Itinerant Muse

Cranberry Salsa ~ Spices up a Thanksgiving feast

Tex-Mex Cranberry Salsa

I developed this recipe from reading a combination of recipes from the magazine, New Jersey Countryside, and Tex-Mex cookbooks.  As you may know, NJ has probably one of the largest cranberry bogs in the U.S. (third only to Wisconsin, my home state, and Massachusetts) and cranberries could almost be considered the state fruit. Since my children have never like cranberries and I grew up always having cranberry sauce and my grandmother's delicious cranberry pudding on Thanksgiving and Christmas, I was constantly challenged every Thanksgiving to create a recipe that they would like. They love this cranberry salsa!

Serves Two cups

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped sweet onion, like a Vidalia
• 1 fresh jalapeno, seeded, deveined & finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic smashed, peeled & chopped
• 1 1/2 cup fresh cranberries blanch to slightly soften
• 1/2 small juicing orange, scrubbed, unpeeled, quartered & seeded
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• kosher or sea salt to taste

1. Combine onion, jalapeno & garlic in food processor. Pulse to coarsely chop.
2. Add cranberries that have been slightly blanched to soften, orange quarters, vinegar, sugar & orange juice. Pulse in food processor until uniformly chunky. Stir in cilantro and rosemary. Season to taste with salt.
3. Rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. preferably one hour to allow flavors to meld and develop.
4. Cover tightly and refrigerate salsa until thoroughly chilled, 2 hours or more.  Garnish with a sprig of rosemary.
5. Covered and refrigerated, cranberry salsa will keep nicely for up to 10 days and can be frozen for up to two months as well.

* For holiday or cocktail parties, serve as an hors d'oeuvres with sweet potato or tortilla chips  for   dipping.

Happy Thanksgiving and good health and happiness to all!

Happy Memorial Day ~ Let the Grilling Season Begin

Happy Memorial Day!

Got the barb-e  ready to go.  Chicken is marinating in a Wasabi/ginger sauce with garlic and pepper.
Making Andrew Weil's Turkish Spinach Salad with a yogurt dressing and fresh green beans.
This is the first for a cook-out this year.  To inaugurate the grilling season, I bought a small table-top Weber-like grill and some Mesquite wood chunks (I hate charcoal) and love the smell of mesquite.

It's a beautiful evening and my deck is flourishing with flowers and herbs.
A nice glass of chardonnay, enjoying my petite jardin ~ what more?

This recipe I prepared for my daughter and myself on Mother's Day and forgot to post.  It's really delish!

Ham & Cheese Strata (credited to Food & Wine)

8 large eggs

1 1/2 c milk

1/2 rap.  each of salt & freshly ground pepper

4 cups Italian bread crumbs ( I use a fresh Rosemary/Olive bread)

6 oz. VA. ham diced

8 oz. Gouda cheese ( I am going to use Manchego, because my daughter loves it)

1/2 cup julienned sun-dried tomatoes, drained

1/4 cup. chopped chives and 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 450 .  In large bowl, whisk eggs w/ milk, salt & pepper.  Stir in bread until evenly moistened, then stir in ham, cheese, tomatoes and 1/4 cup chives.

Butter a 9x12 bakingdish & pour in strata mix.  Sprinkle w/ cheddar and bake for about 20 minutes until puffed & golden.  Cool slightly, sprinkle w/ remaining chives and serve.

A Heart Full of Chocolates

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, it's time to think about loved ones and givng an expression of your love with chocolates.  Unfortunately many of our loved ones can't eat chocolate because they are allergic to nuts.  I have a friend who started her own business in her kitchen making gourmet chocolates without any nuts in the cocoa powder, specifically created for people allergic to nuts.  No Nuts About It! is a home crafted business with Ariane making the rich, delicious chocolates by hand.  She creates truffles filled with caramel, mint and orange pastes ~ so succulent, they just melt in your mouth.  Juicy ripe strawberries are dipped in dark chocolate combining the sweet sugary taste of the strawberries with the slightly pungent taste of dark chocolate. 

In case you're not up on your chocolatiering studies, it has been said that chocolate is one of the most perfect foods consumed by man.  It contains essentilal vitamins and minerals, is high in antioxidants, and is good for cholesterol and cardiac health.

And, if none of your family and friends are allergic to nuts, there is still time to order delicious chocolates online from L.A. Burdick in New Hampshire.  These absolutely fabulous, gourmet artisan chocolates were rated among the top ten best chocolates in the United States by The New York Times.  They are truly the best ~ better than Belgian or Swiss chocolates, beautifully and artistically gift wrapped as well.

And for a bit of whimsical romance, try these delicious pudgy penguins that Burdick's pays homage to and describes as a ganache of dark chocolate and lemon with almond arms and dark chocolate dressing accented with white chocolate.  Who could resist these little fellas?

Remember chocolate in moderation is good for you!  Bon Appetit and Happy Valentine's Day!

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Happy New Year!

                                                                                                                                                                 Apple Cheddar Cheese Bread

Hoping everyone out there had a very happy holiday season despite the current gloomy economy!

One of my New Year's resolutions is to dedicate more time to the Itinerant Muse and broaden topics of interest as I seem, not purposely, to focus mostly on food ~ obviously my passion is cooking.

My Christmas gifts to the ladies who keep me coiffed and manicured received Apple & Cheddar Cheese Bread (if you click on the Flickr badge photo, it will take you to the recipe) and Lemon Raisin Bread.  Dear friends also received the Apple Cheddar bread in a Tuscan ceramic loaf pan.  My gift of love to my daughter was a handwritten cookbook covering four generations of my family ~ grandmother, mother, aunt, my recipes and my son's original cheesecakes and to-die-for crabcakes.  Some recipes were still in their original handwritten fragile form.  I had them laminated and enclosed in a CD envelope that I attached in the back of the book.  I even had a 1980's Ramos Fizz recipe handwritten by my brother on a cocktail napkin from a restaurant in San Almeda, CA.!   The book isn't finished yet and already I have requests from various family members to duplicate it ~ haven't quite figured out how though.  What I have written has taken hundreds of hours, pouring through reams of old recipes torn out from newspapers, family collections, books, etc. ~ then, handwriting them out.  Occasionally, I will post one of the recipes here ~ just for fun of reviving old memories and experiences.

While I continue to complete my daughter's cookbook, 2009 will see me taking on new challenges and new endeavors.  Creative thinking on a shoestring budget will be my modus operandi.  Where it will take me, I'm not sure.  Relocating to warmer weather is my biggest challenge, but top on my priority list.  Reconnecting with old friends is another

Wishing all a healthy, happyy, prosperous and safe New Year.  Bon Appetit and Salud!

Happy musings for Valentine's Day

Whether with a loved one or alone, keep in mind these kind words ~
“Age does not protect you from love. But, to some extent, love protects you from age.” Anais Nin

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” Leo Tzu (a contemporary Chinese artist living in Zhengzhou, Henan Province)

So, knowing you have love in your heart for someone special, think of yourself as ageless and courageous. And, treat yourself to something very indulgent today.

Who needs Cupid when you can indulge yourself on an exotic cocktail, for instance?
My local newspaper the Star Ledger prints a weekly supplement called “abode” There’s no place like home.
Last week’s issue featured ~ Seductive Spirits ~ truly innovative, alluring and very seductive cocktails that I share with here.
Go wild with Australian import Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup, www.wildhibiscus.com
Edible wild hibiscus flowers are infused in cane sugar and water. Drop a Wild Hibiscus “bud” into a champagne flute, fill with champagne or sparkling wine and watch the fizzy magic begin! Voilà ~ before your very eyes, the cocktail turns a delicate pink as the hibiscus spectacularly opens its petals ~ and when you have finished sipping, you can eat the delicious flowers succulent with raspberry and rhubarb. And, check out the website’s Adam and Eve Martini for a romantic rendezvous.

From down under, we travel round the globe to South Africa for an aphrodisiac of a liqueur, Amarula, www.amarula.com, the soul of the Afri-Disiac cocktail, a rich chocolate-flavored drink. The buttery creamy Amarula is made from the marula fruit grown on a South African tree nicknamed “the marriage tree.” Legend has it that anyone married under the tree’s canopy-like branches will be blessed with good fortune ~ maybe even ready for a bit of a good romp.

Another sexy new import is from Ireland ~ a cream liqueur called Coole Swan. It is best served cold in a frosty glass. Coole Swan is a sensuous blend of fresh cream, single malt Irish whiskey, chocolate and vanilla. Visit cooleswan.com for more information.

So even if you find yourself flying solo on Valentine’s night, whip up one of these seductive drinks, draw yourself a steamy, fragrant bubble bath, light some aromatic candles and indulge your body and spirit. A votre santé!

Post Holiday Musings

As I gaze at my very alive and verdant Fraser fir lit with tiny white lights, golden balls and pearl-fringed ivory bows ~ still too pretty and fresh to throw away, it saddens me to know it must come down this weekend.
While enjoying the beauty of this tree, I refrain from putting away one special gift. A gift handcrafted by my most favorite seven-year old friend ~ a beautiful teapot with tea cup and saucer ~ in her own words, in "our" favorite colors, pink and purple. Accompanying this beautiful gift was a selection of fabulous teas from, of all places, Starbucks ~ encased in a lovely fabric box were five teas ~ Awake, a black tea; Passion, an herbal infusion; Organic Chai, spiced black tea; Joy, black, green & oolong teas; and Berryblossom White, a white tea with hints of blueberry and cranberry. What a thoughtful and delicious gift from my little friend and her parents. And, what a fabulous gift from Starbucks known mostly for its savory coffees ~ who would have thought ~ a gift of incredible teas. Oh, and to commemorate the gift, Starbucks included a tiny teacup ornament dated 'Holiday 2007.' An incredible marketing idea ~ look out for Starbucks Holiday 2008! I'm sure it will be kicked up a notch.
My cherished tree will be history this weekend; but my teapot set will remain a treasure cherished forever.