Cranberries

I am hosting November's Cooking Club on Thursday, November 13th. The theme is Cranberries, and they must be one of the ingredients in your dish. (Dried, Fresh, Frozen...it doesn't matter what form.) Can't wait!

Drink: Kelsey (Cranberry Pineapple Juice)
Appetizer: Lindsey
Appetizer:
Salad: Marie (Cranberry Citrus Salad)
Soup: Alma (Wild-Rice Cranberry soup)
Main: Hannah (Amarone Osso Buco Pot Roast with Cranberry Gremolota)
Side: Jenny (Butternut Squash Apple Cranberry Bake)
Side: Bethany (Cranberry Couscous Pilaf with Almonds)
Side:
Dessert: Sarah (Cranberry Bars)
Dessert: Kristen (Cranberry Orange Cheesecake)
Dessert: Jeri (Cranberry Apple Wheel)

Baked butternut squash with apples and cranberries


Amarone Osso Buco Pot Roast with Cranberry Gremolota
Osso Buco:
1 cup all-purpose flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 pieces veal shank for osso bucco
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 lemon, zest peeled off in wide strips with a vegetable peeler
1 head garlic, cut horizontally through the middle
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 bottle Amarone wine
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can low-sodium beef broth
1 (28-ounce) can whole San Marzano tomatoes, hand-crushed

Cranberry Gremolata:
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries
2 garlic cloves
1 orange, zest finely grated
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions
Put the flour in a large shallow platter and season it with a fair amount of salt and pepper. Get in the habit of always tasting your flour; once it coats the veal it is harder to adjust the seasoning. Dredge the veal shanks in the seasoned flour and then tap off the excess (extra flour will burn and make the dish off-tasting).
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat and hit it with a 3-count drizzle of oil. Add the butter and swirl it around the pan to melt. Sear the veal shanks, turning carefully with tongs, until all sides are a rich brown caramel color. Drizzle with a little more oil, if needed. (Do this in batches if the shanks are big and look crowded in the pot.) Remove the browned veal shanks to a side plate. There will be a lot of flavor left over in the bottom of the pot. You're going to use that to create your sauce.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Using the same pot, saute the onion, celery, carrots, lemon zest, garlic, bay leaves, and parsley over medium heat. Cook the vegetables down until they start to get some color and develop a deep, rich aroma. Season with salt and pepper; add a little oil if needed. Nestle the veal shanks back in the pot. Pour in the wine and let it simmer down for 20 minutes, until the wine has reduced by half. Reducing is key for intense flavor. Add the beef broth and tomatoes and stir everything together. Cover the pot and put it in the oven. Braise for 1 and a 1/2 hours. Then remove the cover and continue to cook for another 30 minutes. The sauce should be thick and the veal tender and nearly falling off the bone.
Remove bay leaves.

For the Gremolata:
Finely chop the pine nuts, dried cranberries and combine. Combine this with the garlic together in a mini chopper or with a mortar and pestle. Fold that into the orange zest and parsley. Scatter the gremolata over the Osso Bucco before serving.

Cranberry Bars
Crust
6 Tbsp butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp salt
1 cup flour
½ cup chopped pecans

Mix until fine crumbs. Put into bottom on foil-lined 8x8” pan. Bake at 350° for 15-20 min until golden brown.

Filling
Mix until smooth:
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 Tbsp milk

Add
1 cup chopped cranberries
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup flaked coconut

Pour over crust. Cook at 350° for 30 minutes.

Wild Rice Cranberry Soup:

(recipe here)
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
½ c. finely chopped onion
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 c. vegetable stock
1 ½ c. cooked wild rice (see Tip)
½ c. dried cranberries
1 c. milk or half-and-half
2 tbsp. dry sherry, optional
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Garnish: freshly ground pepper and minced flat-leaf parsley

Preparation:
Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the carrot, celery, and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrot is tender, about 8 minutes. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Gradually add the vegetable stock, whisking constantly to prevent lumps.

Increase the heat to medium-high and stir as the soup thickens, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and cranberries. Reduce the heat; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries are softened and plumped, about 15 minutes.

Stir in the remaining ingredients, except the garnishes. Stir occasionally until warmed through. Season to taste.

YIELD: 5 cups, four to six servings

Cranberry Apple Wheel (from the Ocean Spray website)

3-4 cups flour
1 package yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup coarsely chopped Ocean Spray® Fresh or Frozen Cranberries
2 apples, peeled and diced
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
5 tablespoons flour
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons water

Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Combine butter and milk and heat to a temperature of 120ºF - 130ºF. Add to dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Add egg; mix well. Add enough of remaining flour to make a soft dough that is not sticky when handled.

Lightly grease a medium mixing bowl. Place dough in bowl and roll around so that it is lightly covered with grease. Place bowl with dough in a warm place until it has doubled in size.

Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients, except powdered sugar and water, in a medium mixing bowl. Punch down dough and place on a cookie sheet. Flatten dough into a 10-inch circle. Spread topping over dough, leaving an inch all around. Place in a warm place until dough has doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Combine powdered sugar and water in a small mixing bowl to make glaze. Cool wheel completely and drizzle with glaze. Makes 1 10-inch wheel.

Phyllo Cups with Brie, Preserves, and Pecans

To make 15 cups

1 package (15 count) pre-baked phyllo cups

5 oz. Brie, rind removed and cut into ½” cubes

1/2 -3/4 cup preserves—cranberry, sour cherry, lignonberry

15 Pecan halves (unbroken)

Place a small bit of preserves in bottom of phyllo cups. Add a cube of Brie, top with pecan.

Bake for 8 minutes in a 425 degree oven. Serve immediately.

Cranberry Cheesecake

Crust
2 cups graham cracker or shortbread cookie crumbs
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

Cranberry Topping
1/3 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Filling
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Combine crumbs and butter; press into the bottom of a 9-in. springform pan. Bake at 300 degrees F for 5-8 minutes. Cool. Meanwhile, for topping, combine water and sugar in a suacepan. Bring to boil over medium heat; boil 1 minute. Stir in berries; cover and reduce heat. Cook until most berries have popped, about 3 minutes. Add lemon juice. Press mixture through a sieve or food mill; set aside. For filling, beat cream cheese in a large mixing bowl until light. Gradually beat in sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add lemon juice. Pour into crust; spoon 4 tablespoons topping on filling and "marble" with a knife or spatula. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Turn oven off; let cake stand in oven 2 hours. Remove from oven; cool. Pour remaning topping on top; refrigerate overnight.