Toothache Tomato Soup

I recently had a wisdom tooth removed and thus have found myself on a liquid diet (it hurts too much to open my jaw). Not a huge fan of the canned soup options and not wanting to take my puffy face to the store, I concocted some soup out of ingredients on hand. If you're looking for something with a little zing, this may be for you.

Toothache Tomato Soup

1 medium onion, chopped
olive oil (3-4 TBSP)
one quart canned tomatoes
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dry marjoram
1/2 tsp dry basil

Cook the onion in the olive oil until it just begins to take on a little bit of brown. Remove the pan from heat and spoon the onion out of the pan and into your blender. Put the dry spices in the warm oil left in the pan and go puree the onions. If it doesn't move around enough, pour in some of the tomatoes to give it some liquid. Put the onion puree back into the pan. Puree the remaining tomatoes until smooth and return to the pan. Stir everything together and warm until it's the temperature you prefer. Serve.

I will say that I think this would be lovely with some fresh sauteed garlic (didn't have any fresh: hence, the powdered) and that fresh spices would be superior goes without saying. If I had some cream onhand I might have tried some of that as well. This would be good with a loaf of crusty bread turned into a cheesy garlic toast or garnished with some toasted pinenuts too I suspect, but if you can't open your jaw for the pain, the plain version above was good and the leftovers kept really well in the fridge.

Apple Dip

Happy New Year Gang!

At work we had a potluck, and one of my coworkers brought this. Her description was, "it's like crack." After hearing what was in it, I was anxious to try it, and once I had, understood the analogy because it was so addicting. My advice is try this BEFORE starting the new year diet because it is hard to quit. I am not sure I agree that Granny Smiths are bitter: I do think they're more tart, but not necessarily bitter. This will probably work with any apple (or spoon) you choose to employ, but I would say it's particularly suited to a more tart apple as this is sweet enough to make your teeth fall right out of your head (but you'll enjoy every minute of it). Enjoy - Devon


Apple Dip

2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 container of caramel apple dip (in produce section, by apples)
3 Heath bars, crushed (Skor bars are more dense and don’t crumble as easily)
6-8 Granny Smith apples, sliced (it may be easier to buy the pre-sliced in the bag so they don’t brown)

Mix together softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and ¼ of the container of apple dip. Put in a shallow pan and put in the fridge to firm up. (Can do this the night before.) Use the rest of the apple dip to make a layer on top of the cream cheese layer. Top with crushed Heath Bars. Serve with apple slices. Use the Granny Smith apples because they are bitter and make a good combo for the sweet dip. After cutting the apple slices, soak them in an uncola (like Sprite or 7-Up for a minute or two so they will not get brown.

Praline Syrup

This is another recipe I recently found that is decadently delicious. Like the Chocolate Raspberry Sundae Topper of another post, it comes from that Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving (buy this book!). I am certain that if you are not a canner you could make this up and freeze it (well, provided you had the freezer space) if you didn't decide to eat it all up right away on everything from oatmeal to ice cream. I have made it with both dark and light syrups, and the light is luscious. The dark is sinful. Angels weep. It's good stuff.

Praline Syrup

Makes about four 8-ounce jars

2 cups dark corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup pecan pieces
1/2 tsp vanilla

Step 1: Prepare your canner, jars, and lids.
Step 2: In a stainless steel saucepan, combine corn syrup, water, and sugar. Heat this over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, and boil for 1 full minute. Reduce heat and stir in pecans and vanilla. Boil gently, stirring constantly for 5 minutes.
Step 3: Ladle hot syrup into jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar and screw the band on tight.
Step 4: Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, remove the jars, and then cool and store.

Chocolate Raspberry Sundae Topper

I've been doing a lot of canning lately, some to use up a bountiful harvest, some to try new things. This find was absolutely divine. I made it with boysenberries instead of raspberries since that's what I had on hand, but whoever you are, you need to try this recipe. It's on the thick side (don't expect Hershey's in a squeezy bottle type topping) which only makes it that much better since you can put it between layers of cake, put it into truffles, eat it right off the spoon...

This recipe comes from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving which I would highly recommend to anyone interested in putting up any kind of preserved foodstuff.

Chocolate Raspberry Sundae Topper

Makes about six 8-ounce jars

1/2 cup sifted, unsweetened cocoa powder
1 package regular powdered fruit pectin
4 1/2 cups crushed red raspberries
4 TBSP lemon juice
6 3/4 cups granulated sugar

Step 1: Prepare your canner, jars, and lids.
Step 2: In a medium glass bowl, combine your cocoa powder and pectin, stirring until it is evenly blended and then set aside. (Why it must be glass I don't know, but that's what it says.)
Step 3: In a large, stainless steel saucepan, place your crushed berries and juice. Whisk in the pectin-cocoa mixture until it is dissolved. Bring this to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Once it boils, dump all your sugar in at once and then return it to a full, rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly, and then remove it from the heat and skim the foam.
Step 4: Ladle hot topper into your prepared jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Remove the air bubbles and adjust the headspace if necessary by adding more topper. Wipe the rim, center the lid on the jar, screw the band until you get resistance and then tighten it up.
Step 5: Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove the canner lid, wait 5 minutes (this will prevent the jars from siphoning), then remove the jars, cool, and store.

The PERFECT Way to Enjoy Grandma Cluff's Blue Cheese Dressing

An onion kaiser.

A big grilled burger done to medium-well.

Tomato from Grandpa Cluff's garden. (Hi Fred!)

Red onion wheel.

Fried onion straws.

Put these together in one giant, luscious stack. Smother in Grandma Cluff's Blue Cheese Dressing and then drizzle with Tabasco sauce.

Seriously. Yum.

Grandma Cluff's Blue Cheese Salad Dressing

Living with my grandfather, I am getting to know a lot about how my grandmother cooked. The other day, he mentioned the Blue Cheese Salad Dressing she used to make that he liked. Taking the hint, I pawed through her recipe boxes and followed her instructions to produce it for him. Blue Cheese is not my favorite dressing, but this was edible. More than that, it was a way to remember my grandmother.

Grandma Cluff's Blue Cheese Salad Dressing
1 clove garlic
3 TBSP chopped onion
1 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise (do not use light mayo)
1/2 to 1 cup Blue Cheese

Mix in blender. Thin with additional lemon juice if desired. Add chunks of Blue Cheese.

Makes approximately 2 1/2 cups.

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I couldn't find the blender base or the food processing cup, so I just minced the garlic and onion really fine with a chef's knife, but I can see how the use of electric kitchen helps would have sped the process up. Still, it's nice to know the old-fangled ways still work sometimes.

Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Marinated Feta

From July 2009 Bon Apetit Magazine.

Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Marinated Feta

One 7-8 oz package feta cheese, cut into 1/2" cubes
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP minced shallot (green onions are a good substitution)
1/2 tsp chopped fresh oregano (fresh basil is also good)
1 pound large cherry tomatoes (the larger the easier)
12 pitted Kalamata olives, halved lengthwise

Toss the cheese, oil, shallot, and oregano in a bowl and add a little salt & pepper to taste.

Cut your tomatoes in half (on the equator) and scoop out the pulp. (I saved the pulp and put it in cottage cheese at my house, in salsa when Gazpacho and I made this at her house, but you do what you think is best with the tomato innards.) Put the hollowed halves on a serving plate and sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Stuff the hollows with the cheese mixture and slide the olive in alongside the cheese. If you wish, you can drizzle with additional olive oil. Cover and chill.

Bon Apetit says you can make these 6 hours ahead of when you plan to serve them.