Nancy,

Last year I put together for several close friends a "Holiday Collection" of homemade goodies:
- candied ginger
- cranberry/jalapeno jelly
- apple cider/cinnamon jelly (with cider from a local orchard)
- spiced nuts

This year I'm going with an "International Collection":
- madras pickled eggplant
- Indian pickled cucumber
- pear/ginger chutney
- peanut satay sauce

The chutney I'm going to try is from a recent Fine Cooking e-newsletter---I am not a big fan of Major Grey chutney or Mango chutney of any kind, which is mostly what I find in stores, so I've been investigating other chutneys to serve with Indian food and think pear/ginger sounds like a good bet. Will report back.

The other three recipes are from Ellie Topp's book. It's one of the few places one can find any canning recipes at all inspired by non-Western cuisines. The friends I exchange gifts with are sophisticated food fans from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, living in Toronto, where food from around the world abounds. Mind you, they love even the simple things I make---salsa and jams and applesauce are all hits, as none of them are canners---but I've been mining the "country girl" image vein for several years now with Xmas gifts and I thought it would be fun to take a different approach. ;-)

Zabby
P.S. Those sugared cranberries sound awesome! Must try....

Wow, I am impressed! Would you mind sharing the cranberry jalapeno jelly recipe? That sounds great.

Just this week, I sent some family members homemade fruitcake (stop hatin'--it was more like a pound cake with toasted pecans and dried fruits reconstituted in rum, Grand Marnier and orange juice) and maple apple butter that I put up back in October. I also sent some homemade chocolate chip mandelbrot (actually, walnussbrot, as it had walnuts not almonds) to my friend in Miami for Hanukkah. I blogged about these things yesterday if anyone wants the recipes.

Merry Christmas! --Gina

Here is a link that might be useful: Lindsey's Luscious Fruitcake and Mandelbrot

Oh we are not fruitcake haters around here. I was going to link to the "Church of the Besotted Fruitcake" thread but it looks like it dropped off the back end of the board. :-(

Here's the parts of the thread I saved. I hope Mrs. Bartholomew is well and and her fruitcake is well basted, wherever they are.

RE: Church of the Besotted Fruitcake

* Posted by: Readinglady z8 OR (My Page) on Sat, Oct 8, 05 at 22:29

Here's the recipe from that thread with her comments. (We actually ended up with two lengthy fruitcake threads, as I remember.) I don't think we've heard from Mrs. Bartholomew for a while. Hopefully she returns as fruitcake season moves into full swing.

"Here is the recipe I use for Christmas fruitcake - more or less, anyway, because I tend to use different types and proportions of fruits and nuts each year. I candy my own pineapple, angelica, and cherries, but you can use store-bought and give them a good rinse to get the extra sugar off before you use them. Makes two large loaves.

1/2 to 3/4 litre white rum
1 pound candied cherries (substitute angelica for a handful of the cherries, if you have it)
3/4 pound candied pineapple
1/4 pound candied citrus peel
1 pound large sultanas
1/2 pound blanched whole almonds
1/2 pound walnut halves
1 pound unsalted butter, softened
2 and 1/4 cups of sugar
6 large eggs
4 cups of white cake flour (not self-raising)
1/4 cup lemon extract

Warm 1/2 litre of the rum until it seems just about to boil, and immediately remove it from the heat. Soak the cherries, pineapple, citrus peel, sultanas, angelica and nuts in the rum overnight. Strain, reserving the rum, and set the fruits and nuts aside in a very large mixing bowl.

(You don't have to heat the rum up if it's too much trouble, but it soaks into the fruit much better if it's warm).

Beat the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Beat in half of the eggs, then half the flour, then the rest of the eggs, then the rest of the flour, then the lemon extract. Pour the batter over the fruit and nuts and stir well.

If your loaf pans are non-stick, just butter them. I use a stick of butter like a crayon to do this. Otherwise, line with buttered parchment paper. Scrape the batter into the pans. Bake in a preheated 300 degree Fahrenheit oven for 45 minutes, then cover the pans with foil and bake for another 45 minutes. Watch carefully near the end of the cooking time; as soon as the cakes start to pull away from the edges, or resist when you poke them gently, they are ready. It is better to underbake than overbake.

Let them rest on a rack until they've cooled to room temperature.

When the cakes have cooled but are still in the tins, carefully poke several holes through each loaf with a long, thin skewer. Heat the reserved rum - again not letting it quite boil - and drizzle it over the cakes. If the fruit and nuts soaked up most of the rum, add another 1/4 litre of rum before heating it. Leave it for 15 minutes so that the rum will more or less soak through the cakes, although some may still remain in the bottom of the tins when you remove the cakes.

Wrap each cake carefully for storage. If you have large enough linen pudding-bags, you can lightly moisten these with rum and slip a cake inside each one. Otherwise, you can wrap the cakes in the brown paper they were baked in, which should be thoroughly permeated with the rum. Whether you've used cloth or brown paper, wrap the cakes in another layer of plastic wrap or tuck them into a plastic bag for further protection.

The longer you leave the cakes before serving, the better. If you won't be able to resist tasting, pour a little of the batter into a ramekin to bake it separately and eat it while you're wrapping the other two cakes."

I can see I need to buy the ingredients soon. Just reading the recipe makes my mouth water.

Carol

============================

It's Fruitcake Time Again!
Posted by gardengrl Orlando (My Page) on Thu, Oct 6, 05 at 9:03

Hi Everyone,

If you remember last year at this time, the Harvest forum had quite a thread going on fruitcakes. Well, last year I made two versions from posted recipes and they were the BEST! I call them "rum cakes" in order to avoid the fruitcake stigma. :-)

I made my cakes in October (both a dark cake and a yellow cake), refridgerated them (since I'm in the south), and "basted" them every week with whatever version of alcohol I wanted. They were a hit during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So, go raid your liquor cabinet gang; it's fruitcake time!
Here are two recipes from last year; both recipes make 2 fruitcake loaves when baked in a typical loaf pan. I've modified my versions a little from the original recipes.

Dark Fruitcake

Approximately 25 ounces of golden raisins (add more or less to your preference)
2 cups coarsly chopped walnuts or pecans
2 1/4 cups sifted, all purpose flour
1 cup shortening (I used butter)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
5 eggs
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp each, cloves and mace (nutmeg)
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup blackberry jam or preserves

Optional: Place raisins and nuts in a glass bowl or pan and cover with dark rum or brandy. Allow to soak 24 hours. Drain and reserve the used liquor when finished.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Mix flour with salt, baking soda, and spices, set aside. Cream shortening or butter until fluffy; Gradually add sugar and molasses. Beat in eggs, add flour mixture in increments until well mixed. Stir in raisins, nuts, orange juice and jam.

Line loaf pans with parchment paper. Spray parchment with non-stick spray. Pour batter evenly into two loaf pans and bake approximately 3 1/2 hours (or until toothpick inserted comes out clean). It really depends on how deep you pour the batter.

When done, take cakes out of oven, allow to cool for approximately 5-10 minutes. Invert loaf pans, remove cakes, and allow to cool on cooling racks. When cool, take a toothpick and poke holes into the top and bottom of fruitcake. Baste fruitcake with raisin infused rum/brandy, allowing liquor to soak into holes.

If your in the south, place cakes in an airtight container and store in the fridge. If up north in a cool environment, wrap cakes in wax paper followed by tin foil, and store in a cool place. Baste cakes with raisin liquor or other dark liquor every week until the holidays.

Yellow Fruitcake

White rum: optional

1 to 1 1/2 pounds of candied or dried fruit. I use a "harvest mixture" of dried fruit from Sams, which includes dried cranberries, dried cherries, dried strawberris, and dried blueberries.

1/2 pound of nuts (your choice, more or less nuts to your preference)
1 pound unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sugar
6 large eggs
4 cups of white cake flour (not self rising)
1/4 cup lemon extract

Warm rum in a saucepan or microwave until it is just about to boil. If you don't want alcohol, feel free to use a juice of your choice. Place fruit and nuts in a large bowl or pan and pour hot rum/liquid over. Soak overnight, drain fruit and reserve the used liquor when finished.

Preheat oven 300 degrees

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in half the eggs, then half the flour, then the rest of the eggs, then the rest of the flour. Add lemon extract. Stir in soaked fruit and nuts.

Line 2 loaf pans with parchment paper. Spray paper with non-stick spray. Pour batter evenly into both pans. Bake cakes uncovered for 45 minutes, then cover with tin foil and bake another 45 minutes. Watch carefully near the end of cooking time; as soon as the cakes start to pull away from the edges of the pans, or resist when you poke them gently, they are ready. It's better to underbake than overbake. Remove cakes from oven and cool for 5-10 minutes. Invert loaf pans, remove cakes, and allow to completely cool on cooling racks.

Follow basting and storing process as listed for the dark cakes (basting with alcohol optional, you can use fruit juice). Use the reserved dried fruit infused liquor for basting. I alternate basting with Grand Mariner (sp?) every week.

Those fruitcake recipes are awesome! I think I will try some next year.

I did have someone ask me if I had any other types of potpourri that I make up. I do not, but I was wondering if someone had any suggestions.

My fruit cakes get their last dose of brandy today. Haven't tasted them yet, but expect they will be nice and boozy.. There is also a fruitcake reminder thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fruitcake reminder thread

I'm making up baskets for everyone on my list with a package of Tastefully Simple Beer Bread mix (along with the directions), a bottle of O'Doul's non-alcohol beer to make the bread with, a couple of jars of my homemade jam and a bunch of cocoa packets, English Breakfast Tea bags and a little package of gourmet coffee. Added to a dozen brown eggs from our chickens, I call it "Christmas Breakfast in a Basket". The best part is One Size Fits All!!!

Edie

If you think that you need more beer flavor without the added qater/liquid, give this a try too. Its used in making beer bratwurst.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dried beer

Last night while checking out at the liquer store I bought alot of those little cordials to add to baskets this season.
I use them in baking many times and to add to frostings and filling.

When I got home, I wanted to make a batch of the sugared cranberries and thought , humm wonder about adding Grand Marnier to the simple syrup.
Added 1 teaspoon to the simple syrup, wow do they smell great!
Tried one, and that was just enough to give a twist.

I bet Kirsch would be nice also, but running out of time to play! need to get the baskets ready.

I will definitely have to add that to the sugared cranberries.

I did find this year that I could do step 1 - add it to the simple syrup and then leave them in the syrup until I was ready to actually roll them in the sugar. That way I could wait a few days to make when I was ready to actually give them away.

I also stored them on a plate in the refrigerator without any covering. They got really nice and crunchy and kept a great texture. I held those for several days before giving away.

I'm fairly jealous! You all have been so busy and I'm sure all the yummy gifts will be appreciated. Zabby, what spices are involved in the Indian pickled cucumbers? That is a really neat idea, to make an "International" collection. I still haven't mastered the art of canning up pretty jars. I'm making a vow to try to put together some baskets for neighbors and friends for next year. I really like the potpourri idea as I keep a pot of cinnamon and other spices on the stove all through the cold months. I love the way it smells! Lori

Nancy,

Thanks for the tips on the sugared cranberries---I found that the ones I did got a little soggy what with transporting several hundred kilometres, etc. Next time I'll do the sugaring just the night before, and leave them spread out all night to get nice and dried and crunchy!

THey were nonetheless well received. A jar went into a goody bag for a sister along with a can of steel-cut oats for oatmeal and "spurtle" (traditional oatmeal stirring stick)handturned by my husband. The cranberries looked so pretty --- I used one of those wide-mouth one-cup "salmon" jars.

Lori,
The Indian cucumber pickle is from the Ellie Topp book; I don't have it with me (am writing from my mom's place) but can post when I am back home. I remember it calls for black mustard seeds, because I had the darnedest time finding them in my very rural, NON-international area! I could find yellow, brown, and even white, but not black. I finally got someone to pick me up some in Toronto.

I can it up in the 4-oz jars, and when I cook with Indian sauces I open one, drain it, and mix with yogurt for a lovely quick raita.

Cheers,

Z

Sugaring the crans can also be done with corn syrup. It doesn't crystalize like regular sugar and is used by the commercial company that offers sweetened dried cranberries.

Nancy,

I'm back at my home machine now. Here are three variations on the cran-jalapeno jelly recipe!

This is the original recipe from Ellie Topp's _Small Batch Preserving_:

Cranberry Hot Pepper Jelly
1 large sweet red pepper
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded, or other hot pepper
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup cranberry juice concentrate, thawed
3 cups granulated sugar
1 punch liquid pectin

Finely chop sweet and jalapeno pepper in a food processor. Place in a small saucepan with water and vinegar. Bring mixture to a boil, cover and reduce hear and boil gently for 10 minutes. Strain mixture through a course sieve, pressing with back of spoon to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Pour liquid through jelly bag.

Place strained liquid, cranberry concentrate and sugar in a medium stainless steel or enamel saucepan (I use non-stick). Bring to boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin, return to a full boil and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Ladle into hot jars and process for 10 minutes in a BWB. makes 3 cups.

When jelly foams you need to skim the foam. 1/2 teaspoon of butter will help keep the foaming down.

Variation: Replace 1/4 cup cider vinegar with balsamic vinegar.

***THIS VERSION IS FROM MELLY OF THE SOUTH, WHO ADAPTED IT TO MAKE IT WITH PURE CRANBERRY JUICE AND WHOLE BERRIES; I USED THIS IN MY GIFTS LAST YEAR***
Zabby,
I did buy the cranberry juice at a health food store last year. This year I actually found it at our commissary made by ocean spray.
This is how I made it last year.

Cranberry Pepper Jelly
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups 100% unsweetened cranberry juice
1 1/2 cups total a combination of finely diced jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, and red onions
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
1 pkg powdered pectin
5 cups sugar

This year I think I will reduce the vinegar somewhat and increase the cranberry juice. I haven't decided whether I will use cider or some other sort of vinegar.
I have some raspberry red wine vinegar that I used in my cherry pepper relish, so I might use that. If you try it, let me know how it turns out.

---Melly

***THIS IS A FURTHER VARIATION FROM OTTAWAPEPPER (Bill)---BEWARE, HE HAS AN ASBESTOS TONGUE!
***
Habanero Cranberry Jelly (I call it Turkeys Revenge).

I created (ok, not wholly created LOL) this variation of MellyÂs Cran-Jalapeno Jelly. Using MellyÂs as a starting point and tweaking it with the kind assistance and encouragement of Zabby, the end result is a fiery hot cranberry jelly for cold fall and winter nights. Heck, itÂs great in the summer too!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup white vinegar
2 cups 100% unsweetened cranberry juice
1/2 cup finely diced habanero pepper
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1 3/4 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
1 pkg liquid pectin
5 cups sugar

Procedure:
1. Finely dice peppers and onion and coarsely chop cranberries
2. In a large sauce pan, combine cranberries, pepper, onion, vinegars, and juice
3. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low
4. Simmer 15 Â 20 minutes to allow flavors to blend and to soften up cranberries
5. Add sugar and return to a hard boil for 1 minute
6. Remove from heat and stir liquid pectin in well
7. Add jelly to hot sterilized jars
8. Wipe rim of jars with a clean damp towel
9. Position lids as per usual instructions
10. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes
11. Remove jars and allow them to cool
12. During the cooling, periodically "gently" invert jars to distribute solids.

Yield 7 or 8 - 250ml (1 cup) jars

Enjoy,

Z

Zabby - thanks so much. I assume that the one punch of pectin should be one package of pectin?

I'm not sure about those habanero peppers, although this summer I accidentally bought serrano peppers instead of jalapenos at the farmer's market. We liked everything I made with them and neither of us got an upset tummy. Anything that calls for a jalapeno is now getting upgraded to a serrano. The habanero recipe sure does sound good though.

I'm glad the sugared cranberries went over well. It is a great recipe.

Have a Happy New Year!

>> Zabby - thanks so much. I assume that the one punch of pectin should be one package of pectin?

LOL. I expect I meant "one pouch" (liquid pectin).
Though after a long night of canning, one does get rather punchy.

>> I'm not sure about those habanero peppers, although this summer I accidentally bought serrano peppers instead of jalapenos at the farmer's market. We liked everything I made with them...

Heck, if you can take substituting serranos for jalapenos, I think you will not have a problem with habs! Serranos seem to me to be almost as hot, though I don't know their official "score" offhand.

Zabby

I will be making the pepper jelly at some point and haven't decided which of the 3 recipes to try first. What all different ways do you use the jelly....there must be several that are good.
Thanks, jude

Jude, try the pepper jelly in the cheddar thumbprints recipe posted by Carol (readinglady).

Melissa

I originally got this recipe from Rick Rodgers' Thanksgiving 101 cookbook. I gave the recipe to Annie (of Annie's salsa). I don't remember if she posted it after that or I did, but it's been on this forum, Cooking, Peppers and probably lots of others.

Cheddar Thumbprints with Habanero Jelly

These are a savory cookie. You can use any hot pepper jelly. The original recipe called for jalapeno jelly.
Also, if you like cheddar and apple, try these cookies with apple butter in the center.

Ingredients

8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 1/2 cups)
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup jalapeno jelly, or Habanero Gold jelly

Place cheese and butter in a food processor (could be creamed by hand or mixer); add flour and process until the mixture forms a soft dough. Gather up the dough and divide into two flat disks. Wrap in wax paper and freeze until chilled, about 45 minutes.

Position two racks in the center and top third of the oven and preheat to 400°. Line two baking sheets with parchment or use nonstick sheets.

Using 1 teaspoon dough for each, roll the dough into small balls and place 1 inch apart on the sheets. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from the oven. Using the handle of a wooden spoon or 1/2-inch-thick dowel, poke an indentation in each cookie. Place a dollop of the jelly into the indentations.

Return to the oven and bake, switching the positions of the sheets from top to bottom halfway through baking, until the tops are very lightly browned, about 10 minutes. (Cookies will continue to crisp as they cool.) Transfer to racks and cool completely.

Can be baked up to two days ahead. Store at room temperature in an airtight container and separate layers with wax paper.

Carol

Thanks, Zabby, Melissa and Carol since you all contributed. My first thought was...oh it's too bad the holidays are over, I'll have to eat ALL of them myself, but then I remembered I'm going to have an extended family Chili Supper next month so I can share them. I'm celebrating today...my 2 year anniversary from BC surgery, going for 10. It was really foggy this morning but now the sun is out and it matches my mood....sunny and cheerful and most of all grateful.

jude

jude, that's a great anniversary! may it be very happy, and followed by oh so many more.

The sun's out here too, despite the bitter cold, which the woodstove is helping to allay.

Melissa beat me to the suggestion of using the cran-pepper jelly with savoury thumbprints. It is also lovely on crackers with a bit of cream cheese.

And it makes a nice glaze: heat it up and spread over a pork tenderloin.

Or serve a plop of it alongside chicken like cranberry sauce.

IT's such a pretty colour, you may not want to eat it but just hang it in the window to catch that sunshine....

Z