Leftover cranberries? Problem solved!

Every year around this time, I am once again reminded at how much I love cranberries! We bought way too many of them, so I took the leftovers and made some yummy muffins!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsps baking powder
dash salt
1 cup fresh cranberries, cut in half
1/4 cup half and half (or whole milk)
1/2 cup orange juice (might need more, if batter is too thick)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/4 cup melted butter
Cooking spray

Topping:
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/4 tablespoon of kosher salt

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Mix in cranberries. Make a well in the middle and add melted butter (make sure it's not too hot), half/half, orange juice, vanilla, and egg. Stir to combine all ingredients. Add batter to muffin tins sprayed with cooking spray. Top with sugar/salt mixture. Bake for 20-30 minutes.

Thankful for friends and family

We had such a fun, relaxed Thanksgiving this year. It was just the four of us (Ryan, my parents, and me)...yes all that food for four people! It is insane, but we've had lots of yummy leftovers!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Stuffing/Dressing...either way

I decided to make my own stuffing from scratch this year and it was simple and tasted great!

Recipe:

In a large frying pan, heat (on medium-high) 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add 1 pound of your favorite sausage. Cook until browned and then transfer meat to a bowl. In the same pan, add 1/4 cup of butter. Once butter is melted and starting to boil, add 5 sliced sweet onions to pan. Add salt and pepper. Stir to combine with oil/butter. Turn heat down to low and put a lid on the pan. Continue to cook for about 45 minutes to an hour until onions are totally softened. Turn heat up slightly and carmelize onions for about 10 more minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, add 1 loaf of day-old french bread, cubed or torn into 1-inch pieces. Add cooled sausage, 1/2 cup of chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons chopped sage, salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of dried thyme. Stir to combine. Next, add 3 eggs and 1/2 cup of dry white wine. Stir. Add 3 cups (more or less depending on how much is soaked up by the bread, you want all the bread to be moistened, without too much excess liquid at the bottom of the bowl). Finally, add carmlelized onions.

Make this mixture the day before and let sit overnight in the frige so the flavors have a chance to combine and "marry."

The next day, pre-heat oven at 375. Grease a baking dish (we needed two) with butter and put stuffing into dish. Bake for about 45 minutes or until completely browned.

**Picture shows oyster stuffing, turkey, and then this recipe for stuffing**

Cranberry Sauce

To begin with, heat a medium-sized saucepan on the stove at medium heat. Add 3 cups of fresh cranberries, 1 cup of sugar (might need more depending on if you prefer more tart or sweet cranberry sauce), 1/4 cup of triple sec or grand marnier, and 1 cup orange juice. Stir to combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Continue to cook for about 20-30 minutes until sauce is thick. Add two granny smith apples than have been chopped. Stir for about 5 minutes and then take off the heat. You can serve this warm (great over ice cream for a yummy dessert) or make the day before and put in the frige to get cold.

Champ

Ryan and I discovered champ while eating at the Spotted Pig in NYC this past spring and absolutely love it. Recently, we haven't eaten a lot of potatoes, so it was a real treat! It is basically mashed potatoes, but with more butter than milk/cream and you mixed in one cup of chopped scallions. Don't blend potatoes, just mash to combine all the ingredients, it should be kind of chunky. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Carmelized Onion Dip

Recipe:

Start by slicing two large sweet onions and addding them to a large skillet at medium heat along with 1/4 cup of butter. Once all the onion slices are in the pan, add a dash of salt and pepper. Stir until all the onions are covered with the melted butter. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Continue to cook for 45 minutes at a low to medium-low heat until onions are completely soft and starting to turn brown. Turn the heat back up to medium for 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and stir until almost completely evaporated (1-2 minutes). Transfer onions someplace to cool.

Meanwhile, mix together 8 oz of room temperature cream cheese and 1/2 cup of sour cream along with 1/4 cup of chopped scallions (green onions) and salt and pepper to taste. Once onions have cooled, add those to the cream cheese mixture. Add a few more scallions to the top and serve with tortilla chips or whatever you prefer!

**Note- I was too busy enjoying time with family to take a lot of pictures,completely forgot!

Our Menu for Thanksgiving

Appetizers-

Carmelized onion dip
Salsa
Torilla chips

Dinner-
Brined and grilled turkey
Champ (Irish style mashed potatoes)
Sausage and carmelized onion stuffing
Oyster stuffing (for dad only!)
Baby carrots with black pepper butter
Haricot Verts with crispy shallots and bacon
Gravy
Apple and cranberry sauce
Rolls

Dessert-
Apple crunch top pie
Mini-pumpkin cheesecakes
Mini- key lime pies
Fresh whipped cream
Vanilla ice cream

To drink-
Champagne
Pinot Noir
Cotes du Rhone

Recipes to follow!

Thanksgiving Prep

Ryan and I have decided to have Thanksgiving at our house for the first time. We are really excited to finally use our nice table linens and wedding china! We are in the process of researching stuffing, pie, side dishes, potato, and appetizer recipes. We will post updates on how the planning is going. Wish us luck!

Halibut with spinach and Berry parfaits

So...I'm a bad blogger, it's been forever since I put a new post up. In my defense, we have been out of town every weekend or have had guests. It's been a crazy Oct/Nov! But excuses aside...here is a recipe Ryan and I made Thursday night. We were exhausted after going to Epcot the night before (food & wine fest again), so we wanted something healthy and quick. We went to Whole Foods and got some halibut and produce (it was expensive, but we got a small filet so it wasn't too bad).

For the fish- on a small baking dish, line the bottom with thinly sliced lemon slices and place the filet on top. Finish with a pinch of grey or sea salt, 1 tablespoon of butter, and 1/2 teaspoon of thyme. Place in a 400 degree oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes (or until just opaque). Meanwhile in a small frying pan, saute 2 shallots in a tablespoon of butter and cook until slightly carmelized. Add the juice of one lemon and 1/2 cup of dry white wine. Continue to cook until liquid has reduced in half. Serve fish on top of sauteed spinach (heat some chopped garlic in a frying pan with a tablespoon of olive oil and put in fresh spinach and cook until slightly wilted), and pour the wine sauce on top. Enjoy!

I can't take any credit on the dessert, that was all Ryan! He made delicious parfaits using strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream, and angel food cake. It was really yummy. I'm going to have to have him make it again soon!