Tag: food

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This is Our Family

By Rebecca Johnson

Rosana Jamous helps her daughter Sarah choose from traditional Thanksgiving foods and Middle Eastern fare. Photo by Bill Goehring.

Sioux Falls is South Dakota’s melting pot, with over 120 languages spoken in its schools. Moving to the rural Midwest can be a shock for immigrants trying to learn a new culture and new traditions. Thanks to restaurateur Sanaa Abourezk, the city’s Middle Eastern community has fully embraced one of America’s most loved holidays — Thanksgiving.

Abourezk and her husband James, who served as South Dakota’s U.S. congressman and senator in the 1970s, met while Abourezk was working at the Embassy of Qatar in Washington, D.C. Once married, the couple moved to Rapid City, but Sanaa was lonely so they relocated to Sioux Falls where she quickly befriended other immigrants from her home country of Syria and neighboring countries.

“We used to get together and the kids played,” Abourezk says.”Then it dawned on us that the kids go to school and they hear about Thanksgiving. ‘My grandma made this. My aunt made this.'” So the friends decided to celebrate the quintessential American holiday together to give their children that communal experience.

Farid Kutayli and his wife Salwa hosted the first few gatherings in their home about 15 years ago. But the celebration quickly relocated to the Abourezks’ restaurant, Sanaa’s 8th Street Gourmet, in downtown Sioux Falls.”If we know somebody who moved to town we also invite them because we want them to have Thanksgiving with us as a family,” Abourezk says.”Last year I think we had about 60 adults and we have kids running all over. That’s why no house can fit us anymore.”

Khalil Yousef photographs the growing group each year. “They’re not blood relatives, but for us this is the family,” he says. “That’s really the key. It makes you feel like you belong and that you’re not alone. The good food is a bonus.”

Abourezk made all the food when she first hosted the Thanksgiving party in her restaurant but she was too exhausted to enjoy the party, so now the gathering is potluck. Abourezk still provides the turkeys and American staples like baked breads, mashed potatoes and corn. It is common for platters of green bean casserole and sweet potatoes to sit beside Arabic delicacies like kibbeh (bulgar wheat mixed with beef or lamb, topped with pine nuts), kanafeh (a cheese pastry soaked in sugary syrup) or hashwet ruz (a rice pilaf that the group prefers over bread stuffing).

Raed Sulaiman, a pathologist, dons an apron to carve the turkeys.”My little one is always excited to see it,” says Rosana Jamous, a stay-at-home mom to three daughters.”The kids, their eyes are so big watching.” The bird isn’t unusual to the adults; it’s commonly served on Christmas in Lebanon and on Easter in Syria. A prayer follows the carving, sometimes spoken in Spanish because students study it in high school”and if you say the Thanksgiving prayer in Spanish at your Thanksgiving you get extra credit,” says Alya, Abourezk’s daughter.”Usually we end up doing it in English, especially for the kids because none of us speak Arabic well.”

Christiane Maroun, a pediatrician, recalls introducing herself to a newcomer last year as she waited in line for food.”She was expecting a baby and she said, ‘Oh, I’m so happy that somebody here is from Lebanon so I will be more comfortable bringing my baby to you,'” Maroun says.”She was so relieved she wouldn’t need a translator.”

Riyad Mohama, a cardiologist, and his wife Rima, a pharmacist, moved to Sioux Falls 22 years ago. The transition wasn’t easy; they came in January to a lot of snow.”I told my husband, ‘I don’t think I’m going to be staying here for a long time. We should move somewhere else,'” Rima recalls. But she loves Sioux Falls now.”Thanksgiving reminds me of my country because that’s how we live there. It’s very social,” she says.”It’s hard that we don’t have any relatives here, but when we do this, the kids can see that this is our family.”

Vegetable Almond Rice Pilaf

(Hashwet Ruz)

1/2 cup olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon finely shredded fresh ginger

2 cups basmati rice

1 cup sweet peas, fresh or frozen

1 cup diced carrots, about 1/2-inch cubes, fresh or frozen

1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries

2 tablespoons finely chopped candied orange peels or orange marmalade

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1 teaspoon turmeric

dash of red pepper

sea salt to taste

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil and sautÈ onion for 4 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, then stir for 1 minute. Add 4 1/2 cups water, salt and turmeric and bring to a boil. Add rice and stir, returning mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Then turn off heat and rest on the stove for another 15 minutes.

While rice is resting, heat remaining olive oil on medium heat in a sautÈ pan. Add the vegetables, stirring for 2 minutes. Stir in cranberries and chopped orange peels or marmalade. Season with salt and red pepper, then cook another 2 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside. Spoon rice into deep serving platter, spoon vegetable mixture over the rice and sprinkle toasted almonds on top. Serves 6.

Editor’s Note: This story is revised from the November/December 2015 issue of South Dakota Magazine. To order a copy or to subscribe, call (800) 456-5117.

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Pizza at Kate’s Cottage

By Laura Johnson Andrews

Guests at Kate’s Cottage of rural Beresford enjoy good conversation and homemade pizza, courtesy of hosts Gaylan and Gale Gors and their wood-fired pizza oven.

Guests at Kate’s Cottage, a cozy bed and breakfast southwest of Beresford, enjoy a tranquil setting, a menagerie of animals and, if they’re lucky, wood-fired pizza baked in a handmade outdoor oven.”It’s a great way to eat,” says owner Gale Gors.”You eat much more slowly, you drink a beer and you talk. Twenty minutes later you have another one.”

Gale and her husband Gaylan first encountered an outdoor pizza oven while on a surprise trip to Santa Fe for Gaylan’s 60th birthday.”I looked at it and said, ‘I can build one,'” Gaylan remembers. He, Gale and Gale’s son Alex Monson worked together, doing research, drawing plans and laying brick. Monson, who operates AMC Concrete, formed the domed interior of the oven using refractory concrete containing perlite, which acts as an insulator. The DIY effort was not without its trials; on the oven’s inaugural firing, the chimney melted.”We just stood there and watched it droop,” Gaylan says.

The oven is built into an old grove on the Peterson farm, which has been in Gale’s family for almost 130 years. On pleasant summer nights, the Gorses invite visitors to join them at a table made from the grove’s wood to indulge in fresh pizza and easygoing conversation.

Kate’s Cottage was built in the 1930s, but stood empty for decades after Gale’s aunt, Verna Peterson, died in the early 1960s. Gale planned to tear it down, but in the end, she just couldn’t.”I took off one piece of trim and thought, ‘This is stupid.'” Restoring the tiny one-bedroom home was a three-year process, done in stages as Gale saved money from her work at Integrative Wellness, a mental health counseling service in Sioux Falls. The first guests arrived in 2015.

The peaceful farm getaway is made livelier by the menagerie — inquisitive Flo the dog; unpredictable Bat Cat; Earle, Charlie and Pete the goats; and a flock of Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds presided over by an obstinate Crested Polish rooster named The Bouncer.

Depending on wind and weather, it can take 30 to 60 minutes to heat the oven to Gaylan’s preferred pizza-baking temperature of 600 to 650 degrees. The oven is fueled with pine, which burns hot, smells nice and doesn’t affect the flavor. Sauces and dough are all homemade, and topping possibilities are endless. They’ve tried taco pizza, pulled pork and artichokes, and clams and white sauce, but the favorite might be the classic margherita.”A good white sauce, fresh basil and fresh tomatoes — you just can’t beat that,” Gale says.

A classic margherita is a favorite of the Gorses.

Basic New York-Style Pizza Dough

from http://www.SeriousEats.com

22.5 ounces (about 4 1/2 cups) bread flour, plus more for dusting

0.5 ounces (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) sugar

0.35 ounces (about 1 tablespoon) kosher salt

0.35 ounces (about 2 teaspoons) instant yeast

1.125 ounces (about 3 tablespoons) extra-virgin olive oil

15 ounces lukewarm water

Combine flour, sugar, salt and yeast in bowl of food processor. Pulse 3–4 times until incorporated. Add olive oil and water. Run food processor until mixture forms ball that rides around the bowl above the blade, about 15 seconds. Continue processing 15 seconds longer.

Transfer dough ball to a lightly floured surface and knead once or twice by hand until a smooth ball is formed. Divide dough evenly into three parts and place each in a covered quart-sized container or a zipper-lock freezer bag. Place in refrigerator and allow to rise at least one day, and up to five. Remove from refrigerator, shape into balls and allow to rest at room temperature for at least two hours before baking.

Editor’s Note: This story is revised from the May/June 2021 issue of South Dakota Magazine. To order a copy or to subscribe, call (800) 456-5117.

Woodfired Pizza at Kate’s Cottage in rural Beresford, South Dakota, taken May 2, 2020 by Laura Andrews
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Asparagus Dreams

By Fran Hill

Spring 2022 has blown into South Dakota. Literally. We’ve battled more days of high wind warnings than sweet, warm sunshine, but I am confident that true spring will show its face soon. The lilac bushes are leafing. Lawns and pastures are greening. My irises and tulips are poking up through the flower beds, and the herb bed is showing promises of chives. I am anxious for asparagus. The soil hasn’t yet warmed enough for those tender shoots to peek up, but I hope to see them soon. I simply can’t wait.

Garden fresh asparagus is the best, and we enjoy it roasted, grilled, steamed and even raw in salads. In season, it gets tossed with pasta and sauteed in stir fries. Asparagus is also a delicious savory addition to eggs. One of our favorite egg and asparagus dishes is a popover. Much like a Dutch Baby, the skillet popover features a light egg batter that rises up the sides of a screaming hot cast-iron pan or”pops over” into a puffy pancake. Seasonal asparagus and nutty Gruyere cheese make it a meal that we love to find on our plates every spring.

Fresh asparagus is a savory addition to eggs.

Asparagus Popover

(adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray)

1 pound asparagus

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup milk

4 eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese (or Swiss)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring about 2 inches of salted water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Trim the asparagus and cut into thirds. Add the asparagus to the boiling water and blanche about 3 minutes, until tender-crisp. Drain and rinse with cold water; pat dry.

Meanwhile in a medium (10-inch) cast-iron skillet add the butter. Place the skillet into the oven to melt the butter and heat the pan.

In a medium bowl, microwave the milk on high for 30 seconds. Whisk in eggs, flour, salt and pepper.

Remove the cast-iron skillet from the oven and quickly arrange the asparagus in the bottom of the hot pan. (You don’t want the pan to cool and lose too much heat.) Pour the batter over the asparagus. Sprinkle with half of the cheese.

Return the pan to the oven and bake until puffed and golden, 18-20 minutes.

Top with remaining cheese (it should melt from residual heat, but you can return the popover to the oven for just a minute or so).

Slice into wedges to serve. (Serves 4)

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and their three dogs ranch near Colome.

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Blessed Sacramints

By Laura Johnson Andrews

When I was growing up, no special occasion was complete without platters full of cream cheese mints, arranged in dainty pastel patterns and placed right next to a bowl of mixed nuts. They helped mark the sanctity of marriages and were as mandatory at high school and college graduations as the diploma holder’s cap and gown.

Everything I know about mints I learned from my mother, who has been mixing and molding them since the 1950s. She was a little girl when her mother started making them for Mother’s Day teas in Viborg. In their large family, there were always extra hands around to fill cookie sheets with these candies in almost no time at all.

When I was old enough, I helped, too — though Mom had to keep an eye on me to make sure that more mints ended up on the pan than in my mouth. To tell the truth, she still has to do that. There’s something about the play of textures in these little candies — that crunch of granulated sugar coating the creamy dough — that just begs you to eat another and another.

But the sweetest part of this tradition is the togetherness. Ideally, mint making is a group activity. Depending on the molds you choose, a single batch of dough can make around 200 mints. If you’re doing it alone, that can be a slog, but with a group, conversation and laughter make the task fast and fun.

I realized that anew when a bunch of South Dakota Magazine staffers got together to help me make mints using the recipe my grandmother, Maridell Mark, first stirred up over six decades ago. The stories and smiles we shared will stay in my memory for a long time. I was the only one in the group with experience, but my first-timers took to it easily. If you need help making mints, I highly recommend you give them a call.

You don’t want me. I’ll just eat them all.

When marking rites of passage, sweetened cream cheese candies are a must.

Cream Cheese Mints

from Maridell Mark

2 pounds powdered sugar

8 ounces of cream cheese, softened

A few drops of candy oil flavoring, to taste (spearmint is best)

Paste food coloring

Granulated sugar, for rolling

Rubber mint molds

Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar together, adding sugar a bit at a time so you don’t end up with a powdery white kitchen. Add flavoring oil to taste but be careful. The flavor can intensify as the mints set. Six drops of oil are usually enough.

Dip a toothpick into a jar of paste food coloring, wipe the color off onto a ball of dough, and knead it in, adding more dabs of color if needed, until the coloring is evenly distributed, and the dough reaches the desired shade.

Cover a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Add granulated sugar to a small bowl and dust your mold with sugar. Form dough into small balls, roll them in sugar and press them into the mint mold, swiping the excess away with a thumb. To release, tap the mold into your hand or onto the cookie sheet.

Let mints dry for a day, turning them over after half a day. Stack mints in an airtight container, separating each layer with waxed paper. Mints may be refrigerated, frozen or consumed immediately.

Mint Tips

Making mints is simple enough that a small child can help, but here are a few tricks to make it even easier.

  • Use paste food coloring. It is more intense than the liquid food coloring typically used for baking. Liquid coloring can add a bitter flavor.
  • Go light on color. Bold hued mints just end up dyeing your guests’ teeth and tongues.
  • If you would like to make more than one color or flavor of mints, divide the dough or make multiple batches.
  • Mint molds come in many shapes. Use whatever you like but be aware that the more ornate the mold is, the harder the mints will be to unmold. Our family has found that roses, simple leaves and diplomas are easiest to manage.
  • The size of dough ball you need will depend greatly on the mold you are using. By rolling the dough consistently into the right-sized ball for your mold, you’ll produce more mints in less time and find unmolding easier. Use a small melon baller if you need to.
  • If you are struggling to get the mints to unmold, dust your mold in a little granulated sugar.
  • Do not be afraid to give the mold a good whack. They are made of rubber, so you’re not going to break anything.
  • The drying step is important. It allows the mints to set up enough so that you can stack them in layers and store them until the big day.

Editor’s Note: This story is revised from the May/June 2019 issue of South Dakota Magazine. To order a copy or to subscribe, call (800) 456-5117.

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The Most Important Meal

By Fran Hill

Breakfast foods are my heart’s desire. Pancakes, waffles and French toast. Eggs: poached, scrambled, fried, rolled into an omelet, or baked into a quiche. Bacon. Sausage. Ham. Oatmeal. Potatoes shredded into hash browns or tossed with veggies in hashes. Biscuits. Sweet rolls. Danishes. Doughnuts. Fruit. Bagels. Lox. Burritos and cold pizza. Big glasses of milk or orange juice and steaming mugs of coffee and tea. Breakfast foods make me drool.

However, as someone who is frenemies with insomnia, it often seems like my best sleep happens just before the alarm goes off. The snooze button is my favorite. Staying in bed as late as possible is my Olympic sport. If I am on a schedule, there is seldom time for breakfast after I have finally drug myself through the shower and gotten presentable for the world. If I am not leaving the house, I often get wrapped up in my to-do list of projects and by the time I think I want to eat, the fridge seems full of”ingredients” instead of”food.”

Most days for breakfast, I require something simple that is also, if need be, easily portable. Brown Sugar Granola is the tasty solution. I can have it as cereal with milk, fresh or dried fruit optional. I can fill a baggie with these crunchy morsels and some dried fruit to gobble by the handful on the go. Or I can savor it my favorite way, as a topping with Greek yogurt and fresh fruit. (BTW … Hubs’ favorite way to enjoy it is sprinkled over a bowl of vanilla ice cream.) Brown Sugar Granola is one way I manage to (sometimes) get the most important meal of the day.

Breakfast can be complex or as simple as Brown Sugar Granola.

Brown Sugar Granola

(adapted from The Food Network)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup water

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

8 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not instant or steel cut)

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

1 cup almonds, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup flax seeds

1/2 cup toasted pepitas

Heat oven to 275 degrees F.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.

Combine brown sugar and water in a microwavable bowl or measuring cup.

Microwave on ‘High’ for 5 minutes, until sugar is dissolved.

Remove from microwave, stir in salt, vanilla and cinnamon.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine oats, nuts and seeds.

Add the brown sugar mixture and stir to coat evenly.

Divide between 2 baking sheets and spread evenly; bake for about 1 hour, until oats and nuts are roasted.

When granola has cooled completely, store in an air-tight container.

Note: I have found that it keeps better if I don’t mix dried fruit in for storage and just add to individual portions.

(Serves 10-12)

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and their three dogs ranch near Colome.

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Soup Season

By Fran Hill

January is absolutely soup season, and I am here for it. My husband is not really a casserole kind of guy, but he loves soup, and all winter long, I take advantage of that. There is something very cozy about a pot simmering on the stovetop and filling the house with delicious aromas.

Chili is the quintessential winter soup, but there is so much more. We make noodles and shred chicken for another classic. Beans are soaked and simmered with ham bones for something from my childhood. Creamy potato soups sometimes lean toward chowders, often with seafood. Chunks of beef are slowly braised with loads of vegetables and rich stocks. It feels so smart to thinly slice leftover pork and drop into brothy bowls with Asian noodles. While fresh ingredients are great, soup can easily come together with leftovers and pantry and freezer staples. And, on those days that we don’t have the time or inclination to put forth a lot of effort, a jar of home canned tomato soup is heated to pair with grilled cheese. I don’t know that there is a soup or stew that we don’t like.

Our current favorite soup is loaded with winter vegetables and gains a ton of flavor from spicy sausage. At first glance, you will think it also has tomatoes, but the color comes from a generous seasoning of smoked paprika. I have made it with both chicken and turkey broth, but vegetable broth would also work. Don’t skip splashing in the red wine vinegar. That bit of acid lends a brightness that really balances all the flavors in this simple and mouthwatering soup.

Sausage and Brussels Sprouts Soup

Sausage and Brussels sprouts soup warms on the coldest of January days.

(adapted from Eating Well)

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage

1 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced carrot

1/2 cup diced celery

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 1/2 cups cubed potatoes (I used red potatoes)

1 1/2 cups small to medium Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

4 cups chicken broth

2-4 tablespoons red-wine vinegar (start with 2Tbsp, taste, and add more as desired)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage and cook, breaking up with the spoon, until browned. Transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, onion, carrot and celery to the pot; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add garlic and paprika; cook and stir just until fragrant. Add potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and broth; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes and Brussels sprouts are tender.

Stir in the sausage, vinegar to taste, and season with salt and pepper. Serve sprinkled with parsley.
(Serves 4)

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and their three dogs ranch near Colome.

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A ‘Savory Delight’

By Fran Hill

Here in South Dakota, prime rib is popular for Christmas dinner. Why wouldn’t it be? South Dakota reportedly has the most cattle per person in the United States. Agriculture is the bread and butter for so many across the region and beef is absolutely what’s for dinner.

What do you serve with that delicious, slow roasted hunk of beef? Personally, I have always leaned into twice baked potatoes, buttery rolls and a fresh, crisp salad. This year, I am adding Roasted Onions to the menu.

Roasted Onions are a savory delight that complement not just prime rib, but could accompany turkey, holiday ham, brisket and just about anything from the grill. The other night, I served this tangy, but rich dish alongside some grilled lamb brats and creamy mashed potatoes. The sliced onions are marinated with red wine vinegar and brown sugar before being baked. I am always amazed at how the slow cooking process releases that natural sweetness of onions and creates such a rich deliciousness.

This recipe is adaptable. The kind and size of onion you choose will affect its cooking time. Of course, larger onions will need more time, but a sweeter onion also cooks slightly faster. The amount of marinade works well for three to four large onions but could easily bathe more smaller onions as portion appropriate sides. Fresh rosemary and red pepper flakes add an earthiness to the dish that aside from a little planning ahead prep is almost fix-it-and-forget-it easy.

Anyone that is a fan of French onion soup will love these simple and flavorful Roasted Onions on the holiday table.

Savory Roasted Onions pair well with Christmas prime rib.

Roasted Onions

3-4 large yellow, white or red onions (or more smaller onions to fit a 9×13 pan) {I used Vidalia onions.}

Marinade:

1 cup water

1 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 pinch red pepper flakes

Roasting:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped

Trim root and stem ends from onions. Slice in half horizontally and remove skins from onion halves.

Combine all marinade ingredients in a 9×13 (or similarly sized) pan. Arrange onions in the marinade cut side down.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Pull onions from the fridge and allow pan to warm closer to room temp (alternatively, transfer to a different baking dish to avoid possible accidents from temperature shock of cold pan/hot oven).

Flip onions in the marinade for the wider side to be up. Top each onion with a pat of butter and an additional sprinkling of fresh rosemary.

Bake, covered, for 1 hour. Uncover, baste onions with the reduced marinade and continue baking 15-20 minutes until onions are desired tenderness. (Larger onions may require more time but watch that smaller onions don’t scorch.)

Before serving, again spoon the reduced sauce over the cooked onions and garnish with additional red pepper flakes (if desired) and sprigs of fresh rosemary. (Serves 6.)

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and their three dogs ranch near Colome.

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Tried and New

By Fran Hill

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Every food centric website is bursting with recipes that promise to change your life, be a fun twist on a classic or prove to be the easiest hack ever for your holiday meal.

However, at the end of the day, 99.6 percent of home cooks are sticking with their tried-and-true family favorites. You aren’t alone if you read through countless new recipes, but never refer to them again. Thanksgiving is truly a meal of comfort and gratitude.

I am one of those traditionalists. Occasionally, I may try something new for our meal, but usually, it is in addition to what I feel are essentials. I am thankful for turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted butternut squash (instead of sweet potatoes), cranberry sauce, brussels sprouts or green beans and dinner rolls. Those HAVE TO be on my Thanksgiving table. I have my favorite methods for preparing them, and I seldom deviate regardless of how many other recipes I may browse that offer me”a little something special.”

So, what am I, a food columnist, going to offer you this holiday season that will change your life? What fun twist on a classic do I have up my sleeve? What is an easy hack that will be a little something special? I present Cranberry Mustard.

You may not want or need Cranberry Mustard on your Thanksgiving table but trust me. It is the seasonal condiment for leftover turkey sandwiches that will make you thankful. Put a dish of Cranberry Mustard on your charcuterie board. Pair it with goat cheese on crackers, any deeply rich and earthy sausage (like braunschweiger), or some hard cheeses and cream cheese. This recipe does make a lot. Portion some into pretty little jars and share with your friends and family. In addition to turkey, it is great with ham, pork, and even sausages roasted with pierogis. You will be thankful for Cranberry Mustard.

Stuffing, corn and pumpkin pie are Thanksgiving staples, but for something different on the holiday table, try Cranberry Mustard.

Cranberry Mustard

(adapted from Ball Canning and Preserving)

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/3 cup mustard seeds (all yellow or a mix of yellow and brown)

1 cup water

2 3/4 cups fresh cranberries

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons dry mustard

1 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Bring vinegar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and add mustard seeds. Cover and let stand at room temperature for about an hour. (Seeds will absorb most of the liquid.)

In a food processor, add mustard seeds, water, and cranberries. Pulse until berries are mostly chopped, but still chunky.

Return cranberries to the saucepan and stir in sugar, dry mustard and allspice. Bring cranberry mixture to a boil, stirring to avoid sticking. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes, still stirring frequently, until mixture has thickened and slightly jelled.

(Cranberry Mustard can be canned by water bath method or stored refrigerated for about a month.)

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and their three dogs ranch near Colome.

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All Things Pumpkin

By Fran Hill

I love autumn. The chill in the air, the smell of wood smoke drifting from chimneys, and the brilliant leaves are all cozy comforts for me. Of course, I can’t forget about the food of fall. Crisp, fresh apples, roasted winter squash, braised hunks of beef swimming with root vegetables, steaming pots of soup, herb stuffed chicken with the crispiest skin, and, of course, the quintessential pumpkin.

I love pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin seed salsa, and pumpkin and black bean soup; pumpkin in any shape or form is vying for my attention during the fall months. I gleaned the recipe for pumpkin cornmeal muffins from a magazine almost 20 years ago and blow the dust off it every autumn. It has become a staple of Thanksgiving morning served with a spicy chile relleno egg bake and fresh fruit, a sweeter side with soups, and a filling snack for chilly afternoons. The muffins are dense, moist and hearty. Serve warm and slather with butter for a perfect addition to fall.

Pumpkin cornmeal muffins are an autumn baking staple for Fran Hill.

Pumpkin Cornmeal Muffins

(adapted from Real Simple)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

4 eggs

1 (15 ounce) can solid-pack pumpkin (NOT pie filling)

1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour (AP flour will work and produce a muffin with a little less nuttiness and density)

1 cup yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2-4 tablespoons roasted pepitas

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly coat muffin tins with vegetable cooking spray or line cups with muffin papers.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.

Spoon the batter into the muffin pans.

Sprinkle with pepitas.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack. (12 muffins)

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and their three dogs ranch near Colome.

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Jelly for Scrimpers

By Laura Johnson Andrews

Corncob jelly is a curiosity of old cookbooks, something that conjures visions of pioneer households and frugal living. It takes a real scrimper to look at a bare cob destined for the cookstove or outhouse and think,”Gosh, I wish I could get one more use out of that.”

In lieu of actual evidence, we tend to assume that all foods were invented via the accidental collision method made famous in Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups commercials of the 1970s and’80s. Can’t you imagine two pioneer women bumping into each other on the prairie, saying,”You got your corncobs in my pot of boiling hot sugar water!””Oh yeah, well you got YOUR sugar water on MY corncobs!” before they realize that the resulting mÈlange is delicious?

Maybe, maybe not. In the early days of Dakota homesteading, salting, drying or storing food in the root cellar were more common methods of food preservation than canning. Oh, canning existed — a French cook, Nicholas Appert, won 12,000 francs off Napoleon Bonaparte in 1810 for developing a food-storage system that would help keep the French army fed and in fighting condition. Appert’s approach involved putting food in jars, corking them and sealing them with wax. The jars were then wrapped in canvas and boiled. In 1858, Philadelphia tinsmith John Landis Mason patented the Mason jar and accompanying zinc screw-on lid. The Ball brothers and others ran with the concept after Mason’s patent ran out in 1879. Lightning jars (glass canning jars with glass lids) came along in the early 1900s, and it wasn’t until 1915 that Alexander Kerr came up with the two-piece lid that home canners use today.

Settlers were certainly canning in Dakota Territory by 1875. Jellies, pickles and preserves went on display at the first territorial fair, held in Yankton on September 29-30 of that year. Corncob jelly didn’t make an appearance, but pear preserves, cherry and peach pickles and jarred plums all won awards. (Mrs. A. J. Faulk, wife of the former territorial governor, won a prize for her chokecherry jelly, but considering that her daughter, wife of prominent territorial politician/crook Walter Burleigh, was one of the judges … well, perhaps you’ll pardon our cynicism.)

All politics aside, we can all appreciate the fact that corncob jelly never was the first jar of preserves our grandmothers set out when company came, and they probably chose flashier recipes to submit to the church cookbook. However, we did locate a modern-day corncob jelly aficionado at Colome, where Fran Hill writes a food blog (my-plate.blogspot.com) and also finds time to make jams and jellies with all sorts of South Dakota blessings — from wild grapes to apples, beets and chokecherries.

“One of the first cookbooks that I owned as a newlywed contained a heritage recipe for corncob jelly,” Hill says.”It called for dried red corncobs from field corn used to feed livestock. The cobs were weighted down in a large pot of water and boiled to create a rosy-colored stock from which the jelly was made. The entry claimed it would taste like apple, and I was immediately curious.”

Hill begged her farmer-husband, Brad, for dried corncobs, but he patiently explained that cobs went out of fashion with yesterday’s corn pickers. Modern grain combines chew up and spit out the cobs, leaving them fit for little more than compost.

We grow 5 million acres of corn in South Dakota. That’s nearly a billion bushels, and yet cobs are hard to collect for many canners.

However, years later the ever-resourceful Hill began to strip her garden sweet corn for freezing and soon found herself ankle-deep in good cobs.”Now I had the Internet on my side when I searched for corncob jelly,” she says.”I tested a few recipes and found a method that suited me. It does somewhat taste like apple jelly, although not nearly as tart.”

For jelly with a little kick, she adds finely diced jalapeÒo to simmer with the corn stock before adding the sugar. Cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise, cardamom pods, or a combination of any or all could be simmered with the corncobs when making the stock for a different kind of spice.

“The recipe is as adaptable as the homesteaders that created the concept of corncob jelly,” Hill says. Here is her recipe.

Corncob Jelly

12 ears sweet corn

water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 1/2 cups sugar

1 box (1.75 ounce) pectin

Before making the jelly, prepare the canner, jars and lids. Fill the canner with water, bring it to a boil, sterilize the jars and heat the lids according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Cut the corn kernels from the cobs. Set the corn aside for supper; it isn’t needed for this recipe.

Put the corncobs into a large, heavy pot. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. After the corn stock has cooked for 1 hour, measure out 3 1/2 cups of liquid. At this point, you can strain out the bits of stray corn that loosened from the cobs, but I don’t. I like the added texture and interest.

In a smaller, heavy pot, bring the 3 1/2 cups of corn stock and lemon juice to a boil. Stir in the sugar. When sugar has dissolved and the mixture returns to a boil, add the pectin. Return to a hard boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Ladle into sterilized jars, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace, and seal. Process for 10 minutes in the water bath canner. (Yield: 3 pints … I use 1/2 and 1/4-pint jars.)

Note: If you are unsure of the canning process, there are many informative websites that can help.

Editor’s Note: This story is revised from the September/October 2018 issue of South Dakota Magazine. To order a copy or to subscribe, call (800) 456-5117.