Grandma Carlene's Cranberry Bread

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons melted shortening (I use extra light olive oil)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup walnuts
2/3 cup cranberries (halved)

Mix all ingredients together (I whisk together the first 5 ingredients, then add the next 4, mix until just combined, then fold in the last two).  Grease and flour loaf pan.  Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes at 300 degrees.  Loaf should be golden and spring back.  Remove from pan while hot.  Butter all sides immediately.  Wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for 3 hours.  Can be frozen after seasoned in the fridge.


Double to make 3 smaller loaves (8 1/4 x 4 1/2).
(One batch will make 2 7" x 3" loaves.)

Day After Thanksgiving Casserole

Here are the ingredients.  In the instructions below, I give quantities to fill a 9x13 pan.  But if you've only got a little bit of leftovers, just make a little casserole!  :) 

gravy

sour cream

turkey

green beans

prepared stuffing

I never have enough gravy left over, so let's make some!  In a large skillet on low heat, melt a stick of butter (1/2 cup).  To that add 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion.  Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Whisk in 1/4 cup flour.  Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  Whisking occasionally, cook for 2-3 more minutes.  Heat 2 cups of chicken stock.  Add the chicken stock, whisk, cook (uncovered) an additional 3-4 minutes until thickened.  Taste to check seasonings and adjust if necessary. 

Remove from heat and stir in one cup of sour cream.

In a 9x13 pan, start with a generous layer of chopped turkey.  Drain a can of green beans (we don't make the green bean casserole at our house) and sprinkle over the turkey.  Pour gravy over turkey and beans and mix well (you may have too much gravy--it all depends on how much turkey you put in--so start with a little more than half, then stir it all up and see if you want more).  Cover everything with a layer of dressing.

Bake at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly (25-35 minutes).  Enjoy!

Trifle with Lemon Curd and French Vanilla Cake

In a clear glass or bowl (to see the beauty of it all), layer the following:

Cake torn or cut into bite-size pieces

Lemon Curd

Berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries - anything you like)

Lightly sweetened whipped cream

Repeat.

Indulge.

Die happy. :)

Lemon Curd

This recipe is only slightly adapted from Michael Chiarello's Lemon Curd over Biscotti Crumbs with Fresh Berries.  Really, I only left out the rosemary.  So we will follow his fabulous directions (I tried a different and confusing recipe that ended up edible, but not like this incredible stuff), and I will add my comments.

Ingredients

1/3 cup sugar
9 large egg yolks, room temperature
2/3 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

2 teaspoons rosemary leaves (*See Cook's Note) (I left this out.)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, in small pieces and at room temperature

Directions

Cook's Note about rosemary: time of year matters. If you use rosemary in the winter, use half as much because it's stronger - it grows slower and the taste is concentrated.

In the top of a double boiler, whisk the sugar and the egg yolks until sugar has dissolved and mixture is pale yellow, then whisk in lemon juice and zest. Set the bowl over simmering water and whisk constantly until mixture reaches 145 degrees F; it will visibly thicken but don't let it get too hot or the eggs will curdle. (This can happen kind of quickly.  I used a candy thermometer to measure the temp as it warms.)  Remove the bowl from the heat and add the rosemary (or not) and butter a little at a time, whisking until each addition is incorporated and the curd becomes thick. Transfer to a bowl, cool and then refrigerate until well chilled.  (Serves 6.)

This is heaven!  But what do you do with it?  You can make tarts, spread it on toast or English muffins (with an additional smear of raspberry jam is insanely wonderful), use it between the layers of a cake, anything you want!  We used it to make a trifle--okay, a layered dessert, because it's technically not a real English trifle (see what I have to put up with having a husband who's lived for a while in England?)!  It's sooooooooooooooooo good!

You can see from the picture I made some lime curd as well.  It was fine.  But it doesn't, as they say, make my skirt fly up like the lemon curd does. :)