Pineapple Chipotle Grilling Sauce

This is a great grilling sauce, but if don't like a lot of heat, this recipe is not for you. The sweet of the pineapple is the first thing you taste, followed by the heat from the chipotle peppers. It is awesome basted on grilled chicken, pork or lamb. Shrimp or Scallop kabobs, threaded on a skewer with more fresh pineapple is also excellent.

Recipe
Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup diced onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbls chopped chipotle chilies in adobo (I used about 1/2 of a small 7 oz. can)
5 cups fresh or canned pineapple (if using canned, buy pineapple chunks) reserve about 1/3 cup diced pineapple to add to sauce after blending
1/2 cup pineapple juice
3/4 cups balsamic vinegar (I used dark, next time I will use white balsamic)
1/2-3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp salt

Method
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and cook onions 4 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in chipotle chilies and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Add pineapple chunks, pineapple juice, vinegar, sugar and salt, stir well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and simmer 35 minutes or until reduced to 1 1/2-2 cups.

Remove from heat. Pour into blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Stir in 1/3 cup reserved diced pineapple, and return to heat and reduce for another 10 minutes or until glaze is desired thickness. Glaze should be pretty thick, and will continue to thicken up in the canning process. Mine was thick enough before canning to coat a basting brush and not drip off.

Ladle glaze into 4 half-pint sterilized jars leaving 1/4 head-space. Wipe rims and add hot lids/rings. Process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Remove jars from water bath and let sit undisturbed on a kitchen towel on our counter-top 24 hours undisturbed. Jars are sealed when button in the middle of the lid is fully depressed and won't move up and down.

Store jars in pantry up to one year. Open jars should be refrigerated.

Yield: 4 - 8 oz jelly jars

Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original 
content.

Loaded Potato Chip Dip

I wish I had more pictures of this one to share with you, but I don't! It was devoured so fast the only picture I ever got of it is this one before it was served.

This is the BEST dip I have ever made hands down! Saw this gem on Tasty late last year and had to try it. We made up a batch for a New Years Eve Party at Wateree Recreation Area, where my husband is the manager, to rave reviews. We could have easily made 3 or 4 times the amount we did, and still have had none leftover, it was that popular.

It is the perfect dip for tailgate parties, football watching, get together's, back yard cookouts, pot lucks and more. Trust me, everyone will be happy you made it to serve, or brought it with you to share. You will be the hit of the party!

RECIPE
Ingredients
1 - 8 oz Sour Cream
1 - 8 oz Cream Cheese
1 packet Ranch Seasoning
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese (plus extra for topping)
1/2 cup Crumbled Bacon (plus extra for topping)
1/4 cup Chopped Green Onions  (plus extra for topping)

Method
Combine the sour cream, cream cheese, and ranch seasoning in a large bowl and stir until smooth. Then, add in the cheddar cheese and stir until well-blended. Lastly, add in the crumbled bacon and the green onions and stir.

Top off with extra green onions, bacon, and cheese and serve with potato chips, potato wedges, or fries!

Enjoy,

Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Beef and Mushrooms in Wine

Delicious one dish meal that's so easy to do! You only need to plan ahead by an hour to allow the stew beef to marinate. I used 100% grass-fed Angus beef, but any stew beef of good quality will work.

Slow cooking in a Dutch oven makes the meat tender, and the sauce is rich, smooth and flavorful. No condensed cream of soup here!

Cook's notes -

• Yes, you absolutely can make this in a slow cooker!
• Yes, you can marinate the night before and add it to your slow cooker in the morning.
• Grass-fed beef is best, but if not available, any good stew beef works.
• Red grape juice with a splash (about 1 tbsp) of balsamic vinegar is a good substitute for the Merlot wine.

RECIPE
Ingredients
1 cup Merlot wine
2 strips bacon, chopped
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 lb. grass-fed beef stew meat 
1/3 cup flour
2 tsp dried minced garlic
2 tsp. thyme leaves
1 tsp. course-ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt
2 cups beef bone broth
6-8 button mushrooms, sliced length-wise, reserved

Method
Trim stew beef into medium to small pieces and marinate in the refrigerator one hour in 1 cup Merlot wine.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until almost cooked through, add onions and saute' 3-4 minutes or until just becoming translucent.

Stir in marinated beef and Merlot wine and cook until beef is browned. Sprinkle flour evenly over beef; add garlic, thyme leaves, pepper and salt. Pour in beef bone broth and stir well to combine.

Cover Dutch oven and cook 2 1/2 hours or until beef is tender. During the last 30 minutes, stir in the sliced mushrooms.

Serve over your choice of rice, egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

Cook's note - this recipe could be easily cooked in a slow cooker set to low heat for 6-8 hours.

Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Savory Roasted White Polenta

On a farm day outing in May I was finally able to meet and talk to the fine folks from The Congaree Milling Company. I had followed their progress and Facebook page for awhile, had messaged and talked to them, but this was the first chance to actually meet them and score some of their polenta and grits! I was excited to try it.

Well, as sometimes happens in life, things in my world quickly got busy and my Roasted White Polenta was patiently chilling out in my freezer waiting for me to make some deliciousness with it. Finally that moment came and I am thrilled to share the results with you.

So who is The Congaree Milling Company? 
They are Ken DuBard, and business partner, Lawrence Burwell. It is their goal to provide the best organic maize products that can be bought on the market today. Organic corn is all we currently mill on our stone burr mill. We use a separate mill for processing our organic oats  Our freshly milled, unenriched, organic, whole-grain stone-ground products are processed in ways that are both ancient and modern, ways that utilize the inherent nutrition in maize while simultaneously enhancing flavor. This untapped potential makes The Congaree Milling Company unique in its vision.

We specialize in New and Old World milling techniques that date back to when corn was grown to be consumed by people.

What is Polenta?
Polenta, in short, is a cornmeal porridge that is a common dish in Northern Italy (so much so that one derogatory word for Northern Italians is polentoni—the big polentas). It's frequently eaten with meats and ragù, cheese like gorgonzola, or condiments like mostarda d'uva, a grape-and-nut jam from Piedmont. It can either be eaten freshly cooked, much like a thick porridge, or it can be cooled and then sliced and fried, grilled, or baked. See more from Serious Eats

RECIPE
Savory Polenta
Ingredients
2 tbls olive oil, plus extra for grilling or frying
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 quart chicken stock or broth (make your own)
1 cup roasted white polenta (I used polenta from The Congaree Milling Company)
3 tbls unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup Parmesan, grated

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large, oven-safe saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and salt and sweat until the onions begin to turn translucent, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic, and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, making sure the garlic does not burn.

Turn the heat up to high, add the chicken stock, bring to a boil. Gradually add the cornmeal while continually whisking. Once you have added all of the cornmeal, cover the pot and place it in the oven. Cook for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to prevent lumps. Once the mixture is creamy, remove from the oven and add the butter, salt, and pepper. Once they are incorporated, gradually add the Parmesan.

Pour the polenta into 9-inch round cake pan lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Place in the refrigerator to cool completely, about 2-3 hours.

Once set, turn the polenta out onto a cutting board and cut into squares, rounds, or triangles. Brush each side with olive oil and fry in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, or grill.

Serve polenta topped with an Onion Marsala Wine Sauce for an added treat. In a medium saucepan, saute' 1/2 cup chopped onions in 1 tbls olive oil; sprinkle in 2-3 tbls. flour and quickly whisk in about 1 cup Marsala wine; stir until smooth and slightly thickened.


Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.