Monthly Archives: December 2012

Spiked Cranberry Sauce

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So I just remembered I never posted the cranberry sauce I made over Thanksgiving.

 It was spiked. With red wine. So … even more antioxidants, right?

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Spiked = factor in not remembering?

I hope not. Because it was super delicious.

Spiked Cranberry Sauce

Adapted from Cookin’ Canuck

3/4 cup port wine (or red wine)
1/2 cup water
12 whole cloves
12 oz. fresh cranberries
1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar

Combine wine, water, and cloves in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a boil.

Simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes, and then strain out the cloves.

Stir in the cranberries and sugar and bring to a boil again, raising the heat to medium-high.

Once at boiling, reduce heat to medium and simmer 12-15 minutes until all the cranberries are popped (may take longer than 15 min).

Cool completely in a bowl, then refrigerate before serving.

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This was a really yummy addition to the Thanksgiving table. It’s definitely on the more tart side than sweet side, but I liked that… and super-flavorful from the cloves and the wine. Having grown up on the gelatinous can-shaped cranberry sauce (which I still love) this was definitely a change, but a good change! Yum. I love cranberry sauce.

 

 

Dumpling-making in Haojiping

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My group and i learned how to make simple dumplings while at Haojiping Ethnic School!

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This is the glorious cook who made our meals–breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She made the dough, and only spoke Chinese, so I’m not really sure of how she made it.

This post is more of a trip down memory lane than a recipe.

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Basically, you get a small lump of dough, which you flatten with your hands or a well-floured beer bottle.

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Then, you put a small spoonful of filling into the dumpling and seal the edges. Above is my very good friend Melissa placing some herb mixture into the dumpling!

DSCN3160Ta-da. Many many dumplings.

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Some of us were very creative. Above is a dumpling face.

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The finished product. Dumplings of many shapes and sizes, cooked in a light broth with some soy sauce for flavor.

Somehow, we managed to roll, stuff and seal all of the dough, between bouts of flour-throwing wars and sighs of exasperation of ripped dough! They were pretty yummy.