Creamy Cranberry Relish Spread

 

Every holiday needs a good appetizer.

I love to munch and I'm sure you all do to.  So there is no doubt that I love to serve a good appetizer for friends and family to eat while the dinner is be prepared.  It wets the appetite.

So today I wanted to share with you a new unique appetizer that I made the other day with my friends along with our desert marathon.  

They had wanted a fresh cranberry sauce.  So we made a relish, but I'm not really into tart cranberries all that much.  By themselves they are just too tart and all I do is pucker!

So we made the relish and yes, it was too tart for my liking.  So I decided to turn this into a spread and add something creamy to cut the tartness.  I used goat cheese which also has tang but enough creaminess to create a foil for the tart cranberries.  Perfect for a spread.

It was a winner!  Creamy, yet tart...perfect with crostini.

This relish would equally be good mixed with marscapone or ricotta, or even cream cheese.  Choose what you like, I'm sure they would all be delishh!

So a new appetizer was born and everyone loved it.  Try it this Thanksgiving and let me know how it turns out.

Creamy Cranberry Relish Spread

serves 12-15

1 orange, unpeeled and preferably
organic, scrubbed
2 bags (12 oz. each) fresh cranberries
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
1⁄3 cup peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger
2 logs of goat cheese

Cut the orange (with its peel on) into 16 chunks and discard any seeds. Working in batches, combine the orange chunks, cranberries, sugar and ginger in a food processor. Pulse to chop fine, stopping once or twice
with each batch to scrape down the sides of the work bowl.

Place in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.  Remove from the refrigerator and add back to the food processor along with the goat cheese.  Pulse until well incorporated.  Serve with crostini.

Pumpkin Creme Brulee

The other day I brought you a new take on pumpkin pie.  Today’s entry is all about pumpkin and dessert, but it’s not pie…

Today’s dessert is what I consider an elegant dessert.  A pumpkin brulee’, and it’s perfect for Thanksgiving entertaining!

Let me tell you that you can’t beat the flavor of this dish.  A rich, decadent custard that’s distinctly pumpkin flavored with a nice crusty caramelized sugar coating on top. 

Heaven!

My friends and I were experimenting with new desserts for the holidays and wanted to add a more delicate, elegant touch for those serving formal dinners.  This one fits the bill.

 

You'll notice on my pics that the top is not caramelized.  Well, funny thing my blow torch ran out of butane so I used the pics before that happened.  You can even see that I was sprinkling the sugar on top!  So long story short I had to go get more butane, and fixed them right up the next day.

This photo is what it looks like with the caramelization as it should look.  (Photo from Williams-Sonoma) 

If you love regular creme brulee then you will be so pleased with this dessert.

Pumpkin Creme Brulee

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsp. freshly grated cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp. freshly grated ginger
• 3/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 5 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 6 Tbs. pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup plus 4 tsp. granulated sugar
• 1 Tbs. firmly packed light brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 300°F. Have a pot of boiling water ready.
Pour the cream into a small saucepan and whisk in the cinnamon, allspice, ginger and nutmeg. Set over medium-low heat and warm the cream mixture until bubbles form around the edges of the pan and steam begins to rise from the surface, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla, salt, pumpkin puree, the 1/3 cup granulated sugar and the brown sugar until smooth and blended. Slowly pour in the cream mixture, stirring until blended. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Divide the mixture among four 8-fl.-oz. ramekins and place in a large baking pan. Add boiling water to fill the pan halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and bake until the custards are just set around the edges, about 30 minutes.
Transfer the ramekins to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days.
Just before serving, sprinkle 1 tsp. granulated sugar evenly over the surface of each custard. Using a kitchen torch according to the manufacturer's instructions, move the flame continuously in small circles over the surface until the sugar melts and lightly browns. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

Thanksgiving is around the corner.

But I don't want to talk turkey.  Not today.
I want to start with dessert!

Who says you can't have dessert first? Well today I wanted to share with you a fabulous pumpkin pie.  Almost everyone makes pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dessert.  I have my favorite pie I make every year.  This year, however, some friends and I decided to get together and cook a few desserts worthy of the holiday.

First up is this fabulous, slightly different, pumpkin pie.  What makes it different?  It has orange marmalade and molasses in it AND no ginger!  The pie was a hit with everyone.  Slightly sweeter but still every bit a pumpkin pie that stands up to the traditional one.

I have all my standard dishes that I make every year, as I'm sure you do.  Traditions are good.

However, new is good too. 

This pie is new...a little updated so to speak.  I like to try adding at least one new dish each year which widens the palate and the interest in the meal.

Hope you enjoy this, and try a new dessert this year!

Pumpkin Pie with Orange Marmalade

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. plus 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 to 3 Tbs. ice water
• 1 2/3 cups pumpkin puree (see related tip at left)
• 2 Tbs. orange marmalade
• 3 Tbs. molasses
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Whipped cream for serving

Directions:

In a food processor, combine the flour, the 1/4 tsp. sugar and 1/2 tsp. of the salt and pulse once to blend. Add the butter and process in short pulses until pea-size crumbs form, 20 to 25 seconds. While pulsing, gradually add the water until large, moist crumbs form, about 10 seconds more.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press together to form a 5-inch disk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat an oven to 425°F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 12-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie dish and fit the dough into the dish. Trim the edges, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fold under the excess dough and, using your thumb, decoratively flute the edges. Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.

Line the pie shell with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes. Transfer the pie shell to a wire rack and let cool.

In a large bowl, stir together the pumpkin, marmalade, molasses, the 1 cup sugar, the cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt. Add the eggs and cream and stir until smooth. Pour the filling into the pie shell and smooth the top.

Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and bake until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool. Top each slice with a dollop of whipped cream.

Serves 8 to 10.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.