Roasted Maple Vanilla Cranberry Sauce

Although my family has their preferred cranberry sauce for the Thanksgiving table every year, I like slipping in a new one every now and again just to see how it's received. I always hear people raving about homemade and then following that sentiment saying that they wish they could make it. I immediately tell them that they can and that homemade cranberry sauce is actually THE EASIEST dish on the whole holiday table to make.

Seriously, it doesn't get easier than 5 to 8 minutes on the stovetop. But this batch takes it one step further and roasts the cranberries. The time commitment isn't much more, you just need to wait for the oven to preheat. And the coolest thing about it is that roasting actually concentrates the flavor of the tart cranberries by removing some of their natural water via the process of evaporation.

Lemon Vanilla Bundt Cake

Isn't it funny how our tastes change as we get older?  Certain things we loathed as kids are things we cannot imagine our life without now.  I used to balk a bit at the strongly scented wishes for a good day as my mom made her way out the door to go to work on school days.  (I love you, coffee.)

I remember wondering what my dad saw in that lumpy, bumpy, greenish-purplish skinned, creamy-green fleshed thing he loved so much.  And why every single pit made its way onto our window sill, balanced on a juice glass by two toothpicks.  (I came around, avocado.)

Grapefruit Vanilla Bean Mini-Bundt Cakes

What's a girl with a craving for citrus cake that extends deep down to her toes to do?  And in the midst of said craving, she's fortunate enough to receive a case big, fat, beautiful Texas Grapefruit from Bonnie at Sweet Life and find an adorable mini-bundt pan on clearance and have some plump, fragrant Vanilla Beans from Beanilla that she happened to win from Dessert Wars beckoning her from the cupboard?

She gets busy baking.

This are light and spongy and mini...which always reels people in.  Really.  Just ask the looky-loos who were lurking behind me while I was busy with this photo shoot.

Grapefruit Vanilla Bean Mini-Bundt Cakes

from the kitchen of girlichef

makes 12

½ c. unsalted butter, at room temp.

¾ c. vanilla sugar

2 Tbs. finely grated grapefruit zest

1 vanilla bean

2 large eggs, at room temp.

½ c. sour cream, at room temp.

¼ c. freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

1½ c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. fine sea salt

½ tsp. baking soda (my favorite is Rumford by Clabber Girl...it's aluminum free)

icing:

~ ¼ c. freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

2 c. confectioners' sugar

 seeds from ½ of a vanilla bean

Preheat oven to 325° F.  Set out a non-stick mini-bundt cake pan to use.  Or, if it's not nonstick, grease the pan.

In a large bowl, cream butter, vanilla sugar, grapefruit zest, and the seeds scraped from one vanilla bean until light and fluffy.  One at a time, beat in the eggs.  Add sour cream and grapefruit juice and beat until just combined.

Whisk flour, baking powder, sea salt, and baking soda together, then add to bowl and beat until just combined. 

Scoop batter into a pastry bag (or large zippered baggy w/ one corner snipped off) and pipe evenly into 12 mini-bundt forms (my pan makes 12 individuals).  They should be ~¾ of the way full. Alternately, you could use this batter to make cupcakes or even one small cake (~8"...and in this case, no pastry bag required, simply scoop/pour batter into prepared pan).  Slide into the preheated oven and bake for ~20 minutes, or until it passes the tooth pick test.  Cake will be golden and springy and pull away from edges.  Time may need to be adjusted if making one large cake...but it shouldn't take too much longer. 

Immediately (and carefully) turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

While the cakes are cooling, whisk together the ingredients for the icing.  If it seems stiffer than you like, add a bit more juice to adjust consistency.  Drizzle over slightly cooled cakes.

These are equally delicious without any icing, or try sifting some confectioners' sugar over the top or serving with some lightly sweetened whipped cream.

The grapefruit that I used to make these cakes was sweet.  Super sweet and juicy.  I do recommend tasting your grapefruit before using it to make these...if it's extremely sour, you may want to add more sugar.  As they are, the cakes are not overly sweet. 

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Dessert Wars: Vanilla Dreams
Iron Chef challenge: Baking Powder sponsored by Clabber Girl

Bread and Milk ...pan y leche

Isn't it curious and amazing how a scent or a song or a taste can transport us to another place in time?  And isn't it equally as wondrous how something one person may not give a second thought, can in turn make another weep with emotion?  Growing up, we often had toasted white bread, spread with a pat of butter and layered with a good coating of cinnamon and sugar.  But we never, ever put it in a bowl and saturated it with milk.  Even now it makes me wince a teeny-tiny bit.  I'm just not one for soggy bread.  Yet, I do love French Toast.  I suppose that's because it's not so much soggy as permeated...and it's only good if it has that crisp outer crust.  So, that point is moot.  But.  Soggy bread.  An idea I may not have entertained a mere 10 or so years ago, is now something I make on occasion.  For my man.  Because it brings him back to being a niño.  A time without fuss or extravagance or money.  It was a happy day when his mami was able to tear up some slightly hard pan, sprinkle it all with sugar and pour some fresh milk over the whole thing.

I like to add tiny variations to bring it to the present...like using Vanilla Sugar instead of plain.  Or occasionally sprinkling in some cinnamon with the sugar.  Or perhaps using a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread in place of plain.  Either way, the little flutter of excitement when I set the bowl in front of him...or the far-off look in his eyes while he's eating it...or the full-belly pat of satisfaction when he's finished?  It's totally worth it.  Food is a powerful drug, my friends.

Now.  Go make some memories.

*I'm sharing this post with:
Full Plate Thursday

Mmmmmm Vanilla Shortbread.

For someone who claims to not be a baker...I sure have been doing a lot of baking lately. Maybe it's my new found love affair with yeast. Maybe it's the season. Or maybe I'm just turning over a new leaf. And you know what? Whatever the reason, I am just fine with it. More than fine with it, actually. While I still consider myself a much, MUCH better cook than baker, I'm thoroughly enjoying my foray into the flour arts! The only downfall...my pants are definitely a bit tighter as of late. I know, I know...exercise helps. But I am the master of excuses and I'm just far too busy to take the time to work out [she says, clearing her throat]. I figure, a couple more weeks and I'll be chillin' on the sweets sector of the baked goods, so it'll all even itself out then. Right? As far as fresh baked bread goes...no way, no how...am I ever giving that up. Never have, never will. But anyway, I digress. Back to talking about the fattening stuff. Cookies. Shortbread cookies. Vanilla Shortbread cookies to be exact. Gorgeously flecked with those little (worth their weight in gold) black seeds. One word. Meltinyourmouthdecadent.Vanilla Shortbread

from Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson

2/3 c. confectioners' sugar

1 3/4 c. AP flour

2/3 c. cornstarch

3/4 c. + 2 Tbs. very soft, unsalted butter

seeds from 1 vanilla bean

vanilla or other granulated sugar for sprinkling (or use decorating sugar like I did)

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Put the confectioners' sugar, flour and cornstarch into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade and give them a quick blitz (this saves you the sifting step). Add the seeds scraped from the vanilla bean and the butter. Process again until the soft mixture coheres and begins to form a ball, loosely clumping around the blade. Turn this out onto a jelly roll pan and press to form an even (as you can make it) layer, using fingers or the back of a spoon, or both. Can I just take this opportunity to ask what size, precisely, is a jelly roll pan? I googled it and found that a jelly roll pan is basically just a cookie sheet with sides. So, tell me Nigella, what size jelly roll pan should I use? Because...this dough does NOT fill my jelly roll pan. Hmmmm. No biggy, though...really. It's a pretty firm, press-in type dough, so I just sort of pressed and stopped about where I thought it looked right. Using the tip of a sharp knife (actually, I used a butter knife), cut the shortbread into fingers. Nigella makes 3 x 11 rows to equal 33...I made 3 x 5 rows to equal 15. Actually, I'll make them even smaller next time...because while delicious, they are rich and these were big fingers! Use the tines of a fork to make little holes in each marked-out biscuit; about 3 times diagonally. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, it will still be pale, but not doughy, and a tad golden around the edges. Remove pan from oven and let cool for 10 minutes or so, before removing, with a palette knife and your fingers, to a wire rack. Sprinkle with sugar and let cool completely before storing in a tightly lidded tin. These are simple and gorgeous...just look at the flecks of vanilla seeds! I bet they'd be superb if you dipped the end in a little chocolate, as well...but I seriously enjoy my shortbread as is. Totally worth the little pinch in the flesh of my waist...at least it seems that way while I'm eating one. This is my entry for the POTLUCK this week over at I Heart Cooking Clubs...won't you cook or bake up something by Nigella and join us?

*Update 12/26/10: I am sharing this with the 12 Day of Bloggie-mas.