Tag: cranberry sauce

Cumberland Sauce – It Only Sounds Stuffy

I’ve always wondered why Cumberland sauce wasn’t more
popular around the holidays. It’s such a delicious and versatile condiment, and
just as easy and fast to make as any cranberry sauce out there. Maybe it’s the name?

Cumberland sauce sounds more like something that the Queen
would be spooning over a Quail en Croute than it does Uncle Charlie over a
slice of ham. However, despite this sassy sauce’s upper-crusty sounding name,
it’s actually quite rustic.

My “Black Cumberland” version uses black currants instead of
the traditional red, and also includes some very browned-blackened onions, but
like all similar recipes, this begs for even further adaptation depending on
the meat. Maybe a little mint for lamb, or a touch of cardamom for that smoked
duck breast?

Notwithstanding any flavor variations, you will still need
to decide whether to serve hot or not. I definitely prefer the thick, shiny
cooled-down version as shown, but happily, there’s no wrong choice. I hope you
give this extra special holiday sauce a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients to make about 1 1/2 cups Cumberland Sauce:
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup minced onions
1 cup black or red currant jelly

zest from 2 oranges and 1 lemon

1/3 cup red wine

1/2 cup orange juice

2-3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp black pepper, or to taste

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp dry mustard

pinch cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp ground ginger

salt to taste

Incoming search terms:

Ginger Pear Cranberry Sauce – Making Your Holidays More Difficult, One Condiment at a Time

You would think the vast majority of the visitors to this
blog would be fine with me posting a new holiday cranberry sauce every
year, but apparently that’s not the case.

After posting the tease picture for
this lovely ginger, pear, cranberry sauce, I received a bunch of comments and
emails with the same basic message, “please don’t, you’re confusing us.”

Evidently, some people like our past cranberry sauce recipes
so much, that they don’t know if they should stick with them, or try a new
version. It’s causing quite the dilemma. Do you go with the one you know you love, and
that garnered so many compliments, or do you try something new and risk it all?

Sorry, I really can’t help you decide, but at least let me make an
already tough call, even tougher. This gingery, pear-studded cranberry sauce
was simply amazing. I’ve been wanting to try pear in a cranberry sauce forever,
and this was so fantastic that I’m a little upset I waited this long.

Anyway, I hope your Thanksgiving menu is shaping up nicely,
and that tomorrow will bring a table full of fabulous food. Whether you use
this cranberry sauce, or an older version, or heaven help us, one from another
blog, I hope you and your family have a great holiday. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 2 cups:
12 oz fresh whole
cranberries

1 large bosc pear, peeled,
diced

2 oz candied ginger,
minced

zest of 1 large orange

1 cup fresh orange juice

1/4 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 whole star anise

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 tsp garam masala (an Indian-style
curry spice blend)

1/4 tsp salt

Incoming search terms:

Mini Pecan Phyllo Tarts

These bite sized pecan tarts are the perfect “skinny” replacement for pecan pie this holiday season! They are so easy to make, and really good!

Traditional pecan pie can set you back about 480 calories! These mini tarts, are only 68 calories each, even if you eat two you are still ahead of the game! I found this neat Thanksgiving calorie counter^[1] that totals your calories and tells you how many miles you need to walk to burn them off.

Luckily I’ve lightened up so many Thanksgiving favorites, you can see them all here: Lightened Up Thanksgiving Recipe Index^[2] from cranberry sauce, stuffing, pumpkin pie and lots of leftover ideas.

I’m in a bit of a panic that Thanksgiving is next week! Losing power for two weeks really set me back and quite honestly, after a few days of dealing with long gas lines, no power, no traffic lights, no supermarkets, no school, no gym, I really started to lose track of time (I think I need a vacation).

Pecan pie has been requested quite a bit, so when I stumbled on these mini pecan tarts, I thought I would try them with some minor tweaks.

I loved how they turned out and they are so stinking easy, even a beginner baker can make them. If you’re in charge of dessert this Thanksgiving, give these a try, you can double the recipe to make 30.

Mini Pecan Phyllo Tarts
Adapted from Athens Foods
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 15 • Serving Size: 1 mini tart • Old Points: 1 pts • Points+: 2 pts
Calories: 68 • Fat: 4.5 g • Carb: 6.5 g • Fiber: 0.3 g • Protein: 1 g • Sugar: 4 g
Sodium: 23 mg ^[3]

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter, melted
1 large egg
4 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup pecans chopped
15 Mini Phyllo Shells (Athens)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except pecans. Mix well. Stir in chopped pecans. Arrange mini shells on a baking sheet. Fill mini shells with one heaping teaspoon of pecan mixture. If any of the mixture remains, distribute evenly between all the shells.

Bake for 10-15 minutes. Let them cool before serving.

References

^{^} Thanksgiving calorie counter (walking.about.com)
^{^} Lightened Up Thanksgiving Recipe Index (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)
^{^} Athens Foods (athensfoods.com)