Door County sour cherries

Just discovered that allrecipes.com has published my sour cherry sorbet recipe. Read the reviews and loved the feed back. My husband and I vacationed in Door County, Wisconsin this year. Got my 2 lb. bucket of pitted  and frozen sour cherries and will make this years batch soon. Also stocked up on wild rice while up there even though there's a new bulk food store in my town that has a good price for it. 

Picking up local food products is our plan for shopping on vacation trips. We bring along a good sized cooler to keep perishables safe for the ride home. We discovered two new artisan cheese shops in Door County this year. One had some "cave cured" cheese. We picked up one that was a cave cured Cardona. Have never heard of  Cardona cheese before. It is a sharp hard cheese. The cave curing imparts a mineral taste to the cheese that I liken to the mineral taste of Spanish wines. So I find pairing this particular cheese with a Tempranillo wine is perfect.

We picked up chopped cherry jam and cherry juice this year along with some locally made wines. Got some Wisconsin maple syrup. The local farm markets sell many varieties of canned local produce. This year we picked up a jar of spicy pickled cabbage. It's sort of like Wisconsin kimchee (sp?).

Saw one farm report while up there that Wisconsin will have a bumper crop of cranberries. Evidently Wisconsin provides 52 % of the cranberry crop in this country on average each year. I'm interested to see if the price is less per pound this year. I'll stock up in my freezer if it is.

My gas grill is no more so not able to grill on my Sunday off. I'm going back to a charcoal kettle type grill.

To all my readers: Have a great Labor Day holiday?
CJ

Barbecue Sauce for the Rest of the Summer

Make Ahead Barbecue Sauce

This sauce can be kept safely in the refrigerator for the next 6 weeks. If you taste it by itself with a spoon, it has a funny flavor. Trust me, once you brush it on hot grilled chicken, beef or pork and heat through, it is delicious.

1 1/2 cups catsup
1 cup strong black coffee
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

In a medium nonreactive pan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring  until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat, simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. ( about 8 to 10  minutes).Let sauce cool to room temperature in a covered, nonreactive container. ( about 30 minutes). Store, covered, in the refrigerator. Makes about 3 cups.

Summertime Chicken Dinner

Orange Thyme Grilled Chicken


4 bone in chicken breasts
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 dry white wine
1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme plus 8 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 tablespoons minced orange zest, (usually enough from one medium orange)


Combine orange juice, wine, oil and minced thyme in a shallow, non reactive dish. Place chicken breasts in dish and turn to coat. Marinate in refrigerator 2  hours to overnight, turning occasionally. When ready to grill, remove chicken from marinade. Discard marinade. Place thyme sprigs and orange peel under chicken skin. Prepare a hot grill to cook by indirect heat method. Place chicken breasts on grill skin side up. Grill, covered, 20  minutes. Turn chicken skin side down for 15 minutes. Turn chicken again grill skin side up until juices run clear and internal temperature is 165 degress F., about 15 additional minutes. Serves 4.

Colorful Rice Salad

• 1/2 cup frozen peas thawed
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced celery
• 1/4 cup grated carrot
• 1/4 cup salad olives drained
• 1/4 cup sliced pitted black olives
• 2 cups cold cooked rice
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 bottled or home prepared Italian dressing
• 2 tablespoons mince fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• Toss vegetables with cold rice in mixing bowl. In a small bowl, whisk Italian dressing into mayonnaise. Stir in parsley. Toss dressing mixture gently with vegetables and rice. Cover and chill in refrigerator at least 4 hours before serving. Yield: serves 4

  Notes: 

  This dish is especially good with cold cooked brown rice. I've only recently discovered that ingredient works well. Green bell pepper can be substituted for the red but the red adds to the colorful appearance of this salad. I frequently use reduced fat mayonnaise or whipped salad dressing. I just make sure I prepare the dish the morning of the day I'm going to serve it. I find the reduced fat product gets a little watery after 24 to 48 hours. To make this salad with even more eye appeal, line serving bowl with dark green kale leaves to set off the white of the rice.

Serve a favorite steamed vegetable for this meal. I like to accompany the above with garden or farm fresh tomato slices. Watermelon is a light and refreshing dessert for this meal.

Cool Summer Salad

Fresh raspberries have been particularly delicious this year. This salad makes  a cool and refreshing first course and shows off the berries.
Cool Summer Salad

3 cups seedless watermelon cubes
1 cup cucumber slices*
2 cups fresh raspberries
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup minced fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon grated lime peel

Combine watermelon, cucumber slices and raspberries in a bowl then divide evenly between 4 fruit cup type bowls or salad plates. Place honey in a small custard cup and microwave on high for 10 seconds. With a fork, whisk mint, lime juice and lime peel with the honey. Drizzle honey mixture even over the 4 servings. Serve immediately.

*Peel cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Slice each half in 1/4 inch slices.

Strawberry Pie

Strawberry Pie

Crust:
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup butter or stick margarine

Filling:
4 cups strawberries
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch

For crust: blend ingredients in a mixing bowl with pastry blender or with two knives. Press into an 8 inch pie pan. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool at room temperature, about one hour.

For filling: Quarter 2 cups strawberries and cook with sugar and cornstarch in a 2 quart saucepan over low heat until juice is thick and clear, about 15 minutes. Let cool in refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Cut remaining strawberries in half and place in cooled crust. Pour cooked strawberries over all and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Serves 6 to 8.

Mother's Day Menu

This is the Mother's day menu my husband prepared for his mother and me last night.

Cold Cucumber Soup

2 lb. cucumber, peeled and seeded
1/3 cup diced yellow onion
1 cup low fat butter milk
1/2 cup plain fat free yogurt
pinch of coarse salt and dash of ground white pepper
1/3 cup finely diced radish
1/2 cup minced green onion

Finely dice enough cucumber to measure 1/3 cup; set aside. Chop remaining  cucumber and place in a blender or food processor with onion, buttermilk and yogurt. Process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and chill in refrigerator 30 to 60 minutes.

Sprinkle each serving with diced cucumber, radish and green onion. Serves 4.

Baked Mahi Mahi

2, 6 oz. fillets mahi mahi
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons grated ginger
1 clove garlic, minced

Place fish in nonreactive dish. Combine remaining ingredients. Pour over fish, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 400 F. Discard marinade. Place fish in a greased shallow baking pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork. Serves 3.

Rice Pilaf: prepare your favorite, my husband's has no written recipe

Serve rice in a radicchio leaf, place fish fillet over edge of rice for an attractive presentation.

Mango Sorbet Dessert

For each serving:

Place 1/2 cup diced peeled mango in bottom of desert bowl
1/2 cup mango sorbet
1/2 cup blackberries

Cookie Jar Cookies

BLONDIES

1/2 cup stick margarine
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts

In a 3 quart pan, melt margarine. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Cool slightly; beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix baking powder and salt with flour, add to pan, mixing well. Fold in nuts. Pour into greased 9X13 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool. Cut into squares.

Walnut Cookies

1, 18 1/4 oz. yellow cake mix
2 cups dry oatmeal
 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup finely chopped walnuts

In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, oats and sugar. Beat in oil, eggs and vanilla. Stir in nuts and cinnamon. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 12 to 14 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to rack or brown paper sacking to cool. Makes 6 dozen