Wish Upon A Chef

It is with great sadness that I start to adjust my menus for the fall and winter seasons while the rest of the food blogging world becomes ecstatic and rejoices that these seasons have rolled around so they can once again feature the likes of pumpkins, acorn squash and root vegetables on their menus.

The fact of the matter is, I don't really enjoy the fall and winter food offerings as much as I do the summer fruits and vegetables so I try to hold on to the seasons as long as I can by eating and posting seasonally incorrect items. I'm trying to do better, though.  I really am. 

I thought I'd break myself in slowly with this salsa that seemed more appropriate for fall since it featured cranberries and I still had a few bags of fresh cranberries in the freezer left over from last season.  Even though the recipe said not to use frozen, I went with it anyway and it probably accounted for the fact that all of the ingredients in the salsa were ruby red colored - fresh cranberries wouldn't bleed as much color, if any.  In addition to the 1/3 cup brown sugar it called for, I used pretty close to another 1/4 cup to season plus a pinch or two of salt because it was VERY tart and even then it was still just a tad too tart for my taste.  But again, I'm trying.  I really am. 

This salsa appeared in the November 2008 edition of Gourmet magazine and is a good complement when served with turkey or chicken but honestly, I liked it best with good old-fashioned tortilla chips and it seemed to get better, albeit still tart, a few days after it was made.  The saltiness of the chips seemed to balance it out very nicely. 


If this is your season, I'm happy for you. I really am.  I'll just sit over here in the corner and wait patiently for my beloved season to come back around.

Cranberry Pineapple Salsa
as published in Gourmet, November 2008

1 (4-pounds) pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1medium onion, chopped

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 (12-ounces) bag fresh cranberries (3 1/2 cups; not frozen)

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar, or to taste

1/4 cup Seville orange juice (or 2 tablespoon each of fresh lime juice and regular orange juice)

1 cup packed cilantro sprigs, coarsely chopped

 

Field-picked strawberries will always hold a special place in my heart because they remind me of my childhood, so when I had the opportunity to travel back to my hometown and attend the Strawberry Festival it was just like going home and being a kid all over again.

The Strawberry Festival is still in the infant stages of becoming a large, well-known regional festival like our Apple Festival, but it was created in honor of a man named Wayne Scott who pioneered the strawberry movement in my hometown some 50+ years ago. The weather was not very cooperative this year and eventually put an end to the festivities early, but even still it was a fun time celebrating all things strawberry.

Sharing a funnel cake top-heavy with fresh strawberries and powdered sugar with my grandmother was one of the major highlights of the festival. You can see from the photo that she had a death-grip on the edge of the plate out of fear that I'd take off running with the thing and not share (I'm not sure why we only children have such a stigma surrounding us about our inability to share.)


I've shared a recipe for fresh Strawberry Salsa that will now become part of my strawberry season repertoire.  It was something that I tossed together to take to the second picnic gathering of the Charlotte Food Bloggers to celebrate the theme of strawberry picking. I was unable to join the group when they hit the fields to pick their own berries but that didn't stop me from enjoying the fruits of their labor. I was amazed at the creativity and beauty of the dishes brought and I suggest you check out the blogroll and take a look-see for yourself what our fabulous members bring to the table. I find them all to be such an inspiration!

Homemade cinnamon-sugar dusted tortilla chips were the perfect accompaniment to the sweet and spicy Strawberry Salsa, and now that strawberry season is over, don't be afraid to use store-bought berries in this recipe. Those berries have a firmer texture and they actually hold up better and longer in the salsa than freshly picked berries.


Strawberry Salsa
Inspired by Gourmet Magazine

Ingredients:
2 fresh jalapeño chilies, finely chopped
2 cups finely chopped strawberries
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
6 oz. finely chopped dried pineapple
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:
Combine chilies, strawberries, onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Mix gently to combine. Salsa can be made several hours before serving and chilled. Yield: 3 cups.

Homemade baked tortilla chips are really easy to make. I used the whole wheat variety but feel free to use the flour ones if you wish. Stack them up together and cut them into 8th ~ cut in half, then half again and then cut each quarter into halves. Brush each triangle with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. If you'd like savory chips, feel free to use any spice blend you desire! Bake in a single layer on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for approximatly 10-12 minutes or until chips are slightly browned.