Cranberry Cornmeal Pancakes

One of my favorite undergrad memories was when a roommate decided to make pancakes.  She offered me pancakes as well, and of course I accepted.  Who declines pancakes?!  Well, thirty minutes later I had a plate of beautiful, golden brown pancakes sitting in front of me waiting to be devoured.   I eagerly dug in, only to discover that while lovely, these pancakes we raw in the middle; ooey-gooey, runny, raw.  One bite in, we both stopped, exchanged glances, and burst out laughing.  So much for pancakes that day...

These pancakes are much different than those oozey ones.  They have a crispy outside and subtly sweet flavor, punctuated by tart cranberries.  I wish I could take all the credit for the idea, but alas, I cannot.  A cute little restaurant in Chicago, called The Bongo Room, is where I first ordered cranberry cornmeal pancakes.  It's been a good while since I had those, but I think these come pretty close to measuring up :)

Creamy Cashew Chicken Salad

Does anyone else eat weird breakfasts?  For instance, through middle school, I at a PB&J sandwich every day at the bus stop at the crack of dawn.  After awhile, if I brought a waffle instead, my classmates found that strange.  Well, my eclectic breakfast habits have only elevated since then... I woke up this morning, opened my fridge, and passed up my yogurt, fruit, etc and decided I wanted chicken salad.  So I made chicken salad, but not just any heavy, oily chicken salad--this is special chicken salad--guilt-free chicken salad.  Cashews provide the creaminess, while white grape juice concentrate lends a tangy sweetness, all punctuated by crunchy grapes, celery and just a hint of soy sauce.  This stuff made me a chicken salad believer.

The Eli Cookie: Oatmeal White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Anyone watch the Bachelorette?  I cringe with embarrassment to admit that I occasionally catch an episode, but I do.  Usually, I think the show is utterly ridiculous, and I laugh the whole way through, but this last episode, Emily totally stole one of my dating techniques!  Cookie making!  I make killer chocolate chip cookies. So, once a guy has tried them and gotten hooked, I (if interested) casually invite him to make cookies with me if he wants the recipe.  Then, I can evaluate if he is kitchen-competent, able to follow instruction, and simply if he's fun to be with.  It's a perfect scenario.  Except then a certain boy came along, experienced my chocolate chip cookies, and instead of deciding they were the greatest cookie ever and wanting the recipe, he brought up these cookies his mom used to make.  And what did I do?  Get offended  I made those cookies for him.  ALL BY MYSELF.  I now coin them "The Eli Cookie", because never before have I baked a boy one of his family recipes.  I knew there was something different about this boy.

Cranberry Chipotle Turkey Sliders

Everyone loves Thanksgiving, right?  It's the one holiday a year where gluttony is encouraged, your plate couldn't be large enough, and there are at least four courses of dessert.  And you know what else everyone loves?  Tacos.  (You wanna have fun?  Wanna go to Taco Bell?) Therefore, Mexi-Pilgrim fusion is a spectacular idea.  While I did have the ingredients on hand to make turkey cranberry tacos, that didn't sound like the greatest idea, so instead cranberry chipotle turkey burgers.  The sweet tang of traditional cranberry sauce mingles with spicy, smoky chipotle to contribute to the Mexi-Pilgrim dynamic, more subtly than say... cranberry tacos. 

Festive Green Beans

I have a soapbox I admit I frequently stand upon.  I HATE casserole.  If a recipe has condensed soup, sour cream, or any other slooshy, gushy condensed canned wanna-be food I refuse to eat or cook it.  So, come holiday time when green bean casserole is at every event I get a little queasy.  This fresh, colorful green bean dish is my answer to green bean casserole.

• 1 lb green beans, ends trimmed
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• ~6 strips bacon
• 1 clove garlic chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste

1. In a large dry skillet,  roast walnuts until aromatic.  Set aside in a bowl.
2. Add bacon to the same skillet and cook until crisp.  Remove bacon strips to a paper towel, and roughly chop.  Over medium heat, add green beans and garlic to bacon grease.  Saute green beans until they reach desired tenderness (if you like your green beans extra tender you may steam them first to ensure they get very done).  Add cranberries, walnuts, bacon, and maple syrup, stirring to coat.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat, and serve.

Classic Cranberry Sauce

 Nothing like a tart, tangy cranberry sauce to top off all that Thanksgiving goodness.  I grew up with a family who thought those canned cranberries (the kind that you dump out of a can and are still shaped like a can...) were a sufficient compliment to turkey.  After leaving home, and discovering there were bigger and better options for cranberry sauce, I now apologize to all those turkeys I have disgraced with gelatinous cranberry solids. 

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup orange juice
• 12 oz fresh cranberries
• 2 cinnamon sticks

1. Sort through cranberries removing any stems or bad berries, set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, dissolve sugar in orange juice over medium heat. Add cranberries and cinnamon sticks.  Cook for about 10 minutes, or until cranberries pop.
3. Remove from heat, and transfer to a serving dish to cool.  Sauce will set upon cooling.

Yields ~2 1/2 cups.

Cranberry Glazed Turkey Meatballs

Thanksgiving in a meatball :)

Meatballs:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries, minced
• 1/3 cup onion, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 Tbs butter
• Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:

• 1 can jellied cranberry
• 1 Tbs honey
• ½ cup ketchup
• ¼ cups cider vinegar
• ½ cup chicken stock
• 1 tsp chili powder

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
   
2. In a pan, heat the butter on medium heat, add onions and stir until soft, then add minced cranberries.
   
3. Continue to cook until onions are caramelized.
   
4. Add the onion and cranberry to a bowl, and add all meatball ingredients except the egg.
5. Mix until nearly incorporated, then add egg (in order to avoid cooking the egg).
   
6. Once ingredients are fully incorporated Bake for 30-35 minutes, until internal temperature is 185°.
   
7. While baking combine sauce ingredients in a saucepan, and simmer.
   
8. When meatballs are finished, add to the saucepan, and let simmer for at least an hour.

Notes:

• I frequently finish these off in the crockpot. So instead of in a saucepan, simply combine the sauce ingredients in the crockpot, add the meatballs, and leave them a while. I wouldn't recommend leaving them on high too long, and the amount of sugar in the glaze can easily begin to caramelize.

Yields about 2 dozen meatballs, depending on size.