Classic fruitcake, of course, is the butt of many a holiday joke.  And surely there are reasons a plenty for those jokes...but not here.  Fruitcake, for me, is a true labor of love.  This process takes more than several weeks, but the result is amazing.  I guess this is what makes me as "nutty as a fruitcake."

The first step in the process is to accumulate the best dried fruits you can find.  I use NutsOnline, an online resource for many high quality ingredients.  You won't find any citron or freakishly colored candied fruits in this fruitcake.  I use dried apricots, golden raisins, currants, blueberries, cherries, and cranberries.  About 4 days before go-time, I make a fruit-flavored brandy.  Last year it was cherry brandy.  This year, I let several sliced apples macerate in a liter of brandy in the refrigerator.  (With apples, you want to make sure to strain off the fruit.  With cherries, they can stay in there.  Just make sure to keep your brandy in the refrigerator.)

First, the dried fruits, along with crystallized ginger, lemon peel and orange peel, macerate in gold rum for about 48 hours.

The dried fruits drink up nearly all of the rum.

On baking day, whole spices are ground up together:  cloves, allspice and cinnamon stick.

The fruit along with the spices, sugar and butter go into a (huge) pot.

Everything is brought up to a boil and simmered until nice and syrupy.

This mixture is cooled for several hours.

Flour is stirred in.

Then some farm-fresh eggs.

Them some pecans procured directly from Georgia.  I use Schermer's.

Scoop the mixture into pans and bake until toothpick comes out clean.

When the cakes come out of the oven, brush or spritz with the brandy.

The fruitcakes get a little cheesecloth shroud and get stowed in a airtight container.  From this point on, they get spritzed with more brandy about every 2 or 3 days......for about 3 or 4 weeks.

There is something to be said for a food gift that takes weeks and weeks to prepare and baby.  I hope that our nearest and dearest can taste the love and care that we put into each bite.  We truly do care about the food you eat.  Always.  

Hey, you!  Put away the coupons and make it yourself.

I think the pictures speak for themselves...but here is my recipe for a beautiful dough that bubbles up in a hot 550 degree oven on a pizza stone.

Pizza Dough - makes enough for four 12-inch pizzas

16 oz. Lukewarm Water

1 packet Active Dry Yeast (or .75 oz. fresh compressed yeast for those lucky enough to get it)

1 pound 12 ounces Bread Flour

1 Tablespoon Salt

1 to 2 teaspoons Honey, Malt Syrup, or Molasses

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Method:

Combine water, yeast, honey and oil in the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl (you are on your own if you plan to mix this by hand...sorry).  Allow to sit about 5 minutes for the yeast to soften.  Add all of the flour and salt.  Mix on low until combined.  Increase speed to 2 or 3.  If dough does not come away from the bowl, add a tablespoon or two or more flour until it just starts to separate from the bowl in a nice ball around the hook.  Increase speed and mix on speed 3 or 4 for about 8 to 10 minutes until you have a ball that is smooth and elastic.  Turn out onto a board and round the dough.  Ferment the dough about 1 hour to 1.5 hours (until doubled).  Meanwhile, prepare your toppings.  Once the dough has risen sufficiently, punch down the dough and separate the it into four (or more) smaller balls.  I use a scale for a more precise measurement.  Round the smaller balls and allow them to rest on your board under plastic.  This resting period is VERY IMPORTANT.  It is the difference between victory or struggle.  Let the dough rest at least 15 minutes.  Let loose.  Make some yummy pizza.

Graziano's Hot Italian Sausage

Resting is VERY IMPORTANT...don'tcha forget this part. The proud arteest. Graziano sausage, Scamorza (Aged Mozzarella), fresh Mozzarella, Parmagiano Reggiano, assorted peppers from our garden and onions from our garden.  Yum. 550 Degrees.  Heat up the pizza stone with the oven. I think we have a satisfied customer.
If you don't have a pizza peel, the bottom of a sheet pan or a rimless sheet pan works just as well.  Just make sure you use plenty of cornmeal, semolina or polenta to keep it from sticking!  Brush off the pizza stone after each pizza.

 

The typical "margarita mix" or "sour mix" that bars and restaurants use to make your favorite tasty beverage is usually a pell mell of artificial colors and flavors as well as an onslaught of processed sweeteners (read: high fructose corn syrup).  Some mixes actually have NO natural ingredients, just a concoction of manufactured substances.  The reasons behind using these mixes are many:  ignorance, cheap, lazy. 

Rather than wax poetic about how irritated this makes me...I would rather just offer you this lip-smackingly delicious alternative.  My husband and I painstakingly tested this recipe out last night to make sure they were perfect before presenting to you.  Enjoy!

You're going to need to do a little prep work beforehand and juice several limes and oranges.  The amount depends on how many drinks you're planning on schlupping down.  The juice of 5 limes will make approximately 8 drinks.  You will need 2 additional intact limes for mixing later.  For 8 drinks, you will also need the juice of 4 large, juicy oranges.

I'm a big fan of mise en place.  

To make two drinks:  Quarter half of a lime and place into a cocktail shaker.  Muddle them until the juices are released.  Add 2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice, 4 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice...

5 ounces white tequila (I prefer white tequila over gold as gold seems to take over the delicacy of the drink), 1 ounce blue agave nectar (you can substitute simple syrup, if you prefer)...

Add several ice cubes and shake, shake, shake.

Salt the rims of two cocktail glasses (if you prefer salt - I think it definitely adds to the drink).  Fill the glasses with plenty of ice.  Strain the shaken cocktail over the fresh ice, add a little garnish...

And enjoy, preferably out on the deck with your favorite pasttime.

When I was pregnant, everyone said our kid was going to be the youngest food snob around.  Yeah, well...She's a snob all right, quite the connoisseur of all things white.  I like to think of her as a carbo-carnivore.  She gives new meaning to "meat-n-potatoes."  Okay, yes, the little savage is well versed in just about every meat, potato preparation and type of bread you can imagine, and her finely tuned palate can identify when I slip a little water in her juice to lessen the sugar spike.  But the little punk will NOT touch a vegetable (except the spud variety, of course).  Will NOT.  No reward, no amount of cheese sauce, no trickery will dupe my kiddo into eating one single pea, one coin of carrot (unless dredged in so much honey, it negates the experience).  What we have here is a food fight.  I've even resorted to reading parenting magazine articles with witty suggestions to get your kids to eat their veggies.  Here are some of the most popular recommendations:

1. 

 

Get your kids involved in the cooking/growing/creation process:  Sounds like a great idea.  Doesn't work on my offspring.  She loves digging in the dirt, picking peas, watching squash grow huge in the garden.  She has her own plastic chef's knife and can finely mince parsley like a professional.  She recognizes the aesthetic beauty of a well constructed food.  Wanna try it?  No thank you.

2.  Encourage your child to "Eat the Rainbow" and chart their progress, ultimately ending in some desirable reward.  My daughter's response:  Eh.  That's okay.  I'll just tell Grandma I want that for my birthday.

3.  Use peer pressure.  Expose your child to other children who DO eat their vegetables, hoping the experience will peer pressure your child into enjoying green beans.  I tried this by taking my daughter to a local daycare.  The reward:  My daughter insists on eating CANNED green beans, but still won't touch the fresh variety.  Not so sure this is a desirable result.

4.  Introduce new vegetables with an appealing dip, such as ranch dressing...smother cooked vegetables in cheese sauce.  Total no-go.  You can't put lipstick on a pig.

And there are so many more that I won't revisit.  I have resigned myself to the fact that this is a food fight I cannot win, except by letting nature take her course.  Personally, I think MadMad is playing with us.  She knows this is the numero uno way of getting our goat, so she exploits our weakness.

 

I have recently fallen heels over trunk for elephant garlic.  Even though this big guy looks and smells like real garlic, it is actually a member of the onion/leek side of the allium family - so not a true garlic, despite its name.

If you can find some high quality elephant garlic from your local farmer's market, Co-Op or CSA provider, I highly recommend giving it a try.  I purchase mine from Sunrise (an Iowa producer) through my membership with the Iowa Food Cooperative (a surprising number of garlic producers exist here in Iowa, by the way).

What is most amazing about this giant is the texture of the cloves (elephant garlic is arranged similarly to garlic in that it has separated cloves).  The texture resembles more of a crunchy, waxy potato or radish than regular garlic.  

Because the flavor is so mild, it can be treated more as a vegetable than a flavoring agent.  I would highly recommend this for anyone who loves the flavor of garlic, but can't "tolerate" the strength.

I can think of oodles of applications for this awesome beauty, but here is a short list of recommendations:

• As a vegetable component of soup: creamy potato, minestrone, etc.
• Roasted alongside turnips, carrots, potatoes and/or rutabagas coated in olive oil and herbs.
• Added to spinach and artichoke dip for a garlicky finish.
• Thinly sliced and served raw on salads.
• Add to your homemade salsa for another dimension of flavor.
• Cook a few cloves with your potatoes and mash for phenomenal garlic mashed potatoes.
• Thinly sliced with peppers and onions for a stir fry.
• Threaded onto skewers with potatoes and your other favorite kabob residents.

I could really keep going and going...

If you love the flavor of garlic and want to add a new vegetable to your repertoire, I highly suggest this tasty giant.  Once you find you like it, find a great producer and buy in quantity, as the storage life on elephant garlic is great.

P.S. Elephant garlic is GOOD for you, too - it is high in manganese, a trace mineral which is a vital coenzyme needed by the body for many metabolic processes.

 

The Maraschino (say it: Mara-SKEENO) Cherry history starts back a few hundred years when the Dalmatians had a glut of Marasca cherries, so they pickled them in seawater and marinated them in a liquor made from their pits, stems and seeds.  Fast forward to Prohibition-era America when the cherries were no longer lawful because of their alcohol content, so some pocket-protector-wearing horticulturalist in Oregon developed a way to preserve Oregonian cherries without the liquor.  Thus, the American-made bastardized "Maraschino Cherry" was born.  Since 1940, the FDA recognizes "maraschino cherries" as "cherries which have been dyed red, impregnated with sugar and packed in a sugar sirup [sic] flavored with oil of bitter almonds or similar flavor."

Ewww. If my cherries are to be impregnated by anything or anyone, it better be ME!

I recently checked out a jar of commercially produced "Maraschino Cherries" to investigate the ingredient list:  Cherries, Sugar and/or High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Chloride, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Red #40, Sulfur Dioxide.  So basically, these are sugared cherries swimmin' about in a cocktail of preservatives and artificial colors...

I knew there had to be a better way.  After much research on the subject, I offer you the following acceptable alternatives.  Now, before you get your undies in a bunch, you're going to see an unfamiliar ingredient down there...don't panic.  Alum powder can be found in the baking aisle at your local grocery store.  I used a 99 cent canister of Tone's.  Alum powder, or aluminum sulfate, is the acid portion of baking powder.  The alum in this formula is part of the preservation brine and serves to keep intact the color and integrity of the cherry.  Those who pickle are most likely quite familiar with alum powder.

Preserved  Cherries - Non Alcohol Variety

Yields 1 quart of cherries with liquid, plus about an extra cup of liquid

Before you get started, I have to warn you that this is a 4-day process - a SIMPLE 4-day process.  Hang in there...stop hyperventilating and get pitting!

2 pounds pitted cherries (I used Bing, but by all means, use what you've got, Michigonians!)

4 cups water

1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt

1/2 teaspoon Alum powder

DAY 1:  Heat the water to boiling, remove from heat and add salt and alum.  Soak the pitted cherries in the brine overnight or 12 hours.

DAY 2:  Drain the cherries and rinse with cold water.   In a saucepan combine:

4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cups water

Juice of half of a lemon (1 or 2 Tablespoons lemon juice)

Bring this mixture to a boil.  Remove from heat, pour over cherries, allow to cool and then cover with plastic wrap.  Allow to steep for 24 hours.

DAY 3:  Strain the cherries, saving the liquid.   Bring the liquid to a boil and pour over the cherries, allow to cool and then cover with plastic wrap.  Allow to steep for 24 hours.

DAY 4:  Once again, strain the cherries out and bring the juices to a boil.  Pour the liquid over the cherries and add:

 1 Tablespoon Almond Extract

OR 3 Tablespoons Cherry-Pit Syrup (recipe follows). 

The cherries are now ready for a jar.  If you would like to store them for an extended period, they can be processed according to canning standards (Ball says to boil in water bath for 20 to 25 minutes).  If you are going to keep the cherries in the refrigerator to be used within 4 to 6 weeks, they do not need to be "processed."

I intentionally built in excess liquid to the recipe because of the many uses for this tasty elixir.  The liquid can be used as a flavoring for club soda to make your very own Cherry Soda or added to lemonade for a delicious Cherry Lemonade.  If you prefer a more adult beverage, the liquid is an excellent stand-in for Sweet Vermouth in a classic Manhattan. 

Cherry-Pit Syrup (recipe reprinted from here)

Yields 1 cup Almond-flavored Syrup

This recipe is the "whole hog" representation of the cherry, so be sure to save those cherry pits.

1/4 cup Cherry Pits

2/3 cups granulated sugar

1 cup water

Spread the pits out between two clean dish towels.  Gently pound the pits with a hammer or meat mallet to split them open.  Wrap the broken pits in cheesecloth and tie to make a sachet.

In a small pot, bring the sugar and water to a boil to dissolve the sugar.  Remove the pot from the heat, add the sachet and cover the pot.  Let the syrup steep for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the desired level of flavor intensity is reached.  Chill and store the syrup in the refrigerator.

This syrup would make a great Amaretto-flavored latte or coffee drink.  Or, use the syrup as a flavoring in sweet desserts.

Preserved Cherries for boozers (Brandied Cherries)

Before you get started, be warned this recipe is for the patient.  The cherries require 6 to 8 weeks to reach full loveliness.  You will need 2 one-quart jars, or the equivalent.

In each one-quart jar, layer 1 pound of pitted cherries and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar.  Pour enough brandy over the cherries to cover, but leave a 1/2 inch "head space" in the jar.  Tightly seal the jars and gently invert the jars a few times to get the sugar mixed in.

Place the jars in a brown paper bag and store in a cool, dark place.  Once a week for the next 6 to 8 weeks, invert the jars once or twice to incorporate any un-dissolved sugar and mix the flavors.

You now have Brandied Cherries and Cherry Brandy to use in cocktail recipes or to cook and use as a fruit compote for ice cream, bread pudding, rice pudding and the like.  And, of course, feel free to sample straight out of the jar...ahem.

 

Dear Customer,

When you approach me and I say, "Hi! How are you today?" please don't respond with "I'll have a Diet Coke."

Sincerely Yours,

Me

It's summer and we're all packing up our coolers and heading to sunny destinations.  

What is it about packing that Red Igloo that makes us reach increasingly toward those convenient, pre-packaged items that we would normally not touch?  And what is it with these producers of convenient, pre-packaged items that they want to make us fat and addicted to their products?'

The item on my chopping block today is the Capri Sun Roarin' Waters "Fruit Flavored Water Beverage".  It's amazing how they can use the word "water" to indicate that this product is somehow healthier than other pouched beverages.  Truth be told, the nutritional profile of this beverage isn't that bad at 30 calories & 7g of sugar per pouch.  Compare that to the original Capri Sun beverage at 60 calories and 16g of sugar per pouch.  My beef here is not in the numbers.  In fact, if you look at the numbers of the Capri Sun 100% Juice, you're apt to be truly confused:  90 calories and 20g of sugar per pouch.  No, here you'll have to dig deeper...into the ingredient list to find the real insult of this product.  Water, Sugar, Citric Acid, Sucralose (Splenda), and Natural Flavor.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but the name of the beverage isn't Capri Sun Sugar Flavored Water Beverage, right?

The true insult here is not that sugar is listed as the second ingredient...and it's not even that there is not a wisp of fruit mentioned (yeah, natural flavors...sure).  The big, fat slap in the face is that Capri Sun knows that the tides are turning and wanted to provide our kids with a lower-calorie, lower-sugar beverage...HOWEVER, they also know that if kids started enjoying beverages that tasted a little less sweet than usual, they would stop being addicted to their sugary products.  Enter Splenda...yay, Splenda - the no calorie sweetener in the little yellow packet.  Guess what...an equal amount of Splenda tastes many, many times (make that 600 times!) sweeter than sugar.  So, the fancy scientists and jerks at Capri Sun know that Moms and Dads will be attracted to the easy-on-the-eyes numbers, while kids go gaga over the super sweet taste.  Plus, I swear these companies bank on the fact that Mom isn't gonna stick that straw in her mouth and taste this stuff.  

Well, I did...and that's how my eyes were opened.

When I named my Blog "Food Fight," I didn't actually think I would be getting into any REAL fights.  But I offer you this recent Twitter feud.  This conversation began because I responded to someone I follow.  Then "Loser Tweep" found it necessary to pick a fight with me over my response.  Mind you, I don't follow "Loser Tweep."

 

Cool Food Tweep: Word for a chef who refuses to cook beef well done at diner's request because he doesn't want to "ruin" the meat

@cynthiakapela:  A chef who cares more about his food than his customer?  I call him a soon-to-be-DISHWASHER

 

Loser Tweep:  @cynthiakapela A chef who cares more about his food than his customer?  It's not their job - they're BOH.  The FOH cares about the customer.  

@cynthiakapela:  I hope there's a note of sarcasm there..."It's not their job..."

Loser Tweep:  No I'm serious.  The Chef's "job" is to care about the Food.  The General Manager and FOH's job is to worry about the customer

@cynthiakapela:  Is the chef cooking for himself or for people who wish to purchase his food?  The chef's "job" is to make people happy w/his food

Loser Tweep:  Yes, a chef cares about his customer.  But their utmost importance is food.  They are passionate about FOOD not people

@cynthiakapela:  Not sure what chefs U are talking about. We grow chefs differently in IA. My chef hubs lives for the delight on a customer's face.

Loser Tweep:  have you ever worked in a professional kitchen?

@cynthiakapela:  I have worked in many professional...and some not so professional kitchens...for 19 years.

 

End of conversation.  There are a million things I want to say regarding this conversation...but I think it speaks for itself.  If you don't get why it speaks for itself, then you just don't get it.

I have had a love of Sangria (from the Latin word for blood) since my San Francisco days.  One of my favorite tapas restaurants was (and forever will be) Cha Cha Cha Tapas Restaurant and Bar on upper Haight Street.  They serve Sangria in pitchers that are dunked into a huge vat of a beautifully crafted - and dangerously intoxicating - blend of red wine, a liquor (most likely brandy) and sliced fruit.  Their menu description:  "Our famous Sangria!  Share some with an enemy!"

A certain local newspaper had a small feature in Sunday's newspaper on Sangria.  With this feature, a certain downtown eatery was given wasted column space for a recipe of their "wildly popular" $8-a-glass version.  Why wasted?  First of all, the recipe is apparently proprietary and was not shared in full.  Sangria is a common punch meant to be shared by all.  Secondly, given the list of ingredients (three different types of fruity schnapps, including Cherry Pucker?!), Mr. Resident Bar Master isn't in tune to the drink's history.  Sangria dates back to ancient times and yet nowhere in its history did Sangria enjoy the benefits of a pell-mell of artificial colors and flavors.  A typical Sangria recipe, of which there are many, incorporates a light red wine, fresh fruits and fruit juice, sometimes spices like cinnamon, and another type of liquor, usually brandy.

Sangria comes in many forms, and I recommend developing your own recipe based on your wine and fruit preferences.  Read my recipe guidelines below and then use your taste buds and creativity to make a signature recipe of your own.  Sangria is most delicious with pure, fresh ingredients...not a barrage of artificial flavors and colors.  After mixing your concoction, allow it to steep for at least an hour.  Then, pour over a big glass of ice and enjoy.  Some people prefer to mix their Sangria with a little club soda or ginger ale for a fizzy, lighter flavor.  This is a very basic recipe that can be multiplied into infinity to suit your party size.

Sangria - A Starting Point

• 1 bottle of Red or White Wine - preferably something with little oak.  Don't use something wallet-busting here.
• 1 Lemon, 1 Orange and 1 Lime cut into thin slices - citrus is fairly essential, but beyond that, go nuts with apple or pear slices, peach slices, berries, starfruit...the vessel you use should be about 1/3 fruit.
• Sugar (or my preference, Agave Nectar) to taste - the sweeter the fruit, the less sugar you need.  On average, you will need about 2 Tablespoons of sugar per bottle of wine.
• 1 to 2 ounces of brandy, triple sec, or other liqueur.  My preference is Gran Marnier or Cointreau when I have it around.  If you don't want to add additional booze, use a little orange juice to enhance the flavor.
• If you like the flavors of cinnamon or nutmeg with your wine, drop in a cinnamon stick or whole nutmeg.  Don't use ground or powdered, as these will leave you with an unpleasant mouthfeel.
• Combine with club soda or ginger ale, if you prefer.

Happy sipping!