Fruit
Braised Chicken with Grapes
Chicken and grapes – it sounds like something that you would feed your five year old for dinner. But trust me when I say that this meal is greater than the sum of its parts. The chicken is browned and then braised in wine until it’s fall-off-the-bone tender. The pan juices are made into a delicious sauce enriched with a touch of cream and plenty of fresh thyme. And then there are the grapes – when heated, they transform into tiny morsels of juicy perfection that are the perfect balance of sweet and bitter.
I first had the idea of cooking with grapes over the summer. I must have seen it somewhere because shortly after I first started thinking about it, food + wine magazine featured a recipe with roasted grapes. That was closely followed by an issue of fine cooking that has a whole section on cooking with grapes! As great as the idea seemed, I was always distracted by the fresh, seasonal produce that was available. Grapes seemed silly! Until now. In the dead of winter in upstate New York, produce – especially fruit – is scarce, but grapes seem to be a constant. So I gave it a try, and my only complaint is that I shouldn’t have waited so long! [....]
Honey Pecan Granola
For those of you who are still too intimidated to try your hand at bagels (I promise they’re not as hard as you’d think!), here’s another great breakfast that you can make ahead of time – granola!
I’ve been flat-out obsessed with making my own granola lately. In addition to tasting great, it travels well so I’ve been eating it with yogurt for breakfast pretty much every weekday. I’ve already been through thee huge batches since I started making it earlier this fall! I’ve made each batch slightly different, while following the same general formula… until the last time. I was halfway through when I realized that I was almost out of oats! I mixed the last of what I had in and hoped that the higher honey to oat concentration would work. Best. Mistake. Ever! The extra honey really shines through and lends a great flavor without being too sticky or sweet, while pecans and raisins add texture.
Since honey is the predominant flavor here, you’ll want to use something that’s high-quality. I used a darkly colored wild honey from Germany that I picked up on a whim. I wouldn’t be able to even begin to tell you where to find the same kind, but I would use a dark/ amber honey. You should be able to find a decent on in any grocery store.
Once you have the basic oat/ honey combination down, you can really experiment with any other mix-ins that you want. If you don’t like pecans and raisins, how about dried cranberries and walnuts? Or coconut and macadamia nuts? The combinations are endless.
Since granola is relatively calorie-dense, I like to balance it out with yogurt and fruit instead of eating it with milk like cereal (which usually results in me eating way too much). Pictured above is a combination of granola, vanilla yogurt, and pomegranate seeds. It’s also fabulous with roasted or sauteed pears. What’s your favorite way to eat granola? [....]
Fried Olives + An Instant Party
Remo the pits from some good-quality olives, such as castelveltrano. Stuff each olive with a small piece of asiago cheese. Toss in some flour to lightly coat.
Heat about 2 inches of oil in a deep pot. When the oil is heated, fry the oil in batches for about 45 seconds or until batter has crisped and turned golden. Remove from oil and cool on paper towels.
Next up is a crostini bar with two types of tapenade and some seasoned artichoke hearts. These are all super simple to make, and taste much more complex than they are. The first is artichoke and green olive tapenade. Basically just throw some artichoke hearts and some garlic-stuffed olives in the food processor along with some parsley and a few olives. Pulse a few times to chop it all up, then drizzle in some olive oil and process until it comes together. I have to say that I wasn’t a huge fan of the garlic olives on their own – they were just too strong! – but mixed up in the tapenade, they were fabulous.
These tapenades were both amazing. We couldn’t decide which we liked better!
I also need to take a minute to gush about these blue cheese stuffed olives. I. LOVE. THESE! And I’m super bummed because they won’t be available on the East Coast until next summer (hint, hint West Coast friends… send me some more!). The first time I had blue cheese stuffed olives was a few years ago in a martini at the Cheesecake Factory. I’ve always wanted to have them at home, but have never been able to find good ones. I was getting really tired of spending money on jars that were too salty, or had nasty cheese that was too hard, not blue enough, or just tasted downright funky. But these are pretty much perfection. The olives taste fresh and not too briney, and the cheese is soft and sharp like blue cheese should be. I can’t recommend them highly enough.
Baked Brie with Cranberries and Pears
I can’t believe it’s December already – where has this year gone?! Thanksgiving totally snuck up on me this year, and I was scrambling at the last minute to come up with something to bring to my parents house. Since there are usually a million desserts, I didn’t want to bring anything sweet and since it takes us an hour to get there a side dish wasn’t really an option because it would get cold. Finally, I decided on cheese. We never have any appetizers, and thought it would be nice to have something to snack on before the main meal was served.
Bakes brie is one of my standard holiday recipes. It’s cheap and easy to make and it travels extremely well. And it always goes over well because who doesn’t like cheese? I’ve been loving cranberries lately – especially when they’re paired with pears – so I decided stuff my brie with a cranberry and pear chutney. I really liked the way that the tart berries played off the buttery brie. If you don’t like cranberries or can’t find fresh ones, raspberries are also fabulous in this recipe.[....]
Pear and Cranberry Breakfast Crumble
Without a doubt, pears are my favorite fruit. I’ve loved them ever since i was a little kid. I actually remember one time when I was about 5 or 6 and I was eating one at my grandmother’s house it was sooo juicy and sooo good. I ate the entire thing. And I mean the ENTIRE thing! My mom came in and asked when I did with the core and I was like “what?” Yeah, I ate that pear core, seeds, and all!
Anyway, it’s easy to overlook pears in the Fall because of all of the excitement that surrounds apples. I decided to make a pie in celebration of the season’s “other” fruit. When thinking about what I wanted my pie to look like, I decided on a crumb top. Then I remembered that Deb over at Smitten Kitchen posted an apple breakfast granola crisp that looked amazing, and my pear crumble as born. With a combination of pears, apple, cranberries and a lightly sweetened granola topping, this crumble is delicious for breakfast, dessert, or anything in between. [....]
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