Flamingo Musings » ginger http://flamingomusings.com Just another WordPress site Wed, 09 May 2012 12:57:54 +0000 en hourly 1 Can Jam 11: Apple Ginger Jam http://flamingomusings.com/2010/11/can-jam-11-apple-ginger-jam.html http://flamingomusings.com/2010/11/can-jam-11-apple-ginger-jam.html#comments Sun, 14 Nov 2010 22:45:00 +0000 RJ Flamingo http://flamingom.wordpress.com/2010/11/14/can-jam-11-apple-ginger-jam


I can’t get over that this is the 11th Can Jam! This year, with all of its ups and downs, has been really inspiring to me on so many levels.

I’m on a ginger kick, lately. I have to put it in just about everything! So, when I found this recipe for Apple Ginger Jam, and the Cosmic Cowgirl announced that the Can Jam theme this month would be Apples, Pears, and Quinces, the stars aligned once again!


Apple Ginger Jam (makes 8 half-pints)

(adapted from Clearly Delicious – An Illustrated Guide to Preserving, Pickling & Bottling by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz)

Ingredients:

2-1/2 lbs. cooking apples (I used the venerable Granny Smith)
2 large lemons
2 tsp. ground ginger
3 cups water
5 cups sugar
1/4 cup chopped candied ginger (or more to taste)

Preparation:

Place a couple of small dishes in the freezer.

Peel, core, and coarsely chop the apples, reserving the peels and cores. Put the peels and cores in some cheesecloth or another clean cloth and set aside, then put the fruit into a large saucepan.

Finely grate the zest of the lemons, using a Microplane or similar grater, then juice the lemons and add the zest and juice to the pot (I added the juiced lemon “shells” to the cloth, too), along with the ground ginger and water. Now tie up the cloth “bag” and add that to the pot, as well. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.

Remove the cloth “bag”, squeezing as much of the juices out of it as you can, add the sugar to the pot, and stir till completely dissolved. Bring back to a rapid boil and continue to cook without stirring for an additional 10 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and do a gel test by putting a little of the liquid on one of the frozen plates and return to the freezer for 2 minutes. If the liquid wrinkles when you push it with your fingernail or the tip of a spoon, you’re ready to jar up. If the liquid remains runny, return the pot to the heat, bring back up to a boil and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Repeat the test and then repeat cooking/testing if necessary.

After removing from the heat finally, stir in the chopped crystallized ginger.

Fill sterilized jars with the hot jam, cover with appropriately prepared lids and rings, tightened finger-tight, and process in a boiling water canner for 5 minutes (adjusted for altitude).

You know the rest of the drill by now: Remove the hot jars to a towel or newspaper-covered surface, listen for the pinging of your seals, and check the seals in 24 hours to make sure everything is kosher.

*Notes:

It’s a bit tricky to get that bag of stuff out of that boiling hot pot and then squeeze the juices out, and do it safely. I have a colander that fits perfectly over the rim of the pot I used. When I lifted the bag out of the pot with a pair of tongs, I slipped the colander under it and put it in there. Then I took a sturdy wooden spoon and smooshed the bejeebers out of it, so everything went directly back into the pot, and Look, Ma! No burns! If you have a pair of those silicone waterproof oven mitts, you could probably just squeeze it with your hands. But the colander method worked for me.

Oh. Em. Gee. I can’t believe how good this stuff turned out! I want to eat it on toast, I want to eat it with cheese, I even wanted to figure out how to put it in other stuff! In fact, I did mix it with softened cream cheese, slapped it between two squares of puff pastry, and drizzled some dulce de leche over it to make one darned decadent dessert: Apple Cream Napoleons with Dulce de Leche. Talk about over the top! I am so glad there are seven more jars of this stuff waiting for me… I might just make another batch!

Okay – what’s next?

]]> http://flamingomusings.com/2010/11/can-jam-11-apple-ginger-jam.html/feed 9 The 12 Days of Cookies: Day 3 http://flamingomusings.com/2009/12/the-12-days-of-cookies-day-3.html http://flamingomusings.com/2009/12/the-12-days-of-cookies-day-3.html#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:41:00 +0000 RJ Flamingo http://flamingom.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/the-12-days-of-cookies-day-3

The quest continues to bake and blog 12 cookies in 12 days from the 2008 Bon Appétit Holiday Cookie-a-Day collection.


For Day 3, I chose:

Ginger Orange Stars

Ingredients:

Cookies

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup robust-flavored (dark) molasses
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Icing

  • 1 1/2 cups (or more) powdered sugar
  • 5 teaspoons water
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

For cookies:

Sift first 7 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar and beat until well blended. Beat in molasses, egg yolk, orange peel, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat just until blended. Gather dough into ball. Divide into 4 pieces. Flatten each into disk. Wrap each in plastic and chill until cold and firm, at least 4 hours.

Position racks in top third and bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out 1 piece of dough on lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Using 2 1/2- to 3-inch star-shaped cutter, cut out cookies. Transfer cookies to prepared sheets, spacing 1/2 inch apart (cookies spread very little). Gather scraps and reroll dough, cutting out more cookies. Bake cookies 5 minutes. Reverse baking sheets; bake until cookies are puffed and look slightly darker around edges, about 5 minutes longer. Cool cookies on sheets 2 minutes. Using thin metal spatula, transfer cookies to racks; cool. Repeat with remaining dough pieces.

For icing:

Sift 1 1/2 cups sugar into medium bowl. Add 5 teaspoons water and vanilla; whisk until smooth. Whisk in more sugar by tablespoonfuls, if necessary, until icing falls thickly off whisk. Spoon icing into pastry bag fitted with 1/16-inch plain round tip or resealable plastic bag (cut tip off bag). Pipe icing onto cookies. Let stand until icing is hard, at least 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight between sheets of waxed paper.)

I liked my squiggles

Notes:
I changed nothing in baking this recipe. Surprise! No, really. I did everything exactly as printed, and I liked the gingery flavor a lot, although for me, the orange didn’t really come through. The molasses lends a bit of a bite, keeping these from becoming too sweet, and the icing really does enhance the flavor, although I had to add a 6th teaspoon of water to get the right consistency.
I spooned the icing into a quart-size freezer bag and snipped off a tiny corner. These cookies don’t call for precision piping (thank God!), so I didn’t see any point in using a pastry bag or a tip. This method worked very well, despite the fact that piping is not one of my strong suits. (Have I mentioned that I am not a food stylist?)
If you haven’t seen my entries for Days 1 and 2, I’ll just repeat that, yes, once again, this is an extremely soft dough for a cut-out cookie. In fact, if you aren’t blinded by my expert piping skills (Hahahahahaha! I crack me up!), you might notice that a number of my stars more closely resemble Patrick of Spongebob Squarepants fame, than something you might top your tree with. It’s not my fault!
If I were to make this recipe again, I would probably roll them a little thicker than a 1/4″ and perhaps add another 1/4 cup of flour when mixing the dough.


Please visit my partners in holiday baking, below, and see what they’ve got in store for you. And don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the fourth installment!

Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes (honorary member and our founder but not participating this year)
Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
Courtney of Coco Cooks
Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Kelly of Sass & Veracity
Michelle of Big Black Dog
RJ of Flamingo Musings (hey! that’s me!)
Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench
Tiffany of The Nesting Project

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