Homemade Chinese Five Spice Powder

Homemade Chinese Five Spice Powder - one of my favorite spice blends. Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cloves, fennel, and cinnamon combine to create a wonderful and uniquely flavored seasoning. 

Why should you make your own Chinese Five Spice? First, one of the cool things about making your own spice blends is that you can control the ingredients in the blend, and customize the spices to your taste. 

Red Zhug (Yemenite Hot Sauce)

Zhug, (or z,hug, zhoug, or schug) is a Yemenite hot sauce made with chiles as well as lots of cilantro, sometimes parsley, and a few spices. There are two types, red zhug made with red chiles (sometimes dried), and green zhug, made with fresh green chiles.

 

Zhug is great with falafel, grilled vegetables, fish, lamb, steaks, and eggs. It can also be added to hummus, soups, rice, pasta, and even drizzled over pizza. 

Homemade Taco Seasoning for Ground Beef Tacos

This homemade taco seasoning mix is easy to put together, and it works just like the taco seasoning you buy in packets.

One batch of this taco seasoning is enough for making six one pound batches of taco meat. I just keep the mixture sealed in the pantry and grab it when I want to make ground beef tacos. 

Little Green Dress Sauce

This Little Green Dress Sauce, made with so many lovely green ingredients, will make any dish more delicious.  

This Little Green Dress Sauce, with its combination of flavorful salty and herby ingredients, is sort of like a chimichurri sauce, and includes lots of parsley and fresh mint, yet it is a bit more briny because it includes olives and capers. 

How to Make Ketchup from Scratch

This Homemade Ketchup from scratch is tastier than anything you can buy at a store.

Making ketchup, or any condiment, from scratch may seem a little over the top, even if you love making your own homemade salad dressings, barbecue sauces, and preserves.

Salted Peanut Caramel Sauce

This peanut caramel sauce will not last very long in your house. It's absolutely wonderful on ice cream, apple slices, cookies, and tarts. I'm sure you can think of lots of other reasons to make this caramel sauce. I used some as a filling for peanut butter thumbprint cookies.

It lasts for several weeks in the refrigerator..... if you can resist it for that long.

Salted Peanut Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

1 C heavy whipping cream

1/4 C water

1 C granulated sugar

1 T light corn syrup

1/8 tsp salt

3/4 C (4 ounces) finely chopped roasted salted peanuts

Instructions

1. Heat the whipping cream in a glass measuring cup in the microwave, until just hot. Set it next to the stove top. 
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to a medium sauce pan (at least 2 1/2 quarts), and bring to a boil over medium, stirring occasionally with a heat proof spatula, until the sugar dissolves. 
3. Turn the burner to high and boil the sugar mixture until it turns a golden brown. While it is boiling, swirl the pan occasionally. The minute the mixture reaches the right color, turn off the heat. 
4. Slowly pour the cream into the sugar mixture, whisking constantly. The mixture will bubble up quite a bit. Continue to whisk until the cream is thoroughly incorporated. 
5. Pour the mixture into a heat proof bowl to cool. 
6. Add the peanuts when the caramel is just warm.
7. Place into a jar and refrigerate. 

Enjoy!

I found this recipe in the book The Art & Soul of Bakingby Cindy Mushet and Sur la Table. I've had this book for about five years, and have been so happy with the lessons and recipes included in the book. 

Ruby Port Cranberry Sauce

This Ruby Port Cranberry Sauce takes cranberry sauce to a completely new level.

I had no idea that cranberry sauce could be this good until my friend Michele, an outstanding cook, told me about this recipe five years ago. She had made it for Thanksgiving and was bowled over by the flavor.

It was my year to host our extended family's Christmas Eve celebration, and I was planning a traditional turkey dinner. Cranberry sauce has always been one of those things you have to serve but no one actually eats.

This was much better. While it's still cranberry sauce (there's no getting around it, it's not for everyone), it really has a much richer, deeper, spicier flavor. I've made it every year since. I use the leftovers for cookies, ice cream, and even PB&J. Thanks Michele!

For those who prepare turkey dinners for Christmas, give this sauce a try. I think you will be pleased. By the way, I also love this orange cranberry sauce, which is even easier to make.

This recipe appeared in the November 14, 2007 issue of the Los Angeles Times Food section. I still have the email Michele sent me with the scanned clipping.

Oh, and I developed a taste for good Ruby Port. Dangerous stuff.

Ruby Port Cranberry Sauce

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Author: Karen Kerr

This Ruby Port Cranberry Sauce takes cranberry sauce to a completely new level.

ingredients:

• 1 1/2 C Port
• 3/4 C sugar
• Spice bundle: 3 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 allspice berries, 4 black pepper corns, tied into a bundle with cheesecloth
• 2 inch by 1/2 inch strip of orange peel. Alternatively, a drop of orange oil can be substituted
• 1 package of cranberries, fresh or frozen

instructions:

How to cook Ruby Port Cranberry Sauce

1. Place everything but the cranberries into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for four minutes to reduce the wine to about one cup.
2. Add the cranberries and bring the mixture to a boil again. Reduce the heat and simmer for about ten minutes, until the cranberries pop.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool. Remove the orange peel and the spice bundle.
4. When fully cooled, pour into a container and refrigerate.

Calories
153.21

Fat (grams)
2.27

Sat. Fat (grams)
0.21

Carbs (grams)
32.03

Fiber (grams)
2.72

Net carbs
29.31

Sugar (grams)
23.24

Protein (grams)
1.28

Sodium (milligrams)
277.50

Cholesterol (grams)
0.00

Karen's Kitchen Stories

cranberry sauce, Thanksgiving, holiday

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American

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