Pretty peach forgive me! I know it’s been a while since a new post has gone up on this site and for that I beg for your forgiveness. I blame it on the good weather. I found myself enjoying the sunshine, the garden, and the farmers markets that have been slowly filling their shelves with fresh produce and goodies.

So in order to earn back your trust and readership, I bring you a treat that will melt your hearts, warm your souls, and fill you with the sweetness and promise of summer. Okay! Okay! Maybe I am being a tad bit melodramatic about this recipe, but honestly, it was just so darn good!

Nothing says spring and summer to me like fruit, especially peaches. But being only May, fresh peaches are a little hard to come by in the farmers market circuit. But never you worry, when you have McCutcheon’s it can be peachy spring any day. Inspired by a pie that one of my favorite markets (Catoctin Mountain Orchard) had sold to me freshly baked I decided to combine two super foods: Monkey Bread and Peach Praline Pie. And what resulted swept me off my feet!

Peach Praline Monkey Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 tubes of canned biscuits (for example Pillsbury Grands)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup finely packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup McCutcheon’s Peach Preserves

Preparation:

• Grease a bundt mold and set aside. (Yes, I used a bread pan. Which you can do. But note that if you do, halve the recipe.)
• Pop open the cans of dough and quarter the biscuts .
• In a bowl combine the granulated sugar with the cinnamon, toss in the quarted dough pieces, and cover with plastic wrap. Shake the bowl until the biscuit pieces are coated in the sugar and cinnamon combination. (You may need to shake and then break up the dough so that all sides are evenly coated)
• Transfer the coated dough balls to the baking dish and sprinkles the pecan pieces on top
• In a small microwave safe bowl combine the butter, Peach Preserves, and brown sugar. Melt the mixture until the sugar dissolves.
• Pour the Peach mixture over the dough in the baking dish, making sure to cover the whole top
• Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until the bread is golden brown on top and the biscuits have set.
• Remove from the over and dollop more Peach Preserves over the hot bread…use as much as you want here! Go Crazy.
• Remove from the mold, by flipping it over onto a plate. Or, if you can’t wait, eat it right out of the pan!

‘To read the original post please visit CookinFanatic.com

Kale, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Enchiladas with Red Apple Salsa

 Well. We all know how the ol’ saying goes…When life hands you lemons salsa make lemonade enchiladas…? Okay so maybe I’m way off here. But points for creativity right?!

So in this case lucky for me life was not handing me any sour lemons (unless you count the “foot incident” - instagram! – from Saturday night ha) but instead the mailman was handing me a package containing this delicious Spicy Red Apple Salsa from McCutcheon’s!

The sweet potatoes become melt in your mouth tender and their flavor lends itself perfectly to what tastes like a slight hint of cinnamon in the spicy apple salsa mix. Kale sneaks its way in to up the nutritional profile too, which is quite comprehensive if you take a look. I can’t get enough of the stuff lately!

Perfectly tender & soft in the middle with a slight crispness to the tortilla edges. Now that, my friends, is enchilada perfection for me.

As for the flavor, the salsa was quite spicy upon tasting however once it baked the spice toned down a bit and the sweetness of the apple really shined through. There were hints of cinnamon or something similar in there which was the perfect match for the sweet potato filling. I mean who doesn’t like that combo?

 Ingredients:

• medium sized sweet potato (about 0.5lb)
• 1/4 large onion, chopped
• 3 heaping cups kale, chopped small
• 1/2 can black beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 cup grated whole milk mozzarella
• 6 corn tortillas
• 1 jar McCutcheon’s spicy red apple salsa

Preparation:

1.Peel & chop sweet potato into smaller sized cubes. Add to boiling water to cook for about 15 minutes or until tender.

2. Meanwhile saute onion in 1 tblsp olive oil until softened (5 minutes). Add kale and a few spoonfuls of water and cook (medium heat) another 10 minutes until kale softens but still stays green and the water is gone. Season w/ salt & pepper and add drained black beans, stirring to combine.

3. Once potatoes are cooked, drain and add to kale / bean mixture, stirring to combine.

4. Pour 1/2 cup salsa into bottom of a medium baking dish. Assemble enchis by layering 2-3 spoonfuls of veggie filling into each corn tortilla. Top with shredded cheese and roll up, placing seem side down into baking dish.

5. Top enchis with remaining salsa. (Add additional cheese to top if you desire).

6. Bake at 350F, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until edges of tortillas crisp up a bit and everything is warmed through and cheese is melted.

Serve!

Note from McCBlogger: Thank you CookinFanatic for a great recipe. It was such a treat partnering with you on this culinary experiment!

Before the work began this is what our factory roof looked like. Not so impressive. But bring in a crew of experts and a few dozen solar panels and this is what ensues.

The year is still young my friends. We still have plenty of time to really buckle down and focus on our new year resolutions. So for now, since the days are still long and because the air is still cold, I say let’s not forget the joy of the holiday season entirely. Sneak a little decadence  back into your life and onto you table for one last celebration.

This roast chicken is by far one of the more shocking, but surprisingly rewarding, combinations I have ventured to try. Our Fig Preserves, one of our newest items, flew off the shelves this holiday season. I too had a jar that sat on my shelf at home and begged me to get creative with it throughout the whole holiday. It wasn’t until new years’ rolled around when I popped open a bottle of Champagne did it dawn on me. What screams of decadence in the holidays? Figs! Champagne! Oh the gourmet! So, with my desire for one more toast to 2012, this champagne inspired chicken did just the trick of keeping the holiday indulgence alive…just a little bit anyway. The nice part about this roast is that the flavors do not overwhelm: they simply flavor the chicken with a tangy aroma while the sugars in the glaze cause the skin to be oh so crispy and succulent. If you are like me and looking for one more hurrah for the year past, give this roast a try!

Fig, Mustard, and Champagne Vinaigrette  Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 Whole Organic Chicken
• 1/4 cup McCutcheon Fig Preserves
• 1/4 cup Whole Grain Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 cup Champagne vinaigrette (I chose a classic light Champagne, however pear or apple Champagne vinaigrettes are lovely to use too)
• 2 tablespoons of butter, melted
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the fig preserves, 1/4 cup of the mustard and 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette.
3. Rinse and thoroughly pat dry the chicken (moisture on the chicken will prevent the glaze from sticking to it).
4. Place the chicken in a baking dish and brush the whole bird with the melted butter. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.
5. Pop the chicken into the oven for 30 minutes, or until the butter is just starting to turn golden brown.
6. Remove the bird from the oven and spread the glaze mixture generously all over the chicken.
7. Continue roasting for another 1.5 hours or until internal temperature registers 165 degrees. (Allow for roughly 20 minutes/lb.) As the chicken is roasting, remove every 20 minutes or so to baste with drippings from the pan. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before carving.

Combine the mustard, fig preserves and vinaigrette.

Brush the bird with some good ol’ butter and season with salt and pepper. Then pop that baby in the oven and let the butter get a little crispy before adding the glaze.

Get your bird out of the oven and brush on some glaze. Once it looks adequately juiced up pop it back in the oven.

Once it reaches the right cooked temperature, pull out this fragrant masterpiece and let it rest before carving.

So, this time last year, McCutcheon’s Blog is talking about Chocolate Raspberry Cake Balls made with our Red Raspberry Preserves! Made by one of the McCutcheon girls who works at the factory, these were a huge hit. I think everyone who worked that holiday season agreed that these stole the show for best holiday treat!

Happy New Years Eve! Tis the season to pop some bottles of champagne and celebrate the year past and the year to come. In celebration of the holiday I am on a bubbly kick. These next few posts celebrate the marriage of McCutcheon’s products with the good old class act champagne.

I came across this idea on the EatBoutique.com quite awhile ago and was saving it for the new year to share with all of you. The idea is simple enough: you take a little jam, a little of the bubbly, and you mix it all up. Then, volia, you have amazing fruity champagne, or if you are a kid, sparkling cider. I love this idea. It is an easy way to have a cocktail bar that is totally customizable. Pop open the champagne, open a few jars of jam, and let your guests experiment with making their own drink. Of course, if you are under 21, this drink idea tastes great with McCutcheon’s Sparkling Ciders.

We tried this idea with a few of our favorite flavors: Orange Marmalade for a citrus twist, Red Raspberry for some tang, and Strawberry for something sweet. I am sure you could come up with some other combinations that would taste just as good too.

Jam and Bubbly:

Ingredients: per individual serving

• 1 tbsp of your choice of McCutcheon’s Preserves
• 1 champagne flute of Champagne

Preparation:

1. Mix together all ingredients in the champagne flute and drink up!

Now, the video isn’t ready yet obviously. But once all the film has been cut, you my blogging friends, will be the first to get to see it here. For now, enjoy some stills from the filming process. A little taste of what is to come.

Apple Cider Braised Pork

Pumkin Bread Pudding

Cherry Perserves and Balsamic Baked Brie

Banana Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (created by By: Sarah Rae)

Papa McCutcheon suggested this recipe out of the blue and they sounded so good I had breakfast for dinner. And, it was the best dinner I have had in a while…well since Thanksgiving.

If there is anything I have learned from my father, it is that he is maven of making combinations of great things into even greater things. He was the mastermind behind our Triple Crown Preserves (cherries, strawberries, and red raspberries), our Black and Blue Preserves (Blueberry and Blackberry), and Apple Butter BBQ Sauce (no explanation needed). So when he suggestion these pancakes, I didn’t even have to think twice, I just knew they would be lick-your-plate good.

Apricot Gingerbread Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 3 heaping tbsp  McCutcheon’s Apricot Butter
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup milk
• stick of butter
• maple syrup for serving.

Preparation:

1. Mix together all the dry ingredients.
2. Add in the egg, milk, and apricot butter and whisk until you have an even batter
3. Heat a skillet over medium heat and melt a 1/2 tsp of butter until it begins to bubble
4. Pour enough batter in the pan to make a 8 inch pancake.
5. once bubbles begin to appear in the center, flip the pancake and let cook through
6. Set aside and repeat, and repeat, and repeat until all the batter is gone.
7. Serve hot with maple syrup and butter.
8. lick your plate clean!

Firstly, I apologize dearly that there was not a Thanksgiving themed post. The holiday caught up with me far too quickly. So, in its place I offer you a tried and true classic holiday treat.

These have been a long time coming. They are the ready suggestion of so many visitors who stop by our store. Thumbprint cookies are little mounds of sweet sugar cookie, with a dollop of fruit preserves placed in a thumbprint indentation in the center of the cookie. When you bake these up, the preserves caramelize in the center in the most delightful way. During this time of year when visitors frequent many homes, these are an easy throw together cookie that gives variety and is sure to please everyone.

Thumbprint Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 large egg, separated
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup hazelnuts, pecans, or almost , toasted and finely chopped (these are optional… I opted out, but will tell you how to use them if you so desire.)
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup McCutcheon’s Fruit Preserves (I chose Peach Melba, Triple Crown, and Strawberry Rhubarb for variety)

Preparation:

1. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes) either by hand or with your electric mixer. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to the batter and beat just until combined and refrigerate for about 30-60 minutes.
3. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls. 
4.  (If using nuts: In a small bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Place the finely chopped nuts on a plate. Taking one ball of dough at a time, dip first into the egg white and then lightly roll in the nuts.
5. Place the dough balls on a prepared baking sheet spacing about 1 inch apart and then use your thumb to make an indentation into the center of each cookie.
6. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of jam into the indentations
7. Bake for about 12 – 15 minutes at 350 F, or until cookies are set and the nuts have nicely browned. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.