Cranberry-Orange Crumb Cake

Autumnal  Recipe of the Week
I have a fussy friend who doesn't like many things, but she loves cranberry and orange together! So I have been collecting recipes for her, and I think this one is a winner. I feel like it's more of a breakfast treat then a dessert, but who am I to stop you from eating it all day? Whenever I see a recipe with sour cream in the batter I know it will have a moist and delicious texture, which this does. And the crumb topping is really really yummy. The drizzle is optional but why not, just wait for the cake to cool or it will disappear into the crumble (see photo).



Ingredients for crumb topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3.5 ounces (7 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

Ingredients for cranberry-orange cake
5 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
zest of 1 orange
2 eggs room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces full fat sour cream
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1/4 cup dried cranberries soaked in 1/2 cup rum then drained (or just drink it!)

Ingredients for orange glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon orange liqueur

Procedure
Crumb topping In a medium-size bowl, mix together flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add melted butter and mix together with fingers so crumbs form. Set aside.

Cranberry-orange cake Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8×8-inch pan with non-stick spray then line with parchment paper and lightly spray again. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar, and orange zest until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla extract, mixing until combined. Add dry ingredients, alternating with sour cream in three additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Stir in both kinds of cranberries.Spread batter evenly into prepared pan and top with crumb topping. Bake for 55-60 minutes, rotating once halfway through. Cake is done when top is set and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely. Carefully turn out of baking pan onto a platter.

Orange glaze In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and orange liqueur. You can substitute freah orange juice for the booze. Drizzle over completely cooled cake.

Orange Olive Oil Cake and Cranberry Sorbet, a match made in heaven!

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
During this pre-Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas, pre-I'm-going-crazy season, it's nice to stop the panic shopping or turkey stressing and take some time to have some great friends over for lunch — which is what I did today. Doing a little lunch thingy is so easy if you plan a simple menu and do as much as possible ahead of time. Today's dessert, after a lunch of smoked corn chowder, caesar salad, roast salmon, julienne carrot and zucchini sauté, and chimmichuri was an orange olive oil cake (a recipe from Mailino in NYC) topped with a not-too-sweet cranberry sorbet. Seasonal and delicious without being too obvious. Here are the recipes, which I have been told will work at any altitude.

Mailino’s orange olive oil cake

Makes one 9-inch round cake
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/3 cups extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/4 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup Grand Marnier

Procedure
Heat the oven to 350°. Oil, butter, or spray a 9-inch cake pan that is at least 2 inches deep with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. (If your cake pan is less than 2 inches deep, divide between 2 pans and start checking for doneness at 30 minutes.)

In a bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. In another bowl, whisk the olive oil, milk, eggs, orange zest and juice and Grand Marnier. Add the dry ingredients — whisk until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden and a cake tester comes out clean.

Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool for 30 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, invert the cake onto the rack and let cool completely, 2 hours. Nice if you dust the top with powdered sugar!

Cranberry Sorbet

Ingredients
1 pound fresh or frozen cranberries (about 4 cups, thaw if frozen)
5 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice or Yuzu juice
1/3 cup fresh orange juice

Procedure
Boil cranberries, 2 cups water, and 1/2 cup sugar in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have burst, about 15 minutes. Purée cranberry mixture in batches in a blender until as smooth as possible (use caution when blending hot liquids). Force through a medium-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids, and chill, covered with plastic wrap, until cold, about 2 hours.

In the meantime, bring remaining 3 cups water and remaining 2 cups sugar to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then remove from heat and cool syrup 30 minutes.

Stir together cranberry purée, sugar syrup, and citrus juices and freeze for 1 hour in a plastic container. Then take a whisk and break up the mixture. Then let freeze overnight. Next day it will be hard, but easy to cut apart. Break it into chunks and purée in food processor till smooth, then refreeze. Should be taken out of freezer 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 10 to 12 servings (about 1 1/2 qt)

Cranberry

Excellent Ingredient of the Week
Cranberries! What an interesting fruit! The cranberry, along with the blueberry and Concord grape, is one of North America's three native fruits that are commercially grown. Cranberries were first used by Native Americans, who discovered the wild berry's versatility as a food, fabric dye and healing agent. Today, cranberries are commercially grown throughout the northern part of the United States and are available in both fresh and processed forms.

The name "cranberry" derives from the Pilgrim name for the fruit, "craneberry", so called because the small, pink blossoms that appear in the spring resemble the head and bill of a Sandhill crane. European settlers adopted the Native American uses for the fruit and found the berry a valuable bartering tool.

 American whalers and mariners carried cranberries on their voyages to prevent scurvy. In 1816, Captain Henry Hall became the first to successfully cultivate cranberries. By 1871, the first association of cranberry growers in the United States had formed, and now, U.S. farmers harvest approximately 40,000 acres of cranberries each year.

Cranberries are a unique fruit. They can only grow and survive under a very special combination of factors: they require an acid peat soil, an adequate fresh water supply, sand and a growing season that stretches from April to November, including a dormancy period in the winter months that provides an extended chilling period, necessary to mature fruiting buds. 

Contrary to popular belief, cranberries do not grow in water. Instead, they grow on vines in beds layered with sand, peat, gravel and clay. These beds, commonly known as "bogs," were originally made by glacial deposits. 

Normally, growers do not have to replant since an undamaged cranberry vine will survive indefinitely. Some vines in Massachusetts are more than 150 years old. A lot of people think that cranberries grow under water. Makes sense, since we usually see the berries floating on top of the water. But that is just the of wet harvesting process. The bog is flooded with up to 18 inches of water the night before the berries are to be harvested.  The growers then use water reels, nicknamed “eggbeaters,” to churn the water and loosen the cranberries from the vine. Each berry has a tiny pocket of air that allows it to float to the surface of the water. From there, they’re corralled together, and processed and packed.

So what do you do with them? Cranberry sauce, cranberry apple pie, cranberry cobbler, cranberry chutney, you can do all sorts of fun stuff with them, how about some holiday sorbet? If you have freezer room, this is a great make-ahead gift for your friends. Also while they are in season, buy a few extra bags and keep them in your freezer, they hold up really well.
 So here is a recipe for pear cranberry sorbet for you to try. To be really fancy, hollow out limes and serve sorbet in the frozen shell.

Pear and Cranberry Sorbet

Ingredients
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
9 Anjou pears
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

Procedure
Combine sugar with 1 3/4 cups water in a medium saucepan. Stir well, and cook the mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer the syrup to a metal mixing bowl and set in the refrigerator to chill, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and core 3 pears. Chop into 1/4-inch dice and toss with 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Transfer to a medium saucepan. Add cranberries. Cover and cook over medium heat until the juices are released, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, covered, until pears are very soft, 12 to 18 minutes. Transfer mixture to a food processor and process until smooth. (At this stage, the puree may be passed through a fine strainer to get a smoother texture.) Transfer puree to metal bowl and chill in refrigerator, about 30 minutes.

Combine chilled puree with syrup and 1/4 cup lemon juice. Transfer the mixture to an ice-cream machine and freeze, following the manufacturer's instructions.

Scarlet Punch and Fiesta Punch

Refreshing Beverages of the Week
Looking for good — and easy — holiday drinks, I turned to some local experts: Chris Milligan, the Santa Fe Barman, of Secreto; and Natalie Bovis, The Liquid Muse, of Milagro. The consensus is punches. You don't want to be stuck mixing drinks all night when you could be mixing with your friends and family.

Scarlet Punch

From Chris's blog and the Winter Edible Santa Fe; see a video at SantaFe.com. One of the great things about this recipe is that the alcohol is added later, increasing its versatility.

Ingredients
1 bottle cranberry juice
1 bottle sparking apple cider
whole clove
whole allspice
1 orange
apple, cranberries or other decorative fruits (optional)
liquor of choice

Procedure
Start the day before! Make an ice mold: fill a large container (1/2 a milk jug, Tupperware, plastic jello mold) 3/4 full with water and set in the freezer. Toss a few cranberries and apple slices in there as well to make it decorative.

In a saute pan over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon of whole allspice and 1 tablespoon of whole cloves (cinnamon sticks are good, too) until fragrant. Meanwhile, put container of cranberry juice in a pitcher. When spices are fragrant, toss them into the pitcher. Take one orange and slice into wheels, and toss in the pitcher as well. Put everything in the fridge til the next day.

When you are ready to serve, pour the contents of the pitcher into a punch bowl, gently add your ice mold, then top with 1/2 a bottle of sparking cider.

What should the liquor be? In this punch, Chris recommends 1 oz. bourbon, and 1/2 oz. Southern Comfort — or brandy, or spiced or gold rum.

Fiesta Punch

Natalie notes that this punch is served at Milagro, where she uses their house tea. You can experiment with different, maybe flavored, herbal teas.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flavored rum (pineapple, coconut — whatever tickles your fancy)
3/4 cup lime juice
3/4 cup simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar)
1 cups tea
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

Procedure
Combine ingredients and ladle over ice-filled punch cups. Serves 12.

Apple-Cranberry Fruit Leather

The Altitude Adjustment Section
I love fruit leather. Did you have this as kids? Now its hippy food, go figure! This is a great way to use autumn's abundance of apples. Even fruit that is slightly bruised works well; simply trim the brown portion. Or try ripe pears in place of the apples. This recipe is from my favorite felon — Martha Stewart. This makes two 13-by-9-inch sheets.

Ingredients
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
3 pounds (5 to 6 medium) baking apples, such as Gala or Macoun, peeled, cored, and chopped (8 cups)
1 cup fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
1/3 cup pasteurized apple juice or cider
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons sugar

Procedure
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Generously coat two 13-by-9-inch rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray, and line with a Silpat baking mat. Working in batches, puree apples, cranberries, apple juice or cider, lemon juice, honey, and sugar in a blender. Pour into a bowl to combine. Divide puree between prepared pans. Let stand 1 minute, then drain excess liquid. Smooth with an offset spatula. (The puree should be almost 1/4 inch thick.) Bake, with oven door open slightly, until dry to the touch (but not browned), about 6 hours. Close oven door, turn off oven, and let dry overnight in the oven. (Fruit leather should be stiff, but still pliable.)Remove fruit leather from pans. Trim uneven edges, cut into desired size, and roll up if desired. Fruit leather can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Cranberry Chai Punch

Refreshing Beverage of the Week
The other day I threw a few ingredients together and came up with a great holiday punch. Check it out! I got a request for a festive seasonal punch for adults not too sweet and this is what I made.

Ingredients
1 container Tazo Chai tea concentrate
1 quart cranberry juice cocktail ( 4 cups)
1 bottle large Martinelli’s sparkling cider
6 –8 orange slices, to garnish (optional)

Procedure
Dump all together and serve chilled with an orange slice or a cinnamon stick as a stirrer.

Cranberry Cobbler from Stacy's of Williamsburg

The Altitude Adjustment Section
Yes, Thanksgiving is around the corner and that means pumpkin and cranberry, and pies, and overeating and, oy vey! am I full! Regardless, sweets are a great part of this festive meal, so I thought I would share one of my oldest and easiest recipes for a cranberry cobbler which takes about 10 minutes to throw together and is always a hit. I used to make it at my restaurant and it was loved by all.

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups cranberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup chopped pecans
6 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour

Procedure
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread cranberries evenly over bottom of buttered 9 inch pie pan. Combine 1/4 cup sugar, pecans, and 4 tablespoons of butter and pour over cranberries. Combine egg, vanilla, sugar, flour and 2 tablespoons butter and mix by hand till you create a smooth batter. Now carefully spread over cranberries and bake for 40-45 minutes til top is nicely browned. Serve with bourbon whipped cream.!

Bourbon Whipped Cream

Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup bourbon (I like Maker’s Mark)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Procedure
Whip cream till thick, and then add bourbon, then sugar, and then vanilla. Spread on liberally where needed.

Cranberry Champagne Cocktail

Refreshing Beverage of the Week
I like an easy, smart cocktail and this is a good one. Cranberry Champagne Cocktail is a sort of a variation on a Kir Royal. I like to add a sprig of mint as a garnish or a slice of orange. And it looks beautiful in the glass. Let's have one now!
Makes 8 cocktails.

Ingredients
8 tablespoons Cointreau, chilled
12 teaspoons frozen cranberry juice cocktail concentrate, thawed
1 750-ml bottle Champagne, chilled
8 fresh or frozen cranberries

Procedure
Place 1 tablespoon Cointreau and 1 1/2 teaspoons cranberry juice concentrate in each of 8 Champagne flutes. Top with Champagne. Drop 1 cranberry into each cocktail and serve.

Coconut and Cranberry Roll Cookies

The Altitude Adjustment Section
These beautiful and festive roll cookies are a great addition to your holiday repertoire.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked dried coconut

Procedure
Beat butter, sugar, orange peel, and vanilla until smooth. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture and beat on low until dough comes together (about 5 minutes). Mix in cranberries and coconut. Shape the dough into rolls and refrigerate (I've even frozen it at this point). Slice off rounds about 1/2" thick and bake at 350 for 8 to 11 minutes. Watch closely and take out just when the edges begin to brown. Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes.

Candied Cranberries with Brandy

Excellent Ingredient of the Week
What do we really know about cranberries? Most people just eat them once a year. But did you know that they are one of a very few crops native to America? They have such potential, and they freeze so well, so why not throw a few bags into your freezer for a rainy day? Beverly brought us all kind of interesting info she gathered from her internet research (where do the white ones come from?), including this very interesting recipe:

Candied Cranberries with Brandy

Ingredients
1 pound fresh cranberries, picked over, washed, and patted dry
2 cups white granulated sugar
1/4 cup (2 ounces) brandy
Additional white granulated sugar

Procedure
Preheat oven to 350. Line a large baking pan with nonstick foil. Spread cranberries in a single layer over the bottom of the baking pan and sprinkle with the 2 cups of sugar. Cover tightly with heavy-duty foil and bake for 1 hour. Let cool, then stir in the brandy. Sprinkle lightly with additional sugar and let dry. Yield: 1 pound candied cranberries.

Cranberry Teacake

The Altitude Adjustment Section
Fall foods, fall flavors! How about cranberries? Available year-round if you don’t mind buying frozen ones. And they do freeze extremely well. You can also substitute dried cranberries (sometimes called "craisins"). So here is a simple Cranberry teacake recipe, not too rich, perfect for an afternoon tea or breakfast.

Ingredients
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs- beaten
2 cups AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Confectioners sugar to decorate top

Procedure
Preheat oven to 350 and grease/butter/Pam spray a bundt pan. In the food processor, whirl up the cranberries until coarsely chopped. In a bowl, combine carnberries with the brown sugar, almonds, cinnamon and nutmeg and set aside — this will be the filling and topping.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, combine butter and sugar and cream till well mixed. Now add the eggs, vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix flour mixture into the butter mixture. Pour half the batter into the greased bundt pan and top with half the cranberry nut spice mix. Top with the rest of the batter and top with the remaining cranberry mix. Bake for 50-60 minutes until brown on top and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 20 minutes then turn onto a plate and dust top with powdered sugar.

The Classic Cosmo for Bernice

Refreshing Beverage of the Week
The classic Cosmo — I know, I know, it's so "Sex in the City" — but when made right, it is a delicious and simple drink and often a safe choice at bars of unknown capabilities.

Ingredients
Ice cubes
1 ounce vodka (citrus infused is nice)
1/2 ounce Cointreau (an orange-flavored liquor or use Triple Sec, which is a bit cheaper)
1 1/2 ounces cranberry juice
1/4 ounce fresh lime juice
lime twist to garnish

Procedure
Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the vodka Cointreau, cranberry juice and lime juice. Shake well. Strain into a large chilled martini glass and garnish with a lime twist. So simple even your mother can make one.

Lavender Cosmopolitan

Refreshing Beverage of the Week
And now for something completely different ... how about a violet-colored drink with exotic flavors and the scent of Lavender? Oh it's soooo Santa Fe!

Ingredients
1 ounce Mandarin Vodka
1 ounce Parfait Amour — a sweet, violet liqueur made from, and tasting of, Spanish oranges, vanilla, rose, and almond
1 ounce Cranberry Juice
1 slice Lime

Procedure
Rub the rim of a cocktail glass with a lime wedge and dip the glass into sugar to coat the rim thoroughly (if you have it, use lavender sugar — after all this is Santa Fe!). Pour mandarin vodka, Parfait Amour, and cranberry juice into a chilled shaker. Shake well and pour into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a slice of lime, if you are man enough!

Four "No-Fail" Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Ah... food — like life — is all about the side dishes. Here are all my family secrets revealed in one show. My mother Bernice, who is currently unpacking, mastered one meal in her life and so every single holiday — from Purim to St. Patrick's Day — we always had the same meal, and we loved it. These side dishes are golden.

Raw Cranberry sauce

Ingredients
1 bag cranberries, rinsed and drained
1 –1 1/2 cups sugar
1 whole orange or Tangerine, seedless if possible

Procedure
This is so ridiculously simple. All you do is throw the cranberries in the food processor, add sugar, cut the orange — skin and all — into eighths and add to processor. Pulse a few times till everything is chopped up. Done. This is best made the day ahead.

Potato Nick

Ingredients
5 baking potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
2 large onions, diced
Peanut oil or canola oil
Salt, pepper, garlic, and Hungarian sweet Paprika

Procedure
Boil the potatoes in a large pot of salted water till soft. In the meantime, sauté the onions in oil, don’t be cheap on the oil. Cook them on a medium to low flame so they get all soft and sweet and brown. Then add enough paprika to make them a nice red-brown color. Now add a splash (it's all about the oil) of extra oil to the onions. Drain the potatoes well and then put them back into the dry, hot pot you used to boil them. Mash by hand with potato masher, then add the onions. If it is not smooth-looking, add some more oil. Taste and adjust seasoning. Now take a 9-inch round or square Pyrex baking dish and drizzle a little oil in the bottom — this will make the bottom crust — and spread the potatoes into the pan. Flatten on top and drizzle a little oil on top. Sprinkle with Paprika and put into 350 degree oven and bake 40 minutes, or until top has a nice brown crust. Serve immediately.

My famous Cole Slaw

Ingredients
1 small green cabbage
1/2 small red cabbage
3 carrots
1 Granny Smith apple
1 Macintosh apple
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon dry Coleman’s mustard
2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Procedure
Cut by hand, or use the food processor, to shred the cabbage into small, thin pieces. Peel and grate the carrots and add to cabbage. Dice the apples, leaving skin on for color. Add the raisins. Everything else is the dressing. Combine in a bowl with a whisk and add to cabbage. Best made the day before. This recipe makes enough for 8-10 people, so you can cut it in half.

Baked peaches and pineapple

Procedure
In our house, we used to do this with canned fruit — after all it was the1960’s, and modern methods were all the rage.

All you do is open and drain a can of peach halves, and a can of pineapple rings. Place the pineapple into the baking dish (spray with a little non-stick coating first) and then in the center of each one add a peach scooped side up. Now drizzle with honey and crumble some brown sugar into the center of each peach. Put under the broiler for 5 minutes or until you smell the sugar starting to burn or caramelize. Now this year, I canned some Tesuque organic peaches and I am going to try this dish using those and some fresh Hawaiian pineapple. It’s got to be great!

Cran-Bran Betty

The Altitude Adjustment Section
Cranberries are such a great autumn flavor and a "Brown Betty" is such a classic dessert, so why not combine the two? And then to make it even better, we add some bran to give it that healthy edge. This is another one of Bert Greene's great recipes from The Grains Cookbook.

Ingredients
3/4 pound cranberries, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup honey
Zest of 1 orange
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier
2 pounds sweet apples
1/2 cup A.P. flour
1/2 cup wheat bran (unprocessed)
4 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons chilled butter

Procedure
In a large mixing bowl, combine cranberries, 1 cup of sugar, honey, orange zest, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and Grand Marnier. Let stand 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly butter a shallow baking dish. Peel, core, and slice apples and add to cranberry mix. In a separate bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar, bran, and flour. Add chilled butter and combine with fingertips to make a crumble mix. Place 1/3 of crumble mix in pan. Place 1/3 of fruit mix on top then continue to layer topping with crumble mix. Dot top with remaining 2 teaspoons of butter. Bake until crisp about 45 minutes. Serve warm, maybe with cinnamon ice cream? Sounds yummy to me.

Love Potion

Angela's Refreshing Beverage of the Week

Ingredients
1 oz. Orange Vodka
1/2 oz. Chambord Raspberry Liquer
1/2 oz. Cranberry Juice

Procedure
Shake with ice and strain into a fun glass!
Enjoy and go "a-maying" with your loved one!

Cranberry Crumble Muffins

The Altitude Adjustment Section
I thought if I only had time for one recipe this week, it better be a great one! I made these cranberry orange crumble muffins for everyone here at the station today and it reminded me what a great all-around muffin recipe this is. You can change the dried fruit to fresh fruit, you can change orange zest for any citrus fruit and you can alternate the nut and spice choices so the possibilities are endless.

Ingredients for Topping
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter cut into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped nuts-pecans, walnuts or almonds
Procedure
Mix in a small bowl with your fingers and set aside.

Ingredients for Muffins
2/3 cups gran. Sugar
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 room temp. eggs
3/4 cup yogurt plus 2 tablespoons water
1/3 cup melted butter
3 tablespoons wheat germ
1 3/4 cup A.P. flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Procedure
Preheat oven to 375. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or non-stick spray. Measure sugar and set aside. In another small bowl combine cranberries, zest, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar, set aside. Take remaining sugar and combine with yogurt and water, melted butter, wheat germ, and eggs. In separate bowl sift flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir into the yogurt mixture and stir in cranberries. Just mix till combined, by hand, and don’t over-mix. Scoop into prepared muffin tin and top with crumble topping. Bake for 22-25 minutes till golden brown or till toothpick inserted comes out clean. Things to try — dried cherries, fresh raspberries, ginger, cardamom, mace, almond extract, maple extract, macadamia nuts — the list goes on and on. Diced banana anyone?

Cranberry Apple Crostata

The Altitude Adjustment Section
Remember I said we were going to do pie variations for a while, well we really are! Today we have a recipe for a cranberry apple Crostata which — if we were lucky enough to be in France — we would call a Galette. Susan describes it as a free form fruit Pizza. This recipe, like all the best recipes, is from Pie in the Sky by Susan Purdy, my baking mentor and friend.

Ingredients for Pastry
3 cups A.P. flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons=1 1/2 sticks unsalted cold butter cut up
6 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 room temp egg yolk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
5-6 tablespoons ice water

Ingredients for Filling
12 ounces fresh cranberries=3 cups
2 golden delicious apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup light brown sugar gently packed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup=2 ounces chopped pecans
1/2 cup orange marmalade
2 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
1/3 cup fresh O.J.
1 large egg
1 teaspoon water
2 tablespoons Graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon Gran. sugar
1/2 cup seedless Raspberry jam

Procedure
In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, salt to blend. Add the butter and shortening and pulse 8-9 times, until mixture resembled small pea bits. Add yolk, lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons of the ice water. Pulse a few more times. The dough will begin to clump up. Keep adding water till the dough holds together when pinched and no longer looks sandy and dry. Mix as little as possible to achieve this goal. Form dough into flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 425. You have already made the pastry, right? Now to make the filling. Put it all together in a bowl, except the cornstarch and O.J. Take those two ingredients and mix in a small cup until corn starch dissolves, and then mix into the fruit. Turn an 18 inch square piece of tin foil shiny side down on the counter and draw a 17-18 inch circle with your fingernail. Lightly butter an 8 inch circle in the center of the big circle. Then sprinkle a little flour on the ungreased part of this circle. Roll out dough to the 18 inch mark. Now slide the whole thing, foil and all, onto a cookie sheet. Mark a 2 inch border lightly into the dough. Whisk together the egg water wash and brush on the dough. This helps prevent sogginess. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs. Carefully place fruit on dough respecting the drawn borders. Now carefully fold the dough over the fruit on marked edge. Use foil to help lift and fold dough over fruit. It will pleat and look rustic, this is good. Brush and cracks with egg wash to help seal edges. Now sprinkle with sugar. Keep pastry edge high to prevent leakage. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 and then reduce heat to 350 and bake 25-35 minutes more or until Pastry is golden brown and you can pierce fruit easily with a knife. If edges start to brown too fast, cover with foil. While baking, heat jam in small sauce pan and brush on tart while still warm. It will set as it cools. Cool on wire rack with foil in place. When cool, slide onto flat platter and peel away the foil that shows and serve. Yum Yum Yum!

The Uptown Light

Angela's Refreshing Beverage of the Week

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Bourbon, we like Makers Mark
1/2 ounce Frangelico
1/2 ounce Cranberry juice

Procedure
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the remaining ingredients and shake well.Strain into ice filled rocks glass. Cheers!