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I started making steamed puddings in my restaurant days. Barbara Hiken brought in a recipe from one of the waitresses for persimmon pudding and we made it that day. And never made another recipe since it was so darn good.…
This is one of my favorite steamed puddings and it couldnt be easier. The cranberry and molasses combination is a great flavor. This is an Americanized version of the very traditional, very beloved English pudding called Spotted Dick, which originally…
The apple of the Orient is our orange globe of fall to harken the holidays here in California. The neighborhoods are dotted with trees outfitted with the fetching pointed ovals. I can beg a few because most trees are so…
There is some hot news this week. My personal website, bethhensperger.com is launched and ready for visitors! The website is a composite of my publishing history with four publishers and a catalog of all my books from the last 25 years, while at the same time being a companion to the more active weekly blog here at Harvard Common Press’s notyourmotherscookbooks.com.
I spent time remembering and writing about what each book meant to me and quips from when I was writing it. There are two free recipes from each book (we all love free treats). There is a marketplace where I am letting you in on my favorite equipment, the real deal, not advertising…
This is the season now for maximum entertaining. And what better treat than to serve delicious hot chicken wings along side your spiced nuts, cheese ball, and crackers. People just adore all manner of chicken wings and there are dozens…
Fresh cranberries are available in the produce section of most supermarkets from late October right into January, often sold in their familiar 12-ounce plastic bags, which yield about 3 cups whole berries. Exceptionally high in vitamin C, the raw fruit also contains benzoic acid, a natural preservative, so they hold up to prolonged refrigeration, staying fresh for about 8 weeks after harvest. One should look for plump, shiny, and firm berries, not mushy, shriveled, or green, under-ripe ones. Fortunately we find most bags of cranberries in perfect shape, since the sorting and packing process is so efficient.
Every holiday season I make lots of this bright cranberry chutney to serve with turkey and as a spread for sandwiches. I got it from extraordinaire food writer and recipe developer Peggy Fallon, a cranberry lover, who serves it as an accompaniment to a savory cheesecake for winter entertaining. This is one of my all time favorite cooked sauces, one I prepare every year and often give as gifts. Serve it as a condiment, or dabbed on unsalted crackers with soft cheese.
Cranberries and blueberries come from the same botanical family as rhododendrons and heathers. They are native to the bogs of New England, but great fruit comes from Oregon and Washington, all grown organically. Fresh cranberries arrive in stores in late fall and can be frozen in their original wrapping (don’t put frozen cranberries in the bread machine; defrost first) for use in the spring and summer. Use bags of fresh cranberries within two weeks of purchase so that they won’t get mushy or shriveled. My mother got this recipe from her antique dealer, Alan, who is a genius in the kitchen. For so few ingredients, the results are tart and satisfying with all sorts of roasted meats like poultry, pork loin, and ham. This method of preparing cranberry sauce with the ginger juice fast became a yearly ritual at Thanksgiving and Christmas in my family.
Fresh is best. How many times have we heard that culinary mantra? When it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas desserts, most especially the pies, almost everyone I know gets up especially early on Thanksgiving morning to prepare and bake the pies first so the oven will be free for the turkey or prime rib. It is the advent to the season that has long been associated with our beloved tradition of serving a feast on holidays devoted entirely to eating.
And a feast is not complete without special desserts, made even more so by the fact that they are homemade.
In an electric stand mixer (such as a Kitchen Aid) or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter on low or with short pulses until the mixture resembles very coarse meal with some pieces the size of corn kernels still visible (be sure to leave some chunks to create the flakiness). Sprinkle in the ice water and vinegar over the mixture, tossing or pulsing to moisten evenly, dribbling in more ice water if the dough is too dry. Gather the shaggy dough into a ball with your hands and flatten into a disc. Divide into two portions. You can roll out immediately, or wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate if rolling out the next day and bring back to cool room temperature to roll out, or freeze up to 3 months in a small plastic freezer bag.
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