Testing - Potatoes au gratin

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/149261/gruyere-potato-gratin/

1 - I decided to mix together the wine and cream since I've done this in cream sauces before and they've worked... have I just jinxed myself?!? The original had you mix water and wine together and cook until potatoes are tender, then add cream and cook 15 min. until thickened.
2 - Mixing the cream and wine was no problemo. But there wasn't enough sauce or cheese!
3 - Floury vs. waxy potatoes is very important! I used super fresh potatoes and it took longer to cook, and none of the liquid got soaked up by the potatoes. The flavour was excellent, but we got none of the creaminess.

4 - The sauce is to die for!!! But it does take a very long time for the onion and the potato to cook enough, so try not to skimp on time. I simplified the steps by removing the 'tossing onions and potatoes with salt and pepper and thyme' thing and it worked very well, but there seemed to be less sauce.

TIMING: 2hrs

The poor sauce may have been because of a typo. Try this:
2 Tbsps. softened butter
1 1/2 lb. floury, old potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 1 large onion (10oz/285gr), chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp minced fresh thyme OR a pinch of nutmeg
(1 cup) 2 oz shredded Gruyere cheese
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup cup white wine

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
2. Grease a baking dish with the butter. Spread 1/3 of the onion (approx. 85g) into the bottom. 
3. Layer with 1/3 of the potato (approx. 245g).
4. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the minced thyme and a healthy pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper.
5. Sprinkle half of the Gruyere cheese over the potatoes, then add another layer of the mixture, repeating steps 2 to 4. 
6. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese followed by the remaining potatoes and onion, repeating steps 2 to 4. 
7. Mix together the wine and cream and pour over the potatoes.
8. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven until the potatoes are tender, about 1 hour 15 minutes. 
9. Once tender, bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes to brown the top and thicken the cream.

Testing - Spicy zucchini and tomato sauce

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/capellini-with-spicy-zucchini-tomato-sauce-recipe.html

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 28 -ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes
Kosher salt
1 medium zucchini, cut into small chunks
1/2 pound capellini spaghetti
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Grated parmesan cheese, for topping

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. 
2. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until the garlic is just golden, about 1 minute. 
3. Add the zucchini and cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. 
4. Crush the tomatoes into the skillet with your hands and add the juice. 
5. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt.
6. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the capellini and cook as the label directs. Drain and add to the sauce along with the basil; toss to coat. 
7. Top with parmesan.

Testing - Chicken in fresh plum sauce

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/a6933/skillet-chicken-plum-balsamic-ghk0907/

1 - While interesting and a tasty way to use fresh plums without the bother of making a plum sauce, I felt it lacked a little pizzazz. In parenthesis I've added some more ingredients to add that pizzazz, taken from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/spicy-plum-chicken-thighs-recipe.html)

4 medium skinless, boneless chicken-breast halves
1 whole chicken cut in 6-8 pieces
1 pinch salt and pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
½ medium red 1 small onion
(2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tsps fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
1 small fresh hot chille, coarsely chopped
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch ground cloves)
3 5 small plums
½ cup . reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 Tbsps balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. honey
1/4 tsp salt

1. Place chicken-breast halves between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. With meat mallet or rolling pin, pound breasts to an even 1/2-inch thickness; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper.
2. In nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add breasts and cook 6 to 7 minutes or until browned on both sides and chicken loses its pink color throughout, turning over once. Transfer breasts to platter; cover with foil to keep warm.
3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a sauté pan and, working in batches, brown the meat on all sides, 5-8 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
4. Lower the heat. Drain off all but a tablespoon of oil from the pan.
5. Cut plums in half and remove the stone while the pan's temperature reduces. 
6. Add the onion and cook until it starts to soften. Add the garlic, ginger and chille and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add the cinnamon and clove and stir just until fragrant.
7. Add the plums and cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned on each side. The mixture should start to brown. This is not for presentation but for flavour, so it doesn't matter if the plums look weird.
8. To skillet, Add red onion and cook over medium heat 3 minutes or until softened, stirring frequently. 
9. Increase heat to medium-high; stir in chicken broth, vinegar, honey, 1/4 tsp. salt, and bring to a rapid simmer. Put chicken back in and any juices from chicken on collecting on the platter. 
10. Cover the pan, and cook, turning the meat occasionally, until tender, about 20-30 minutes or until breasts register 170F.
11. Remove the chicken, and C cook 2 to 3 minutes more to reduce sauce slightly, stirring occasionally. or until the desired thickness of sauce is achieved.

Untested - Alsatian fruit and custard tart

From Anne Willan's The Country Cooking of France

1 - There appears to be an unnecessary complication in the dough recipe. Instead of putting all the butter in at the same time as the dough is being mixed, adding it after the first rise makes for a real mess! It looks terrible when you start, and it all comes together in the end, but it just seems like most other recipes for the same kind of dough have reduced the number of steps by just adding the butter in at the beginning, often with the butter completely melted.

Dough
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsps salt
1 1/2 Tbsps sugar
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1 Tbsp dry yeast
1 egg
6 Tbsps butter, room temperature

Filling
2 lbs fresh soft fruit
2 Tbsps dry bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup crème fraîche or heavy cream
5 Tbsps sugar

Dough

1. Sift the flour, salt and sugar onto a work surface and make a well in the centre.
2. Pour the milk into the well and sprinkle the yeast over it, and leave for five minutes or until the yeast has dissolved.
3. Add the egg and 1 Tbsp butter (see Note 1, above) to the milk and start working it from the centre, gradually drawing in the flour from the sides.
4. Once all the flour is incorporated, if it's still sticking to your hands, add a Tbsp at a time until it becomes a soft, floppy dough.
5. Flour the work surface and knead the dough until it's very elastic and peels away from the surface in one piece, about 5 minutes.
6. (You can also do this using a mixer with a dough hook, but what's the fun in that?)
7. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn the dough so that it is covered in oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place until it has double in bulk; about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Filling

1. While the dough is rising, prepare the fruit (halve the stone fruit and discard the stones; clean berries; pit cherries or leave whole).
2. Preheat the oven to 425F, set the rack in the lower 1/4 of the oven and put a cookie sheet on to warm up.
3. When the dough has risen, knead it just enough to knock out the air bubbles.
4. Pat the dough flat and spread the soft butter on top; knead to incorporate the butter, about 2-3 minutes.
5. Roll out the dough to 3/8 or 6mm thickness and line a tart pan with a removable bottom.
6. Sprinkle the bread crumbs in the tart shell and arrange the fruit over this, cut side up (if applicable), packing it closely.
7. Bake the tart on the hot baking sheet until the dough starts to become golden, about 10 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, cream and sugar together.
9. Pour this over the fruit and lower the oven temperature to 350F and replace the tart in the oven.
10. Continue baking until browned and the fruit is tendre and the custard has set, about 40-50 minutes longer.

DO NOT overbake or the custard will curdle.
Eat while still warm.
OPTIONAL: just before serving, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and/or cinnamon.

Testing - Fruit Vinegar

http://www.organicauthority.com/eco-chic-table/homemade-fruit-vinegar-recipe.html

For troubleshooting, also see:
http://www.rural-revolution.com/2013/07/making-fruit-scrap-vinegar.html
http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/51590/mold-on-vinegar-batch

2 cups any part of fruit including leftover peelings and cores (apple or pear peels and cores / any type of berry / tomato skins and seeds / plum, peach, apricot or nectarine skins any part of these fruits will work)
4 cups water
1 teaspoon organic white or brown sugar (optional for speeding up the fermentation process – will add extra flavor!)

1. Place your fruit scraps into a large (at least ½ gallon size), wide mouth mason or regular glass jar or a stone crock. Add the water and optional white or brown sugar. Cover the container with a muslin cloth to prevent dust, bugs or anything else falling into your vinegar solution. Place the container in a place where it can ferment undisturbed, preferably out of direct sunlight.
2. Let the fruit scraps and water sit for about 8 weeks, during which time a thick layer of goopy scum will form on the top. This scum, also known as the ‘mother’, is cellulose produced by acetic acid bacteria, which is ubiquitous in nature and present in all fermented, unpasteurized foods. The bacteria becomes present whenever ethanol is produced, which is what is happening when wild, airborne yeasts are feeding on the sugar in your fruit scraps.  Fruit flies carry acetic acid bacteria in their bodies, and so are actually an effective way to expedite vinegar making. If you want to allow fruit flies to help ferment your fruit scraps, keep your vinegar solution uncovered for about a day after beginning the process, check to see if any flies have landed, and cover the container with a cloth.
3. After the 8-week period, strain the liquid into a glass bottle through several layers of cheesecloth, a mesh bag or a fine mesh strainer, and cover with a metal cap or a cork stopper. After another 4 weeks, strain the liquid again through a clean cloth about the thickness of muslin into the bottle you want to store the vinegar in. Cap it, label it and you’ll have the fantastically fruity and tasty addition to your kitchen ingredients!

NOTE: A mother may re-develop in your finished vinegar, which will look a floating, gelatinous mass at the bottom of your bottle. Don’t throw this away! Much like a sourdough bread starter, it will kick-start future vinegar making processes, so save it in a small jar once you get to the end of your bottle.

Testing - Spicy Pickled Green Beans for Cesars

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/recipe/spicy-dilled-beans
http://www.popsugar.com/food/Spicy-Pickled-Green-Beans-26204484

For four 500mL jars.

2 lb beans
4 hot red peppers OR 8 tsps dry hot pepper flakes
4 flowering dill  heads
4 cloves garlic
4 tsps mustard seeds
3 tsps black peppercorns
1 tsp whole allspice berries
2 tsps whole coriander
4 bay leaves
2 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups white vinegar
2 Tbsps pickling salt

1. If the beans are too long to comfortably fit in the jars, cut green and yellow beans from the stem end to 3-1/2-inch (9 cm) lengths, fit in the jar. Cut slit lengthwise in hot peppers. Set aside.
2. Into each of four 2-cup (500 mL) canning jars, pack 1 head dill, 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp (5 mL) mustard seeds, 1 hot red pepper, 3/4 tsp peppercorn, 1/4 tsp allspice berry, 1/2 tsp coriander. Tightly pack in beans, cut side up. 
3. In saucepan, bring water, vinegar and salt to boil; reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Pour into each jar, leaving 1/2-inch (1 cm) headspace. 
4. Cover with prepared lids. Screw on bands until resistance is met; increase to fingertip tight. Boil in boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

Testing - Spicy Lacto-fermented Fresh Beans

4 cups water
1.5 oz salt
2 garlic cloves per jar, lightly crushed
1-2 flowering dill heads per jar
1-4 tsp hot pepper flakes (or 1 fresh hot pepper per jar) per jar
1/4 tsp black pepper corns per jar
? How many beans fill a jar?
? How many jars did you make?

1. Heat the water just until the salt dissolves. Cool to room temperature.
2. Trim the stem ends from the beans. 
3. Place a clean glass quart jar on its side (it is not necessary to sterilize the jar for this recipe; just make sure it is very clean). It's easier to get the green beans to line up straight if you start out with the jar on its side rather than loading the beans in from above.
4. Cover with the brine. Weigh the beans down and place the jars in a relatively dark place at room temperature. The jars should be covered, but not tightly sealed, so that gases produced during fermentation can escape. If using a crock without a lid, cover it with a plate or board and drape with a clean dish towel. If using jars, screw lids on loosely or remove the rubber seal, depending on the style of jar you're using. 
5. Bubbles will appear in 4 or 5 days. Skim any floating scum off the surface daily. (It's supposed to be there; don't let it worry you.) Taste occasionally. The beans should be fully pickled in about 2 weeks. Once they are ready, just refrigerate the beans in the brine. They will continue to ferment in the fridge, but at a much slower rate. Eat within a couple of months.

Penne with Roasted Plum and Herbed Blue Cheese Sauce - PUBLISHED

http://www.tastedefined.com/2013/05/plum-pasta-salad-with-blue-cheese.html

1 - Delicious, with several changes, and it isn't so much a pasta salad as a hot pasta dish, so that's changing!
2 - Still delicious - a rich meal because of the fatty cheese; more plums was recommended since the freshness of the fruit helps balance the oil. Also, a sprinkle of toasted nuts, of course, goes well with blue cheese.

3 cups Penne pasta
18 Italian Prune plums, smallish, quartered
pinch of cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp honey
1 Tbsp light oil
1 small onion, finely minced
2 to 3 garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 cup chives + basil + parsley (finely chopped)
3 oz Cambozola cheese, diced (for easy melting)
1/4 tsp black pepper powder (coarsely ground)
salt to taste
2 Tbsps toasted nuts (walnuts or pine nuts or pecans)
Optional: lettuce leaves and 5 to 6 tsps extra virgin olive oil

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
2. Set the pasta water to boil.
3. Arrange the quartered plums on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with the cinnamon drizzle a thin stream of honey on each one, not too much! Roast for about 5-7 minutes at 350F.
4. Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the pasta water.
5. In a fry pan cook the onion in the Tbsp of oil until completely soft but not browned.
6. Add the minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute more.
7. To the onions add the herbs, cheese and pepper. Once the cheese has melted, add the pasta and toss, cooking, adding a few Tbsps of the pasta water. The pasta water will reduce and help create a creamy, more consistent sauce, combining oils with the starch in the water from the pasta. This will only take a couple of minutes. Taste and season with salt
8. Add half the roasted plums and toss.
9. If serving as a cold salad, arrange over lettuce leaves, aesthetically place the remaining plums on top and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. 
10. If serving as a hot dish, arrange remaining plums on top and serve immediately.

Untested - Fruit Preserved in Syrup and Whiskey

http://www.wellpreserved.ca/pear-slices-preserved-in-a-light-syrup-and-whisky/

Pears – cleaned and quartered, core removed.  If you’re worried about them browning, toss the cut pieces in a bit of lemon juice (I tend to work fast and skip the lemon).  6 pounds will make about 5 pints.
Light Syrup (dissolve 3/4 cups of sugar in 6.5 cups of water – or 10% by weight).  This will make enough for approximately 9 pints of pears; I tend to make a bit extra in case I’ve measured my pears wrong.
1 tablespoon of whisky per jar (this will be added at the end so none will be wasted)

1. Bring simple syrup to a boil.
2. Carefully place pear slices in the boiling solution.  Wait 5 minutes.
3. While still hot, add pears to clean, sterile pint jars.  Top with syrup and gently move jar to release any air bubbles (I use oven mitts).
4. Add 1 tablespoon of Whisky per jar.
5. Add liquid to leave a 1/2 inch headspace.
6. Process pints for 20 minutes in a hot-water bath.

Untested - Sausage and Italian Prune Plums Braised in Wine

https://food52.com/recipes/1984-sausage-and-italian-prune-plums-braised-in-wine-with-polenta

1 pound ripe Italian prune plums
3 pounds sweet Italian sausage (with or without fennel seeds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh sage
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Pinch of sugar, if needed
2/3 cup good, light, fruity dry wine such as Beaujolais or Pinot Noir

1. Slice plums in half and discard pits. Set aside. 
2. Prick sausages 4 or 5 times with a sharp paring knife. 
3. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat and add sausages. Turn frequently and cook until a brown crust has formed on each side (about 10-12 minutes). Remove from the pan and place on a plate. 
4. Depending on how fatty the sausage, pour off some (but not all) of the fat. 
5. Reheat pan to medium. 
6. Add minced shallot and saute for about 1 minute. 
7. Add garlic and sage and stir. 
8. Add plums and juices. 
9. Season with salt and pepper and add a pinch of sugar if plums are very tart. 
10. Stir and saute until the juices begin to sizzle, about 3 minutes. 
11. Pour in wine, increase heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes. 
12. Place sausages back into the pan, cover and reduce heat to a gentle simmer. 
13. Braise for about 30 minutes, occasionally turning sausages. 
14. Make polenta while the sausages cooks. 
15. To finish: transfer sausages to a platter, lift the plums from the pan with a slotted spoon and arrange around the sausages. 
16. Return the braising liquid to the stove and reduce liquid by about half. Taste for salt and pepper. Pour over the sausages and plums. 
17. Serve with polenta, rice, and/or thick crusty bread.

PUBLISHED - Plum Torte

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/plum-torte-108123

Note: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/anarchy-cake-105475 uses any kind of fruit, or chopped chocolate.

1 - Makes a very thick dough that has to be spread. But a really lovely cake!

3/4 cup PLUS 1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
Pinch salt
24 halves pitted Italian (aka prune or purple) plums
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Vanilla ice cream, optional

1. Arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In an electric mixer, cream the 3/4 cup sugar and butter. Add the flour, baking powder, eggs, and salt and beat to mix well. 
3. Place in a 9- or 10-inch ungreased springform pan. Cover the top with the plums, skin side down. 
4. Mix the cinnamon with the remaining 1 or 2 tablespoons of sugar and sprinkle over the top.
5. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the center tests done with a toothpick. Remove and cool to room temperature or serve warm. 
6. Serve plain or with vanilla ice cream.

Untested - Plum Tart

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Plum-Tart


7 tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1⁄2" cubes, plus more for pan
1 cup flour, plus more for baking dish
1⁄2 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
6 tbsp. milk
1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 lb. Italian plums or other firm plums, pitted and cut into eighths
1⁄2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 400°. Grease an 8" x 8" baking dish with butter and dust with flour; set aside.
Whisk together flour, 2 tbsp. sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add 4 tbsp. chilled butter and rub into flour mixture until pea-size pieces form. Mix together milk, vanilla, and egg in a small bowl; add to flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.
Transfer dough to prepared baking dish and spread over the bottom of dish; arrange plum slices in rows on top of dough. Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over plums. Melt remaining butter and drizzle over plums. Bake until browned and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Testing - Homemade Sherries

https://jamesbonfieldrecipes.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/plum-liqueur-plum-gin/
https://www.growforagecookferment.com/conifer-infused-vodka/
https://gathervictoria.com/2015/12/01/perfect-yuletide-drink-emily-hans-douglas-fir-liqueur/

I think this is the recipe I based last Christmas' plum sherry on, but I did a shoddy job of recording it. Here it is again, possibly... maybe...hopefully with what were likely the same alterations I effected last year! (Although, I must admit I likely used more sugar last year, and I know I used gin, not vodka.) We have such a wealth of plums on the property! Last year I used large Italian plums, while this year I'm starting with Victory plums.

1 - It would appear that Gin is preferable over Vodka. The liquor from the plums soaked in vodka have a taste of prune which, while not bad, is not the excellent sherry I made last winter when I used gin.
2 - 2017: I'm trying different things - blackberries with bay laurel; crabapple; little wild plums; golden plums; Douglas fir needles. We had a strange spring and barely any Damson and Italian Prune plums formed, along with very few apples and pears.
3 - Different ingredients appear to require different steeping periods. NOTE: If infusing needles/leaves in 750ml, is 75g of sugar enough?

800g 400g Plums  stone fruit, or a hefty handful of leaves/needles/flowers or
200g 75g white sugar
70cl 275-300 ml 1 cup Spirit enough to cover or for leaves/needles/flowers, a 750ml bottle of spirit (reasonable quality vodka or gin, 37.5% ABV min)

(Try this:2 large handfuls conifer tips or needles, roughly chopped
1⁄2 cup (60 g) dried hawthorn berries or 1 cup (100 g) fresh
2 whole allspice berries
1 bottle (750 ml, or 31⁄4 cups) vodka
1/2 cup sugar
Leave to steep for 2 weeks, decant and let sit for one week before drinking)

Place the plums on a board and stab with a fork

1. For stone fruit, pierce each plum fruit with a fork in two places. For soft fruit, small fruit and leaves/needles, a good handful for every 3 cups of spirit.
2. In a sterilized Kilner Jar, jar that will just fit all the plums, add the plums and sugar. (Nigel Slater says only half-fill with plums (fruit) and then fill with gin)
3. Pour over the spirit. Seal the jar and shake well.
4. Over the next 2-3 days, shake periodically until the sugar has dissolved, then store the jar in a dark cupboard. For stone fruit, leave to steep for 3 months;for soft fruit, 2-3 weeks; for leaves/needles/flowers for 1 week to 2 months.
5. Strain the mixture through a muslin and check the sweetness – bottle up and add extra sugar if required. DON’T DISCARD THE PLUMSFRUIT! You can use them for baking/jam/jelly-making etc.
6. Store for another month or more before drinking.