Sauces and Dips

Cranberry Sauce

12 oz Fresh Cranberries 

2 Granny Smith Apples 

1-2 Lemons 

1 to 1 1/4 Cups Sugar 

1/2 Cup Orange Juice 

1/2 Cup White Wine 

12 oz of fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over, 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and coarse chopped, the juice of 1-2 lemons (as well as the zest), 1 to 1 1/4 cups sugar (start with 1 cup and taste a cooled spoonful, right after the quick-boil, to see if you need more), 1/2 cup orange juice, and 1/2 cup of white wine. 

In a big sauce pan, bring everything to just a boil while stirring so that you don’t burn the bottom of the pot. Set the sauce to a very low simmer & let it reduce for about an hour, maybe a little less. Be sure and stir it now & then, being careful to not scorch the bottom of the pan. 

After it has reduced and simmered for about an hour, pull it off the burner and let it cool. Once cooled, put it in a container or containers and refrigerate to be eaten over the next 3 to 4 days, or cool, refrigerate, and then freeze to use for Thanksgiving and throughout the late fall and early winter. 

Cranberry sauce is really nice on a slice of toast with cream cheese or on a turkey sandwich. A peanut butter cranberry sauce sandwich is tasty as well as seasonally festive. 

When you make cranberry sauce, if you have any older apples lurking in the bin, use them up - toss them into the sauce. 

A note on the white wine. For the wine, I use the “whatever is in the refrigerator door” selection method. Kirkland-brand Chardonnay makes a sauce that I find perfectly tasty. Sometimes I’ll use a pink, like Oregon Blossom. I try to adhere to Julia Child’s advice when cooking with wine, which is to cook with a wine that you like to drink, one that you like the taste of, as an off wine can make your whole dish a disappointment. She, Julia the Magnificent, often suggests substituting vermouth for wine, especially if you are unsure of what wine to use and want to be safe. I often don’t know what I am doing, which is an understatement, and turn to vermouth, again and again. (Well, in cooking, not with other issues.)

Also, this cranberry sauce makes up great without the wine. I will substitute orange juice for the wine, increasing the orange juice to a full cup, or you can swap apple juice in for the wine. See what works for you. It’s a very forgiving recipe. 

Enjoy! 

Black Bean Dip

4 Cups Black Beans 

1/2 Medium Onion 

2 - 3 Garlic Cloves 

1 - 2 Anchovy Filets (Optional)  

Juice of 2 Lemons 

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil 

2 Tablespoons Vinegar 

1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste 

1 Tablespoon Mustard (Optional) 

1/4 Teaspoon Salt 

1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper 

1/4 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper 

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cumin 

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Garlic 

1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric 

In the bowl of a food chopper or blender, add the onion, rough chopped, cloves, minced, anchovies, lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, tomato paste, mustard, and pulse to blend. 

You can use whatever vinegar you have on hand and like. If I have it, I will use red wine vinegar, but often use a generic white vinegar. I will only use balsamic vinegar as a last choice, mainly because balsamic vinegar often costs more than other vinegars. If you want the hint of sweet that balsamic vinegar adds, try adding 1/2 of a chopped apple into the mix when you add the onion. You can also add a teaspoon or two of sugar, but adding sugar is not necessary. 

Add in the salt, black pepper, red pepper, cumin, garlic, turmeric, and pulse to blend. 

Add in cooked black beans and pulse until blended and smooth. 

Taste. You might want more lemon, vinegar, a touch of siracha sauce, or other spice. Make it to your personal liking, keeping in mind that if you serve with chips, the the chips will add salt to the taste. 

Serve with corn or pita chips, cut up fresh vegetables, as a spread in a sandwich, or topping a round Greek flatbread as a "pizza" topping. Black bean dip is especially nice with fresh-sliced tomatoes and bell peppers.  

Enjoy! 

Pico de Gallo

 2 Pounds Tomatoes 

 1/2 Large Onion 

2 Garlic Cloves 

2 Bell Peppers 

2 Jalapeños 

2 Limes 

1 Teaspoon Sea Salt 

1/2 Teaspoon Cumin 

1/4 Teaspoon Sugar 

1/2 Cup Fresh Cilantro 

In a big bowl, start with 2 pounds of varied tomatoes, diced. To this, add 1/2 large white or purple onion, chopped, 2 garlic cloves, finely minced, 2 bell peppers, diced, 2 jalapenos, seeded and finely diced, the zest and juice of 2 limes, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and an optional 1/4 teaspoon of sugar. Mix this all together, gently but well. Mix in 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro. 

This salsa has such a bright flavor and a zesty zing – taste and adjust the flavorings to your liking. I don’t tend to add more salt in case it is going to be served with tortilla chips, which can come with their own salt, or in tacos or burritos with cheese – cheese is often a salty element in any dish. 

Serve right away or put it in the refrigerator, overnight, letting the flavors blend. Pico de Gallo is big on nutrition and great for game day, game night, a story telling get together; for any kind of party, informal get together, or celebration with your friends and family. 

Enjoy! 

Great Green Sauce

4 cups mixed herbs (parsley, cilantro, mint, dill, or whatever you might have on hand - I've tried all with success.)

1/4 of a preserved lemon

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup toasted seeds (sesame, etc.) or nuts (optional) 

2-3 anchovy filets

1 cup olive oil 

Blend all ingredients together in a traditional blender, food processor, or, my favorite, an immersion hand/stick blender with bowl. I use my immersion/stick blender, a lot.  

Blend on medium until smooth. 

Sauce will keep 1 month to 6 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Bring portion to room temperature before using. 

Serve with sliced vegetables, hardboiled eggs, crackers, rustic bread, sardines, and labneh, a thick yogurt, which you can buy or make. 

  If you are going to use canned chickpeas or garbanzo beans, get a standard 15 ½ ounce can of beans, open the can, drain and rinse the beans, and you are ready to go to the part of the recipe where you add spices and other ingredients to the chickpeas. 

If you are using dried chickpeas, rinse, sort, and strain 3 cups of dried chickpeas, then place the cleaned chickpeas in a large bowl, and cover with water by about 4 inches. 

Then, cover the bowl with a plate or another covering and let the chickpeas soak overnight, for at least 12 hours. 

The next day, drain the beans, put them in a large pot on your stove and cover with water by about 2 to 3 inches. Bring the pot to a boil, and then turn it down to a simmer for about 30 minutes. 

Carefully use a slotted spoon or fork to take a chickpea out and test to see if it’s just tender. Chickpeas overcook really fast. If they aren’t done at the 30-minute mark, I keep the pot simmering and check every 5 minutes.

Once they are just done, carefully strain them into a colander and let them cool down.

Take out what you need for the humus, about 2 cups of chickpeas. 

Let the rest cool completely, put them in a freezer safe container, chill in the fridge for a couple of hours, then put into your freezer. You now have a very nutritious and handy protein source.

Put the 2 cups of cooked chickpeas you are using for the humus or the 1 can of drained canned chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor, blender, or other type of immersion/bowl chopper. I have a little 3-cup bowl with an immersion blender stick that fits into the lid. It’s perfect, although whatever you have is what will work. 

If you don’t have a blender, you can put the chickpeas into a Ziploc bag with the air all pressed out, and very gently smash the beans with a wooden mallet or possibly the heal of your hand. Be careful. 

To your chickpeas, add the juice from one lemon, 3 minced garlic cloves, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon white vinegar, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. If you have tahini sauce, you can add ¼ cup of tahini sauce. 

Blend everything together. 

With a small spoon, take a little taste and see if you need to adjust your seasonings. If too dry, add another tablespoon of olive oil, or lemon juice/vinegar, to taste. 

Cover and store the hummus in your refrigerator, and enjoy it over the next few days, as a dip with cut vegetables, chips or pita. I like to spread it on toasted country bread and then to top it with a little red onion, maybe a sprig or two of arugula or other green, and sliced tomato.  

Happy Making!  

Caramel sauce is a great pairing with flourless chocolate cake or maybe over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Sometimes, I’ll pour some into a zip-lock back, snip the corner tip off the bag – making just a little tiny opening, and then I can write on the serving plates with the caramel sauce, draw a heart, make squiggles, etc. You don’t have to – you can also dip a spoon into your caramel sauce and then use that to drizzle a design across your plate, then place a wedge of cake on top, a scoop of ice cream to the side, and maybe sprinkle raspberries or sliced strawberries on the plate or over your cake. 

This is your show-stopper dessert and a sure hit with the chocolate lovers among your friends and family. 

All you need are 5 simple ingredients:

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, that’s ¼ a stick of butter 

1 cup of whipping cream

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 

¼ a cup of water

1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice. This is maybe 1/3 of a lemon, but it depends on the size of the lemon 

In a medium-sized, heavy bottomed sauce pan – if you don’t have an especially heavy bottomed sauce pan, use the sauce pan you have, just keep an eagle eye on it, and over a very low heat, stir your 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, ¼ cup of water, and 1 ½ teaspoons of fresh lemon juice together. 

These 3 things over that low heat, just until that sugar dissolves. 

Then, this is where it gets exciting - turn up the heat until the mixture boils.

You’ll want to, but don’t stir it. Don’t take your eyes off of it. 

The syrup is going to turn a deep amber color. This might take 4, 5, or up to 7 minutes. 

Watch it – as soon as it turns that deep amber color, quickly take it off the heat. 

If you are going to go in one direction or the other, it’s better to undercook it by a whisker than to overcook it by a whisker. I have overcooked it into a mess, a tasty mess, but a mess, nonetheless, many times. 

I’ve learned to watch it and then to quickly pull it off the heat just as it turns that deep amber color. 

Homemade caramel sauce is not for the faint of heart. You might have a mistake or two on the road to becoming an expert at making homemade caramel sauce. That’s just the way it works. If it doesn’t work out at first, give yourself a break, and try again. 

So, it has turned that deep amber color, and you’ve taken it off the heat. 

Turn your burner off or down to low.

Now, into your amber mixture in the pan, stir in 1 cup of whipping cream. You might find that the mixture is still bubbling a bit, but don’t worry, just get that cream stirred in. 

Next, return your pan to the burner, which is now on low, and stir the mixture around so that the caramel mixture, any stray pieces, are completely dissolved into the cream. 

Next, add in the 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter into the mixture. I will cut mine into cubes, beforehand, so that the butter melts quicker. 

You can give all of this a stir or whisk this until everything is combined and the sauce is smooth. 

Transfer it to a little bowl or jar. You can serve it now, or cover it and chill. You can make it a day ahead if this works well for you. 

If you do chill the sauce, I like to warm the sauce up before serving. You can take it out of the fridge, maybe 30 minutes to an hour before serving, you can microwave in one to maybe two 5-second bursts. 

Do less than you think you need to with the microwave. 

You can also set it in a pan of hot water and let it warm up, that way. Whatever works best for you, do that.  

Enjoy this recipe with flourless chocolate cake, ice cream, or simple brownies, that’s delicious, and, as always, happy baking.