Delicious Dish: Cranberry, Fig and Pinot Noir Chutney

Photo courtesy of Epicurious

Colour Commentary

A throwback to when we first discovered this recipe in Cranberry week, this recipe was wildly popular around the Christmas Dinner table, but is delicious at any time of the year. Easy to make, and easy to double (or triple), this chutney combined tang from the cranberries, and crunchiness from the fig seeds. Plus, everything is better with a little Pinot Noir don’t you think? Bobby Flay knew what he was doing when he concocted this recipe! We didn’t want to mess with this recipe too much, so we just edited the quantities of ingredients to make it even tastier.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Pinot Noir
• 15 dried figs, diced (about half a package)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 6 strips orange zest
• 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

 

Directions

1. Bring the wine to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the figs, and let soak until soft, about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the wine and figs separately.
2. Combine the sugar, 1 1/2 cups water, the reserved wine, orange zest, and ginger in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the sugar has completely melted, a minute or two. Add half of the cranberries and cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries have popped and are very soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining cranberries and the soaked figs and cook for 5 minutes longer.
3. Pour the chutney into a serving bowl. Serve at room temperature or chilled. The chutney can be prepared in advance and stored covered in the refrigerator.

Delicious Dish: Artichoke and Goat Cheese Tart with Rosemary Cornmeal Crust

Colour Commentary

I set out last week to find a recipe that included artichokes, that didn’t just involved eating them straight from the jar. I wanted to set my standards higher than that. What I did was stumble across Maria Speck’s Artichoke Rosemary Tart with Polenta Crust. When looking at this recipe, I thought I’d do a few twists to make it my own, and the result was awesome. This could be served as a meal, or look (and taste) great as a side.

Ingredients

Polenta crust

• 1-1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1-1/4 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1-1/4 cups cornmeal
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped

Artichoke cheese filling

• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup green onions, finely chopped (about 2)
• 2 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
• 16-ounces artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
• 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 cup crispy pancetta, cooked

Recipe

1.  To make the cornmeal crust, bring the broth and water to a boil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the salt. Using a large whisk, slowly add the cornmeal, and continue whisking until mixed. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let sit for 10 minutes. The polenta will be fairly stiff. Stir in the cheese, egg, and rosemary.

2.  Grease a 10-inch spring-form pan with margarine or coat with cooking spray. Have a glass of cold water nearby. once cornmeal mixture is cool enough to handle, dip a wooden spoon (or fingers) into the water as needed to help spread the cornmeal mixture across the center of the pan, pushing it up the sides to form a rim about 3/4 inch thick, pressing firmly.

3.  Meanwhile, preheat to 375°F.

4.  Prepare the artichoke cheese filling. Place the yogurt, eggs, green onions, and rosemary in a medium bowl and combine well. Distribute the artichoke quarters over the crust. Sprinkle the goat cheese and pancetta on top and gently pour the filling over the artichokes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

5.  Bake the tart until the top turns golden brown and the filling is set, about 45 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and set aside at room temperature to firm up for at least 20 minutes.

6. When cool enough, release the springform pan, and serve.

Delicious Dish: {Best Ever} Orange Cranberry Loaf

 

Colour Commentary

I dug through my freezer looking for something to accompany oranges in a loaf, and I had a nice “Ah-Ha” moment. It seems obvious now, but the sweetness of oranges is a great companion to the sometimes tart cranberries. Bring them together and you have the best ever Orange Cranberry Loaf. After tasting the first one, I went to it and made fourteen more. (Yes, I had that many bags of frozen cranberries in the freezer) I kept a few out, gave a few to friends and the response was the same all around “Oh My God that’s good.”

Each recipe makes about two loaves

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1/4 cup margarine, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup orange juice (I freshly squeezed my oranges because I was zesting so many, but any orange juice will do)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in orange zest, cranberries, and pecans. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in orange juice. Beat in flour mixture until just moistened. Pour into prepared pan until half-full.
4. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the bread springs back when lightly touched. Let stand 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
5. Enjoy!

 

Delicious Dish: {Deconstructed} Cabbage Rolls

Colour Commentary

This isn’t grandma’s cabbage rolls. Long gone are the hours of carefully stuffing and rolling cabbage leaves. This easy and quick prep recipe gives you a chance to relax while it’s in the oven.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 can (29 oz) tomato sauce
• 3.5 lbs Cabbage, chopped, or about half of a large cabbage
• 1 .5 cup uncooked white rice
• 2 cans of beef broth (14 0z)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large skillet, brown beef over medium high heat until cooked throughout. Drain off fat.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine the onion, tomato sauce, cabbage, rice.
4. Add the drained meat into the mixing bowl and mix all together.
5. Pour mixture into a 9×13 baking dish.
6. Pour broth over meat mixture and bake in the preheated oven, covered, for 45 minutes. Stir and bake for another 30 minutes.
7. Season with salt & pepper as desired.

Delicious Dish: Fool Proof Parmesan Sweet Potato Fries

Colour Commentary:

I first came across this recipe from my friend Martha Stewart, but have since learned to adapt it to make it my own. Here’s my biggest piece of advice when you’re cooking sweet potato fries of any kind: Don’t over-crowd the baking sheet. If you over-crowd them, they won’t get crispy and delicious! I normally do four (or five depending on how big they are) per row and about four rows. Use your judgement, but they generally shouldn’t be touching.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 1/3 cups grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 small sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds), scrubbed and quartered lengthwise

Variations:

Instead of (or with) parmesan try these:

• 1 tablespoons Rosemary
• 1 tablespoon minced Garlic
• Pinch of Cayenne

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and then set aside.
2. Prep three regular sized bowls (cereal bowls are just fine) In the first bowl, place your flour. In second bowl, lightly beat the egg whites with water until combined. Lastly, in third bowl, place Parmesan (and or variation).
3. Dip the sweet potato first in the flour mixture, shaking off excess. Then dip each wedge into the egg white mixture until coated. Finally, dip the sweet potato in the Parmesan, pressing the exposed surface of the potato into the cheese. Transfer potato wedges onto the prepared baking sheet as you go.
4. Bake potatoes until tender and crisp, about 25 minutes.
5. Enjoy