this sauce, I used a recipe that I had found in a cookbook.  With time I began to change it into my own.  The most recent version was the quite simplistic.

This recipe has three key ingredients:  spinach, garlic, and parmesan cheese.  Whether you choose to add other ingredients is your decision.  Personally, I enjoy it without any oil added to the purée, as I think those three ingredients deliver all of the flavor I need.  For others, the unctuous nature of olive oil may improve the sauce.  If you prefer more zip, you could add some red pepper flakes or shallots.

Whether you’re making it for your toddler or your spouse, expect to find your dining companion pleased.  Of course, if you’re making it for your 10 year old who despises spinach, then it might be time to institute the “no thank you” serving.  Perhaps a little taste will convince him or her that spinach can be tasty.

Spinach Sauce

1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 lb. fresh spinach, stems removed*

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

cooked pasta of your choice

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add spinach and sauté for 2 minutes, or until spinach is wilted.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Transfer spinach (including liquid) to a food processor or blender.  Add cheese and blend until smooth.

Top hot, cooked pasta with spinach sauce and serve immediately.

*A 10-ounce package of frozen spinach can be used in place of fresh.  If using frozen, do not drain.  You will need that liquid to help make the sauce.

So, how did Asian Ketchup come to be?  As I’ve written, our 13 year old is a vegetarian.  Vegetarianism is something I have dabbled with throughout my life, so quite frequently I opt to eat the same dish as her while other family members have a meat-based dish.  Sometimes we make dishes from scratch, but other times we used store-bought items, such as black bean burgers or soy-based faux chicken items.  Recently, I found Asian veggie patties and thought they’d be worth trying.

Deciding to use the Asian veggie patty as the protein portion of my dinner, I decided to embellish it a little.  A little grated cheddar added a nice melted cheese component, but it still needed more.  Typically, I would use some sort of mustard with a burger, but that didn’t seem to coordinate well; plain ketchup seemed boring.  However, we always have hoisin sauce in our house, and I adore using it in a variety of Asian dishes.  So, thankfully, the assorted thoughts connected like dots, and Asian Ketchup was created.

It made a fabulous dipping sauce for the Asian veggie patty.  I plan to make it again and try it with sweet potato fries, chicken tenders, and any other complimentary dipping items.

Asian Ketchup

2 Tb. ketchup

2 Tb. hoisin sauce

Stir well to combine.  Use immediately, or refrigerate for future use.

The menu from two weeks ago was filled with new recipes that were quite popular.  Our dinner consisted of Summer Squash & Zucchini Bruschetta, meatballs with Red Wine Tomato Sauce, and Ultimate Figs.  Although I wanted some sort of homemade sauce to accompany the meatballs, I didn’t have a lot of time to give to chopping ingredients and keeping an eye on it.  I decided to try a different spin on it.

If you don’t count the salt and pepper, only four ingredients were required to make this sauce.  Although it didn’t have the texture of a marinara, used as a dipping sauce for meatballs, it was perfect.  The flavor of tomatoes and red wine were balanced well, and the sauce was thick enough to give a decent coating to the meatballs.  Although it is a simple recipe, if you can make it early in the day, allowing it to simmer for a few hours will help the flavors meld together.

Red Wine Tomato Sauce

1 6-oz. can tomato paste

2/3 cup red wine

1 Tb. dried basil

1 tsp. sugar

salt & pepper

Combine the first four ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat.  Allow to simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  If possible, simmer for an additional hour or two.

Yesterday we stopped by a farmstand to purchase some greens and asparagus for our dinner and were delighted to find that rhubarb was still available.  Although I hadn’t cooked with rhubarb until last year, I have developed an affinity for this vegetable.  Yes, it is technically a vegetable, even though it is treated as a fruit in pies and cobblers.  Regardless to its categorization, I find it a delightful piece of produce.

The way that I like using rhubarb best is in a chutney.  With its tart flavor it makes a chutney that isn’t cloyingly sweet.  Like all chutneys, it can be prepared in under thirty minutes and only needs to be chilled at that point.  Yesterday we enjoyed our chutney as a topping for a cream cheese and cheddar mixture that was eaten with crackers.  The combination of salty cheese, crisp crackers, tangy-sweet chutney made a delicious snack for two.

Rhubarb Chutney

2 cups chopped rhubarb

1 small onion, diced

2/3 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup cider vinegar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.  (Keep a careful eye on the chutney, as it can burn quite easily.)

Serve warm, or refrigerate.

As it had been a couple weeks since our last Tapas Monday, I decided to defer to one of our favorites, baked brie.  Served with some homemade focaccia and homemade flatbread chips, it is a delight for the senses.  While the cheese and bread or cracker are a fabulous combination, it is nice to have an accoutrement for variety.  With the cracker, bread, and cheese being of a savory nature, to me a sweet addition is the perfect partner.

I enjoy the pairing of apples and cheese, whether it be in a wrap, on a cheese tray, or in this case, as a topping for brie.  Thinking about how to turn the apple into a chutney, my mind wandered to the liquor cabinet.  Which liqueur could be used to add flavor to the chutney?  The almond flavor of Amaretto seemed perfect: sweet yet earthy.

In addition to adding a sweet note to this dish, it also was quite simple to make and can be served at any temperature.  Make it early in the day, and then allow it to chill for the day in the refrigerator.  You also can make it at the last moment and transfer it directly from stove to serving dish.

Apple Amaretto Chutney

1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced

1 Tb. brown sugar

1 Tb. lemon juice

2 Tb. Amaretto

1-1/2 Tb. slivered almonds

Combine apple, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepot over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes.  Take pot off of heat and add Amaretto; simmer for 5 more minutes.  Add almonds, and stir to combine.

The chutney can be served or refrigerated at this point.

The days that followed were busy and snow-filled.  Thankfully we were able to fit in a family shopping trip, pre-snowstorm. Then we returned home for leisurely days of game playing, tv watching, and enjoying new gifts.  Of course, with extra people at home, we didn’t schedule our regular Tapas Monday.

When Wednesday morning arrived and all of our family departed, I decided that a Tapas Night was in order.  Even though it was Wednesday, it seemed fitting to enjoy a night for the two of us to dine by candlelight.  With kids busy with the excitement of school vacation and social plans, it was the perfect evening for us to dine alone.

Our dinner was a combination of finger foods: dates stuffed with fontina, artichoke dip and toasted pita wedges, and lamb meatballs served with a curried yogurt dip.  Enjoyed with a glass of sparkling wine, it was delightful to enjoy a quiet meal for just the two of us.

Curried Yogurt Dip

1-2 Tb. almonds

1-1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tb. lemon juice

1 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. cardamom

1 tsp. chili powder

Place almonds in a food processor, blender, or bean grinder, and process until finely ground.

Pour yogurt into a medium-sized bowl.  Add garlic, lemon juice, curry powder, cardamom, chili powder, and 1 tablespoon of ground almonds, and mix well.  Can be used immediately, but allowing it to chill for a few hours will intensify the flavor.

Serve with lamb meatballs.

Therefore, I began a search of the refrigerator and pantry.  I didn’t want anything powerful that would overwhelm the more subtle flavors of chicken sausage, but I wanted it to add depth.  I decided to rely on my typical strategy of balancing opposing flavors.  So, with a savory item such as sausage, a sweet sauce seemed the perfect fit.  Of course, the only fresh fruit on hand was apple, and that didn’t seem quite right.  However, we had an assortment of dried fruits, including apricots.  Apricot sauce on top of garlic and cheese chicken sausage seemed like the perfect mix to me.

As I made the sausage at the last minute, I simply topped the sausage slices with the sauce.  However, I think that the sauce could be used as a glaze, allowing the sausage to bake or broil once coated with sauce.  Regardless to how the sauce is used, it provides a hint of sweetness (and a little kick, if you use the crushed red pepper) that will round out many different meats quite nicely.

Dried Apricot Sauce

3 dried apricots, diced

1 Tb. peach schnapps

1 Tb. cider vinegar

1 Tb. water

1 Tb. brown sugar

1 tsp. honey

salt & pepper

crushed red pepper, optional

Combine apricots, schnapps, vinegar, water, sugar, and honey in a small pot over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer.  Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until apricots are tender.  Place sauce in a blender, and purée until smooth.  Return to pot, season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper as desired.