cranberry-orange bread

More cranberries!

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour the bottom of a standard loaf pan. Avoid dark, non-stick pans, which tend to overbake the outside of the loaf. I find that the antique heavy glass loaf pans I use work well.

Combine in a large bowl:

2 cups flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

In another bowl, beat together until thoroughly mixed:

3/4 cup orange juice
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon orange zest

Add wet ingredients to the dry mixture, mixing until just moistened. Stir in:

3/4 cup halved fresh/frozen cranberries
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Pour into loaf pan and bake 60-70 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool about 10 minutes and remove from pan to cool the rest of the way.

cranberry-raisin pie

I'm still thinking about cranberries, so I thought I'd post some more cranberry recipes. This one is for a nice pie with a maple flavor. It's definitely a "grown-up" sort of pie, so if you're worried about the kids eating up all the Thanksgiving pie, this one will likely be safe from tiny appetites.

2 cups cranberries
1 1/2 cups sultanas (golden raisins) or blend of sultanas, raisins, and currants
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup (grade B, if available)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon brandy
1 tablespoon orange zest

Combine ingredients in a bowl. Pour into prepared, unbaked bottom pie shell (there is no top on this pie, though pastry cut in the shape of a maple leaf makes a nice top decoration). Bake at 425F for 30 minutes or until done.

cranberry sauce

As I was sprinkling dried cranberries on my breakfast cereal this morning, I began thinking about all the great cranberry recipes that are out there. Since fresh cranberries will soon be available in the store, I thought I'd post my favorite cranberry sauce recipe, though I'll admit that it's a bit of an acquired taste.

5/8 cup dry red wine (cabernet or pinot noir work)
1 2/3 cups sugar
2 pounds cranberries
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
zest and juice of 1/2 orange
1/2 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
15 peppercorns
3 star anise
10 juniper berries

In a saucepan, bring the wine and sugar to a boil over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cranberries. Place spices in a cheescloth sachet or a teaball and add to cranberries and liquid. Bring back to a boil. Stir. Remove from heat. Transfer to a glass or ceramic bowl with a tight lid and allow to cool. Chill. Can be refrigerated for several months as the flavor becomes more mellow and complex. Leave the spice sachet in the sauce as long as desired.

tuscan pork chops

Sorry for the dearth of blogging here or elsewhere. The opening weeks of the semester have been keeping me pretty busy.

I tried a quick pork recipe tonight and it was pretty good and very quick. You'll need four center cut or bone-in pork chops.

coating
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
ground pepper
seasonings

Combine the above ingredients using whatever herbs you have on hand and like with pork. Since we have an herb garden, I finely mined some fresh rosemary, oregano, and thyme. Dredge the pork in the flour mixture on both sides. Brown 1-2 minutes on each side in oil or cooking spray over high heat. Set chops aside.

sauce
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup chicken broth

Deglaze the pan with the vinegar and broth, making sure to scrape up the brown bits left from the pork. Cook 1-2 minutes until reduced a bit. Add:

3 diced roma tomatoes
1 tablespoon capers

Cook for a minute, then return the pork chops to the pan (along with any juices), cover and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Plate and serve.

butternut squash soup

The weather has been cooler and less humid the past few days, with temperatures dipping down to around 60 at night. This is put me in mind of all the great autumn foods I love, among which is the very versatile butternut squash.

The following soup is very easy and delicious and can easily be adapted even for dinner guests who are vegans (see parenthetical ingredients). There is no stock in this soup since meat-based stocks too easily overpower the flavor of the squash and shallots. One could substitute thinned vegetable stock for the water, but water works just fine.

soup
2 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
5 diced shallots
3 cloves minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
4-5 tablespoons unsalted butter (or olive oil)
1/2 cup heavy cream (or soy milk pureed with enough silken tofu to give the consistency of cream)

In a saucepan or stock pot large enough for the squash to layer the bottom, saute the squash, shallots, garlic, salt, peppeter, and bayleaf in the butter or oil over medium heat, stirring occasional, for 5 minutes or until the shallots are transluscent and the squash is just beginning to brown.

Add enough water to just cover the mixture and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 25-30 minutes, until squash is tender. Add a bit more water if necessary. At the end of the cooking process, add the cream or soy milk mixture. Heat through and discard bay leaf.

In a food processor or blender, puree the mixture in several batches and return to the saucepan or stock pot. If the mixture is too thick, add a bit more water or cream. Bring just to boiling and simmer until heated through. Correct seasoning if needed.

toasted hazelnut cream
1/3 cup ground hazelnuts
1 cup heavy cream (or silken tofu pureed with enough soy milk to give the consistency of crème fraîche)

Beat cream until about the consistency of crème fraîche. Grind hazelnuts coarsely and lightly toast in a pan over medium heat until fragrant and just beginning to brown.

Serve soup in bowls, garnished with a dollop of the cream and sprinkled with ground hazelnuts.