Baked Winter Fruit

I've been on a baked fruit kick lately after rediscovering a recipe I'd clipped a while back.  (Remember that actually using all the recipes that I clip project that I started at the beginning of this year? It's still going....sort of.)

A couple weeks ago I was looking for a dessert to bring to some friends who were having me over for dinner.  I was keen to find something light, since I feel like the bounty of the season is already catching up with me (specifically my hips).  I decided upon a simple recipe for baked winter fruit from the Boston Globe.  It's just a simple combination of apples, pears (you don't even need to peel them!), prunes, raisins, and dried cranberries, with a touch of orange juice, cinnamon, and brown sugar.  You can also add slivered almonds or walnut pieces, if you wish.  Mix, cover, and bake--that's all there is to it!  

Cranberry Almond Granola

I love Cheerios.  Always have, always will.  But on occasion I need to eat something else for breakfast. (I have been devoted to them for the past 25 years, so I think it's okay to cheat on them once in a while).  When the mood strikes, and I don't have time for anything elaborate, yogurt and granola is one of my favorite combinations.  I usually only have it on the rare occasion that I have some store-bought granola around, which happens, you know, every few years.  Which really isn't enough.  

Last Friday it occurred to me that making granola probably isn't terribly hard.  A quick foodnetwork.com search turned up a simple and relatively healthy cranberry granola from Giada De Laurentiis.  I streamlined the recipe by replacing the mix of pumpkin and sunflower seeds with all sunflower seeds (since I already had some, and I don't really care for pumpkin seeds as much--too tough!).  However, if you have both then I'm sure you can do a 50/50 mix, or use just pumpkin seeds if you really like them.   I also upped the amounts of oats and nuts, because I felt like there was too much liquid and it needed more stuff to soak it up.  The only "unusual" ingredient in this recipe is unsweetened cranberry juice, which I didn't realize was a marketed product, but I found it easily in the "natural foods/healthy" section of my local Shaw's.  There are a number of brands, some quite expensive, but the Shaw's/Wild Harvest brand was reasonably priced, and the bottle isn't too big, which is good, because there's not a lot to do with excess unsweetened cranberry juice (except make lots and lots of granola!).  This recipe comes together quickly, is mostly hands-off, and the result is a sweet and tart, slightly chewy granola that I liked so much I made a second batch a few days later. 

Cranberry Almond Granola (Adapted from Giadi De Laurentiis, www.foodnetwork.com) 

Makes about 6 cups

* A generous 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds, preferably raw, unsalted

* Nonstick cooking spray

* 1/3 cup maple syrup (I like the deep flavor of grade B, but anything you have on hand will be great, as long as it's REAL--no Aunt Jemima, please!)

* 2/3 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark is fine)

* 1/2 cup unsweetened cranberry juice

* 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

* 2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

* A heaping 1/2 cup almonds, slivered or sliced work well.  

* 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (Kosher salt is fine too, if you don't have sea salt)

* 1 cup dried cranberries

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the sunflower seeds on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, until lightly toasted and fragrant.  Let them cool.  Reduce the oven temp to 325 degrees F.

In the mean time, combine the maple syrup, cranberry juice, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small saucepan.  Cook, over medium heat, stirring a few times, just until the sugar had dissolved.  Set aside to cool.

In a medium mixing bowl, toss together the oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, and salt.  Pour the cranberry syrup mixture over the oat mixture, and stir with a spoon or spatula until everything is evenly distributed. 

Spray your cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray, and spread the oat and nut mixture over it in an even layer.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and add the cranberries, and use a spatula to stir the mix around, fluff it, and incorporate the cranberries.  Bake for 10 to 15 minutes more, until the mixture starts to brown.  Cool the granola completely, and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Enjoy on yogurt with honey or rhubarb compote

Mince Pies That Will Make You Swoon

I know, you're skeptical already. But it's true. I just made them, and they are delicious. I've never actually eaten mince before--I have only once been confronted with one mincemeat pie in my life time, and I'm not going to lie...I steered clear. It was at the annual Nantucket Historical Association Christmas party, which is done potluck-style. One employee spouse brought a massive, lasagna-sized mince meat pie beautifully with pastry spelling "NHA" on top. Points for creativity, but I couldn't tell if it was the kind of mincemeat with actual meat, the idea of which kind of creeps me out, so I didn't eat it.

However, my attitude towards mince changed last Sunday morning when I was elliptical-ling away at the gym while watching Nigella's Christmas Kitchen. Honestly, that woman can make dirty socks sound appetizing, and soon I found myself drooling over these adorable mini mincepies that she was making. Plus, cooking shows make everything look so easy, so immediately I thought, "I can do that!" The key to Nigella's mincepies is that she doesn't use meat. Her filling is fruity and boozy, and honestly, what better combination can you find? It's basically a glorified cranberry sauce spiked with port, brandy, and lots of spices and dried fruit. The crust, which was easy (and this is coming from a complete crust novice), is amazingly flaky, so these pies are in instant winner in my book. The only tricky part was tracking down the recipe online, and discovering that the whole thing is in ounces. F***ing ounces. Since Santa hasn't brought me a food scale yet (it's at the top of my list, though), I had to do a little bit of educated-guessing based on what I know from Cooking Light (which often gives weights & measurements for baked goods), and some internet conversions. However, internet conversions don't take food density into account, so I had to fudge things a little. But, given my delight with this recipe, I guess I didn't do too badly. I will give the BBC links for both recipes so that you readers who are food scale-equipped can just go to town, and I will also write out my measurement guesstimates. Prepare to be stunned by the deliciousness of these mincepies!

Nigella Lawson's Mincepies

Makes 36 pies

Crust:

* Something just shy of 2 cups of all purpose flour (8 oz)
* 1/2 stick of unsalted butter (2 oz)
* 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening, aka Crisco, (2 oz)
* Juice of 1 orange (or some Tropicana...whatever ;) (about 1/4 cup)
* Pinch of salt

Special equipment:

* Mini muffin tins (About 1.75 inches in diameter and .75 inches deep)
* Fluted biscuit cutter 2.25 inches in diameter 
* Star cookie cutter 1.5 inches in diameter

1. Sift the flour into a shallow freezer-proof bowl.

 
2. Pinch off bits of vegetable shortening and add to the flour. Dice the butter into small pieces and add to the flour. Toss to coat the fats.

3. Put flour mixture in freezer for 20 minutes.

 
4. Mix the OJ and salt in a measuring cup and place in the fridge.

 
5. After 20 minutes, place the chilled flour and fats into the bowl of a food processor. (If you only have a mini prep, like me, do this in 2 batches). Pulse a few times until the flour is in "porridge-like crumbs." Slowly dribble in the oj/salt mixture, still pulsing, until the dough just starts to come together. This step may not need all the OJ. However, if you need more liquid, use ice water.

 
6. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Using your hands, bring the dough together. Divide into 3 equal pieces and wrap each one in saran wrap and place in fridge for 20 minutes.

 
7. Working with one piece at a time, roll out the dough on a floured surface and using a floured rolling pin. Roll the dough so that it is thin but still sturdy enough to hold the filling--let's call it about 1/8 of an inch thick. Using a fluted pastry cutter 2 1/4 inches in diameter, cut out rounds of dough. Place rounds in mini muffin tins and gently press the dough into the cups, without stretching it.

 
8. Place about a teaspoon of mince mixture into the dough cups.

 
9. Roll out the dough scraps to a similar thickness and using a tiny star cookie cutter, cut out stars and place over the mince mixture.  (See the special equipment list for where to order the right size cookie cutters, if you can't find them locally)

10. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until crust starts to turn golden brown. Keep an eye on these, because they don't take long to cook.

 
11. Remove from pans immediately and let cool on a wire rack. Allow pans to cool completely before starting another batch.

12. Dust with confectioner's sugar & enjoy!


Mince Filling

* 2.5 oz dark brown sugar (a scant 1/3 cup)
* 2 fl oz ruby port (1/4 cup)
* 10.5 oz cranberries, fresh or frozen (about 2.5 cups)
* 1 tsp ground cinnamon
* 1 tsp ground ginger

* 1/2 tsp ground cloves
* 2.5 oz raisins (a scant 1/3 cup)
* 2.5 oz currants (a scant 1/3 cup)
* 1 oz dried cranberries (a scant 1/8 cup)
* the zest and juice of 1 clementine
* 1 fl oz brandy (2 TBS)
* a few drops of almond extract
* 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
* 2 TBS honey

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the brown sugar in the ruby port.

 
2. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the cranberries, spices, raisins, currants, cranberries, and clementine juice and zest, and stir.

 
3. Bring the mixture to a simmer (medium-low heat) and cook about 20 minutes or until the cranberries are quite soft and the fruit has broken down and absorbed the liquid.

 
4. Allow mixture to cool slightly, and then stir in brandy, almond and vanilla extracts, and honey. Stir well with a wooden spoon to make a thick paste.

  

5. If you are not using the mince filling right away, put in sterilized jars and once cool, store in fridge for up to 2 weeks.



Obviously I made these before I got my hands on the right size cookie cutters, but still, if these things aren't the best little morsels you've ever tried, then all I can say is you're a Christmas Grinch!

Freeze!

 

I don't have anything to blog about right now, but I did want to reiterate that it is cranberry season. And unlike many other fruits & veggies that have "seasons" (Tomatoes = summer, root veggies = winter, asparagus = spring, etc.) but can be found all year, cranberries really do only appear in the fall, since they're not exactly a greenhouse crop. This being Thanksgiving week, they're more obvious than ever in your grocery stores (and probably on sale, too!) So, if you love cranberries and cooking/baking with cranberries as much as I do, might I suggest that while you're out buying ingredients to make your own easy & delicious homemade cranberry sauce in the next few days, pick up an extra bag or two of these delicious berries and freeze them for use throughout the year. Freezing berries is so easy, and if you buy them in season & on sale, it can be more economical than buying packaged frozen ones. This is also a great trick in the summer with blueberries. (When they dropped to only $1.50/pint in June I stocked up and have been tossing them in pancakes, smoothies, you name it!)

The technique for freezing both of these berries is the same: rinse and dry the berries, then spread them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Place the sheet in the freezer until the berries are solid, a few hours. When they're frozen, transfer the berries to a Ziploc bag and keep them in the freezer. Thaw the necessary quantities as you enjoy cranberry breads, sauces, & more until next fall!

The Obvious Solution

The other night I could not help but notice how cluttered my tiny little counter was becoming. While I was sitting at the dinner table I kept looking over and trying the mentally erase all of the things that had ended up there recently. Of course, there are some things that you just can't do much about: the spice rack, the microwave, the coffee maker, and the coffee grinder, which became a permanent addition when Erik decided to switch to whole bean coffee. Other than those things (which take up nearly half of the counter), I like to keep the rest of the space clear, because with 7 square feet (yes, I measured, and no, I'm not exaggerating) every inch counts. Nalgene can go in my work bag, travel mug can go in the cupboard, red wine...will drink soon, half a pound of cranberries as souvenir of the annual Cranberry Festival...must go. Clearly the solution is Cranberry-Orange Bread!

Nantucket has its own cranberry bogs in the middle of the island, and the harvest is celebrated each fall with a festival out at the bogs. I've been on island for five Cranberry Fests now, but this was the first time that I actually made the trek out to the bogs to see how it's all done. It was actually quite interesting. Once the bogs are flooded the berries some sort of picking tractor thing knocks the berries off the bushes.


The berries are partially hollow so they float to the top, where harvesters use these long flexible bands to corral the berries.

A vacuum then sucks them out of the bog up to a washer/sorter, after which they're shot into a truck. Often photos of cranberry bogs show a sea of red berries, but really that's only the reality once all the berries have been corralled into one area; when they first float to the top there is a lot more water than berries. While I was there I bought a pound (at a steep $5) to support Sustainable Nantucket.

The first half pound became homemade cranberry sauce which was so delicious that I ate it with spoon out of the container. I'll share that recipe as well, since it was ridiculously easy and totally beats canned cranberry sauce. The other half pound sat around for a while, and today met its match in a cranberry-orange bread, which may have been the first quick bread I ever baked. When I was in high school my boyfriend at the time gave me a copy of Christmas Cooking for Dummies. I'm sure there was some joke behind it, although I have since forgotten what it is. Since my family rarely prepares a Christmas dinner worth mentioning (half a chicken breast and leftover roasted veggies anyone?), I've never really had occasion to use it, other than to make the Cranberry Orange quick bread. I think the cookbook is still at my parents' apartment so I turned to my "basics bible"--Better Homes & Gardens Red Plaid Cookbook, and tweaked the Nut Bread recipe to make it Cranberry Orange Bread. While banana bread is always my quick & easy go-to quick bread, but this one even eclipses it for ease and few ingredients, since it only uses one leavener and no spices. And with only one egg and 1/4 cup of oil, it's even healthier (that's my positive spin--it would probably be more accurate to say "less bad for you"). I even refrained from adding chocolate chips (Instead I ate a handful. Naughty me), although I suspect that would be a fantastic addition to make this more of a dessert-y bread, since chocolate goes exceptionally well with both orange and cranberries.

So without further ado, the recipe:

Cranberry Orange Quick Bread (adapted from Better Homes & Gardens)

* 2 cups of all-purpose flour (or a combo of all-purpose & whole wheat if you like. I often replace just under half of the all-purpose with whole wheat for a slight health kick)
* 1 cup of sugar
* 1 tablespoon of baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon of salt
* 2 teaspoons of finely grated orange peel (1 medium-large orange is perfect)
* 1 beaten egg
* 1 cup of orange juice
* 1/4 cup of cooking oil
* 1 cup of cranberries, coarsely chopped (or more...I used nearly 2 cups, just to get rid of them. A mini Cuisinart, such at the Prep or Prep Plus is a great tool for chopping the cranberries. Pulse a few times and voila, copped cranberries!)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease the bottom and half inch up the sides of a loaf pan.

2. Mix together the dry ingredients and the grated orange peel in a large bowl

3. In a small bowl or in your liquid measuring cup combine the orange juice, egg and oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix gently until just combined.

4. Fold cranberries into batter and pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

5. Cool and remove from pan. As with all quick breads, this bread is best if you wrap it up (once it's cooled) and store it overnight before slicing.



Basic Homemade Cranberry Sauce

The orange zest in this recipe adds that je ne sais quoi and sets it apart from canned cranberry sauce. This recipe makes about 2 1/4 cups of cranberry sauce. If that's more than you'll need, halve the recipe and use the other half of the cranberries for the bread.

* 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries (available in most grocery stores this time of year)
* 1 cup of sugar
* 2/3 cup of water (replace some of the water with OJ if you like even more of an orange-y taste)
* zest of one medium-large orange (about 2 heaping teaspoons)
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring often.

2. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until most of the cranberries have burst, about 10-15 minutes.

3. Remove from heat. Cool and store, covered, in the fridge for up to a week. Enjoy!