Cranberry Liqueur

June 10, 2012September 9, 2022 Belinda

This is slightly adapted from “The Essential New York Times” recipe book by Amanda Hesser.

Yields 2 cups

2 cups cranberries
1 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup water
12 oz vodka
2 cinnamon sticks

Combine the cranberries, sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Boil until cranberries are soft and start to pop, about 10 minutes.
Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree.
Pour into a jar and add the vodka and cinnamon sticks.
Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 week and up to 3 weeks.

Strain through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth if you don’t want any straggling seeds.

Serve and/or refrigerate and it will last for up to 1 year!

Do-ahead · Holiday Food · Meat · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related

Brussel Sprout gratin

June 10, 2012September 9, 2022 Belinda

This is a recipe from a fellow blogger called “The View from Great Island”
This will get you addicted to brussel sprouts if you weren’t already, like me!

Preheat the oven to 350F I would say this serves 5 – 6 as a side dish, but 4 for a main dish.

5 – 6 cups brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved
4 slices bacon
3 shallots, sliced
Oliver oil
3 tbsp Marsala wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 heaped cups grated Gruyere cheese
2 tbsp butter
fresh thyme leaves
freshly ground nutmeg
zest of half a large lemon
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk

In a large pot, snip the bacon into 1 inch pieces and saute over medium heat till it starts to get brown and crisp.
Add in the shallots and brussel sprouts and saute for a few minutes.
Deglaze the pan with the Marsala wine, stirring up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Put a little olive oil in the bottom of an oval gratin dish and spread out half of the sprouts in the dish.

Season well with salt and pepper, the fresh thyme leaves, lemon zest and a dash of nutmeg.
Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly over the top. Dot with a tbsp of the butter and season with salt and pepper.

Top with the remaining sprouts and the past cup of cheese. Dot with the last tbsp of butter.
Mix the milk and cream together and pour it gently over the whole dish.
Bake for about 40 minutes or until bubbly and browned.

Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Holiday Food · Meat

Pumpkin sausage meat muffins with cranberry glaze

November 15, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda

These are so cute and easy!
Makes 12 muffins.

1 cup finely chopped onion
8oz mushrooms, chopped finely
3 cloves minced garlic
1lb pork sausage meat (I used Sweet Italian sausagemeat)
1 cup pumpkin puree, either canned or homemade from roasted butternut squash
1 egg
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 tsp each minced thyme, sage and rosemary
Freshly ground pepper and salt
1 tbsp Worcester sauce

1 cup cranberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
grated zest of one orange

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a standard 12 cup muffin tin with non stick cooking spray.

In a non stick skillet over medium heat, cook the onions until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes more, until vegetables are tender. Add to a bowl with the sausage meat, pumpkin, egg, oats,sage,rosemary and thyme, salt and pepper.
Toss gently to combine. Divide the mixture evenly among the muffin tin. Place in the oven, bake for about 20 minutes.

Combine cranberries, sugar, orange zest and water in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Spoon onto the meatloaf muffins and bake for another 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Do-ahead · Holiday Food · Pasta · Vegetarian pasta

Paula Deen’s Creamy Mac and Cheese in the Slow cooker

November 13, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda

This is a real hit with the kids, and even the adults keep picking at it. Very moreish. The Campbell’s cheddar cheese soup sounds weird, but really makes it! We have this every year as an extra and it’s

always gone!

Serves 10

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8 oz box isn’t quite 2 cups)
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, cut into pieces
2 1/2 cups (about 10 oz) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cans (10 3/4 oz) condensed Cheddar cheese soup (I used Campbells)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp dry mustard (I use Colmans)
1/2 tsp black pepper, ground

Boil the macaroni in a 2 qt saucepan in plenty of salted water until not quite tender, about 5 minutes.
Drain. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. Okay, so here, having used the pre-packaged grated American cheddar cheese, it didn’t seem to melt and stayed all lumpy. Next time I will grate my own “real” mature cheddar cheese, but the lumps do go away once it goes into the slow cooker.
In the slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well.
It might still be weird and lumpy at this stage but don’t worry as it all changes when it’s cooking so slowly.
The add the drained macaroni and stir well again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Accompaniments · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Holiday Food · Vegan · Vegetable-related

Ginger cranberry sauce

November 13, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda

This is vibrant and tangy and the ginger gives it a somewhat exotic flavor.

1 large red onion cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1lb fresh cranberries
zest and juice of 3 large oranges
2 tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

In a non-reactive saucepan coated lightly with oil on a medium heat, saute the onions, ginger and orange zest until soft, about 4 minutes.
Add the cranberries, orange juice, sugar and season.
Simmer for 30 minutes until very soft.
Check for seasoning and put aside until needed, or freeze until Thanksgiving/Christmas

Dessert · Do-ahead · Egg based · Holiday Food

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Bourbon Vanilla Sauce

November 3, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda

I’m afraid I can’t do without my bread pudding recipes, whether they’re sweet or savory. This one is ideal for this time of year with Thanksgiving around the corner.

Ingredients
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs, preferably organic
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground allspice
pinch of ground cloves
2 tbsp Bourbon (or a bit more for luck!)
5 cups day-old baguette or Challah, cubed about 1 inch
6 tbsp (3 oz) melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in the middle. Toss the bread together with the melted butter in a large bowl. Set aside.
Whisk the pumpkin, milk, cream, sugar, egg yolk, eggs, salt , spices and Bourbon in another large bowl.
Pour the pumpkin custard over the bread cubes and toss to coat. Pour into an 8 inch square baking dish and bake 25 to 30 mins until the custard sets.
Serve the pumpkin bread pudding with bourbon vanilla custard sauce.
Serves 6 – 8

Bourbon vanilla custard sauce

1 cup whole milk
1 cup cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 tbsp sugar
6 egg yolks
2 tbsp Bourbon (or more)

heat the milk and cream in a medium saucepan until boiling. Remove from the heat. Scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the hot cream. Add the vanilla pod. Cover and steep for an hour.
Remove the vanilla pod and reheat the cream until just boiling. Remove from the heat. Whisk the sugar and egg yolks together in a medium bowl.
Temper the yolks by whisking in a few tablespoons of the hot cream at a time until you’ve incorporated about half of the cream.
Pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan with the remaining hot cream/milk and stir over medium heat until the custard thickens. remove from the heat. Let cool. Stir in the Bourbon
Makes about 2 cups.

Accompaniments · Do-ahead · Holiday Food · Meat · Nuts

Grand Marnier and Apricot Stuffing with your Thanksgiving turkey

September 4, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda

As we’re getting near to Thanksgiving, I wanted to share some of our favorite recipes. This makes enough for a 21lb turkey, but I do it outside the turkey in a separate dish.

1 cup diced, dried apricots
1 1/2 cups Grand Marnier
1 turkey liver and heart
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups coarsely chopped celery (I peel mine)
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1lb bulk pork sausage meat (I like to use sweet Italian sausage, because of the fennel taste)
1lb herb stuffing mix
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups chicken stock
salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

Place the apricots and 1 cup Grand Marnier in a small saucepan. Heat to boiling. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Simmer the turkey liver and heart in water to cover in a small saucepan for 5 mins. Set aside to cool.
Melt 1/2 cup of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the celery and onion and saute for 10 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Cook the pork sausage meat in the same skillet, crumbling with a fork, until it is no longer pink. Remove from the heat and add to the celery mixture.
Add the stuffing mix, apricots with liquid, and almonds. Finely dice the turkey livers and heart and add to the stuffing mixture. Stir to combine.
Heat the remaining 1/2 cup butter and the stock in a small saucepan just until the butter melts. Pour over the stuffing mixture and add the remaining 1/2 cup of Grand Marnier.
Stir well to moisten the stuffing.
Season with the thyme and salt and pepper to taste.

Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Holiday Food · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related

Jerusalem artichoke and mushroom dauphinoise

August 25, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda

This is almost sexy in it’s unctious creaminess!!
Make sure the artichokes are tender when you cook them, because when I cooked this the first time, they weren’t!

1 1/2 lbs Jerusalem artichokes (or sunchokes)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 sliced onion
2 crushed cloves of garlic
5 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
2/3 cup light cream or whole cream
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
1 good pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 lemon, grated zest only
1 heaped tbsp chopped fresh parsley
3/4 cup grated gruyere cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cook artichokes in lightly salted boiling water for 15 minutes or until tender.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan. Add 1 sliced onion and 2 crushed cloves garlic and saute for 3 minutes until soft.
Increase the heat and add the sliced mushrooms and cook for 5 to 10 mins tossing occasionally, until golden.

Drain the artichokes and refresh under cold running water. Drain again and peel.
Slice any large artichokes into thirds and arrange in a shallow 1 1/4 quart dish with the mushroom mixture.

In a bowl mix together the sour cream, (or creme fraiche) light cream, whole grain mustard, freshly grated nutmeg, grated zest of a lemon and chopped parsley. Season well and pour over the vegetables.
Sprinkle the top with the grated gruyere cheese and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Serve immediately.