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Cranberry Sauce with Port and Cinnamon

11/18/2020

Makes 2 ½ cups
1 cup ruby Port
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
1 cup dried cranberries (about 6 ounces)
1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
¾ cup water
¼ cup sugar

Bring ruby Port and broken cinnamon sticks to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Reduce heat to medium and simmer mixture 5 minutes.
Add dried cranberries to saucepan; simmer until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.
Add fresh cranberries, ¾ cup water, and sugar; bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.
Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until cranberry sauce thickens and is darker in color and berries collapse, stirring often, about 20 minutes.
Transfer sauce to bowl; cool. Discard cinnamon sticks

NOTE: Place your cranberries, bag and all, in the freezer overnight and then thaw before proceeding. Don’t know the science of it, but the natural flavor and sweetness of the tart berry will intensify.
ADVANCE PREP: Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.

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Belgian Short Ribs Carbonnade

11/11/2020

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Serves: 4
1 large whole cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
2 whole star anise
4 whole allspice berries
5 whole black peppercorns
3 tablespoon butter, divided
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 to 4½ lbs. beef short ribs (8)
1 to 1½ large onions, sliced (about 3 cups)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 12-ounce bottles brown ale
1 12-ounce bottle cream stout
2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
16 packaged pitted prunes
⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped fresh Italian parsley
4 cups cooked wide egg noodles

Cheesecloth, spice sock o bag

Wrap cinnamon stick, bay leaves, star anise, allspice and peppercorns in piece of cheesecloth or a spice sock or bag. Tie to secure; set aside.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter with oil in heavy large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until butter starts to brown.
Sprinkle short ribs with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Working in batches if necessary, add short ribs to pot and cook until deep brown on all sides, turning occasionally, 7 to 8 minutes per batch. Transfer ribs to large bowl.
Add onion to same pot and sauté over medium-high heat until transparent, about 5 minutes.
Add spice packet and Worcestershire sauce; stir 1 minute.
Add the ale, stout, broth, vinegar and brown sugar, stirring well and bring to a boil. Immediately lower to a simmer.
In a small bowl, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in the flour until you create a roux. Add 2 to 4 tablespoons of the hot simmering liquid ale/stout/broth. Continue to whisk until fully incorporated.
Add the roux to the simmering pot and continue to whisk until all are one.
Add the mustard and brown sugar and blend it into the mixture well. Then add the prunes.
Bring all back to a simmer. Cover and let continue to cook over low heat for about 2½ hours with an occasional stir.
When the ribs are so tender that they could fall away from the bones, remove the spice packet and discard. Remove the ribs from the stew to a holding bowl.
Set a large sieve over a large bowl and strain the stew broth. Reserve the solids.
Extract cooking liquids from the fat (see note). Return the liquids to the same pot and reduce, at a high simmer, to about 4 cups, approximately 15 minutes.
Return the short ribs to the pot with the reserved solids.
Adjust the seasonings to taste and reheat for about 10 minutes.
Place the warm wide ribbon noodles in a large serving bowl. Add the short ribs, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

NOTE: There are a multitude of fat separators on the market. The first I found to be simple, easy and effective to use is the Swing-Away. I see now that there are others that operate on the same principle.

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Curried Carrot Soup with Coconut Milk

11/4/2020

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Serves 8 to 10
8 cups heirloom carrots, chopped into 1½“ pieces
8 to 10 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon 5 spice powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 – 2½ cups unsweetened coconut milk
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup shredded cilantro, plus 16 whole leaves

Place carrots, broth and spices in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer.
Stirring occasionally, continue to simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the carrots can be pierced easily with a toothpick.
Remove the pot from the heat and let cool down.
Transfer in batches to a blender or food processor and process until smoothly puréed. Transfer each pureed batch to a large bowl.
When all batches are processed, return the puréed soup to the soup pot.
Gently return the soup to a low simmer.
Add the coconut milk, salt and the shredded cilantro and mix well.
Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with whole cilantro leaves.

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Cranberry Sauce with Port and Cinnamon

Belgian Short Ribs Carbonnade

Curried Carrot Soup with Coconut Milk

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