Homemade Rosemary Apple Butter

Sometimes when winter lasts well into Spring and as it encroaches on daylight savings time we need to find a way to bring back the scents and emotions that make winter enjoyable!
(Without bringing back the calories! :-)

 Rosemary Apple Butter

Prep/Cook Time:

15 Min / 3 hours

Ingredients (Yields less than 4oz)

- 10 small/medium apples of any variety

- 1/4 C Honey

- 3 Cinnamon Sticks

- 3-4 Sprigs of Rosemary

- 1/2 C Apple Cider

- Fresh Juice from 1 Orange 

STEPS
1.  Peel and chop your apples into 1-2in cubes.
2.  Put all the ingredients into a stove top pot on high heat.
3.  As soon as it comes to a boil, reduce and simmer for 45 minutes.
4.  Once the apples have cooked through remove the cinnamon sticks and some of the Rosemary sprigs.  (If you love rosemary flavor then leave them in.) 

5.  Toss it all in the blender and puree until you have applesauce.6.  Then transfer to an oven safe casserole or back to your dutch oven and bake at 275 degrees for 2 hours.  Stir every 30-40 minutes. 7.  The applesauce will reduce into a thick, sweet, and tangy apple butter infused with the essence of rosemary.

Use it on grilled cheese, sweet breads, and anything else you would like!  

Cameron Diaz' Whipped "Shallot Gold"

Last week on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the incredibly good dancer, Cameron Diaz, shared her favorite flavor enhancer! I took what she shared, tried it, and whipped it up in my blender adding a saucy twist. So here for your flavor enhancing pleasure is my version of Shallot Gold. 

Cameron Diaz' "Whipped Shallot Gold"

Check out Cameron Diaz on Jimmy Fallon Here!

Prep/Cook Time:

1Hour - 1.5 hours

Ingredients (Yields less than one 6oz. Mason Jar)

-4 C. Shallots Minced (I chose to mince 1/2 and grate the other 1/2)
-1/2 C. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (High Quality EVOO)
- A hefty Pinch of Sea Salt 

STEPS
1. Add EVOO to the saute pan on high heat.
2.  Drop in one small shallot chip and see if the oil begins to fizzle around the it.   

10 Min.

3.  When the oil has reached the 'fizzle point' drop in all the shallots and spread the salt broadly across the shallots. 
4.  Quickly stir the shallots coating them with the hot oil and reduce the heat to medium.  Be careful not to let the oil burn. Olive Oil has a very low tolerance for heat. 

20 Min.

5.  Once you can tell the onions have stopped 'steaming' then the water has come out of the shallot and it's time to reduce the heat for 45 minutes to an hour. Let it live on a very low simmer, stirring occasionally as the 'gold' forms. 
6.  Once you've achieved a perfect color and tasted/sampled your shallots to see if the bitterness is gone, then you are ready to 'whip' or emulsify it into a golden sauce.

55 Min

7.  Put the full contents from the pan into the blender and whip it for 30 seconds to a minute until the color has lightened ever so slightly and you can tell that air is permeating the oil/onion mixture. Your goal is to achieve whipped puree. It will not 'fluff' but it should be the consistency of flowing sauce.  

 Store this in a mason jar in the fridge(2-3 weeks max) and use no more than a tablespoon each time you need a little flavor enhancement.  Use this especially as a substitute for bacon bits or bacon flavor.

Disclaimer: Full credit goes to Jimmy Fallon & Cameron Diaz for the name & inspiration. 

Olympic Recipes: Russia On a Roll in honor of Kaitlyn Farrington...who was also on a roll!

Posted in honor of Kaitlyn Farrington and the awesome weather in Russia!

So while all of the USA is freezing cold today it is a balmy 60 degrees in Sochi, Russia.  In my mind Sochi wins the Gold for weather today.  But the weather wasn't the only surprise!  Snowboarder Kaitlyn Farrington also surprised us with an incredible win on the women's half pipe! So, I give you Russia on a Roll!

  "Russia on a Roll"
Commonly known as Cabbage Rolls or Голубцы

Prep/Cook Time:

1 Hour

(Preheat Oven: 350F)

Ingredients (6 Servings)

-6 Cloves Garlic
- 1/2 Onion Sliced
-1 C. Brown Rice
-1 Red/Yellow Pepper
- 2 C. Broth or Water    
- 1 Tbsp. Fresh Tarragon
-1 lb. Ground Meat
-1 C. Sliced Mushrooms
-1 C. Fresh Tomato Sauce                  
- 1/4 C. Parmesan Cheese


STEPS
Cabbage Prep: Boil Broth or water and drop cabbage leaves in for 10 minutes or until they are soft and malleable.  Then drain and run cool water over them to stop the cooking. You will use 10 -12 leaves.
Filling Prep:  While the rice is cooking, saute the onions, add garlic and peppers, this should take 2-5 minutes on high heat.  Add the ground meat and brown it well.  Add the mushrooms give it a quick toss and then let it rest on medium heat for 3-4 minutes.  Add the tarragon, a pinch of salt and pepper.  Remove from the heat and add the cooked rice and toss everything together.  
Assembly : Line the pan with part of the tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese. Add 3 Tbsp. of the filling to each leaf and roll while tucking in the ends.  Then place close together in the pan.  Cover with remaining sauce and the rest of the shredded cheese.  Bake for 20-30 min at 375 degrees until cheese is melted.

Olympic Recipes: Ginger Peanut Butter Cookies for the USA's most beloved ginger, Shaun White!

Posted in honor of my favorite ginger Olympian, Shaun White!

Shaun White is by far my favorite Olympian of all time!  Growing up in Colorado as a young snowboarder I watched him grow the sport by innovating new tricks and blowing up the half pipe.  He might have taken 4th in the Olympics today, but he will always be #1 in my heart!  So, I baked him some comfort cookies!

  "Ginger Peanut Butter Cookies"

Prep/Cook Time:
15 Minutes
(Preheat Oven: 350F)

Ingredients
(10-12 Cookies)
-1 C. Sugar
-1 C. Peanut Butter
-1 Large Egg
-1 Tsp Fresh Grated Ginger
-1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
- A Pinch of Sea Salt (Coarse is best)

STEPS
1. Mix Sugar, peanut butter, egg, ginger, and vanilla thoroughly until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
2.  Separate the dough into 1 in. balls on a clean lined baking sheet. (Should make 10 - 12.)
3.  Depress each ball with a fork horizontally
4.  Sprinkle 1 pinch of sea salt sparingly across all your cookies.
5.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-13 minutes.
6.  Remove the cookies and let them cool/set for 1-3 minutes.

Depressing Cookies

Size of Dough Balls

Fresh Grated Ginger

Olympic Recipes: Dutch Split Peas in honor of the Dutch Mulder Twins who won Gold & Bronze in Speed Skating

Posted in honor of the Netherland's Sweeping win in Speed Skating!

The Mulder twins Michel & Ronald took Gold & Bronze in men's speed skating in the Sochi Olympic Games on February 10th.  Those boys are two peas in a pod and so was born today's Dutch Split Pea! But this recipe isn't just full of flavor it is super fast to throw together!

  "Dutch Split Peas"

Prep/Cook Time: 10 Minutes

Ingredients (1 Serving)
-2 C. Vegetable or Chicken Broth
-2 C. Frozen Peas
-1 Tsp Garlic Powder ( or 2 Cloves Fresh Garlic)
-1 Tsp your favorite salty, crumbly cheese, like Feta, Cotija ( I used a homemade Huancaina Sauce)
-1 Tsp your favorite shaved cheese, like smoked Gouda, Edam, or something else Dutch (I used Parmesan!)
- 1 Slice Bacon  (I baked my bacon in a 400 Degree oven for 15 minutes with chopped fresh Jalapeno!)

STEPS
1. Heat the broth to a boil and then add the frozen peas.  Keep the heat on high until the peas are warmed through to their core.  (Boiling this is not necessary and can reduce some of the flavor.)
2.  Pour the heated peas and broth into your blender.  (If yours is glass like mine then fill it with HOT water for 5 minutes and then dump it out, to temper the glass before you fill it with hot broth. This will keep it from cracking.)
3.  Add the Garlic and salt to taste.  Blend at the highest speed until your soup has developed a foamy top and is a rich and thick shade of green.
4.  Your soup is good as-is but when you garnish this it becomes incredible!


Garnishments: You can add so many things to this soup base to enhance the already rich flavor.  But don't overdo it...just pick 2!
Olive Oil: A 1/4 tsp drizzle of Olive oil and a pinch of pepper increase the flavor of this soup fast!
Herbs : Herbal accompaniments that would blend well include chives, green onions, or a few chilli flakes.
Cheese : In the photo above you will see I garnished my Split Pea with a spicy yellow cheese sauce native to the Huancaina region of Peru.  You can get the recipe for my Huancaina sauce here.  I also added a pinch of grated Parmesan.
Bacon Bits : In the photo you will see I used a Bacon slice that I baked with fresh grated Jalepeno directly on top of the bacon slice.

Eet Smakelijk!
(Bon Appetit in Dutch)

Olympic Recipes: The Bright Grilled Cheese for Australian Snowboarder Torah Bright

Posted in honor of Australia's Torah Bright in Olympic Women's Slopestyle!

Apparently Australian Female Snowboarder Torah Bright thinks she can compete in every single snowboarding discipline happening in the Sochi Olympic Games.  There is nothing like an ambitious female snowboarder to make me feel really ambitious about my Olympic snack!  So here it is...

 "The Bright Grilled Cheese"

Prep/Cook Time: 12 Minutes

Ingredients (1 Serving)
-2 Slices of Your Favorite Bread (lightly buttered)
-2 Tbsp of Your Favorite Sharp White Cheddar, Shredded (I used 'Australian Old Croc Extra Sharp White Cheddar'!)
-1 Tbsp Goat Cheese
- 1 Tbsp Pear Blue Cheese Spread (Or any other fruit/cheese spread)
- 6-8 Fresh Raspberries (Or a favorite fresh fruit jam.)
- 2  Fresh Mint OR Basil Leaves
STEPS
1. Lightly toast your bread and then butter the outer sides.
2.  Spread the goat cheese and fruit-studded cheese on both insides of your bread.
3.  Add raspberries and mint leaves or basil leaves to one side and the shredded white cheddar to the other.
4.  Put the two sides together and grill on medium/low for 2-3 minutes on each side until your cheese is melted and heated through.  

Enjoy Mate!

Olympic Recipes: Sage Kotsenburg: Browned Butter Bison Linguine w/ Butternut Squash

Posted in honor of our Gold Medal win by Sage Kotsenburg in Olympic Snowboarding Slopestyle!

Prep/Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients (4 Servings)
1 lbs Ground Bison
1 Cubed Butternut Squash *
1/4 Diced White Onion
1 Stick Unsalted Butter Cubed (Real Butter Please!)
1 Fist-Ful Linguine**
1/4 C. Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp. Olive Oil
A Pinch of:
Rosemary, Sage, Chives, Oregano, Chilli Flakes, Tumeric

STEPS
1. While you boil a large pot of salted water for the Pasta, toss the Butternut squash and diced onion together with a pinch of rosemary, oregano, sage, salt, and pepper in a shallow pie plate. Place the squash in the oven at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until soft and tender.
2.  Then drop your pasta into water that has reached a rolling boil.  Add a splash of olive oil to the water. Boil for 10 minutes (or check you pasta package for timing.)  Then drain and set aside.
3.  Toss the cubed butter with a pinch of sage, chives, oregano, and chilli flakes as well as 1 tsp of olive oil.
4. Then in a high-sided saute pan brown the Bison.  Add to the browned bison, a pinch of salt, tumeric, and chilli flakes. While on High heat toss the butter into the meat until it melts and hits a simmer then immediately remove from the heat and stir constantly.
5.  Toss, into the bison, the onion/squash mix from the oven and the drained linguine and toss it all together.  Toss in half of the Parmesan and use the remaining Parmesan to garnish on the top.

*Look for it in your freezer section for faster prep!
**I've been Gluten Free since 2012 so I love to go with Brown Rice Pasta.  Not only is it GF, it's also fewer calories and a great hearty pasta!