Cherry Walnut Relish

Oops. I seem to have missed Farm Fridays this week. Yesterday turned out to be quite a busy day when my usual Friday errands turned into an all-out shopping spree. I spent money on a level that I've never reached before (at least, not in a single day!). Slipping into Sur La Table at the mall for a new tea kettle (I sorta melted the top of the old one) meant getting sucked into several stores having awesome sales and dropping into Sephora to replenish my foundation led me into a long conversation with a saleswoman who evaluated my skin and recommended several products that I really should have been using already (somehow in all these years I never learned about primer). And after months of mostly vain searching for shoes that I can wear with my bulky orthopedic inserts, I hit the jackpot, coming home with five new pairs. The gist of all this is that I spent far more time shopping than originally planned, which didn't get me home in time to make all the dinner recipes I'd had planned. And the stuff we did manage was done before I thought to grab my camera.

But I thought I'd make it up to you with a few of the cherry recipes we worked on last week. Last Saturday Terhune Orchards opened for cherry picking! You may remember that I went last year and blogged about how much fun I had. This year Jeff was available to come along and help, so we planned a big day of cherry picking and canning. Cherry picking is so easy, and cherries are so delicious and tempting, that we picked far more than we'd intended - we brought home thirteen pounds of cherries (see the above picture of our dining room table laden with cleaned and sorted fruit). And by the end of the weekend, most of them had been dispatched in a variety of tasty recipes.

We made this cherry-walnut relish, cherry preserves and almond and sweet cherry galette on Saturday and on Sunday, after I'd realized how much we still had (and fearing we wouldn't get through them before they started to go bad), I obsessively searched through my files and the internet to find more possibilities: brandied cherries, individual cherry crisps and roasted cherry brownies (don't worry - those are the subject of my next post!). The crisps and the brownies were frozen for future consumption, so we will be enjoying cherries for several weeks to come.

This cherry walnut relish was the first project that came to mind when we decided to go cherry picking. When I got my copy of Put 'Em Up a few years ago and prepared to start canning, it was one of the first recipes that caught my eye. I jumped at the chance to do it this year. I chose the most luscious and velvety of the cherry varieties we had (while I divided them all into bags and pint boxes to keep the varieties separate, I of course failed to remember the names of the cherries we'd picked) to go with the richness of the spices and nuts. While cherries are a summer fruit, I thought this sounded like a winter treat, to top pork roasts or a turkey sandwich (I have my heart set on a roasted turkey panini with this relish and some Gruyere some time this fall). I was absolutely right -the tang of the vinegar lends complexity to the rich sweetness of the cherries. Even though the walnuts were added all the way at the end, their flavor manages to permeate the relish as well and the bigger pieces add a nice crunchy texture. I look forward to putting this on many winter sandwiches!

Cherry Walnut Relish
From Put 'Em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton. 

4 c sweet cherries, stems and pits removed
1 c sugar
1 c cider vinegar
1 onion, diced
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 c crushed walnuts

Add the cherries, sugar and a splash of water to a large, nonreactive pot (I prefer my enameled Dutch oven for all canning activities) and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring and crushing the cherries with a potato masher to help them release their juices.

Add the vinegar, onion and cinnamon stick, stir to combine, and return the mixture to a simmer. Cook until thickened (but not dry), about 20 minutes

Add the walnuts and return to a boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and take out the cinnamon stick.

Spoon into half-pint canning jars, covering the solids with 1/4" of liquid and leaving 1/4" headspace. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner. 

Sweet Potato Fries with Cranberry Ketchup

Every month when my cooking magazines arrive, I devour them quickly, tearing out and cataloguing all the recipes that appeal to me. Then those recipes go into a folder, not to be looked at for several months. No matter how good a recipe looks, it seems like I'm always a few months behind. My menus are dictated more by the produce I have available than the recipes that show up. When my October magazines arrived, I was still in high summer, trying to use up my tomatoes and basil. I was not ready to think about winter squash and sweet potatoes, delicious though they are.This month, however, worked out better. When my November Cooking Light arrived a few days ago, my cupboard was bare. I was ready for sweet potato fries with cranberry ketchup. And cranberries have just come into season in New Jersey.

I went to the farmers market this morning and was delighted to see the bins of fresh cranberries, along with the other fall goodness pictured above (so many of my favorite vegetables are in season right now!). New Jersey is a big cranberry-producing state (Ocean Spray is actually headquartered about ten miles south of here in Bordentown - though I hear they'll be moving by next year). I'd been planning to take advantage of this cranberry bounty for some time, but I knew my timing had to be good. Last year I saw cranberries at the farmers market and stored that info in the back of my mind for Thanksgiving, when I would need them. But when Thanksgiving weekend rolled around, there were no cranberries to be had! The harvest had ended early. This year, I was assured this morning, they will still be around by then. But that doesn't stop me from enjoying some now!
 
This cranberry ketchup is easy to make and absolutely delicious. The tart sweetness of the cranberries holds up well against the zing of the vinegar and the heat of the red pepper flakes. While cranberries and sweet potatoes seems like a Thanksgiving-y combination, this recipe manages to evoke fall flavors without a holiday connotation. I'm sure it would be as good as a side dish for a family dinner as it was as my Tuesday lunch!
 

Sweet Potato Fries

1 1/2 to 2 lbs sweet potatoes, sliced into wedges
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and toss to coat.

Spread the wedges on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, flip the wedges, and return to the oven for another 15-20 minutes. Serve nice and hot!

Cranberry Ketchup

From Cooking Light November 2011.

1 2/3 c fresh cranberries

1/2 c dark brown sugar

1 large shallot, chopped

1/4 c cider vinegar

1/4 c water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat (you will start to hear the cranberries burst as they heat up). Cook 10 minutes, until thick, stirring every few minutes.

During those 10 minutes, the mixture will go from foamy and popping to deep red and gelatinous.

After the 10 minutes are through, once the mixture has gelled, remove from the heat and let rest for 10 more minutes.

Once the mixture has cooled a bit, transfer to a food processor (I used my small one) and process until smooth. Enjoy with sweet potato fries!