Strawberry Honey Butter

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Last Sunday I called my dad to wish him a happy Father's Day. I couldn't help thinking that now that all five of his daughters are happily married, this may be his best Father's Day ever. Although none of us have lived at home in a long time, as long as one of us was single, Dad always got the distress calls. He can breath a sigh of relief. Now he has son-in-laws. No more calls about cars that aren't running right or flat tires or appliances that don't work, those are all someone else's problems now. No more, "Hey Dad I need you to help me move...again." This too, no longer his worry. There are countless other things, both minor and important that we'd call on dad to fix. We all still call and ask for advice from time to time, but it's no longer his sole responsibility to come to our rescue every time something goes wrong for one of us girls. Now when the washing machine runs over or the air conditioner quits working, we call our husbands. That fact alone may have made this his best Father's Day ever.

I hadn't meant for this to be a belated Father's Day post but I can't help thinking of my dad anytime I make something with strawberries. He has a long standing love affair with strawberries. In fact, when asked recently why he started a hydroponic strawberry farm, he jokingly replied, "So I can eat all the strawberries I want." I suspect there was more than a little truth in that statement.
Enjoy your freedom Dad, but don't be surprised if the phone rings!

Strawberry Honey Butter
source: Gourmet/May 1990
(Printable recipe)
Ingredients:
1 pint strawberries, hulled
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

Method:
In a food processor purée the strawberries and force the purée through a fine sieve into a saucepan. Add the honey and the lemon juice and boil the mixture, stirring, for 3 minutes, or until it is thickened. Let the strawberry mixture cool to room temperature. In a bowl cream together the butter and the strawberry mixture. Let the butter stand, covered, in a cool place for 1 hour to allow the flavors to develop.

This butter is delicious, especially on whole grain bagels!

Add some rick-rack and you've got a great hostess gift!

Cranberry Chutney...

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...or is it relish?

Ever wonder what the difference between a relish and a chutney is? Me either until I started this post. As I got started to write this post I remembered that last year for Thanksgiving I made this cranberry rum relish. Which made me wonder why that would be considered a relish and not a chutney.  Just in case there are those out there like me that want an answer to this burning question, I thought I'd try to find out the difference. So the answer is...well it gets a little tricky because chutney and relish are often used interchangeably as condiment terms. The term chutney comes from the East Indian word chatni, meaning "strongly spiced," and is described as a condiment which usually consists of a mix of chopped fruits, vinegar, spices and sugar cooked into a chunky spread. In general, relishes are cooked less, use less sugar, if any, and are more crunchy to the bite. However, chutneys can be savory, and relishes can be sweet.
Still confused? Me too! I'm calling this a chutney because it has fruit mixed with vinegar, spices and sugar. Chutney or relish, it's a great accompaniment to your Thanksgiving meal!


Cranberry Chutney (printable recipe)

Ingredients:
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium apple, diced
2 tsp jalapeno, finely diced
4 cups cranberries, rinsed and picked over

1-1/4 cups sugar
Zest from 1 orange
1/2 cup fresh orange juice 
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 teaspoon crystallized ginger, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:
Heat a 3-quart nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter and the oil and, when the foam subsides, add the onion. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until the onion is lightly browned.
Add all of the remaining ingredients and cook covered on medium for 8-10 minutes. Uncover the pan, stir, and lower heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for another 10 minutes, or until the apple is cooked through, all of the berries have popped and the mixture is a uniform color.