Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce

It's still bitterly cold and my neighborhood seems to be in hibernation.  With the football wild card games on the tv and a hot cup of green tea in my hand, I ventured into the kitchen to make something cheerful.  I had made a grocery impulse buy - a pomegranate (better than a bag of Doritos, right?)  I wanted to do something special with at least part of it so I went with a cranberry sauce since I had a bag of those on hand.

Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce

12 oz fresh cranberries

3/4 cup cranberry juice

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Put cranberries, juice, sugars and salt in a medium saucepan.  Set at a medium heat and bring to a boil.  Stir occasionally and wait until the berries pop, approximately 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the pomegranate seeds and cinnamon.  Gently pour into a serving dish and allow to cool.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Turkey & Brie Poutine

Also known as Thanksgiving poutine because it's a great way to use your leftovers and this is the last of mine.

Turkey & Brie Poutine

Fries ~

2 large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp extra light virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place potatoes in a small bowl.  Mix spices in a separate small bowl.  Drizzle olive oil over potatoes.  Toss in spices and make sure the fries are evenly coated.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350°.

Gravy ~ I used my leftover gravy from Thanksgiving

1 cup turkey breast, cut into small pieces
3 oz brie

Place baked french fries at the bottom of an oven ready pan. Top with turkey and brie.  Return to oven for 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with 1/4 cup turkey gravy.  Sprinkle 1/4 tsp parsley on top and serve.

Turkey Fried Rice

Besides Black Friday, it's the national day of what to do with those Thanksgiving leftovers.  I decided to make some fried rice which is pretty much a delicious opposite of what I had yesterday.  

Turkey Fried Rice

1 1/2 cups turkey, cut into bite size pieces
2 cups rice, preferably cooked the day before but 4 hours before works too
1 large egg, beaten
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup carrots, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup peas
1/4 cup onions, minced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Chili garlic sauce

In a large frying pan or wok,  put in carrots and olive oil and cook until tender.  Add in peas, onions and garlic and cook for a couple minutes.  Pour beaten egg on top and stir until cooked.  Add in turkey, rice and sauces and mix together.  Serve when the turkey and rice are heated.

Happy Thanksgiving ~

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with good food shared by family and friends ~

Cranberry Chambord Ice Cream

Everyone needs a holiday ice cream and what better for Thanksgiving than a cranberry ice cream.  I added the Chambord for fun but you can leave it out if you are serving children or someone that prefers not to have alcohol.  

Cranberry Chambord Ice Cream

12 oz fresh cranberries
1/4 cup water

Rinse and sort the cranberries and then place in a large saucepan with the water.  Cook over medium heat until the berries pop...approximately 15 minutes.

Allow to cool before running through a food mill and returning to the saucepan.

Add in with cranberry sauce ~

1 cup sugar
2 cups whipping cream
3/4 cup milk

Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat, cool and place in the refrigerator for a couple hours.  When chilled, add in 2 tbsp Chambord (optional) and place in ice cream maker and run per manufacturer's directions.

Pumpkin Bread

I managed to escape making pumpkin anything so far this fall.  The marketplace seems to be filled with pumpkin spice coffees, teas, everything.  I went back to my roots and made this simple but moist bread.

Pumpkin Bread

1/3 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins

Cream together shortening and sugar.  Add in pumpkin and eggs.  Add in the dry ingredients.  Fold in raisins.  Place in a greased bread pan.  Bake for 1 hour at 375°.

Cranberry Pear Sauce

I started playing with recipes for Thanksgiving a little early for some of the sides this year and as you might have noticed, cranberries has been the star of quite a few now.   I've mixed cranberries with applies before and orange juice so I wanted to try something a little bit different and decided on pears.  The mellow flavor of the pears works well with the slight tartness of the cranberries.

Cranberry Pear Sauce

12 oz fresh cranberries

3/4 cup cranberry juice

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup pears, diced

Put cranberries, juice, sugars and salt in a medium saucepan.  Set at a medium heat and bring to a boil.  Stir occasionally and wait until the berries pop, approximately 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the pears.  Gently pour into your serving dish and allow to cool.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Sweet Potato & Toffee Ice Cream

One of my favorite sides to a grilled steak is a sweet potato topped with cinnamon, butter and brown sugar.   I made this ice cream to taste just like that but without the butter.  I added in the toffee bits for a little crunch factor but they are optional.  This is a perfect dessert on Thanksgiving for any pie haters you may have.  

Sweet Potato & Toffee Ice Cream

2 cups cooked and chilled sweet potatoes (2 medium sized worked perfect)
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 cup whole milk3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup Heath Toffee Bits (optional)

Place chilled sweet potatoes in a large bowl and beat using a hand mixer until smooth.   Add in brown sugar, spices and vanilla.  Gradually stir in cream and milk and then transfer to your ice cream maker.

Turkey Pot Pie Soup

This is the final Thanksgiving leftover meal.  The remainder is heading for the freezer but it was a tasty ending to using turkey.

Turkey Pot Pie Soup

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups turkey or chicken broth
2 cups milk
2 cups turkey, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup carrots, pared and diced
1 cup potatoes, pared and diced
1 cup peas
1 cup corn (I used 2 ears of fresh corn)
1 tbsp celery flakes
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Melt the butter in the bottom of a dutch oven or soup kettle.  Stir in flour and cook for a couple minutes.  Whisk in chicken broth.  Add in milk, turkey, carrots and potatoes, cover with lid slightly ajar and cook over medium heat for 45 minutes.  Add in peas, corn and celery flakes.  Cook for an additional 30 minutes.  Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Turkey, Brie & Cranberry Pizza

I have a feeling I'm going to be making turkey more often after this leftover meal.  A nice crisp crust topped with some Thanksgiving leftovers plus brie and seasonings.

Turkey, Brie & Cranberry Pizza

1 thin crust ~ recipe below
6 oz Brie, rind removed
1 1/2 cups turkey, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup cranberry sauce
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp oregano

Roll out crust and place on a pizza stone.  Dot top of crust in this order ~
brie
turkey pieces
cranberry sauce
red pepper flakes
mozzarella cheese
oregano

Bake at 425° for 14 minutes.


Pizza crust (makes 2) ~ recipe from Cook's Illustrated

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup canola oil

Place all of the ingredients, except for the canola oil, in a food processor with the chopping blade.  Pulse until mixed.  Switch to run and pour in canola oil and let the dough knead in the machine.  Remove dough and place on a lightly floured surface.  Knead for a couple minutes.  Cut in half (one half can be frozen for later use).  Let dough sit for about 20 minutes or so.  This will give you time to get the rest of your ingredients ready.  Roll out the dough and place on your pizza stone.

Turkey Nachos

Round one of turkey leftovers and these nachos used both turkey and cranberries.  Cranberries and salsa go together remarkably well considering they are complete opposites.  Build your own nachos.  These are just the ingredients that I threw together.

Turkey Nachos

Scoop nacho chips
turkey, cut into bite-size pieces
cranberry sauce
refried beans
salsa
tomatoes
Cheddar Jack cheese

Layer your nachos as you normally would do ~ chips on the bottom level, beans scattered on the chips (I used a small cookie scoop), cranberries and tomatoes also scattered, drizzle salsa back and forth over everything and top with cheese.  Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.

Orange Cranberries

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving to all my U.S. followers.  Here's the cranberries I made this evening and my house smells heavenly with a hint of orange.

Orange Cranberries

1 - 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked through
1 - orange
orange juice to get to 1/2 cup
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar or 1/2 cup Splenda

Zest orange for 1 tablespoon.  Place cleaned cranberries in a saucepan with orange juice, zest, water and sweetener.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and pour into a serving dish.  Chill until ready to serve.