Beet Marmalade: The Easiest Homemade Condiment

Want to impress your friends? This homemade beet marmalade should do the job. It's incredibly easy to make, and a great flavor combination.

All it takes is some cooked beets, lemon, ginger and sugar. The marmalade thickens as it cools, so don't be surprised at the consistency. Wait for it to completely cool in sterilized jars before spreading it on your favorite toast. Better yet, you can spread it on this great coffee cake to add a bit of savory to the sweetness.

I would like to say thanks to my cook-the-book partners. This is our last installment from Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book. We started in July and ended today, with 13 chapters under our belts. I never would have tried half of what I did, so thanks for the ladies who blogged alongside me: Rachel, Aimee, Emily and Claudie. We had Sammy join us for a good bit of the book, too. It has been a pleasure getting to know each of you and I am amazed at the community that we have formed through our online alliance.

Enjoy the beet marmalade, and have a very happy and healthy new year!

Beet Marmalade

Ingredients:

• 4 medium-large beets, cooked and peeled
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 large lemon
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger

Method:

1. Put the beets in a food processor and process until coarsely chopped; or mash the beets by hand.
2. Transfer the beets to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir in the sugar.
3. Put the lemon and ginger into the food processor and process until finely chopped; or chop them by hand.
4. Add the lemon and ginger to the beet mixture and stir to blend.
5. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the marmalade has thickened a little.
6. This takes about 20 minutes – remember that the marmalade will get thicker considerably as it cools.
7. Remove from the heat and put up in sterilized jars if you are not going to use the marmalade for a month or more otherwise it will keep well in the refrigerator.

To learn how to sterilize jars, click here.

Hash Brown Potatoes: The Breakfast Book

Hash brown potatoes are a quick and easy side dish.

I don't buy much that's frozen, but I've always used frozen hash browns. They seemed like a tough dish to get right so I figured I'd stick to the packaged variety. This chapter of our cook the book project, with Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book, features potatoes. I chose hash browns since it's one of the few potato preparations I have never made.

They tasted way better than the packaged kind. So light, flavorful and crisp, I couldn't stop eating them. My daughter did admit that the real potatoes tasted better than the pre-made ones (only after she made it known that she wanted the pre-made and why was I bothering to mess with perfection?).

I cooked them in bacon grease and served them with bacon, too. You can fry them in olive oil or vegetable oil, if you're not as much of a bacon fanatic as I am.

Check out the posts by my cook the book partners:  Rachel, Aimee, Emily and Claudie.

Hash Brown Potatoes

serves 3

from Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons bacon fat, oil or shortening
• 3 cups grated potatoes, raw or cooked
• Salt and lots of pepper

Method:

1. Heat the fat in a large skillet.
2. Spread the potatoes in a layer, pressing down with a spatula.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cook over medium heat for 6 to 7 minutes.
5. With the edge of the spatula, cut the circle of potatoes down the middle.
6. Turn each half over and sprinle again with salt and pepper.
7. Cook another 6 or 7 minutes, or until the potatoes are crisp and brown on the bottom.
8. Serve hot.

Poached Eggs: The Breakfast Book

My mom, Gran Fran, taught me how to make poached eggs about a year ago.

Her method involves cracking the egg onto a small saucer, creating a whirlpool in a pan of boiling water and pouring the egg into it. I've become almost an expert at this method, so I thought why not give another method a try? What better timing could I have as it's time for eggs in this installment of my cook the book project (Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book)?

At first, I was concerned that the extra egg boil in the beginning of the process was going to slow me down. By parboiling the eggs, they really did hold their shape much more easily once they hit the water/vinegar poaching liquid.

It's great to have two methods to use to make poached eggs as each one yields a little different shape and texture of egg in the end. Gran Fran's method gives you a more fluid shape (though the yolks are cooked perfectly every time). Marion's gives you a more solid shape.

Anyway you want to make poached eggs, you'll end up with a nice light egg dish on a Saturday morning to serve with sausage and toast, or on a Monday night on top of your favorite salad greens.

Check out the posts by my cook the book partners:  Rachel, Aimee, Emily, Sammy and Claudie.

Poached Eggs

from Marion Cunnigham’s The Breakfast Book, Copyright 1987, Alfred A. Knopf

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 4 cups water
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• Additional water for parboiling the eggs

Method:

The eggs to be poached will be getting a preliminary short boil. In a saucepan, boil enough water to completely cover the eggs. Gently lower the unshelled eggs into the saucepan. Count to 30 and remove the eggs. This preliminary cooking in the shell will harden the egg white a little so that the egg will hold its shape better as it poaches.

Bring to a simmer 4 cups water and 2 teaspoons cider vinegar in a 10-inch deep frying pan or sauté pan. If you are poaching more than 4 eggs and need a larger pan, add 1 teaspoon vinegar for each additional 2 cups water. One by one, crack each egg on the edge of the frying pan, open up the shell just over the simmering water, and let the egg fall gently into the water. If the eggs are not to ally submerged, spoon the simmering water over them as they poach. They will be ready after 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Or remove the pan from the heat immediately after adding the eggs, cover, and the eggs will be poached after 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove the eggs with a skimmer or slotted spoon and let them drain on a towel. If you are not using the poached eggs right away, put them directly into a bowl of ice water and refrigerate. They will keep for 2 to 3 days. Reheat them in a bowl of very hot water for about 1 minute.

Almond Milk Gluten Free Baked Donuts....No, They ARE Good!

Look at these here baked donuts, made with almond milk and gluten free flour. Delicious, right?

It's our twice monthly Cook the Book. We are cooking our way through every chapter of Marion Cunningham’s The Breakfast Book. There are six of us participating in the project: Rachel of Ode to Goodness, Sammy of Rêve du Jour, Emily of The Bon Appetit Diaries, Aimee of Homemade Trade and Claudie of The Bohemian Kitchen.

My mom, Gran Fran, made fried donuts just once that I can recall. She has a big fear of somehow burning down her kitchen while working with hot oil, cooking anything fatty in the oven, or, come to think of it, anything other than pasta or potatoes. For a woman who spends so much time in the kitchen, she certainly isn't comfortable with any kind of volatile cooking.

When I mentioned I was making donuts, she, in NY, said to me, in SF:

"Make sure you open all the windows, have the fire extinguisher handy, and maybe let the neighbors know you're frying something, so in case there's some kind of fire, they can help you."

I'm the youngest of five, two of us live 3,000 miles away from Gran Fran. She has been giving me these long distance words of wisdom for 20 years. I can only image what kind of in-person guidance my NY siblings get from her.

When I was in New York for my parents 50th wedding anniversary, one of the granddaughters made a list of all the Gran-Fran and Joe-isms she could think of, along with some input from the other 10 grandkids and my sisters and brother. Let me tell you, there were a good number, none of which included any reference to the fire extinguisher. Wish I had remembered to bring that one up when the list was put together.

Two quotes stand out in the lineup:

1. "I'll make you a plate."

2. "Make sure you lock the top lock."

The first quote is a straightforward example of Gran Fran always making sure we are well fed, to the point of needing to switch into our stretchy pants.

The second refers to always locking all the locks on the door, especially the top lock. Whenever she would leave us alone, she'd lock the door behind her and get in the car. Next thing you hear is her banging on the back door yelling "Make sure you lock the top lock." This inevitably scared the heck out of us as we had already locked the top lock, and were not expecting a re-appearance of Gran Fran. (A friend sent me this link of S**t Italian Moms Say.  Make it to the very end, you'll see why).

With Gran Fran's warning in my ear, I opted out on frying the donuts and instead chose a baked donut recipe. This is the second time I've tried baking donuts. The consistency is more like a cake donut, not so air filled, denser. I prefer a nice cake donut, so it's perfect for my taste. If you like an airier donut, you probably want to stick to frying.

Almond Milk Gluten-Free Baked Donuts

adapted from Marion Cunnigham’s The Breakfast Book, Copyright 1987, Alfred A. Knopf

Ingredients

•     2 packages dry yeast
•      1/3 cup warm water
•      1½ cups almond milk
•      1/3 cup vegetable shortening
•      ¼ cup sugar
•      2 teaspoons salt
•      2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
•      2 eggs, lightly beaten
•      4½ cups all-purpose flour, approximately (I used Gluten-Free Pantry's All Purpose Flour Mix)
•      ½ cup melted butter
•      1 cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a small bowl and let it dissolve for 5 minutes.  Put the milk and shortening in a saucepan and heat until the shortening is melted.  Cool to lukewarm.  Pour the yeast mixture into large mixing bowl and add the milk mixture.  Stir in the ¼ cup sugar, salt, nutmeg, eggs, and 2 cups flour.  Beat briskly until well blended.  Add the remaining 2½ cups flour and beat until smooth.

Cover the bowl and let double in bulk, about 1 hour.  Dust a board generously with flour and turn the dough mass onto it.  The dough is soft and needs enough flour on the board to prevent sticking, but is easy to handle.  Pat the dough into a round about ½ inch thick.  Use a 3-inch doughnut cutter to cut out the doughnuts, placing them (and the doughnut holes) on greased baking sheets, 1 inch apart.  These don't spread much; they rise.

Preheat the oven to 450ºF.  Let the doughnuts rest and rise for 20 minutes, uncovered.  Bake about 10 minutes, or a little longer, until they have a touch of golden brown.  Remove them from the oven.

Have ready the melted butter and a brush.  On a sheet of waxed paper spread the cinnamon sugar.  Brush each doughnut and doughnut hole with butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar.  Serve hot.