Marisa McClellan's Blog, page 123

December Sponsors: Cuppow, Eat Boutique, New West KnifeWorks, Preserving Now, and The Clay Studio

December landed just a few days ago and that means it’s time to mention and thank the current Food in Jars sponsors. These are the companies make it possible for me to spent time testing recipes, writing tutorials, and answering canning questions and I am grateful for their suppost.

In the top spot is Cuppow. They are the maker of the original mason jar travel mug topper and, more recently, of the BNTO. Many of their gift packs are on sale right now, if you were hoping to pick up a few as stocking stuffers.

Next up is Eat Boutique, an online magazine and market that discovers and celebrates the best small batch foods by boutique makers. They sell specialty gift boxes and regularly host tastings and pop-up markets. We recently collaborated on a box that features a few of my favorite preserve flavors, along with a signed copy of my book. It’s the perfect gift for the preserver in your life!

I’m happy to welcome new sponsor New West KnifeWorks. Based in Wyoming, they are makers of gorgeous, sturdy, crafted in the US kitchen knives. They are currently hosting a giveaway on their site for a 4-piece knife set, so click on over there to enter.

I’m also happy to welcome Preserving Now back! Operated by Lyn Deardorff, Preserving Now is both a website and school dedicated to helping people expand their canning and preserving skills. If you’re in the Atlanta area, make sure to check out her schedule of upcoming classes and events!

Back for another month is The Clay Studio. This Philadelphia-based non-profit was founded in 1974 and is dedicated to affirming the importance of the ceramic arts. They work to make clay an accessible medium to a broad range of people. They sell a number of pieces in their shop that are both lovely to look at and to hold. There’s plenty there that would make excellent holiday gifts!

Related Posts:

Giveaway: Wüsthof Classic 7 Inch Chinese Cleaver

I firmly believe that it’s important to have the right knife for the job. Sure, you can get most of your kitchen work done with a sturdy chef’s knife, a good serrated bread slicer, and sharp little paring knife, but when you get into deeper chopping and mincing, it’s sometimes nice to have some serious slicing power at hand.

That’s where the Wüsthof Classic 7 Inch Chinese Cleaver comes it. It’s flies through piles of vegetables (good for all that holiday cooking), holds a wickedly sharp edge, and has a wide flat blade that is fabulous for smashing garlic. I also like to use the blunt edge for bruising herbs, lemongrass, and other general tenderizing tasks.

It’s a knife that takes a little getting used to if you’re more accustomed to working with a smaller blade, but once you get comfortable with it, you’ll find yourself reaching for it all the time.

Thanks the lovely people at Wüsthof, I have one of these fabulous Wüsthof Cleavers to give away to a Food in Jars reader. Here’s how to enter!

Leave a comment on this post and tell me about the give you’re most looking forward to giving this holiday season.
Comments will close at 11:59 pm east coast time on Saturday, December 7, 2013. Winner will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog on Sunday.
Giveaway is open to US residents (apologies to my more far-flung readers).
One comment per person, please. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog at the bottom of this post. I do not accept submissions via email.

Disclosure: Wüsthof has provided both my review unit of the Wüsthof Classic 7 Inch Chinese Cleaver and the giveaway unit at no cost to me. However, my opinions remain entirely my own.

Related Posts:

Wusthof Vegetable Knife Winner
Giveaway: Wüsthof Vegetable Knife
Giveaway: Ashley English’s Homemade Living Series

Links: Mincemeat, Harvest Crackers, and a Winner

I hope that everyone out there had a lovely Thanksgiving! Scott and I spent the actual holiday with his mom in Northern Virginia and then came back up to Philadelphia for a second celebratory meal with my extended family on Saturday night. My cousins sent me home with both turkey carcasses and I’ve been a machine for the last 24 hours, picking them apart, making stock, and running quart jars of finished stock through the pressure canner. It’s such satisfying preserving, because it is such a useful thing to have in the pantry.

Now, links!

A lovely bundt cake, made tender with yogurt and homemade applesauce.
Spiced pear butter. Truly, only of my favorite things!
Glorious apple and quince mincemeat.
Tunisian quince preserves. Next time I have a stash of quince, I’m making this.
Persimmon and ginger upside down cake. The pictures alone are worth clicking through for.
Still have cranberries? This sweet hot cranberry chile jam sounds like a fantastic way to go.
A pretty garland made from dried fruit. A very nice way to make your space festive for the holidays.
Need something to give with a jar of jam? Try these twice baked harvest crackers.
It’s the fifth night of Hanukkah and doughnuts are just as traditional as latkes. These jelly-filled ones look like a delicious option.
Looking for holiday cookies that will help you use up your jam stash? How about these sables?
Finally, I’ve found that shortbread cookies like these pair up very nicely with jars of jam.

Thanks to everyone who took the time out of their busy pre-Thanksgiving days last week to enter the Ashley English Homemade Living series giveaway! The winner is #18, Chip in SC. He said, “I am thankful for my family and friends!” Chip, I feel the very same way.

Related Posts:

Links: Pumpkin Syrup, Cranberries, and Winners
Links: Apples, Cranberries with Hibiscus, and Winners
Links: Autumn Canning and Winners

Giveaway: Ashley English’s Homemade Living Series

I am sure that most of you are knee-deep in Thanksgiving lists and travel coordination this week, so I’m going to keep this giveaway post short and sweet. Thanks to Ashley English and the kind folks at Lark Crafts, I have one set of Ashley’s Homemade Living books to give away. This series includes Canning & Preserving, Home Dairy, Keeping Bees, Keeping Chickens.

These books are the perfect resource for those folks who want to delve deeper into an array of homestead-y arts. If you’re limited by space (like me) and can only dream about having property enough for a flock of chickens or a personal beehive, they also make excellent aspirational reading.

Because Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, let’s focus on gratitude in the comments. I’ll go first. This year, I am exceedingly grateful for my family. I am deeply grateful for the amount of love in my life. And I am outrageously grateful for all of you who take the time to read these blog posts and make my recipes. Giant thanks to you all.

And now, in more organized fashion, the giveaway instructions.

Leave a comment on this post and share something for which you are grateful.
Comments will close at 11:59 pm east coast time on Saturday, November 30, 2013. Winner will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog on Sunday.
Giveaway is open to US residents (apologies to my more far-flung readers).
One comment per person, please. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog at the bottom of this post. I do not accept submissions via email.

Disclosure: The nice people at Lark Crafts are providing the books for this giveaway. My opinions remain my own and I received no compensation for this post. It’s here because I like Ashley and her work. 
Related Posts:

Cookbooks: A Year of Pies
Giveaway: Homemade Living with Ashley English
Homemade Living with Ashley English Winner

Links: Pumpkin Syrup, Cranberries, and Winners

I spent the end of last week feeling like I was on the verge of getting really sick. In response, I hunkered down, drank buckets of tea, and slept multiple 12 hour stretches. Happily, the worst of the crud never came, but I did fall behind in everything but my Scandal watching. We’re off to Scott’s mom’s house for Thanksgiving on Wednesday morning, so I’m trying to squeeze all my catching up into Monday and Tuesday. It’s probably not going to happen, but I’ll do my best.

Now, links!

Gin soaked golden raisins for serving with funky cheeses.
Pumpkin syrup! I want this!
Tangy tart apple pear butter.
Two kinds of bread for the Thanksgiving table. Scoopable potato rolls and sweet potato biscuits.
Swimming in cranberries? Make pate de fruit!
Well Preserved shares ten uses for leftover pickle brine.
Struggling with your pie crust? Alana has a foolproof technique that uses a stand mixer.
Amanda from Phickle digs into the myths behind fermentation and lays down the truth.
Pretty pear ginger chutney.
Here’s a good one for preserves in action. Whiskey applesauce cake!

We had two giveaways come to their end last week. First was the Duralex giveaway sponsored by MightyNest that ended last Wednesday. The winner in that giveaway was selected through Rafflecopter and is Brenda McNamee Diggs.

The Anolon giveaway ended on Saturday night and the winner, selected by random.com, is Sarah (commenter #8). Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter! I’ll have  a Thanksgiving week giveaway up tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Related Posts:

Links: Apples, Cranberries with Hibiscus, and Winners
Links: Autumn Canning and Winners
Links: Apple Pie, Fermented Carrots, and Winners

The First Issue of Edible Philly

For years now, I’ve envied all the other cities out there that had their own Edible magazines. It just seemed wrong that a vibrant food town like Philly didn’t have its own food-focused publication. Happily, my envious days are over. The very first issue of Edible Philly finally hit newsstands this month.

This first issue is filled with good stuff, including a story about locally made ciders, a piece about Bethlehem, PA, and gorgeous, photo-heavy spread about Di Bruno Bros., Philly’s cheese institution.

Some of my favorite local writers and photographers contributed to this issue, including Tara Matazara Desmond (I’ve been raving about her new book, Choosing Sides, to anyone who will listen), fab photog Albert Yee, and Madame Fromage herself, Tenaya Darlington. I am honored to be listed among so much talent.

I wrote about beets for the In Season column in this issue. I had so much fun developing the recipes and have made the both the roasted beet dip and the beet and potato latkes repeatedly since writing that piece. The latkes would be a fun way to mix up your Hanukkah table this year, if you’re looking for fresh inspiration.

I’m looking forward to reading (and hopefully contributing to!) many future issues of Edible Philly. It’s such a good addition to the city’s food scene!

Related Posts:

Beet and Onion Salad

Spiced Cranberry Jam

Most of the time, I do my preserving in relatively small batches. However, as we begin to approach the gift giving time of year, I take inventory of what I have in the pantry and then make a few very large batches to round out the selection (Scott likes to give his co-workers some of my jams and pickles, and I typically put together gift bags for neighbors and family members).

One fruit I rely on heavily for these larger, holiday-themed batches is the mighty cranberry. It has great flavor, contains a goodly amount of pectin (which means there’s never any doubt that it will set up), and goes beautifully with all manner of wintertime fare.

This is not my first go-round with cranberry jam (I shared a basic batch the first year this site was around and did a tin can molded version back in 2011), but I like this one because it has plenty of flavor and retains its essential tartness. Of course, if you want to temper the boldness of the cranberry, you can try pear cranberry jam, cranberry marmalade, apple cranberry jam, or cranberry quince sauce.

When making this jam for gift giving, I cook it until the berries are mostly popped and will sometimes use a potato masher to help break it down a bit more. If you prefer a smoother spread, you could either introduce an immersion blender or push the jam through a food mill for something that it mostly skin and seed-free.

Because cranberries are quite high in acid, this is a recipe you play around with a little without causing unsafe conditions. Swap out the spices and drop in a vanilla bean instead. Use more orange zest and juice for a citrusy punch. Go wild and add a little cayenne or ancho chili powder to provide some heat. Unless you start adding handfuls of garlic and onion, you’d be hard pressed to make an unsafe cranberry jam.

Oh, and one more note about cranberries. If you like sweet and tangy things and you haven’t tried my pickled cranberries yet, consider making up a batch while they’re in stores this season.

Now your turn. What cranberry jams, sauces, and jellies are you making this time of year?

Print

Spiced Cranberry Jam

Yield: 5 pints

Ingredients

3 pounds fresh cranberries (about 12-14 cups)
3 cups granulated sugar
3 cups apple cider
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 orange, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Instructions

Prepare a boiling water bath and necessary jars. Place lids in a small saucepan and bring to a bare simmer.
Combine the cranberries, sugar, cider, and orange and lemon juice and zest in a large pot (use a big one, this jam will bubble) over high heat.
Bring to a boil, skimming off the foam that develops on the top of the fruit. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until the cranberries pop.
Add the ginger, cinnamon, and cloves and stir to combine.
Continue to cook, stirring regularly, until the jam looks quite thick. If it appears to be thickening too much before all the cranberries are popped, add a splash of water to loosen.
Ladle jam into jars. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath for ten minutes.
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Related Posts:

Homemade Cranberry Jelly (for Thanksgiving)
My Imaginary Menu: Thanksgiving
Links: Savory Granola, Pickled Chard Stems, Quick Pickles + Winners

Giveaway: Anolon Tri-Ply 5 Quart Dutch Oven

Over the last few years, I’ve become something of a booster for stainless steel cookware. I like the fact that it’s durable, relatively light (at least if compared to enameled cast iron), and comparatively easy to clean. The easy to clean part is of particular importance because as an easily distracted person who frequently cooks sugary things, I occasionally find myself scorching or burning a batch of jam or jelly (it happens to the best of us).

When this happens in expensive enameled cast iron, the jig is up (at least in my experience). The cooking surface of that vessel is forever changed for the worse and the pot becomes increasingly prone to future burns. When you burn something in stainless steel, you can soak and scrub until the charred bits release their hold. Though the surface may bear marks of the burn, it will continue to serve.

And so, I’ve slowly been building my collection of stainless steel cookware (I still have some enameled pots and pans, but I save them for low heat and oven applications). I have a few pieces of All-Clad that were either picked up at a thrift store or bought at steep discount from Cookware & More. We added some nice pans from Anolon’s Nouvelle Cuisine line (thanks to this giveaway partnership) to the kitchen last year. And just recently, this Anolon Tri-Ply 5 Quart Dutch Oven joined my cookware line-up.

The nice folks at Anolon sent it over, thinking that it might be a good pan for the tiny batches of jam I often make. And they were absolutely right. It’s a terrific piece of cookware that is perfect for small batches of jams, jellies, and chutneys because of its low, wide design (it promotes fast evaporation!). I also like it for the soups and sauces I frequently make for dinner (it’s size helps keep me from cooking for an army, which is my natural default). And if you’re looking for a relatively inexpensive Dutch Oven in which to bake loaves of no-knead bread, look no further. This guy is oven safe up to 500 degrees F.

Thanks to Anolon, I have one of these Tri-Ply 5 Quart Dutch Ovens to give away. Here’s how to enter:

Leave a comment on this post and tell me about your favorite piece of cookware.
Comments will close at 11:59 pm east coast time on Saturday, November 23, 2013. Winner will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog on Sunday.
Giveaway is open to US residents (apologies to my more far-flung readers).
One comment per person, please. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog at the bottom of this post. I do not accept submissions via email.

Disclosure: Anolon has provided both my review unit of the 5-Quart Dutch oven and the giveaway unit at no cost to me. However, my opinions remain entirely my own.
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Giveaway: Duralex Picardie Tumblers from Mightynest
Giveaway: Hamilton Beach SaladXpress
Giveaway: Eat Boutique Preserves Collection

Upcoming Classes: Temple University! The Brooklyn Kitchen! And More!

We are rapidly approaching the end of my busy season, but there are still a few events left on the calendar. Here’s what’s coming in the next couple weeks!

November 19 – I’m speaking at the Temple University Bookstore about how my evolution from hobbyist blogger to full time writer, teacher, and author. The program starts at 6 pm. More details can be found here.
November 20 – Prep for the holiday season with some homemade Edible Gifts at The Brooklyn Kitchen. We’ll cook up batches of Cranberry Chutney and Cranberry Syrup and will dig into the details of boiling water bath canning. Class is from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. Click here to sign up.
December 8 – Pear Cranberry Chutney class at Wyebrook Farm in Chester County, PA. Class runs from 1 – 3 pm and you can sign up by clicking here!

In other exciting news, my second cookbook, Preserving by the Pint: Quick Seasonal Canning for Small Spaces, is now available for pre-order (it will be released on March 25, 2014). It’s on Amazon, Powell’s, Barnes and Noble, and Chapters (for the Canadians!). I’m just starting the process of planning my tour to support this book. If you want me to come to your city or town this time around, I’m absolutely game but I’ll need your help. Here’s what you can do:

If you have a connection with book store or kitchenwares shop that hosts author events, make an introduction. Same goes for cooking schools that host guest instructors.
I love spending a morning or afternoon at a local farmers market. If you think I’d be a good fit for yours, hook me up with the coordinator.
Let me know if you want to host a private canning class for your local canning circle (there is a fee for this).
I’m all about the book potluck. If your local canning or food swap community wants to invite me to bring a stack of books to your upcoming gathering, just say the word.

I can’t wait to meet even more of you all this spring and summer. Thanks in advance for all your help.

Related Posts:

Upcoming Classes: Pressure Canning! Apple Pie Filling! Autumn Retreat!
Upcoming Classes: Pressure Canning! Pie Filling! Fall Chutney!
Upcoming Classes: Philly! Phoenixville! Greensgrow!

Links: Apricot Gelato and Spiced Pumpkin Butter Bars

Is it just me or does November seem to be speeding by? I swear, it was just Halloween and now we’re more than halfway through the month. I am singularly unprepared for the rush of the holiday season but here we are nonetheless. How are the rest of you holding up?

Now, links.

Currant orange marmalade tea cake.
Chicken wings with a spicy plum jam glaze.
Pretty kiwi berry butter.
Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s apricot gelato using home canned apricots in syrup.
Brilliance! Use a rotary apple peeler to prep quince for preserves.
Prep for fruitcake season with a batch of homemade mixed candied peel.
Spiced quince leather cut into snack-sized squares.
Drool-worthy homemade pantry photos.
Cranberry conserve and an adaptation of my apple honey conserve.
I still have one last jar of pumpkin butter in my freezer and these pumpkin butter bars are calling. If you don’t have a stash of butter, try this winter squash butter technique from Sarah at The Yellow House over on Food 52.
Delicata squash hummus. A marriage of some of my very favorite things!
Finally, though they don’t include a drop of jam, these super nutty cookies speak to me.

I don’t have a winner to announce in the Duralex giveaway yet because it doesn’t end until Wednesday. Have you entered?

Related Posts:

Links: Apples, Cranberries with Hibiscus, and Winners
Links: Autumn Canning and Winners
Links: Apple Pie, Fermented Carrots, and Winners