Inaugural Recipes: Cherry Chutney and Apple Cake

Happy Inauguration Week, y'all!

Inspired by the official inauguration luncheon menu, we marked the occasion with a special dinner of our own. Instead of duck, we had chicken breast topped with the cherry chutney; instead of an apple sponge cake, I baked Grammy's fresh apple cake, and we enjoyed it topped with whipped cream. No pictures today, but recipes for the cherry chutney and apple cake are posted below.

First, the cherry chutney: the list of ingredients is a bit long, but most ingredients are basic. The only special ingredients I needed to pick up from the store were the cherries and the golden raisins. I'm sure regular raisins would be equally as flavorful, if not as colorful. I made very few changes to the original recipe. Instead of shallots, I used the white parts of scallions, and instead of tarragon or chives, I used the green parts of said scallions. The official recipe mentions tomato paste, but I used a fresh, chopped tomato. The end result was fantastic. In Oscar's words, "Sweet, spicy, and delicious!"

Now, about Grammy's apple cake: I've posted the recipe exactly as she wrote it out for me in her own handwriting, many years ago. Her recipe indicates the cake should be baked in a 13x9" pan, but I always remember Grammy using loaf pans. Thus, as a child, I thought of it more like bread than cake. However, the recipe calls for plenty of sugar, butter, and white flour; clearly, it is cake, not bread. Today, I baked the batter in two loaf pans. One cake was devoured tonight, and the other goes in the freezer to enjoy another day.

And finally, the recipes...


Cherry Chutney

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp chopped scallions, white parts only
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp hot red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 medium tomato, de-seeded and chopped
1/4 cup red wine
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 can Oregon brand Bing cherries, drained and quartered
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 tbsp chopped scallions, green parts only

Heat oil over medium heat, then add onion, garlic, and white scallions; cook and stir until soft and golden. Add chopped tomato, black pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 tsp salt; cook for about a minute. Add bell pepper and cook until softened, reducing heat if necessary. Stir in wine, vinegar, an sugar; simmer about 5 minutes. Stir in mustard, half of the cherries, and remaining 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste); simmer 1 minute. If desired, remove 1/4 cup of mixture to a blender and puree until very smooth and reserve for glazing meat or poultry. Finish the chutney by adding the remaining cherries, the raisins, and the chopped green scallions.


Grammy's Apple Cake

2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
4 cups grated or chopped apples
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup softened butter
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and beat just until combined (the batter will be thick). Turn batter into a greased 13x9" pan and bake for about one hour.

Herbed Pork Stew with Mushrooms and Carrot Greens

We enjoyed this stew on a recent Sunday afternoon, when everyone was lazing around all day with the sniffles and sneezes.

Carrot greens, surprise surprise, taste quite carrot-y. I used just the greens in this stew, and the carrots in a rice dish later in the week, but I'm sure it would be extra tasty to chop the carrots and add them along with the mushrooms.

And for those of you who know I don't eat mushrooms: they show up in our local box delivery every now and then, so I use them. Oscar loves them; I pick them out. That's one reason they are whole in this recipe - easy for me to remove, but big bites of mushroom-y goodness for Oscar to enjoy.

Herbed Pork Stew with Mushrooms and Carrot Greens

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs pork loin roast, cubed
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
7 cloves of garlic, as as many as you can stand
3 tbsp flour
salt and pepper
12 oz. beer (I used a bottle of Shiner Light, which is really the only light beer I would recommend; otherwise, just use your favorite regular beer)
Water
1 bunch of carrot greens
A few sprigs each of fresh sage and rosemary
12-15 crimini mushrooms
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, quartered lengthwise
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, or to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat and add the pork in an even layer. As the meat begins to sear, chop the onions and garlic, throw them in the pot and give everything a stir. Once the pork has browned, sprinkle the flour and salt and pepper over the top and mix in. Add the beer, stir around, and then add enough water to cover the meat, letting the mixture come to a simmer.

While the stew is simmering, take a few sprigs of the carrot greens and use kitchen twine to tie them in a bundle with the sage and rosemary, and add the herb bundle to the stew.

Clean the mushrooms and add them whole (you can cut the large ones in half, if desired) to the stew, along with the kalamata olives.

Let the stew simmer slowly for at least 2 hours, or more, adding water as necessary to keep everything submerged.

Just before serving, chop the remaining carrot greens. Remove the herb bundle from the soup (most of the rosemary needles should have dropped off into the stew by now, which is fine), discard, and then stir in the freshly chopped greens. Add Worcestershire sauce to taste, and adjust salt and pepper as necessary. Serve!