Citrus Fig Cranberry Sauce

Citrus Fig Cranberry Sauce

What's turkey without cranberry sauce? It would be like not serving gravy with the meal. There's no need to serve it out of a can though because homemade cranberry sauce is one of the easiest things to prepare with your roast turkey dinner. This recipe adds some sweet figs and balancing citrus and spice flavors to the sauce for special occasions like the Holidays. These traditional festive flavors give very complimentary yet not overwhelming notes to the sauce.

Give it a try with roast chicken and pork as well. If you make a large batch and properly bottle it in mason jars, you can enjoy it for months to come and it makes a nice homemade gift too.

Citrus Fig Cranberry Sauce

Recipe by Barry C. Parsons

A delicious, lightly spiced accompaniment to roast turkey, chicken or even pork.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: 3 cups sauce

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 cup chopped dried figs
• juice of one orange
• juice of one lemon
• 1/2 tsp finely minced orange zest
• 1/2 tsp finely minced lemon juice
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 star anise (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Simmer all of the ingredients together slowly for 30-40 minutes or until the cranberries are fully cooked and the mixture reduces and thickens to a jam-like consistency. Stir the sauce often as it simmers.
2. Remove the star anise if you used one and store in mason jars or in plastic containers in the fridge until served.

Cranberry White Chocolate Magic Bars

Cranberry White Chocolate Magic Bars

Magic bars are one of the most popular Holiday baking recipes out there. I remember making them even as a very young child. Its popularity owes much to its ease of preparation which essentially just layers the ingredients before baking.This is a baking recipe even for those who do not bake.

I've seen many variations of this recipe over the years using different nuts and dried fruits too but I really like the contrast of the tart cranberries with the sweet white chocolate...and it looks a bit more festive too.

Cranberry White Chocolate Magic Bars

Recipe by Barry C. Parsons

Cranberry White Chocolate Magic Bars - a differently delicious take on one of the easiest and quickest bar cookies ever invented. The tart pop of the cranberries works well with the sweet white chocolate and the crunch of the toasty almonds. A perfect Holiday baking recipe.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Yield: 24 cookie bars

Ingredients

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tbsp white sugar
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 3/4 cups (14 oz can) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups roughly chopped almonds

Directions

1. First choose the size of pan you prefer. The bars in the photo are baked in a 9x9 pan because I like them thicker but if you prefer these can be baked in a 9x13 pan for thinner bars. Lightly grease the pan and line it with parchment paper.
2. Mix together the graham crumbs, sugar and butter and press firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Sprinkle the white chocolate chips evenly over the base.
4. Sprinkle the cranberries evenly over the chocolate chips.
5. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the cranberries and white chocolate.
6. Finally sprinkle on the nuts and press down lightly.
7. The 9x9 pan will bake for 45-50 minutes and the 9x13 pan for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees F.
8. Cool completely in the pan before cutting in bars or squares.
9. These freeze exceptionally well when stored in airtight containers.

Cranberry Almond Orange Cookies

 

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Cranberry Almond Orange Cookies

These inviting cookies just say festive holiday baking to me. With familiar flavors of dried fruit and nuts plus a bold citrus taste, they evoke memories of Christmases past in a taste combination that's absolutely delectable. Sit down and enjoy these with a steaming hot coffee or even a tall glass of cold milk. I'm sure Santa wouldn't take too much convincing to gobble down a couple on Christmas Eve either.

The royal icing on top hardens completely and holds up well to freezing. I think it adds a nice decorative touch but it is of course optional if you'd rather not do this additional last step.

Cranberry Almond Orange Cookies

Recipe by Barry C. Parsons

Cranberry Almond Orange Cookies - a delicious festive collision of flavors that can be enjoyed at any time of the year.

Prep time: Approximately 20 minutes
Cook time: 12-14 minutes
Total time: About 30 minutes not including chilling time for the cookie dough.
Yield: About 1 1/2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/4 flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• zest of one orange orange, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup tiasted slivered almonds
• FOR THE ROYAL ICING
• 1 large egg white
• About 1 1/4 cups icing sugar (powdered sugar)
• pinch cream of tartar

Directions

1. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder and set aside.
2. Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla well.
3. Beat in the egg.
4. Fold in the flour until a dough begins to form.
5. When the flour is almost incorporated into the dough add the cranberries, orange zest and almonds and fold in completely.Don't overwork the dough, or it will get tough.
6. Form the dough into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or two. (Note: This dough can be kept in the fridge for a few days, allowing you to bake off a few at a time if you like, to enjoy oven fresh cookies at any time. You can also freeze the dough log and thaw it in the fridge overnight to bake your cookies the next day.)
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
8. With a very sharp knife, cut the cookie dough in 1/4 inch slices and place a couple of inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
9. Bake for about 12 minutes or until they begin to brown at the edges. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Drizzle with royal icing (optional).
11. TO MAKE THE ROYAL ICING beat together the egg white, cream of tartar and about 1 cup of the icing sugar until light and fluffy.
12. Beat in the remaining icing sugar a tablespoon at a time until the icing reaches a spreadable consistency.
13. Use a piping bag or a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off to drizzle the icing over the surface of the cookie or just spread it on thinly with a small spatula if you prefer.

Cranberry Walnut Spinach Salad with Maple Dijon Dressing

For the other three recipe ideas for a romantic dinner for two click here.

Sometimes the simplest salads are the best; the quality ingredients just speak for themselves and are complimented by each other in a great combination of taste and texture. That is exactly what this seemingly plain salad offers, especially as an appetizer course because it is light and flavorful, uses just basic ingredients and is brought together by an easy homemade maple dijon dressing.

Salad

Baby spinach

sliced red onion

toasted walnuts
dried cranberries

Maple Dijon Dressing

1/2 cup olive oil

juice of one small lemon or 1/2 large lemon

2 tbsp dijon mustard

4 tbsp maple syrup

pinch salt and pepper

Shake all the ingredients together in a mason jar or pulse it a few times in a blender before serving on your salad.

Cranberry Apple Stuffing

Everyone in our family loves a turkey dinner and we don't need any special occasion as an excuse to roast a whole bird. We often have what we call "Casual Turkey" night which is roast turkey, Savoury Stuffing ( http://rockrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/02/savoury-stuffing-or-dressing.html ), gravy and French Fries; a pure comfort food meal if there ever was one.

We don't always roast a whole turkey though, and as often as not, we simply roast a turkey breast and serve it with Cranberry Apple Stuffing and Cranberry Apple Sauce; a meal that is easily prepared in half the time as a more traditional roast turkey dinner.

The very simple recipe for the Cranberry Apple Sauce is also posted this morning.


3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves chopped garlic
6 cups crusty French or Italian bread cut in small cubes
3 tbsp dry oregano
½ tsp dry sage
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp ground black pepper
Salt to season
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
2 small apples peeled and diced
¼ cup melted butter
1 cup chicken or turkey stock

Sauté garlic in olive oil and add to remaining ingredients. Toss together well and use as a stuffing for chicken, turkey or a loin roast of pork.

You can also cook it in a covered casserole at 300 degrees F for about ½ hour.

Cranberry Apple Sauce

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
4 medium apples diced
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Juice of half lemon
pinch salt

Simmer together gently for about 20 minutes and allow to cool before serving.

Wild Newfoundland Cranberry and Flax Muffins

In a large bowl, sift together:

2 ½ cups flour
¾ cup white sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ cup ground flax seed
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

In a separate bowl whisk together until well combined

½ cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
1 ¼ cups soured milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Add the mixture to the dry ingredients and fold in well. During the last few turns of folding add:

1 ½ cups fresh or frozen wild cranberries

Do not over mix your batter or your finished muffin texture will be too heavy and dense. Mix only enough to incorporate the dry ingredients. Spoon batter into greased or paper lined muffin tins, sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over the batter if desired and bake at 350 degrees F for 25-35 minutes until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Baking times will vary widely depending upon the size of your muffin tins and if you are using frozen berries or not. The toothpick test is the best way to determine if they are fully baked.

Cool on a wire rack. Makes 12-15 large muffins.

Turkey Cranberry and Spinach Wellington

Turkey Cranberry and Spinach Wellington

Turkey Cranberry and Spinach Wellington

A holiday Turkey alternative, especially for just a few people or an easy but impressive dish to prepare in advance for a dinner party.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 40-50 minutes
Total time: about 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients

• 1 sheet, (12 x 12 inches) frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds uncooked turkey breast
• 4 cups spinach
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tbsp dry summer savoury (or 1 tbsp dry sage)
• salt and pepper to season
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 egg + 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp water (beaten together for an egg wash)

Cooking Directions

1. Begin by sautéing the garlic in the olive oil and butter for a minute or two. Add the spinach and stir fry just until the spinach is completely wilted. This will only take a minute or two.
2. Press the excess water from the spinach by pressing it in a sieve or some cheesecloth.
3. Place this pastry sheet on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place the cranberries along the center line of the pastry sheet. Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg wash. Place the turkey on top of the cranberries and the spinach over the turkey. Sprinkle the spinach with the dry savoury.
4. Bring the edges of the dough together and pinch to seal. Do the same for the ends of the dough to seal as well. Roll the entire thing over so that the seam is on the bottom.
5. Brush the egg wash over the entire surface of the pastry. Cut 3 to 4 one inch slots in the top of the pastry to let steam escape.
6. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 40-50 minutes until the pastry is evenly golden brown all over. Use a meat thermometer to make sure that the center has reached at least 170 degrees F to be sure the turkey is completely cooked. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting into individual servings.