Cranberry-Apple Salad Dressing

A good salad is like a good marriage: all the ingredients need to compliment each other. The idea is that if your salad dressing is on the sweet side you want to pair it up with a bitter leaf. A thicker vinaigrette would enhance an endive salad but overpower delicate watercress leaves. You also want just the right mix of textures. If you go overboard the heavier components stay at the bottom of the bowl. The most important thing is to keep things playful. Even when I tend to favor a simple salad I'll make it special by using some roasted hazelnut oil and high quality sea salt. Sometimes, I add some seasonal fruit slices, goat cheese crumbles and roasted nuts. My salad dressings don't usually involve any cooking time but this one is different and so worth the extra effort.

The creation of this salad dressing was an experiment gone well-- so I thought I'd share. It's creamy, tart and sweet. I love it with crisp salad leaves such as romaine or crunchy endives. The color alone is reason enough to make this delicious dressing.

Cranberry-Apple Salad Dressing 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/3 cup chopped onions 1/2 cup frozen cranberries 1/2 cup tart apple peeled and diced, such as Granny Smith or Pippin 2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate 2 teaspoons dijon type mustard 1 teaspoon maple syrup 1 tablespoon olive oil 4 tablespoons water 1/2 teaspoon sea salt Saute the chopped onions in the 2 tablespoons of olive oil until translucent and beginning to brown. Add the cranberries and apples and continue cooking, stirring often, until softened (about 5 minutes). Transfer to blender and add the rest of the ingredients. Process until smooth. Add more liquid (orange juice or water) if you wish for a thinner dressing.

For more wonderful salad recipes go visit Stacey's After Thanksgiving Detox week. She's featuring many gorgeous salad recipes to make up for last week's feast.

My Love Affair with Cranberries

I have started a love affair with cranberries this year. Oh, I have always loved them but this season I am rediscovering the pleasures of adding their tartness to an array of dishes and baked goods.



Orange, whether zest or fresh squeezed juice, brings out their loveliness even more. Too often, they are limited to make a shy gooey appearance out of a can at Thanksgiving. No offense to the canned-cranberry-sauce lovers out there, but this does no justice to this beautiful fruit. I am partial to scones, muffins and bread bursting with citrus and chunks of these bright red berries. And, when it comes to my Thanksgiving table, I follow in my sister's footsteps and make a delicious homemade cranberry-blueberry sauce which she introduced me to many years ago. My kids eat it by the bucket-full so I always double the batch.

This year, I have discovered a new recipe for Cranberry-Orange Bread. The aroma that fills my house as I type this post is simply indescribable. You'll have to bake a loaf to find out for yourself. Be warned: it must be left alone to cool for an hour before being sliced--not an easy thing to comply with when the sweet enticing smell teases you mercilessly.

So what is so different about this bread that warrants such passion on my part? The batter for one is sweet with orange pulp and a pillowy texture. The cranberries are crushed while still frozen, thereby providing the perfect cranberry flavor to bite ratio. The pulpy juice of fresh oranges makes such a delightful difference in the intensity of flavor and texture.



This recipe was based originally on an America's Test Kitchen recipe.

Cranberry Orange Bread (makes 1 loaf) If you are not concerned about the gluten you can make this recipe using 2 cups all-purpose flour (just omit the xantham gum) instead of the first 5 ingredients. If you are gluten free but would rather use a baking mix feel free to do so but don't forget to add the xantham as indicated in the recipe. I like the addition of almond meal but I have made this loaf entirely with Bob's Red Mill GF mix before with excellent results. 1/2 cup brown rice flour 1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour 1/2 cup almond meal 1/2 cup millet flour 1 teaspoon xantham gum 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 3 tablespoons canola oil 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce 2/3 cups fruit flavored kefir yogurt, or other liquid yogurt (buttermilk is a good substitute) 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice with pulp 1 tablespoon of orange zest 1 large egg, beaten 1/4 cup agave nectar, or honey 1/2 cup of crushed frozen cranberries 1/2 cup walnut pieces Preheat oven 375F Oil a loaf pan Mix all the first 9 ingredients together in a bowl. In another bowl: mix the oil, applesauce, kefir, juice, zest, egg and agave nectar until well combined. Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl. Add the cranberries and nuts and mix thoroughly. Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Check for doneness after an hour by inserting a knife in the center. Blade should come out clean. Let cool for an hour before slicing.

Artsy-Foodie's Tip: Make this recipe into muffins for a nice individual treat. Reduce the baking time to 30 minutes instead.





Stop by for a visit later on this week for a wonderful apple-cranberry salad dressing recipe...

Daring Bakers November

I've concluded that every new culinary adventure tells you something about yourself. This month's Daring Baker challenge was very hard for me to get into. I am not a pastry baker. Frosting tastes like sweetened toothpaste to me. My fourteen year-old son, on the other hand, was very interested in trying his hands at baking a "real" cake. Armed with his enthusiasm, I decided to tackle this challenge.



Although we followed the recipes to the letter, both my son and I found the butter cream frosting to be too much for our taste buds. We tried to tone down the overwhelming sugar rush by adding some cooked cranberries to the mixture but this wasn't enough. In the end, we decided to serve the cake without the frosting.



The cake is a winner. It tastes really dense, almost like a rich butter danish. I was planning on serving it as part of my dessert assortments for Thanksgiving so we decided to add some chopped cranberries to the batter. The addition of a dollop of homemade cranberry sauce and whipped cream dressed up each slice beautifully. It was excellent.



So what did I learn about myself this time around? I have reaffirmed that I am picky when it comes to my sweets. And in the future, I may be more comfortable admiring the work of the very talented Daring Bakers who, unlike me, are willing to jump into a pool of frosting.

A big Thank you to our hosts this month:
Dolores of Culinary Curiosity, Alex at Blondie and Brownie and Jenny of Foray into Food. The Gluten Free version was provided by Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go.



The recipe for this moist cake and frosting came from Shuna Fish Lydon of Egg Beaters and can be found here Egg Beaters. I substituted the flour for some Bob's Red Mill GF All-Purpose mix with added xantham.

Thanksgiving

I looked for a poem for this post that would express my Thanksgiving feelings, but I couldn't find one that properly captured them. I am left with my own thoughts on this, my favorite holiday. I am thankful for my life and my family.

Our table, over the years, has always been buzzing with conversations. It has always been a joyous moment, and the perfect excuse to get together with friends and family. The moment is always magical. The holiday is not too commercial. We don't spend time verbalizing what we are thankful for--words are not necessary when our smiles say it all.

As my kids have grown, the pilgrim paper hats have been replaced by helping hands in the kitchen. We share conversations, dreams and laughter. We fill platters with colorful delicacies. Everyone has a say on what will be served that day. This spirit of cooperation adds so much magic and warms my heart every time, reminding me of the many reasons why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

I hope that your Thanksgiving Day is filled with warmth and good company.

Mustard Greens and Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

I have an announcement to make: my six-year-old ate mustard greens and loved them. My challenge as an adventurous cook is my son's aversion to leafy greens. I am always trying to find clever ways to put a little variety in his diet. He does great with carrots, broccoli and green beans, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

This is one quest that I am not willing to give up on for two reasons:
1) I think the more varied his vegetable intake the better for him.
2) Selfishly, I love a good challenge.

Mustard greens are the ultimate challenge. They not only are guilty of being green but they taste bitter and peppery as well. There are ways of taming the latter, but the color handicap is unsurmountable. Through trial and error, I learned that I can serve him spinach, swiss chard and other foes in the form of pesto sauces over pasta without fear of refusal. This is how I came up with this mustard greens and pumpkin pasta sauce. I hope it works on your little ones as well.



Mustard Greens and Pumpkin Pasta (serves 6)

This can be made with swiss chard or spinach instead of the mustard greens. Cook the greens in a pan with some olive oil and chopped garlic for added flavor.



1 cup sauteed chopped mustard greens
1 cup cooked pumpkin or butternut squash
1 cup lowfat sour cream
1 cup shredded mild cheddar
1/2 teaspoon salt

16 oz brown rice pasta or other


While the pasta is cooking according to package direction make the sauce.
Place the cooked greens, pumpkin, sour cream, cheddar and salt in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and pour over pasta. Mix well and transfer to serving dish.

A Kid's Favorite: Oven-Baked Chicken Strips

I remember the first time I ate chicken nuggets. I was twelve. A friend's mom picked me up to bring me to a school event. She stopped by McDonald's to feed her kids dinner. I had never entered a fast-food restaurant and I couldn't believe my luck. When asked what I wanted, I quickly and conveniently forgot that I had been fed a healthy dinner by my mother . I settled on the chicken nuggets. I don't remember if I liked them. All that remains of that night is the memory of how elated I was at being able to add "eating at a fast-food restaurant" to my life-experiences.

Nowadays, I only eat chicken nuggets when they are homemade. My kids are the ones who do not like fast-food. Thank you SuperSize Me! Truth be told, they weren't fans even before they saw this documentary.

Here's a version of chicken strips that is both healthy and delicious. It is based on a recipe I found on eatingwell.com.



Oven-Baked Chicken Strips with Spices (serves 4)

olive oil cooking spray
1/2 cup of almond meal
1/4 cup of garbanzo bean flour, or other
1 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup of egg whites
1 to 1 1/2 pounds of chicken tenders

Preheat oven to 375F.
Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Add a thin layer of oil (sprayed on) to paper.
In a bowl mix the almond meal, flour, and spices. Add the olive oil and work in with a spoon or your fingers until evenly distributed.
In another bowl, pour the egg whites.
Take the chicken strips and coat them in the egg whites. Then, one by one, dip them in the almond mixture pressing each side to coat. Place the crumb coated chicken strips onto the prepare cookie sheet. Spray some olive oil on top of the strips.
Place in the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes. Chicken strips are cooked inner-temperature reaches 160F when checked with a meat thermometer. Keep an eye on it to avoid burning and to keep the chicken moist. Serve with your favorite dip.

Pears Like You Have Never Had Before

There are days when you want the rewards without the efforts. As much as I enjoy cooking and inventing recipes, simplicity is always a plus for my busy schedule. We run around between our jobs, schooling, kids' social lives and other various commitments, yet the food that we eat is an important part of that routine as well.

I really care about what I feed myself and my family. I like preparing foods for the ones I love because it is truly is the ultimate gift of generosity. It's a gift of time as well as substance. Desserts have a way of making everyone smile around the table that spinach will never rival (and I love spinach). It is the great equalizer: adults get in touch with their inner-child, as they anticipate the first bite, and children bubble with with excitement. Everyone has an achilles tendon when it comes to their favorite treat: the one they cannot possibly resist. Mine is the combination of dark chocolate and caramel, and perfectly caramelized pears or apples, and buttery tarts, silky puddings--okay, I admit it mine is a list that would go on and on.



Here's one easy concoction that combines some of my favorite flavors and is sure to satisfy most sweet tooth. It is so easy to put together that it can fit into anyone's busy schedule.

Chocolate Caramel Baked Pears This dessert is wonderful served with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream. You can use a mixture of dark chocolate and caramels instead of the chocolate covered caramels. 4 ripe pears, halved and center core removed (use a spoon or melon-baller) 4 oz dark chocolate covered caramels, chopped 1/4 cup hot water Preheat oven to 375F. Oil a ceramic lasagna dish. Place pear-halves skin side down in the prepared dish. Stuff the center cavities with the chopped caramels. Carefully, pour 1/4 cup of hot water in between the pear-halves. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes and then remove the foil and bake 10 more minutes or until pears are tender and center is melted. Serve warm.

More desserts to satisfy your sweet tooth...
Blueberry Pudding Cake
Caramel Apple Cake