Cranberries | TheGrubDaily

Tag Archives: Cranberries

November 15, 2013 · 11:24 PM

{ Thanksgiving Pizza }

I consider sage to be the dominant flavor of Thanksgiving. My mom and I use it in just about every dish, from our roasted butternut squash, to our stuffing, and our delicious turkey butter baste! So when a customer at my restaurant requested that I come up with a recipe for a Thanksgiving-inspired pizza special, I knew sage would be the foundational building block of the pie.

The savory, and slightly peppery, flavor of sage lends itself well with just about any ingredient but since I needed to construct a pie that tasted like Thanksgiving, I decided to pair it with butternut squash, caramelized onions, and cranberry sauce. Instead of using just mozzarella, I opted to add brie cheese which is a soft French cheese made from cow’s milk. The creamy cheese melts very easily when baked and the sweetness of the cheese lends itself well with the tartness of the cranberry sauce.

I have served this pizza to several taste-testers thus far, and each of them have said the same thing…”tastes like Thanksgiving!”

I consider that mission accomplished.

{ Ingredients }

One pizza crust — I use this recipe by Peter Reinhart
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 butternut squash, roasted, peeled, and cubed
1 wedge brie cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 spanish onion, sliced, and caramelized
1 bunch fresh sage leave, chopped

{ To Make the Pizza }

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Using a spatula, spread the cranberry sauce over the prepared pie crust to the outer edges. Lightly sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese over the cranberry sauce. Thinly slice the brie cheese and place slices onto the pie a few inches apart from each other.

Top the cheese with the caramelized onion and the cubed butternut squash.

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges turn a golden brown and the crust is crispy.

Sprinkle with the chopped sage and serve!

{ Cranberry Walnut Celebration Bread }

Thanks to Ms. Hurricane Sandy, I had an unexpected day off of work today! And that means my my oven was set at a comfortable 350 degrees with a constant rotation of breads, cakes, and cookies going though it’s doors. Four loaves of banana bread, and 2 dozen chocolate chip cookies later….I was ready to attempt a more complicated bread recipe from Peter Reinhart’s cookbook, “The Bakers Apprentice.” I haven’t done much bread baking before, but I was feeling up to the challenge with all of the free time on my hands!

The original recipe calls for a mixture of cranberries and walnuts, but I was running low on berries so I also threw in some golden raisins and dried currants. If a panettone and a babka had a love child, this bread would be it! Everyone in my family agreed that it will be made on Christmas morning for many more generations to come…aka, the bread turned out incredible!

So without further ado, here is my recipe for Kendall’s Christmas Celebration Bread, adapted from Peter Reinhart’s Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread in “The Baker’s Apprentice.”

{ Ingredients}

3 cups of bread flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/5 tablespoons lemon extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup of buttermilk, at room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup of water, at room temperature
1 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup dried currants
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

{ To Make the Bread }

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine all of the ingredients (except the dried fruits and nuts) to make a soft dough. Switch the attachment to a dough kneading hook and knead for 5 minutes.

The dough should clear the sides of the mixing bowl, but remain tacky to the bottom. Adjust the concentrations of water and flour so that the dough takes this form.

Add the cranberries, raisins, and currants and continue to knead by hand for an additional 2 minutes.

Then add the chopped walnuts and knead by hand until the nuts are evenly distributed.

Transfer the dough to a well oiled bowl and allow to ferment, uncovered, at room temperature for 2 hours. The dough should almost double in size!

Transfer the dough a counter top surface and divide into 6 pieces; 3 larger pieces and 3 smaller pieces. Roll out all 6 pieces by hand into long strands. Braid the 3 larger strands using the 3-braid technique and then do the same with the 3 smaller strands.

Place the large braid on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and then place the smaller braid directly on top of it. Brush the entire bread with an egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk) and allow to sit at room temperature for another 2 hours.