Ma's Marmalade
Ma's in Dark Chocolate
This recipe was created on the evening before we did an in person demo at Tendercrop Farms Wenham Ma location.
Simply roll gobs of ma's (1/2 inch or smaller) which you roll up into balls and freeze, then dip these in molten chocolate and quickly lay them out on parchment or wax paper to cool. make as many as you like, we used half a jar. Can be done with any variety, but best with the Jeesum crow!™ version and dark chocolate. Folks were doing the eyes-closed head back thing when they tried them.
Have you tried Fiddlehead ferns?
I've eaten more fiddleheads than you. So that being said it's fiddlehead season From Late April through June 15th. really short season and if you blink you miss it.
if you look at these weird items that are like a cross between a triffid and a sea anemone and say, "ew", I encourage you to suppress your inner five year old and get some.
The main error newbies make is failing to pare the stems and blanch the fiddleheads.
They come cut at the stem, which quickly oxidizes and turns brown. This part has to be removed. If the fiddlehead has started to unravel and develop leaves, it's past prime, chuck it with the stem ends. We want pretty little pinwheel shaped green things only. Once they're stemmed rinse them in cold water for a sec, then plunge them in rapidly boiling well salted water. return to a boil and let go three minutes only. Then dump it all in a big colander and rinse with cold tap water until cooled. Put a couple fresh paper towels in a bowl and once they've drained, dump them in and dry them. Now they're ready to use in recipes.
Such as Fiddlehead Bacon Quiche, a Fiddlehead Mushroom Omelet like we had for breakfast, or last night's Fiddlehead Pesto Pizza. As a basic veg they're best with a couple of grinds off a nutmeg, and lightly sautee'd in butter.
Be a foodie, get it on with Fiddleheads!
ma's recipes
"Just Hush!"chicken
Your host, Alexander, is a foodie. He's been apt to put almost anything together that makes sense to his palette, and this stuff has potential. If you're a person that can get along in the kitchen without having to be held by the hand by Betty Crocker,you'll figure this out and of that we're sure. The top bullet list items which I've spoken to our customers about are:
•Spread on top of salmon or swordfish before baking then last 1 minute broiled on.
•Blended with equal amount of peanut butter, into a paste, which then we slather onto chicken skewers to grill a'la satay style. The quicker and hotter the better.
•A dash or two in the pan before tossing shrimp in garlic and oil.
•As the jam in scones.
•The "Holy Hannah!" hot as a jam layer in a well made salty-sweet cornbread.
•"No Foolin'!"as the bottom layer of baked french toast.
•Add into your standard pineapple upside-down cake.
•As a layer in any parfait.
I could go on but you're getting the idea, it goes on everything.
Ma’s “Just Hush!” Roast Chicken.
This can be made with either a cut-up whole bird or as I designed it, with 4 leg & thigh quarters, skin on in each case.
4 Chicken Leg & Thigh quarters, or one whole cut-up bird, skin on.
2 goodly sized apples, we prefer Macintosh or Cortland.
At least 4 Tablespoons of any variety of Ma’s Marmalade, up to half the jar.
One large clove garlic, minced, or 1/2 tsp garlic powder.
1/4 cup Low Sodium Soy/Tamari
2 Tbsp Corn Starch
2 Tbsp any good olive oil, as long as it’s in date.
Don’t Preheat oven to 375˚f.
Wash and pat dry the meat. In a large bowl pat the cornstarch onto the skin of all chicken parts.
If there’s a smidge extra don’t fret. We use it.
Arrange the parts in a deep baking dish, 4” or 5”, lightly coated with some of the olive oil.
Cut and core the apples into sixths, skin on.
Stuff the apple wedges skin side up into the spaces between the meat, so they touch the bottom.
In the bowl with the remaining cornstarch, whisk together the soy, olive oil, garlic, and Ma’s Marmalade
until homogenous. Pour over everything, chicken apples and all. Use a pastry brush to make sure it’s coating everything.
NOW Preheat oven to 375˚f.
Poultry taken direct from a modern refrigerator is cold soaked and if you try to roast it he result will be what Ma would’ve graced with the description, “Dead chicken.” Chicken that has had, “…all the good cooked out of it.”
We don’t do that. We let it rest at room temperature for the whole while that we're getting it ready.
So while we’ve been prepping and patting, the bird has had time to acclimate, and even more time while the oven temp comes up.
Bake for a solid hour. We’re looking to caramelize the sugars, cook down the soy, infuse the garlic, and by heat convection this sauce absorbs into the roast apples which are resting on the bottom. That’s why Macintosh or Cortland, they cook faster.
We serve it with your better potatoes or a Hubbard squash for a starch, and any green veg.
Enjoy! Alexander, Owner Ma’s Brands LLC