Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup {Friday Five}

Is your Thanksgiving menu finalized? My mother is hosting dinner this year so Alex and I are responsible for very little. We're bringing a charcuterie platter for the appetizer, brussels sprouts (probably pan roasted with homemade bacon) and Alex's dressing.

If your menu isn't full of family traditions, here are five suggestions for seasonal but unique additions to the table:

1)Buffie Wellies - a tasty rich buffalo appetizer 2) Cranbellini - Add one ounce of cranberry liqueur (yes, there's still time to make it!) to the bottom of a champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine and serve a fruity ruby red cocktail during appetizers 3) Mushroom Pie - vegetarian entree or earthy side dish 4) Cranberry Bread - an easy way to use cranberries other than sauce 5) Turkey Stock - even though we aren't cooking the bird this year, I hope we can claim the carcass for stock making.

Are you hosting or contributing to Thanksgiving dinner? If so, what will you make? Feel free to link recipes in the comments.

Cranberry Sauce, Fresh or For Canning {Recipe}

Cranberry sauce is the most neglected dish on the Thanksgiving table. It is over-sweetened to the point of tasting like jam, or worse, dumped and sliced from a can, ridge marks remaining. Why should these tart orbs be subjected to such a fate? Cranberries are easy to obtain fresh in November and full of flavor and vitamin C. It is impossibly easy to make them into an all-natural sauce. And once you do, you'll find new ways to appreciate the humble cranberry.

This sauce is a tangy antidote to any roast beast, of course. But it also plays beautifully on a charcuterie platter or cheese plate. Any rich dish that could use a balance of tart clear flavor will be improved by a dollop of cranberry sauce.

My sauce recipe is high in acid content and can be canned for use year round. I use an ample amount of apple for natural sweetness and just a bit of honey. Spices are light because they concentrate in the jar. If serving fresh, feel free to increase the spice quantities.

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Cranberry Sauce Makes: six half pint jars Time: 30 minutes cooking, 20 minutes canning

1 orange 2 12-ounce bags of fresh cranberries, washed with stems removed 6 medium apples, peeled cored and chopped 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4-3/4 cup honey

1. Peel orange, avoiding pith. 2. Place orange peel and remaining ingredients in a medium pot. Juice orange into pot. 3. Cook over low heat, covered, until apple texture disappear and cranberries 'pop'. Taste for spice and sweetness, adding more if necessary. 4. Remove orange peel and discard. 5. Serve sauce warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers and eat within two weeks or freeze for up to a year. 6. Alternately, ladle into sterilized jars with 1/4 inch headspace. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Remove from water, cool, and prepare for storage.

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Added to Simples Lives Thursday 70 and Punk Domestics.

Make it Yourself: Cranberry Liqueur

I have made it no secret that I love cranberries.  Raw cranberries, snowy sugared cranberries, cranberry bread...  Transformed into an alcoholic additive is another delicious way to enjoy these little pearls of antioxidant goodness!

The cranberry liqueur recipe I use is adapted from Cooking Light, December 2003.  It makes a lovely gift packaged in a decorative bottle.  The Container Store has a wide selection of bottles.  Be sure to keep some for yourself!

2 cups honey 1 cup water 1 (12-ounce) package fresh cranberries 3 cups vodka

Place cranberries in a food processor; process 2 minutes or until finely chopped. Combine honey, water, and cranberries in a half gallon jar; stir in vodka.

Secure the jar with a lid. Let stand for 1 - 2 weeks in a cool, dark place, shaking every other day.

Discard solids by straining through a sieve into a large bowl. Then pour liqueur into clean jars through a cheesecloth-lined funnel.  Add a decorative tag or label to identify this potent potable.

My favorite way to enjoy cranberry liqueur is to pour an ounce into a champagne class and top with bubbly.  You could also use it for a cosmopolitan, cranberry martini, or for sipping on its on.  Enjoy!

Snowy Sugared Cranberries

Snowy cranberries are the most addicting winter dessert I make.  I eat these candies until my mouth turns raw from the sour acids.  I rationalize that they are healthy because raw cranberries are low calorie and high in antioxidants and vitamin C.  They look beautiful on a dessert table and are a breeze to make.

Mix 2 table spoons honey with 2 tablespoons hot water. (Alternative is to cook 1/4 cup sugar into 1 cup water for a simple syrup.) Optionally add orange zest, vanilla extract or cinnamon for flavor.

Soak 1 package (10 ounces) of raw cranberries in the honey/water mixture.

Sprinkle 1 - 2 cups white granulated or powdered sugar across a cookie sheet. I use a mixture because I like the dual purposes of coverage of the powdered sugar and the crunch of the granulated.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the wet cranberries to the sugar mix on the cookie sheet.

Stir until all the cranberries are covered and leave in the sugar mixture for 30 minutes or until sugar coating hardens.

Store in an airtight container for 3 - 4 days at room temperature if they don't disappear instantly!

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Love or hate the black and white photos?  I am just playing with my new Canon T1i Digital SLR and Flickr's Picnik editor.

Cranberry Bread

Alex's relatives are from New England, Massachusetts specifically.  Lillian is named for his great grandmother who made annual trips to Cape Cod.  There's a connection with the ocean there that is unlike other places I know.  We visit the Cape area as often as we can.

The Baillieul clan loves Massachusetts cranberries and I am happy to share their enjoyment of this antioxidant packing fruit. These bright red gems scream 'holiday' to me!

I purchased our first fresh cranberries last week.  I nabbed eight bags of organic cranberries grown in Buzzard's Bay, the very place we visit in Massachusetts.  Cranberries freeze beautifully and that is the fate of most of my stock.

I will be sharing a few cranberry ideas over the next few weeks, starting with this traditional Baillieul recipe for cranberry bread.  It is delicate, delicious, and low fat.

The recipe starts with an unusual technique for a quick bread: squeeze juice of one orange (or lemon, which we used because we didn't have an orange) into measuring cup.  Add zest and enough boiling water to make 3/4 cup.  Melt 2 T butter into this mixture.

Chop 1 cup cranberries.

Beat 1 egg in a bowl.  Add 1 cup sugar (can be reduced to 3/4 if you wish) and beat well, until the sugar is almost dissolved.  Add 2 cup flour (I use King Arthur whole wheat white) 1/2 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg.  Mix all together gently.

Add the cranberries and stir to distribute evenly in the batter.  1/2 cup chopped walnuts are a great addition but Lil doesn't like them.

Transfer to a baking pan.  I bake in a stoneware loaf pan and it makes wonderfully crispy crusts.

Bake at 325 for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on a rack.  If you can wait til the next day, the bread slices better.

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Cranberry Bread from Alex's Great Great Aunt Mary Makes: one loaf Time: 20 minutes preparation, 1 hour baking

1 orange

2 Tbsp butter

1 egg

1 cup sugar (can be reduced to 3/4)

1 cup fresh cranberries, halved

1/2 cup walnuts, optional

2 cup flour (can use up to 100% whole wheat white)

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1. Squeeze juice of one orange (or lemon, which we used because we didn't have an orange) into liquid measuring cup. Add zest and enough boiling water to make 3/4 cup. Melt butter into this mixture.

2. In a separate bowl, beat 1 egg. Add 1 cup sugar (can be reduced to 3/4 if you wish) and beat well, until the sugar is almost dissolved. Mix in orange juice mixture.

3. Add flour (I use King Arthur whole wheat white) salt, baking powder, baking soda, and grated nutmeg. Mix all together gently.

4. Stir in cranberries and (optionally) walnuts.

5. Spoon into a loaf pan. Bake at 325 for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack. If you can wait til the next day, the bread slices better.

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