A Rosemary Cocktail

David and I went to an excellent Japanese restaurant a while back, and we treated ourselves to a cocktail to start the meal.  I tried their rosemary gimlet, and really enjoyed it.  I searched for a recipe online, and found one on David Lebovitz's food blog.  I've tweaked it a bit, cutting back on the amount of rosemary syrup.  I grow rosemary in a pot outdoors in the summer, and have had success bringing the pot indoors over the winter, so I have a ready source of fresh rosemary. But if I didn't, for this drink I'd splurge and buy some in the grocery store.

ROSEMARY GIMLET

adapted from http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2015/11/rosemary-gimlet-gin-cocktail-recipe/

Rosemary Syrup—make in advance, with time to cool down

(enough for about 5 drinks; will keep in fridge for several weeks)

     1/4 cup  sugar 

     1/4 cup  water 

     1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

To make the syrup, heat the water, sugar and chopped rosemary leaves in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is hot and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Once cool, strain the rosemary syrup into a jar, and refrigerate until ready to use.

The Gimlet

(instructions for 2 servings, as that's what I usually make, and what fits easily in a cocktail shaker)

3 oz. gin

1.5 oz. fresh lime juice

1 oz. rosemary syrup

Measure the gin, lime juice and rosemary syrup into a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker halfway with ice, preferably slightly crushed, cover, and shake the cocktail mixture about thirty seconds. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass. If you don't have a cocktail shaker, you can put a pile of crushed ice in a quart-size measuring cup, pour the mixture over the ice, stir it around for a while, and then strain off the cocktail. (I inherited a cocktail shaker from my parents, and love using it for this drink.)

Heart-healthy desserts

David recently had a couple of stents put in a major artery, so we are now paying extra attention to eating heart-healthy foods.  One change we're making is to cut out desserts constituted largely from butter and white flour.  We're not big dessert people--never have it with everyday meals--but I enjoy baking, and look forward to occasions that give me a chance to do it.  While planning a meal for a couple of friends who are coming over on Sunday, I remembered a couple of apple desserts that would still fit in the new regime.  Even if you don't need to cut back on rich desserts, either of these is nice after a meal that's on the heavy side.

One other thing before the two recipes:  As we adjust our eating habits, we've needed to weigh some foods.  The old postal scale I was using was difficult to use and not very accurate.  I broke down and bought a new scale, and am delighted with it.  Much easier to use, and it's good for anything from a 1/2 ounce to 11 pounds.  It took me a while to sort out options on Amazon, so if you're interested in one and just want to piggyback on my search, I bought this one.

APPLE MERINGUE

from Simply Light Cooking (1992)

makes 4 servings (140 calories per serving)

1 lb. Golden Delicious or Granny Smith apples, cored, pared, and sliced

2 T. honey

1 T. water

1 t. grated lemon peel, divided

2 t. lemon juice

1/2 t. cornstarch

4 egg whites (at room temperature)

dash cream of tartar

2 T. sugar

Note:  You can prepare the apples (step 2) well in advance, and then do the meringue closer to serving time.

1.     Preheat oven to 300 degrees. 

2.     In a large nonstick frying pan, combine apples, honey, water, lemon juice, and 1/2 t. lemon peel and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the cornstarch and cook until mixture thickens slightly, about 1 minute.

3.     Spray a 2-quart casserole (or other baking dish large enough to spread out the apples) with nonstick cooking spray and arrange apple mixture in it; set aside.

4.     In a large mixing bowl, beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy.  Gradually beat in the sugar, 1/2 t. at a time.  Add remaining lemon peel and continue beating until the whites are stiff but not dry.

5.     Spread beaten whites over the apple mixture.  Place baking dish in the middle of the oven.  Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees and bake for 20 minutes, or until the meringue is golden.

DUTCH APPLE PANCAKE

from The Mayo Clinic Williams-Sonoma Cookbook (1998)

makes 2 pancakes; serves 4 (282 calories per serving)

4 Golden Delicious apples, cored, pared, and cut into 1/4" thick slices

3 T. honey or maple syrup

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

2 eggs and 2 egg whites (or substitute 6 egg whites)

1/2 c. nonfat milk

1 T. canola oil

1 t. vanilla extract

1 T. grated orange zest

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. whole wheat flour

1 T. confectioners sugar

1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges

I've done the recipe in three stages:

            In late morning:  prepare the apples (steps 2 and 3)

            A little before guests arrive: beat the wet ingredients only in step 4; measure out the flour but don't add

            Just before sitting down to dinner:  Add the flour to the batter, assemble the dessert, and put it in the oven.

1.     Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Coat two 9" pie pans with nonstick cooking spray.

2.     Coat a large nonstick frying pan with nonstick cooking spray and place over medium heat.  Add the apple slices and cook, stirring and tossing every 2-3 minutes, until they have softened slightly and are browned in spots, about 10 minutes.

3.     Add the honey or syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the apples are tender and the honey coats them in a syrupy glaze, about 5 minutes.

4.     In a bowl, beat the eggs and egg whites, milk, oil, vanilla, and orange zest until blended.  Add the all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour and beat until completely smooth.

5.     Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.  It's important to put the batter into the pans before the apples--otherwise the pancake won't puff as much. Top each pan with an equal amount of the apple slices.

6.     Bake until golden brown and puffed, about 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and dust with the confectioners' sugar.  Cut each pancake in  half and serve immediately--best served right out of the oven.  Pass the lemon wedges at the table.

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

I needed to bake something for a study group the other day, and was glad to have the excuse to make this cake.  I enjoy most anything with cranberries, and I'm always happy with a cake recipe that doesn't involve frosting--nothing against frosting, just not my favorite thing to make.  This cake is beautiful as well as delicious.  You can see a photo here--not the recipe I used, but comes out looking the same.

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

12 servings

from Cooking Light, November 2009

Topping:

cooking spray

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

2 T. butter

6 oz fresh or frozen, thawed, cranberries

Cake

1-1/2 c. all purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1 c. granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 large egg yolks

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. skim milk (other milk also fine)

2 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 350.

To prepare topping, generously butter a 9" round cake pan.  (If you have one with a slider, that will help get the cake out after it's baked.)  Heat brown sugar and 2 T. butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Cook 2 minutes or until butter melts and sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally.  Pour sugar mixture into prepared cake pan, tilting pan to coat bottom evenly.  Arrange cranberries evenly over sugar mixture.

To prepare cake, in a smaller bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir with a whisk.  In a larger bowl, beat sugar and 1/2 cup butter at medium speed until well blended and fluffy (about 3 minutes).  Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla.  Fold flour mixture into sugar mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Beat the egg whites at high speed until stiff peaks form, using clean, dry beaters.  Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.  Spoon the batter over the cranberries, spreading evenly.  Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Cool in pan 15 minutes on wire rack.  Place a serving plate upside down on top of cake, and invert the cake pan onto the plate.  Let stand 5 minutes and remove the pan.  You can serve this warm, or wait until later.  Last year, I made the cake a day before serving.  I left it in the pan until ready to serve.  

Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger

For many years, I've made some kind of squash soup for the first course for the Thanksgiving meal.  I like all of them, but this one with ginger is probably my favorite.  The ginger flavor is delicate, but a definite plus.  A tip on peeling butternut squash:  I find that a Swiss-style vegetable peeler (which you pull towards you rather than pushing away) makes short work of this task.  If I didn't already have one, I'd buy this polka dot one.

CREAMED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP with GINGER

adapted from Jane Brody Gourmet Food Cookbook

This low-fat soup can be prepared with virtually any kind of winter squash, including pumpkin, but butternut squash is the easiest one to peel.

2 T. unsalted butter or margarine

2 medium sweet onions, peeled and thinly sliced

2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes

2 Macintosh apples, peeled, cored and diced (other apples also fine; Honey Crisp is good)

3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup unsweetened apple juice (I've also used a 6-oz can of orange-pineapple juice when I forgot to get apple juice)

1 T. (or more) finely minced ginger

1 cup 1% milk (skim milk also fine)

1/2 t. salt

1/8 t. white pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg for garnish (optional--nice if you have it)

1.  In a stockpot, melt the butter or margarine over medium heat.  Add the onions, and cook them, stirring them occasionally, for 10 minutes until softened.

2.  Add the squash, apples, broth and juice.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, cover the pot and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes or until the squash is tender.

3.  Puree the mixture with an immersion blender (or in several batches in a food processor), adding in the minced ginger.

4.  Stir in the milk and heat the soup through, but do not boil it.  Add the salt and white pepper and serve the soup garnished with the nutmeg, if desired.  (One year I forgot to put in the milk.  The soup was still very good!)

Makes 11 cups.

Spicy Nut and Pretzel mix

I made this snack, one of my favorites, to have on hand for Thanksgiving, and am surprised to see I haven't ever put it up on the blog.  Simple to make and very tasty--nice to have something that is sweet, salty, spicy, and crunchy.

Spiced glazed nuts and pretzel mix

adapted from http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2006/12/the-best-holida/  (Nice photos here of the final results)

makes about 4 cups; easily doubled

2 cups mixed raw nuts  (I like pecans, almonds, macadamia, and hazelnuts, but cashews and walnuts would be good too.)  

1 T. butter

3 T. dark brown sugar

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

3/4 t. chili powder

1-1/2 T. maple syrup

1 t. flaky sea salt (or kosher salt if you don't have sea salt)

2 cups small pretzel twists.

1.     Preheat oven to 350.

2.     Spread the nuts on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes, stirring once when halfway done.

3.     Put the butter in a medium-sized glass or ceramic mixing bowl and use the microwave to melt the butter.  Take out of the microwave and add the brown sugar, cinnamon, pepper and maple syrup (but hold off on the salt and pretzels).

4.     Add the warm nuts and stir until the nuts are completely coated.  Then stir in the salt and add the pretzels.

5.     Prepare the baking pan so that all this won't stick--grease lightly, or put a piece of aluminum foil on and grease that.  Or use a silicone mat if you have one, or a non-stick baking sheet.

6.     Spread the nut-pretzel mixture in the pan, and return to the oven for 13-15 minutes, stirring a couple of times during cooking to break up any clumps.  The baking is done when the nuts are toasty and the mixture is nicely glazed.

7.     Remove from the oven and cool completely, separating the nuts and pretzels as they cool.

Once cool, you can store the mixture in an airtight container for about a week.