0 Some December Favorites

December was such a busy month with a very full load of grading and closing down the semester,  followed by a child-filled holiday season. Therefore,  blogging had to be put on the back-burner.

However, two things that I made this month, that I just have to share are Cranberry Sauce and Jalapeno Poppers.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce.
I have a great love for cranberries. I wrote about it HERE.  And this very time-limited cranberry season is about to end!  So, if you haven't already stocked your fridge/freezer with cranberries, get them quick.  My Kroger had them on clearance this week for 25 cents a bag!

Cranberry sauce is one of those recipes that people think is complicated or difficult but actually it is quick and very simple. I made a few batches of cranberry sauce this season. YUM! So easy and so delicious!

Just a few ingredients!

Place a bag of fresh cranberries in a large pot on the stove (pick out any rotten or shriveled berries from the pot). Add 1 cup of granulated sugar. Pour in 1 cup of water. If you want, you can add the zest of an orange. Stir ingredients together. Heat on medium high for 10 minutes, stirring often, until the berries pop. Take off of stove and let cool. Sauce will thicken as it cools. Store in a tight container in the refrigerator.

I love cranberry sauce on top of meat, on a turkey sandwich, as a side dish with a savory meal, or swirled into my plain greek yogurt for breakfast!
Having a jar of it in the refrigerator inspires all kinds of uses.

Secondly, these Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers were a favorite of our season.

Maybe because it's been the holiday season and it inspires party food.  Or maybe it's because cooking a whole meal lately has felt overwhelming.  But I've been wanting snack dinners lately.  We have had appetizers for dinner several times during the holidays.  Sometimes we have had crackers and cheese, sliced apples,  hummus and veggies, goat cheese with pesto and sun-dried tomatoes with crackers and pita chips, texas caviar and chips.  And if we're really going for it- these bacon wrapped pepper poppers have made it on the menu!

We made these a couple of summers ago for the first time when grilling with friends and we fell in love.
They are a little kicky but the spiciness really varies pepper to pepper.

They are simple and just have three ingredients: jalapeño peppers, cream cheese and bacon.

Slice jalapeños long-wise and carefully hull out the seeds and the white inside the pepper (the seeds are the hot part of the pepper, so be careful when handling them!).
Use a knife to smear softened cream cheese into each of the peppers.  Slice bacon in half and wrap a piece around each pepper, securing the two sides together on top.  Place them on a grill over medium heat.  If you have a higher rack, use it. Cook until bacon is fully cooked and crispy, and the jalapeños are softened. Serve immediately.

Or if you don't have easy access to a grill, you can place them on a baking sheet and bake them in a 375˚ oven for 25 minutes, or until bacon is crispy.    

I love December and the foods and festivities, however, I sure enjoy starting a new year, embracing a clean slate.  So, I've packed up the Christmas decorations, made some resolutions and am thankful it's January.

 I hope you are having a great start to a new year.

Detail: Some December Favorites

0 Chimichurri – I Could Almost Drink It!

Have you experienced Chimichurri? It's an Argentinian Sauce, similar to Pesto, but made with a Parsley base.  If you haven't, you must! It was love at first taste for me.  A couple of years ago we went to Eastland Cafe for dinner with friends. In our life, this is considered special-occasion, high-style dining – since eating out in our world usually does not include table cloths, servers, and low lighting.

(I wrote here about the dilemma I face when upscale dining, regarding the salad and main dish courses.)

I struggle with the fact that meat is typically not my favorite part of the meal, and yet it is seen as the main attraction on most menus.  Everything else is simply building up to this apex.  I had difficulty ordering at Eastland Cafe because of this very dilemma.  So, I opted instead to order a salad and some sides.  I felt good about the decision.  I had fried green tomatoes, a beet-topped green salad, a sweet potato dish and something else that escapes me now.  It was all very tasty.  However, I have to report that the highlight of the meal, for me, was the fresh, warm bread and bowl of chimichurri for dipping that was brought at the beginning of our meal.  Oh my....a party for the taste buds! It was so good, I almost drank it.  This began my love (and pursuit) of chimichurri.

I talked to my creative, culinarily friend Rich about it (who happens to be an amazingly creative photographer as well), because I figured he might have a recipe for it.  This summer, he made it happen.  And it was everything I dreamed it to be! He served it poured over grilled flank steak and it was a hit. We all, including the kids, went crazy (Asher went a little crazier than the other kids, but they all loved it). We served it with roasted vegetables, braised purple cabbage and crusty bread.  During the meal we felt compelled to pour the chimichurri over the veggies and dip our bread into it.

We made it the other night and I was able to take a few photos to share with you.  We had a few tablespoons of the chimichurri left.  I saved it.  (If you know me you are not surprised by this). We had some left over pasta noodles in the fridge, so the next day I tossed them together and Shazam! a tasty lunch.  It's delicious on any meat, fish or vegetables.

Chimichurri

borrowed from Simply Recipes

1 cup firmly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, trimmed of thick stems

3-4 garlic cloves

2 Tbsp. fresh oregano leaves (can substitute 2 tsp. dried oregano)

1/2 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp. coarse salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Finely chop the parsley, fresh oregano, and garlic (or process in a food processor several pulses). Place in a small bowl.

Stir the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes in a measuring cup.  Adjust seasoning to taste. Pour oil mixture over parsley mixture and stir until well combined.

Serve immediately or refrigerate.  If chilled, return to room temperature before serving.  Can keep for a day or two.

Flank Steak

Flank Steak

Salt and Pepper

Lemon juice
Worcestershire Sauce

Pat meat dry. Sprinkle generously with coarse salt and fresh ground pepper (on both sides).  Dash  Worcestershire Sauce and the juice of a lemon over it (on both sides).

Cook on heated grill over high heat to sear it.  Do not overcook it. 

Rich says the rarer the better.

Chimichurri is so simple.  It takes only a few minutes to make and yet it can transform a meal.

Which, by the way, simple, delicious recipes like this create somewhat of a problem in my life.  Being the tightwad that I am, and loving really tasty food it is hard for me to justify paying $25 for dinner, when it can be made simply at home for a fraction of the cost! And you get to have leftovers! (Not to mention you can do this while wearing your sweat pants).

Detail: Chimichurri – I Could Almost Drink It!