CULINARY MAKEOVERS # 11 – USES FOR LEFTOVER HOLIDAY CRANBERRY SAUCE
Cranberry Sauce Cornbread
Autumn and Winter Holiday Dinners call for Cranberry Sauce. Either you will purchase canned Cranberry Sauce or make it yourself. There was a time when the only Cranberry Sauce I liked was the canned jellied kind, even when my Mother made her own whole Cranberry Sauce. Well, I finally grew up and my taste buds did too. The only Cranberry Sauce I eat now is the homemade whole variety. My Cranberry Sauce is very tasty since it is made with Wine, Vanilla Bean and Cinnamon Stick.
But once the holidays are over and you are cranberried out, what do you do with what is left over if there are any leftovers. The other night for dinner I was thinking what to serve in place of potatoes with the fried shrimp that I was making when I remembered the Cranberry Sauce that was sitting in the back of the refrigerator. The resulting recipe was Cranberry Sauce Cornbread, something that I have never seen.
The following is how I made it along with photos of each step and the finished product. The cranberry sauce replaces the milk or buttermilk in the recipe and gives a nice
color to the cornbread. It also is very tasty and it gives the sensation of actually eating the cranberry sauce right along with the bread.
Cranberry Sauce beaten with Eggs
The first thing that I did was to puree the Cranberry Sauce in the Food Processor which was fitted with the chopping blade. The Cranberry Sauce does not have to be thoroughly pureed. It adds some texture variation when the Cranberries are just chopped.
The Dry Ingredients - Cornmeal, Flour, Baking Powder, Salt & Sugar
The Dry Ingredients measured out per the recipe. They are listed from top left to bottom right in order as described below the photo.
The Dry Ingredients mixed together in a Mixing Bowl.
In this photo the Cornmeal, Flour, Baking Soda, Salt & Sugar have been mixed together in a mixing bowl. If you don’t want your cornbread too sweet, you can leave out the sugar in the recipe. The Cranberry Sauce being used has plenty of sugar to sweeten the bread with.
Dry Ingredients added to the Cranberry Mixture
Here the mixed Dry Ingredients have been added all at once to the Cranberry Mixture.
Dry Ingredients being folded into the Cranberry Mixture
The Cranberry Cornbread Batter in Square Baking Dish
The Cranberry Batter in a greased 8 x 8 inch baking pan. Baked at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry.
The Baked Cranberry Bread with cut edge exposed
For the complete recipe please see /cranberry-cornbread/
Categories: Baking, Bread, Holiday Ideas, Leftovers, Main Tags: Autumn & Winter Holidays, baking, Bread, butter, Cornbread, Cranberry Sauce, Thanksgiving
GINGERBREAD HOUSES – 2011
Sheila, Morgan & Grayson
Gingerbread House done in a Green Theme
Saturday, Deceber 10th, was our 23rd Annual Gingerbread House Event at Let’s Get Cookin’ in Westlake. The pictures posted here are from that event an also the Houses that I did for the Gingerbread Event at the Wellness Center in Westlake.
House decorated with Sour Belt Squares - a Father & Son Team
The day started at 10:30 AM with introductions of the staff and the students. The students were presented with a demo of the process of making the Gingerbread Dough, Rolling, Cutting and Baking the House parts. After the demo the Parent/Child Teams were each given a tray with House Templates and cutting tools. The Dough was made for the students and each team was given half a batch of dough to start with. The students rolled out the Dough, cut out their parts and then delivered them to the ovens where the staff watched over them. Once the students were finished with their first batch of dough they were given a second batch and proceeded to cut out the rest of their houses and bake them. At this point we broke for lunch.
Cassie & Michael - Candy Cane Fence around their House
After lunch we presented another demo which included how to make the frosting, filling and using the decorating bags and constructing the house. Students were warned not to use too much frosting and to keep the roof decorations light. The students were also told not to put the roofs on until the side and end pieces had dried for at least 20 minutes or more.
Finished House with Pond and Trees
At the end of the day, each Parent/Child team went home with a full size Gingerbread House that they had baked, built and decorated. All in all, everyone had a good time and went home with the knowledge to be able to build their own houses at home in succeeding years.
Out the Door and on their Way Home with their House
Categories: Baking, Holiday Ideas, Main, Parent Child Classes Tags: baking, Children's Cooking, Christmas, family dinner, Gingerbread House Photos, Gingerbread Houses, Holiday Houses
CHANUKA – THE FESTIVAL of LIGHTS – Feasting On Latkes
Apple & Latkes
It is time for the Winter Holidays which include Chanukah, Christmas and New Years. Chanukah usually falls before Christmas and is celebrated by Jewish families around the world. It commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. When the Maccabeans recovered the temple from the Syrians, an oil lamp was lit to rededicate the temple. The oil that was found was only enough to last for one day, but miraculously it lasted for eight days and nights. Hence, Chanukah is celebrated for eight days, with the lighting of one candle the first day and one additional one for each of the succeeding days. The total number of candles in all on a Menorah, the candelabra which is used at Chanukah, is nine. The ninth one is called the Shamus and is used to light the other candles.
Because oil is involved with the rededication of the temple, foods that are traditionally served at Chanukah are often fried. These include Latkes (Potato Pancakes) and Jelly Doughnuts. Latkes are usually made from white Potatoes (Russets are best) but in recent times they have also been made from sweet potatoes, zucchini, and even cheese. Latkes are traditionally served with Sour Cream or Apple Sauce. Recently, for a change I tried making the Latkes with Apples. Apple Latkes do not need Apple Sauce to be eaten with them, but they are good with Cinnamon Sugar or Whipped Cream.
They can be served as an accompaniment to a meat dish or they can be served for dessert or even for breakfast.
When making Potato or Apple Latkes, you want to be sure to squeeze out all the excess moisture from the grated potato or apple. If they are too wet, the latke will not hold together when frying. Potatoes and Apples, like people, can vary. Some may have a lot of moisture and others may be dry. You will have to gauge it for yourself after the fruit is shredded. The apples on our tree do not have a lot of water and therefore, there was none to squeeze out. But the riper the fruit gets, the more moisture that is released from the cells so you just have to judge the water content by feel and look.
The best kind of apples to use for the Latkes would be Granny Smith or Pippins. These varieties are not too sweet and allow you to add sweetener to your taste. They are perfect not only for latkes but also
for pies or turnovers.
Whether or not you celebrate Chanukah, try the Apple Latkes for yourself. They make an excellent side dish or breakfast item and are a good way to use excess apples.
APPLE LATKES
(Pancakes)
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. Apples
1 Zucchini
2 Large Eggs
¼ cup Flour
½ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Cinnamon
Oil for Frying
DIRECTIONS:
1. Peel and core the Apples and scrub the Zucchini.
2. Shred the Apples and Zucchini using the small holes on a hand grater.
3. To shred the Potatoes in a Food Processor, follow the procedure below:
- Cut the Apples into 4 pieces.
- Attach a fine shredding blade to the Processor.
- Feed the Apples through the small feed tube until they are all shredded.
4. Shred the Zucchini in the same way.
5. Add the remaining ingredients to the Apple and Zucchini; mix well.
Shredded Apples in Processor Bowl, combined with other ingredients
6. Fill a large skillet with 1” of Vegetable Oil and heat until hot.
Frying the Latkes
7. Carefully drop the Apple mixture by the tablespoon into the hot oil and fry until
golden brown, turning once.
8. Drain on paper towels or brown paper.
Blot the excess oil off on paper towels
9. Serve with Cinnamon Sugar or Whipped Cream while still warm or as an accompaniment
for a meat dish.
Yield: 4 Servings
Categories: Breakfast Ideas, Dessert Ideas, Dinner Ideas, Fruit, Holiday Ideas, Holiday Meals, Main Tags: Apples, Chanukah, Fruit, Frying, holiday recipes, Latkes, Oil, Pancakes
