Sunday Dinner Dessert – Nantucket Cranberry Pie

 

Since my 86 years have started to catch up with me, I don’t cook as often, particularly experimenting with new recipes that I can share. I do still cook the family holiday meals, though, and every Sunday fix lunch for my two daughters which features a favorite recipe and is followed by 3 hours of various kinds of needlework and chatting. For these lunches, I always make something they especially like from my blogs of over 10 years and I thought it might be fun to share my Sunday desserts each week.

Today’s dessert has been a family favorite for 10-plus years.  Nantucket Cranberry Pie is not a pie at all, not a cobbler although batter is poured on top of the fruit and not really a cake, but it surely is good. Note that you will need a 10-inch pie pan or baking dish to keep the batter from overflowing. From my post of 2007

https://lillianscupboard.wordpress.com/2007/10/29/nantucket-cranberry-pie/

Nantucket Cranberry Pie

• Servings: 8
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Filling:

2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Topping:

2 eggs
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 10-inch pie plate or baking dish. Place the cranberries in the pie plate and toss the sugar and walnuts over the berries.

For the topping, whisk the eggs and the butter with the sugar. Add the flour and almond extract to the egg mixture, lightly tossing with a fork.

Pour the topping over the cranberry mixture. If it’s difficult to get the topping to extend out over the filling, press down with water-damped hands to even it out. Bake for approximately 45 minutes @ 350 degrees F. Place on a rack to cool.

Serve warm with whipped cream.

Also served: Gone-All-Afternoon Beef Stew – a dish that is put into the oven and allowed to bake for 3-4 hours before serving. From my 2010 post:

https://lillianscupboard.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/beef-stew-and-orange-tapioca-pudding/

DeeDee’s Turkey (or Chicken) Salad with Fresh Cranberries

My daughter-in-law in St. Louis sent me a recipe for using up my leftover Thanksgiving turkey and we all loved it.  This salad combines sweetened, orange-flavored fresh cranberries and crisp almonds to dress up some leftover turkey.

Since I used up all the turkey to make the salad right after Thanksgiving, I thought I’d make another batch for dinner today using chicken breast.  It was delicious.  It’s a very easy recipe to put together and makes wonderful sandwiches.  Her recipe called for wheat bread slices, but I had some good bakery dinner rolls on hand and they worked well, too.

Make up the cranberry mixture and refrigerate a couple of hours ahead of time to get the best flavor.

• Servings: 4-6
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½ cup fresh cranberries
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 Tblsp. orange juice
1 Tblsp. grated orange zest
2 cups cooked turkey (or chicken breast), chopped
2 Tblsp. parsley, chopped
2 green onions, tops and tender green parts, sliced
¾ cup mayonnaise
Salt/pepper to taste
¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted
4 wheat bread slices, dinner rolls or bread of your choice
4 large red-leaf lettuce leaves

In a food processor with metal blade, process cranberries with sugar, orange juice and orange zest, using on-off pulses until coarsely chopped.  Transfer mixture to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours.

In a medium bowl, combine turkey, parsley, green onions, mayonnaise and salt/pepper.  Mix well and refrigerate until ready to serve.  At serving time, stir the cranberry mixture and almonds into the turkey/chicken mixture and spoon onto bread slices.  Top with lettuce.  Makes 4-6 servings.

Orange Cranberry Nut Bread

I found a partial bag of cranberries in my freezer and since soon we will be getting bags of fresh ones, I came up with a quick bread using what I had on hand.  It was very good and served as dessert for a couple of lunches and dinners for my daughter and me.

CRANBERRY ORANGE NUT BREAD

• Servings: Two 7-1/2-inch loaves or one 9-inch loaf
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2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ tsp. salt
1-½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 egg
¼ cup oil (canola)
¼ cup orange juice concentrate mixed with ½ cup water
1-½ cups fresh or frozen (thawed) whole cranberries
½ cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Prepare one greased 9-inch loaf pan or two greased 7-½ inch loaf pans, sprinkled on bottom and sides with a mixture of 1 Tblsp. granulated sugar and 1/8 tsp. cinnamon

In a large bowl whisk together 1-½ cups flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

In a separate small bowl, whisk egg with oil and orange juice from concentrate.  Add to flour mixture and stir in lightly.

In a small bowl, place cranberries and ½ cup flour, stirring to coat cranberries.  Add this mixture to the batter along with the chopped nuts.  Stir just until flour is absorbed and mixed throughout the batter.

Spoon batter into prepared pans and bake in preheated 350 degree F oven approximately 40 minutes for 7-½-inch loaves and 50 minutes for a 9-inch loaf.  Test for doneness by inserting a tester in the center of one of the loaves to be sure it comes out clean.

Rest loaves in pans for about 10 minutes and then loosen around sides and turn onto rack to cool.

Yield:  Two 7-½ inch or one 9 inch loaf

Cut into one-inch wide slices to serve.  Stays moist for several days.

Tip:  I always have a problem keeping a juice container lid secure once it’s opened.  I found that a small mason jar lid works perfectly and keeps the concentrate fresh for the next use.

Cranberry Squares

I have a notation in my cookie binder that this recipe came from a publication called The Blue Ribbon Gazette which gathered prize-winning recipes from across the country.   I first made these cookies in September of 1993 to take along on a trip to Gettysburg.  It was the first of numerous visits to one of my favorite vacation sites.  “Nancy (my daughter) loved these – not too rich.  We had them one morning for breakfast in the motel in Gettysburg with a cup of coffee.”

• Servings: 9
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½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup butter
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
½ tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
9 inch ungreased baking pan

Cream sugar and butter, add egg.  Add flour, salt and vanilla.  Spread half of this mixture into a 9×9 ungreased pan.

Spread berries over batter.

Spread remaining half of batter over berries.  (Note:  Drop batter by dollops and spread with water-dampened fingertips).

Sprinkle nuts on top.

Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 35 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool in pan on a wire rack.  Cut into nine squares. 

I marked these cookies “Excellent – tart”.  It is a thin bar with a buttery flavor, the tartness of the berries and crunch of walnuts.

Cranberry and Cream Chicken

This recipe was adapted from one in a Susan Branch cookbook.  I first served this for New Year’s Day in 1995 and have had it every Christmas Day since then.  My daughter and I like to take our plates by the fireplace to enjoy and afterwards always watch A Child’s Christmas in Wales.

• Servings: 4-6
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• Two boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, roasted
• 2 Tblsp. butter
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ½ cup cranberries
• ¼ cup plus 2 Tblsp. brandy (or chicken broth)
• ½ cup cream
• ½ cup sour cream
• Salt/pepper

Cut each roasted chicken breast half into three pieces.

Melt butter in a large skillet and add garlic, stirring for about 1-½ minutes.  Add chicken pieces and brown on each side.

Remove chicken to a plate to keep warm.

Add cranberries to skillet along with brandy.  Let simmer for 2 minutes and then add cream, sour cream, plus salt and pepper to taste.  Heat but do not boil.

Pour cream sauce over chicken breasts to serve.

I like to serve this dish with a broccoli/carrot saute and mashed potatoes.  A little sauce poured over the mashed potatoes doesn’t hurt a bit.

4-6 servings

A Taste of Autumn – Cranberry Pecan Scones

Now that fresh cranberries are back in the markets, it’s time to make one of my family’s favorite breakfast quick breads.  Cranberry Pecan Scones are crisp, full of good tart cranberries and crunchy pecans.  They are not difficult to make but the preparation takes about 20 minutes plus 30 minutes baking time, so start an hour ahead of serving and have these delicious scones warm from the oven.

CRANBERRY PECAN SCONES

• Servings: 6
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• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine (1/2 stick)
• 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 2/3 cup orange juice
• 1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.  Cut in the butter/margarine.   Stir in cranberries and pecans.

In separate small bowl, mix the orange juice and beaten egg.  Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients, mixing until just moistened.

Dough will be quite sticky.  Use hands dampened with water to form dough into 6-1/2″ circle on buttered cookie sheet.  Cut into 6 wedges but do not separate the wedges.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes. 

Best when served warm from the oven.  Can be frozen and reheated.