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Cranberries tart can tart up a meal in many ways
Most mere mortals associate cranberries with sauce, but other imaginative folk, see beyond the Thanksgiving table and love the sweet-tart taste that cranberries bring to any table from breakfast to dinner. Fresh and dried cranberries should share equal billing. Frozen cranberries can be substituted for fresh, but while they are abundant and relatively reasonably priced fresh are always better. While they are available don't hesitate to buy a few bags and stow them away in the freezer for easy picking when you're searching for tartness or color in a recipe. Don't forget that dried cranberries make everything prettier and tastier. Seattle Fran's Famous Cranberry Tart The cranberries must be cooked only very briefly, to keep their shape. 2 bags cranberries (6 to 8 cups total), fresh or frozen
Thaw frozen berries or sort fresh cranberries discarding any that are soft or spoiled. Rinse and drain, then spread out on paper towels or newspaper. Gently pat with paper towels to dry quickly. Over high heat, combine orange juice and jelly. Stir, mashing jelly until it melts. Add sugar and stir until syrup begins to smell slightly caramelized and drips slowly from a spoon (the jelly test), about 7 minutes. Immediately remove pan from heat. Add cranberries and stir to coat with syrup. Return pan to low heat and stir gently until cranberries are evenly warm and no longer taste raw, 3 to 4 minutes (a few berries may pop). Remove from heat and let stand until syrup is cool enough to again coat berries evenly. Then scrape berry mixture into baked crust, mounding fruit. Seal chocolate in a small zip-lock plastic freezer bag (without pleats). Heat in microwave at 50 percent power just until chocolate softens, about 2 minutes. Knead chocolate until smooth. With a thin skewer, puncture a hole in the corner of the bag. Squeeze chocolate over tart in fine zigzag lines. Chill until chocolate and jelly glaze are firm, at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day. If making ahead, cover when jelly is set. Makes 10 to 12 servings. Butter Crust for Tarts This crust is delicious for any tart and it doesn't require rolling. You press it into a tart pan with your fingers. 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 300 F. In a food processor or a bowl, combine flour and sugar. Add butter and whirl, or rub with your fingers, until fine crumbs form. Add egg yolk; whirl (or mix with a fork) until dough holds together. Firmly press the dough over bottom and sides of a 10-inch tart pan with removable rim. Bake until pale gold, 25 to 30 minutes; let cool. If making ahead, wrap airtight and let stand at room temperature up to 1 day, or freeze for longer storage. Thaw unwrapped. Makes a 10-inch crust. Cranberry-Orange Pecan Muffins You should perhaps make the Streusel Topping first. It is a big recipe but heap on as much as you like and save any leftover streusel for the next batch of muffins (all muffins take kindly to streusel). 1 egg, slightly beaten
Streusel Topping: 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
Streusel Topping: Cream butter and sugar until light and well combined. Gradually add the flour; set aside. Preheat oven to 400 F. and grease muffin tins or insert paper liners. Muffins: Combine egg, baking mix, sugar, orange juice and oil. Stir with a spoon only until blended. Mixture will be lumpy--do not over-mix. Add cranberries and pecans; stir only until blended. Distribute evenly among muffin tins, filling each about 3/4 full. Sprinkle heavily with streusel topping and bake 30 to 35 minutes. Variation: Batter can be baked in loaf pans but decrease temperature to 325 F. and increase baking time to approximately 1 hour. Pavolova with Lemon Sorbet & Cranberry Vinaigrette The famous Chef, Escoffier named the sweet, crisp meringue to honor a famous woman of the theater. Meringues are often served with berries as a summer dessert; here we have a perfect light dessert using autumn's cranberries. Meringue: 4 egg whites
Vinaigrette Dessert Sauce: 1/4 cup fresh cranberries
Preheat oven to 250 F. Cover large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in bowl of mixer with whip attachment or use a hand-held electric mixer, which will take a little longer. Beat at medium-high speed until whites form very stiff peaks (do not under whip, or whites will lose their volume when you beat in sugar).* Add sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating constantly at high speed. Beat in pumpkin pie spice. The mixture should be stiff and billowy. With rubber spatula, and using 1 cup meringue mixture per mound, spoon mixture on baking sheet into 6 over-sized dollops. Smooth them slightly with back of spoon, if necessary to make them 3- to 4-inches across. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until meringues are ivory in color and look completely dry. They should not brown. Turn oven off and leave meringues in it for 6 to 8 hours to dry thoroughly. Do not open oven during this time. Transfer dried meringues to cooling rack to cool completely. Cranberry Vinaigrette Sauce: Combine cranberries, water and sugar in small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, until you hear the cranberries starting to pop. Cool completely. Scrape mixture into blender; add orange juice and salt and blend until smooth and emulsified. Refrigerate in tightly capped container until ready to serve. To assemble, place meringue on each serving plate. Add a scoop of lemon sorbet and top with cranberry vinaigrette. Makes 6 servings. *Note: To make a hard meringue that cuts smoothly: add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to 1/3 cup of water and heat, stirring constantly, until a thick paste forms. Add the cooled paste, 1 teaspoonful at a time, to the firmly whipped egg whites. Date: 11/6/07
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