Cranberry Maple Crème Fraîche Food

CRANBERRY-MAPLE BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast bread on a baking sheet until golden, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Butter a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan. Whisk together eggs and sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk creme fraiche in another bowl, adding milk gradually to prevent lumps; whisk into egg mixture. Whisk in vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Soak each slice of bread in custard. Stand slices up next to one another in pan.
• Strain half the custard mixture over bread in pan. Let stand for 10 minutes, allowing custard to soak into bread. Slowly add remaining custard to cover (you may have some custard left over).
• Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake until pudding is set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. If top browns too quickly before pudding is set, cover with foil, and continue baking. Let stand for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring cranberries and maple syrup to a gentle simmer in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until cranberries just begin to soften but have not popped, about 5 minutes. Serve pudding with cranberry topping.

CRANBERRY-MAPLE PUDDING CAKE

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Combine first 4 ingredients and pinch of salt in medium saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat.
• Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Whisk egg and sugar in another medium bowl. Whisk milk, melted butter, and vanilla into egg mixture. Add flour mixture to egg mixture; whisk to blend. Pour warm cranberry mixture into 11x7x2-inch or 8x8x2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Pour batter over.
• Bake cake until golden and cranberry mixture bubbles at edges, about 28 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Serve cake warm topped with crème fraîche, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.

MAPLE CRANBERRY CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine syrup and 3/4 cup cranberry sauce; set aside. Sprinkle chicken with salt.
• Moisten a paper towel with cooking oil; using long-handled tongs, lightly coat the grill rack. Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 165°, basting frequently with syrup mixture.
• Warm the remaining cranberry sauce; serve with chicken.

CRANBERRY-MAPLE CRèME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• Bring the cranberry juice to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to 1/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the maple syrup and maple extract, and let cool to room temperature.
• Put the crème fraîche into a small bowl, add the cranberry mixture, and stir to combine. Season with salt. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day to allow the flavors to meld.

PUMPKIN GRANOLA AND ORANGE-CRANBERRY JAM WITH MAPLE YOGURT PARFAITS

Steps:

• Special equipment: 4 parfait glasses
• For the pumpkin granola: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and lightly spray with nonstick spray; set aside.
• Put the oats, seeds and nuts in a large bowl. Combine the pumpkin puree, sugar, maple syrup, oil and pumpkin pie spice in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat and let it cook for 1 minute longer, whisking occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
• Pour the wet ingredients over the oat mixture and stir until the oats are fully coated. The mixture will be pretty wet. Evenly spread the mixture, in a single layer, onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then stir and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the granola is golden brown and crisp. Cool on a baking rack. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cranberries, if using. Store leftovers in an airtight container in a cool, dark, place, for up to 1 week.
• For the orange cranberry jam: Combine the orange juice and zest, and the sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the sugar has melted. Add the cranberries, reduce the heat so the mixture simmers, and cook until the cranberries pop and the mixture thickens slightly (it will thicken much more as it cools), about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Makes about 2 cups; store leftovers in the refrigerator, covered, for 2 weeks.
• For the maple yogurt: Whisk together the yogurt and 2 tablespoons maple syrup until smooth; taste, and add more maple syrup if you'd like it sweeter. Chill.
• To assemble the parfaits: Dollop 1/4 cup maple yogurt in the bottoms of 4 parfait glasses. Follow that with about 1/4 cup of pumpkin granola, another 1/4 cup of yogurt, about 2 tablespoons of orange cranberry jam, then a little more yogurt and a few more tablespoons of granola. Drizzle over some Pumpkin Spice Syrup, if using. Serve.
• Combine the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until the mixture thickens slightly and the spices become fragrant, about 3 minutes.
• Combine 2 cups cold water and the granulated and brown sugars in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil over high heat and cook, whisking occasionally, until the mixture thickens and reduces slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to low, whisk in the spiced pumpkin puree and cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Do not allow the mixture to boil after you add the pumpkin or the syrup will become cloudy (even after straining.) Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool for 10 minutes.
• Place a mesh strainer over a medium bowl and line the strainer with several layers of cheesecloth. Pour the mixture through the strainer and let it strain slowly into the bowl. Add the vanilla extract to the syrup and transfer to a container with a tight fitting lid. The syrup will last 1 month stored in the refrigerator. Makes about 1 1/2 cups; leftovers can be refrigerated for 1 week.

CRANBERRY MAPLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Rinse cranberries under cool running water, pick over and discard any bad berries. Place berries into a medium saucepan.
• Stir in the orange zest, Grand Marnier (or orange juice), cranberry juice, and pure maple syrup.
• Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high to high heat, keeping a close eye and stirring often.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, until sauce thickens and most of the berries have popped.
• Pour into a glass dish and let cool. For best results let sit in fridge overnight.

STICKY CRANBERRY GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9-inch square or round baking pan with parchment.
• In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir together cranberries, granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon water. Stir the cranberries over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and cranberries form a sauce that is syrupy and bubbling thickly, about 10 minutes. Aim to have about half the cranberries broken down, with the remainder more or less whole.
• In a separate saucepan, stir together the butter, brown sugar, milk, maple syrup and molasses over medium heat. Bring it to just barely a simmer and then remove it from the heat. Do not let it come to a boil, or the mixture may curdle.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, baking soda and black pepper. Beat in the butter-maple syrup mixture and then beat in the eggs. Stir in the ginger.
• Scrape the batter into the pan. Drop fat dollops of cranberry sauce onto the surface of the cake batter. Drag a long, slender knife through the batter in a swirly design, as if you are marbling a cake. Transfer the cake to the oven and bake it until the top is firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire baking rack and let the cake cool completely before eating it.

CRANBERRY-STUDDED CRèME FRAîCHE SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Rub in butter with fingertips until mixture resembles fine meal. Mix in cranberries.
• Separate 1 egg; place white in small bowl and reserve. Place yolk in medium bowl. Whisk whole egg, crème fraîche and vanilla into yolk. Gently stir crème fraîche mixture into flour mixture (dough will be very moist). Turn dough out onto generously floured work surface. Divide dough in half. Press each half into 6-inch round about 1/2 inch thick. Cut each round into 6 wedges. Beat reserved white until foamy; brush over wedges. Sprinkle with sugar. Transfer wedges to baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart.
• Bake scones until pale golden and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Serve scones warm or at room temperature.