A Bit of Everything: Two Homemade Cheeses, Crystal Cut Candy, and Roast Beef

I love experimenting and playing in the kitchen. This is the perfect time of the year to experiment just a little while relying on tried and true recipes for gift giving and meals. I've been doing a lot of canning for Christmas gift baskets and to restock my jellies. Yesterday I decided to take a bit of a break from canning to do a little dehydrating, freezing, cheese making and candy making. After a day spent doing a lot of genealogy and playing in the kitchen, a pot roast was the ideal meal!

(November 7, 2006 additions to this post. What was I thinking? I forgot to add the sourcing so have made those corrections. )

Ricotta Cheese

Ricotta cheese is a creamy white cheese with a rich mildly sweet taste and grainy texture. Homemade ricotta cheese is very easy to make. It is best made in small batches because ricotta does not keep long. So make it fresh in small amount and use up within a week. This is a cheese best used fresh as it does not freeze well. Ricotta cheese can be used in main dishes and desserts. Two notes when making ricotta cheese. Use a high fat milk. The higher the cream content the creamier the ricotta cheese will be. Low fat milks will not work well for this recipe. I prefer using pure cider vinegar as it give a slightly better flavour to the finished cheese.

Ricotta Cheese
Source: unknown

1 qt 3.25% MF Milk
1/8 c white or cider vinegar

Heat milk to 180ºF. Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar. The milk will separate into curds and whey. Let the mixture sit to develop curds. Line a strainer with cheesecloth. Pour the milk mixture into the strainer and allow to drain until curds are dry but moist. This will take two to four hours. Transfer the curds to a container and seal.

Yogurt Cheese Setup
Source: unknown and one handed down through the family, modified by me to use homemade yogurt

I make a lot of yogurt and the method can be found in an earlier blog entry. Not only do we eat a lot of plain yogurt since we eat it daily, I use plain yogurt for dips, cooking and making cheese. Yogurt cheese is very easy to make and it is quite versatile. It is a very creamy cream cheese that can be flavoured with fresh herbs or other seasonings. It is perfect for spreding on crackers as a base for appetizers.

The setup for making yogurt cheese is rather simple. Line a strainer with cheese cloth. Pour in about 2 cups of plain yogurt. The higher the fat content, the creamier the cheese will be. Homemade yogurt is perfect for this. Set the stainer and yogurt on top of a container then lightly cover the top of the yogurt with the cheese cloth. Put the entire setup into the refrigerator and let drain 18 to 36 hours. The long the cheese drains the firmer it will be.

Yogurt Cheese

Once the cheese it at the desired consistency you can stir in seasoning or leave as is. Transfer the cheese into a 8 oz (250 ml) wide mouth mason jar. Place a lid on then vacuum seal. Store in the refrigerator. Use as a spread for bagels or crackers. It makes a nice dip base too, simply use in place of cream cheese. This makes a lovely gift just be sure to keep it refrigerated.

Old Fashioned Crystal Cut Candies

Crystal cut candies are an old fashioned candy with a lot of flexability. They are perfect for gift giving. Flavour and colour as desired. You can use candy molds or cut into square puffs the old fashioned way as described in the instructions.

Crystal Cut Candies
Source: Better Homre and Gardens®, Cookies and Candies, 1972. Meredith Corporation, 1966, New York. Pp. 82.

2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c light corn syrup
1/2 c water
dash of salt
food colouring
candy flavouring

Combine ingredients in large saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook to soft-crack stage (290ºF). Add desired food colouring and 4 to 6 drops of candy flavouring like oil of cinamon. Gently swirl the mixture to blend. A neat trick I use is to drop two or three colours of food colour on top of the candy after adding flavour. Then I use a toothpick to create multi-colour swirls for an interesting effect. Pour the candy into a 8"x8"x2" metal pan. Do not use glass and be very careful as the candy is hot enough to cause burning. Let stand a few minutes until a film forms over top. Mark the candy into 3/4" squares being very careful to not break through the film. The candy will cool from the edges first. Go over the markings pressing downward slightly but not breaking the film. Continue this procedure until the candy has cooled. Once cooled pop out of the pan and break into pieces. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup icing sugar over the candy for storage in an air tight container.

My Notes: Instructions for crystal cut candies have modified to get the results pictured.

Roast Beef Dinner

After a day full of genealogy and cooking a nice easy meal straight from the oven is a true delight. I put a small rib eye roast into a roasting pan, seasoned with Worchestershire sauce, Montreal steak seasoning, sliced onions and a little water. This cooked for about 2 hrs at 275ºF. I added potato, carrot and turnip pieces along with whole mushrooms and raised the temperature to 350ºF and let the roast and vegetables continue cooking until the vegetables were cooked. The roast was removed to rest before slicing and the vegetables were transferred to a serving bowl. I used the juices to make gravy by adding mushroom powder, salt, pepper and thickened with a corn starch slurry. The end result was a nice meal with very little effort.

Enjoy!

Canning: Apple Pie Filling, Cranberry Claret Jelly, Apple Jelly, Cabernet Jelly

This is the perfect time of year to can apple pie filling since are fresh, plentiful and inexpensive. It is also the perfect time of year to can jellies for gift giving and to restock the pantry. Yesterday I decided to can up another batch of apple pie filling and make two wine jellies and apple jelly. My intent was to also make port wine jelly but the little liquor store here didn't have port wine so it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Apple Pie Filling

Apple pie filling is nice to have on hand and not just for pies. I usually make two or three batches this time of year using a nice firm cooking apple like Northern Spy or L-star. This year's batches are Northern Spy. I like doing batches of 5 - 6 pints at a time so I can use other apple varieties if desired. I use the USDA recipe from the Complete Guide to Home Canning, Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA. Reviewed 1994. The measurements in the following recipe will yield 5 - 6 pints.

Apple Pie Filling

9 1/2 c blanched, sliced fresh apples
2 c + 4 tbsp granulated sugar
5/8 c Clear Jel®
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 c cold water
1 7/8 c apple juice
5 tbsp bottled lemon juice
1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)

Wash, peel and core apples. Slice apples and place in water containing ascorbic acid or lemon juice to prevent browning. Bring 1 gallon water to a boil. Drain apples and pour into boiling water. Bring to a boil and boil one minute. Drain, but keep heated fruit in a covered pot. Combine sugar, Clear Jel®, cinnamon, nutmeg in large kettle with water and apple juice. Stir and cook on medium high heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon juice and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Fold in drained apple slices immediately and fill jars with mixture with delay. Leave 1 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process 25 minutes in boiling water bath canner.


Cranberry Claret Jelly, Apple Jelly, Cabernet Jelly, Apple Pie Filling

Jellies always look so pretty sparkling like jewels in the jars. The nice thing about some jellies is they can be made year round as the need arises. They are quick and easy to make and have very short processing times. I make several kinds of jelly and surprisingly most are used as condiments, appetizer topping or in cooking. We seldom eat jelly on toast. I've include all three jelly recipes as they are perfect for gift giving. Be sure to label the wine jellies as they are not intended for children since they still contain alcohol. Wine jellies are nice served on top of fancy crackers and cream cheese. The are perfect condiments for meats and poultry or use as a glaze ingredient for chicken and ham.

Cranberry Claret Jelly

1 c cranberry juice
1 cup dry red wine (eg. cabernet)
3 1/2 c granulated sugar
1 pouch CERTO Liquid Pectin

Combine juice, wine and sugar in large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil hard 1 min. Remove from heat and stir in CERTO. Stir and skim for 5 minutes. Pour into hot, steriliaed jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Cap with two piece lids. Process 5 minutes in boiling water bath canner.
Yield: 4 pt


Apple Jelly

5 c apple juice
2 tbsp lemon juice
7 1/2 c granulated sugar
1 pouch CERTO Liquid Pectin

Combine apple juice, lemon juice and sugar in large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil hard 1 min. Remove from heat and stir in CERTO. Stir and skim for 5 minutes. Pour into hot, steriliaed jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Cap with two piece lids. Process 5 minutes in boiling water bath canner.
Yield: 8 pts


Cabernet Jelly

2 c dry red wine (eg. cabernet)
3 c granulated sugar
1 pouch CERTO Liquid Pectin

Combine wine and sugar in large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil hard 1 min. Remove from heat and stir in CERTO. Stir and skim for 5 minutes. Pour into hot, steriliaed jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Cap with two piece lids. Process 5 minutes in boiling water bath canner.
Yield: 4 pt

Enjoy!

Garden Gnome

Canning: Applesauce and Venison

My husband is back from hunt camp. They were successful but only got one deer and on the last day no less. The deer is being dressed not then will be divided between whoever wants some in the hunt camp tradition. I won't know how much meat I will have to work with until tomorrow but have included the canning method for vension after the applesauce. Hunting aside, the fall is the perfect time to go apple picking with your family however you can buy them already picked in large quantities suitable for preserving. This is the time to re-stock on homecanned applesauce, apple pie filling, apple butter, canned apples, and apple leather. Don't forget to make an apple pie or two.


L-star Apples

Apples are divided into two main groups, eating or cooking. Cooking varieties have more of a sharp flavour compared to the sweet flavour of eating apples. When making applesauce, use a nice cooking apple like the L-star that keeps it's shape well when used for pies. You don't need to use just one variety of cooking apple either. Some of the best applesauces are made using a blend of two or more varieties of cooking apples. If you want a sweeter applesauce without adding sugar include one or two eating apples.

Applesauce

I follow the Blue Ball Book (2000, pp. 17)method of making applesauce. This method is by far the easiest way to make applesauce. I make both plain and spiced applesauce with no sugar added.

Applesauce

Per quart: 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 lbs of apples.
water
sugar (optional)
spices (optional)
Wash, stem and quarter the apples without coring or peeling. Cook the apples until soft in a large covered pot with just enough water to prevent sticking. Process the apples through a food strainer or food mill to remove seeds and peels. Return pulp to pot. Add 1/4 c sugar per pound of apples or to taste if desired. Bring apple sauce to a boil, stirring to prevent sticking. Reduce head and simmer 5 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints and quarts 20 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.

For spiced apple sauce add desired ground spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice to the sauce during the last 5 minutes of cooking.


Venison

Venison can be either froze or canned. Last year then venison was froze right after processing to kill any parasites that may be present. The person processing the deer said this was the proper way to do it so when we picked up the meat it was already froze and ready for our freezer. If you have a lot of venison you may want to process both ways.

Chopped Venison: Cook meat in hot skillet until seared. Stir in 1 to 1 1/2 cups boiling water, broth or tomato juice. Add 1 tsp salt to each qut ground meat if desired. Pact hot meat and liquid into hot jars, leaving 1-inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 1 hour 15 minutes, quarts 1 hour 30 minutes at 10 lbs pressure.

Steaks and Chops: may be raw or hot packed. For raw pack, cut meat into 1-inch slices. For hot pack cut meat into 1-inch slices and quickly brown meat in small amount of fat. From this point the instructions are the same. Add 1/2 tsp salt to each pint, 1 tsp salt to each quart, if desired Pack meat into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Ladle hot broth over meat, leaving 1-inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two piece caps. Process pints 1 hour 15 minutes, quarts 1 hour 30 minutes at 10 lbs pressure.

Classic Spritz Cookies

A cookie press is nice to have and it can be used for much more than just cookies. Other uses include spritz crackers, fillings for deviled eggs or twice baked potatoes, appetizers and deserts like cream puffs. It's one of those fun kitchen gadgets!

Wreath Shaped Spritz

Spritz are a pretty Scandanavian cookies that are formed into fancy shapes when the dough is forced through a cookie press. Just there are a large variety of other types of cookies there is a wide variety in spritz cookie flavours. One thing in common all spritz cookies and crackers is they are rich and buttery. You can leave them plain or decorate with sprinkles or icing sugar and even icing. Spritz cookies make a nice holiday cookie because they look fancy but are very easy to make. They are the perfect holiday cookie for gift giving!


Classic Spritz Cookies

These spritz cookies remind me very much of my shortbread cookies both in flavour and texture. They have a nice buttery flavour. What I learned very quickly is to keep a close eye on the cookies when they are baking to prevent the bottoms from browing too much. They are small cookies so bake fairly quickly. Ideally for this recipe you are aiming for light browning around the edges. If you are baking in a convection oven be sure to reduce your temperature by 25º F and you may have to reduce baking time by a minute or two. Be sure to check out my notes at the end of the recipe. While one brand of cookie press is specified in the recipe I don't see any reason why the recipe wouldn't work in other brands of cookie presses.


Classic Spritz Cookies

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon Wilton Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 teaspoon Wilton Almond Flavoring
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 375°F. Thoroughly cream butter and
sugar. Add egg, milk, vanilla, and almond extract; beat
well. Stir together flour and baking powder; gradually
add to creamed mixture, mixing to make smooth
dough. Do not chill. Shape dough into small logs and
place in Cookie Master™ Plus. Using desired disk, press
shapes onto ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with col-
ored or chocolate jimmies. Bake 10-12 minutes or until
lightly browned around edges; remove cookies from
sheet. Cool on rack.
Makes 7-8 dozen cookies

source: Manual for Wilton Cookie Master™ Plus, downloaded from http://www.wilton.com

My Notes: I have the Cookie Max™ Cookie Press. It came with 12 disks in favourite shapes and 3 recipes. Unlike the Cookie Master™ Plus the Cookie Max™ is manual and works by pushing the pump action lever. It is very easy to use with easy dishwasher clean-up on the top rack. Wilton offers many recipes on their website.

Enjoy!

Venison Chili

My husband leaves for hunt camp early Tuesday morning. One of the traditions they have is to take a meal made with venison from last year's kill. It is supposed to bring good luck for this year's hunt. One of the guys is bring venison sausage. I'm still working on getting his recipe. I'm making venison chili for them.

Venison Chili Reducing

Venison chili or at least the way I make it looks very much like beef based chili. Don't let this picture fool you either. This is a large batch in my largest stock pot that is a 20 qt capacity. Like many things I make, there isn't an actual recipe. What is important is using good quality ingredients. For this batch I will start with 2 lb ground venison, 1 lb bacon, 5 lb cooking onions, 1 spanish onion, 2 stalks celery, about 1/2 green pepper, 3-4 cloves minced garlic, home canned or frozen tomatoes, dried or home canned kidney beans, about 1 tbsp cocoa powder, about 1 tbsp brown sugar, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, and filtered water. I have been fairly specific about certain ingredients for a reason. Onions are a key ingredient. I like to use cooking onions for flavour and heat. A spanish onion provides sweetness to balance any sharpness to the cooking onions. I will only use home canned or home frozen tomatoes if fresh is out of season. Home canned or frozen tomatoes impart an almost fresh taste that commercially canned tomatoes seem to lack and there is none of the tinny flavour some commercially canned tomatoes have. That is important because that tinny flavour throws off the final flavour of the chili. Cocoa powder add depth and colour to the final chili. It's not something that when you taste the chili you can say "hey, that's cocoa"! So it is one of those ingredients that works in the background adding to the final results without being obvious. Brown sugar, preferrably organic, melds the flavours. Again, this should not be an obvious flavour but one that works in the background. I put kidney bean in my chili, both beet and venison. They add protein, body, texture and visual appeal. However, I willonlyuse dried or home canned kidney beans. These lack the salt of some commercially canned kidney beans but more important they have a fresher flavour. Bacon also plays a key role in venison chili. Some like to use ground pork but to me the bacon just says so much more and it imparts that all important mouth feel. Filtered water is also important as it will not impart any off flavourings to the final chili. So that's the basic ingredients.

Method: First, if using dried kidney beans, allow to soak overnight then drain. Get your mis en place in order especially for the seasonings and vegetables. Guestimate with the seasonings. I'd say I used about 1/4 c chili powder, 1/2 tbsp paprika, 1 tsp onion salt, 1 tsp garlic salt, and 1 tbsp cumin but that can always be adjusted as you are cooking. Once started, you do not want to find out you are missing an ingredient. For the seasonings, I use a larger bowl and mix them together before adding to the chili. Once you have your mis en place in order, it is time to start cooking! Cut the bacon across the strips in about 1/2-inch increments. Pan fry the bacon until browned but not crispy. Remove the pieces from the pan reserving the grease. Allow the bacon pieces to drain on a paper towel while reheating the grease. Add the ground venison to the pan and allow to brown. Do not over cook! Remove from the pan and allow to drain. Venison is quite lean so needs the extra fat but you still don't what a lot of extra fat.

Now the fun starts. Put the chopped vegetables into a large stock pot including the garlic and if you are using dried beans add them now. Do not add any seasonings yet! Some will sautée or even lightly heat the vegetables. I prefer to lightly heat the vegetables then add the browned venison and bacon pieces. Pour in 1 -2 quarts of home canned tomatoes (quart = 32 oz) and stir well. Add a little filtered water if the mixture is too dry. Bring the meat and vegetable mixture to a boil then reduce to a low simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer until the onions are translucent. Now it is time to add the cocoa and brown sugar and if you are using canned beans, add them now too. Note the depth of the colour and add up to a 1/2 tbsp if the colour is too bright but keep in mind the chili powder and other seasonings will add colour depth as well. Now add the other seasonings and mix well. Waft the smell using your hand to gently bring the smell towards your nose. Then do a small taste test putting a tsp of chili mixture into a bowl then tasting. Careful of the taste testing as you can go through a lot of chili that way! A good idea is to get another guinea pig aka family member to do a taste test as well. My husband loves doing this and has become quite an expert of "yep, needs more garlic" even if it's cheesecake. All kidding aside, what you want is a total melody of smell and flavours. If all goes well there will be no seasoning adjustments needed. This will give you a nice chile eveyone likes without being a mouth burner. If you want more heat, add either chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper or hot sauce.

Oh I almost forgot, I love serving chili with homemade sourdough bread. I make an entry for the starter and bread recipe shortly.

Vegetable Beef Soup

Vegetable Beef Soup

Soup is one of the easiest budget stretchers there is. Not only can you use up leftovers but you can also use what is in season. I don't really have a recipe for vegetable beef soup but the base is always home made beef stock. Beef Stock beef bones * carrots onion celery small tomato bay leaf water
This is more of a method than a recipe. Roast the bones at 350ºF for one hour. Remove from oven and pour everything into a large stock pot. Add enough water to cover the bones by at least one inch. Peel a carrot or two, cut in half and add to pot. Cut an unpeeled onion in quarters and add to pot. Add one to two stocks of celery cut in half and one small tomato cut in half. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for a couple of hours. Strain the stock and cool. Remove any fat layer. From there you can freeze it in freezer containers or can. To can process pints 20 minutes and quarts 25 minutes at 10 lbs pressure.
*freeze leftover bones from steak or roasts then do a large batch of beef stock for later use.
Now my beef soup will vary depending on what is in season or what I have on hand. This beef soup started with about 2lbs of stew beef. I browned the been then put it into a stock pot. From there I added beef stock, potatoes, carrots, rutabaga, celery, corn and kidney beans (home canned). Once the vegetables were softening, I added broad egg noodles and 1/4 c beer. The beer burns off but imparts a very nice flavour. Be sure to use a preservative free beer. A dry sherry or red wine will do the same if you don't have beer. Then because it was beef based, I added in a sprinkle or two of Worchestershire sauce. The result was a very pleasant soup, full of body and sure to please. This soup does freeze nicely. If canning, I would omit the noodles and can at 10 lb pressure for 60 minutes pints or 70 minutes quarts.

Party Sandwich & Canned Carrots

I have to admit we do not eat a lot of sandwiches. I came up with this idea as a party sandwich. It gives a nice presentation to the standard sandwich. The real trick with this sandwich besides creativity is a fresh made bun, but not any bun will do!


The Bun

The bun is a basic white bread but slightly modified. It is one whole loaf of bread cut in half bun style. The dough is shaped into a round and baked in the oven. I have specified organic for both the sugar and the honey for a reason. Organic granulated sugar looks like regular granulated sugar but is a light tan. It imparts flavour instead of just sweetness. I only use organic honey, never pasteurized and bought directly from the beekeeper. The flavour of the honey will depend on the time of year and what flowers the bees have collected pollen from. The deeper the amber colour of the honey, the stronger the flavour. For this recipe a medium amber honey works nicely.

Basic White Bread Modified - ABM
1 1/4 c milk
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp granulated organic sugar
1 tbsp organic honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
3 1/4 c unbleached flour*
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
-----
2 tbsp melted butter
sesame seeds

Place ingredients in breadmachine pan in the order your manufacturer suggests. Set to dough setting. When finished, remove from pan onto a floured board or countertop. The dough will be sticky. *Work just enough flour in to remove stickiness. Shape into a round loaf and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with moist towel and leave to rise until doubled. Brush with half of the melted butter. Sprinkle on sesame seeds. Bake at 400℉ (375℉ convection)for 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 350℉ (325℉ convection). Bake until bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom. Remove from oven, lightly brush with remaining melted butter and allow to cool on a rack before cutting in half.

The Fillings

Here's where the creativity comes in. You can use whatever fillings you want. I did one of these when the kids were home for the weekend. My husband grilled a giant hamburg patty about 4 lbs of meat and his special knack. We made a huge burger then cut it into six wedges. It was a huge hit! I have a picture of one of my kids trying to take a bite out of a wedge that had to be almost 5" thick. There was a lot of laughter as one kid tried to outdo the next. The bun is just the start. The whole idea of this is to have fun with your food!

If you have access to a deli, use the fresh sliced ingredients. This party sandwich started with a light spreading of Miracle Whip on each bun half. The bottom half was loaded with a lettuce mixture, deli sliced smoked turkey and cooked ham, deli sliced swiss cheese, onions and honey mustard. I cut it into six wedges and served with homemade dill pickles.

Party Sandwich Cut

This sandwich got rave reviews. Now really it is just a regular sandwich presented differently but the looks it got was priceless! Obviously a few eyes were bigger than the tummies and again there was a lot of laughter. It's funny that food plays such an important role in all of our family and friends get togethers yet in the end the real importance is the bonding and reinforcing of relationships.

Homecanned Carrots

Carrots are quite inexpensive this time of year. One way of preserving carrots is to can them. As produce goes, carrots are one of the easiest to can.

Canning Carrots
Wash and peel the carrots. Wash again. Slice into coins or cut as desired. Pack the carrots tightly into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Add 1/2 tsp salt to each pint or 1 tsp salt per quart. As always when canning vegetables, salt is optional so you can reduce the amount or omit entirely. Ladle boiling water over the carrots leaving 1-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust the two-piece caps. Process pints 25 minutes, quarts 30 minutes, at 10 lbs pressure.