The feature spice this month is nutmeg. I have matched this spice with a unique recipe that can be used at Christmas time. Nutmeg comes from the fruit of an evergreen tree, native to tropical southeast Asia and Australia. Two spices are derived from the fruit, nutmeg and mace. Nutmeg is the actual seed of the fruit, roughly egg shape but smaller, while mace is the dried "lacy" reddish covering of the seed. The outer surface of the nutmeg fruit bruises easily. The first harvest of nutmeg trees takes place 7-9 years after planting and the trees reach their full potential after 20 years. Nutmeg and mace have similar taste qualities. Nutmeg is slightly sweeter and mace has a more delicate flavor. Connecticut gets its nickname ("The Nutmeg State", "Nutmegger") from the legend that some unscrupulous Connecticut traders would whittle "nutmeg" out of wood, creating a "wooden nutmeg" (a term which came to mean any fraud).
Cranberry Yam Casserole
Ingredients: |
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3 cups (12 ounces) fresh whole cranberries washed.
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1 small orange, washed, sliced, (peel included), seeds removed.
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1/4 cup orange juice.
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1/2 cup pecan halves.
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1-1/2 cups granulated white sugar.
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1 tsp. cinnamon.
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1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg.
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1/8 tsp. ground ginger.
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1 (40 ounce) can yams (or sweet potatoes) drained.
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Directions:
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine all ingredients except the yams into a large mixing bowl. Toss gently to combine.
Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and stir in drained yams or sweet potatoes.
Return to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes until heated through.
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Unusual Kitchen Item:
Normal procedure in sautéing something like diced onions is to place your oil in the frying pan, heat, then add the onions. Try this. Add oil to the bowl of diced onions, heat pan without oil, then add the onions that are now lightly coated with oil. Two things happened. You added "just" the right amount of oil, and then no oil was in the part of the pan that had no onions which burned at a higher temperature than the rest of the pan.
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