Nut Crusted Cranberry Tart Food

CRANBERRY CURD TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Put hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until skins darken and crack. Put roasted nuts in a clean towel and rub off skins. Discard skins and let nuts cool.
• In a food processor, grind nuts with half the rice flour until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add remaining rice flour and salt and pulse briefly.
• Cream sugar and butter in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon for a minute or two until pale and thick. Add nut mixture and combine until dough comes together. If it seems crumbly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons softened butter or a little cold water.
• Press dough evenly into a 10-inch tart pan; use half the dough for the sides and half for the bottom. Prick bottom with a fork and freeze for 30 minutes (or several days if desired).
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake chilled tart shell about 15 minutes until lightly brown. Cool.
• While the crust bakes and cools, make the cranberry curd: Put cranberries, sugar and orange juice and peel in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until cranberries have popped and softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a food mill or medium mesh sieve and press cooking liquid and solids into a bowl. (Alternatively, for the most vibrant color, purée the cooked cranberry and orange mixture with an immersion blender or in a food processor or blender. Press through a fine-mesh sieve.) Whisk the butter into the warm liquid.
• Put eggs and egg yolks into a bowl and beat lightly. Slowly whisk a cup of warm cranberry liquid into the eggs to temper, then combine both and whisk together. Wipe out pot if necessary, return liquid to pot and cook over low heat until nearly bubbling and thickened, about 10 minutes. If using immediately, let cool to room temperature. If working ahead, cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap (press wrap against curd) and refrigerate. (Curd may be cooked up to 1 day ahead.)
• Pour cooled cranberry curd into the cooled prebaked tart shell and smooth top with a spatula. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes to set curd. Cool on a rack. Store at room temperature for up to 2 days.

NUT-CRUSTED CRANBERRY TART

Steps:

• Sprinkle gelatin over water in a small bowl; let stand until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Combine cranberries, sugar, jelly, and cognac in a saucepan and cook over low heat until cranberries are soft but not bursting, 12 to 15 minutes. Do not overcook or the mixture will become too watery. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Stir in gelatin mixture and let cool completely.
• Pour cranberry filling into cooled tart shell and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

CRANBERRY AND PECAN CRUSTED RACK OF PORK

Steps:

• Combine the brining solution ingredients together and cover the pork with the cranberry liquid overnight.
• Puree the dried cranberries in a blender with a little bit of water until smooth.
• Toast the pecans. Place in food processor and pulse until slightly ground. Add bread crumbs and picked thyme. Pulse again. Add 3 ounces clarified butter until mixture sticks together to adhere on the pork.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• After the pork has been brined, remove from the liquid and pat dry. Discard the brining liquid. Heat a large saute pan until hot, add 3 tablespoons of clarified butter and sear the rack on both sides. Place the pork on a meat rack. Spread the cranberry paste on the pork and then top with the pecan bread crumbs. Cover with foil and bake for about 1 1/2 hours or until meat thermometer registers 130 degrees. Remove the foil about 10 to 15 minutes before the pork is done, to brown the pecan crust. Allow the pork to rest 15 minutes before slicing.
• When ready to serve slice the rack of pork into 8 slices and plate each piece. Arrange each plate with a Wilted Spinach and Apple Tart. Finish each plate with cranberry pork sauce.
• Heat 2 large saute pans until hot. Add the olive oil and garlic. Now add the spinach, season with salt and cook until just wilted. Serve immediately.
• Peel, core and dice 1 apple, saute in butter, season with salt and sugar. Add the cream and reduce by 3/4. Puree until very smooth.
• Slice potato into thin slices with mandoline. Cook in boiling water until almost tender. Set aside.
• Roll out puff pastry a bit. Score with a sharp knife. With a 2-inch cookie cutter, cut out 8 circles of puff pastry. Place between 2 sheets of waxed paper on baking sheet, weigh down with another baking sheet and blind bake in oven until almost cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spread a heaping teaspoon of the apple cream on top of the puff pastry. Peel and slice the other apple, and then fan apple and potato slices around the puff pastry, making a pinwheel design. Brush with butter and sprinkle with salt and sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes. Brush with a little more butter and sprinkle with some more sugar and broil for 1 minute until the tarts are caramelized.
• Saute the cranberries in 1 tablespoon of butter until they start to split, sprinkle with sugar and salt, deglaze with the wine and reduce until almost dry. Add in the cranberry juice and thyme sprig; reduce by 1/2. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve, whisk in the remaining cold butter and check for proper seasoning.

POPPED CRANBERRY TART

Steps:

• Nut Crust: Mix butter, sugar, pecans, whole egg, egg yolk, and salt with a wooden spoon until barely blended. Add flour and knead until a small ball forms. Wrap in plastic and chill about 4 hours.
• After chilling dough, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll chilled dough to about 1/4 inch thickness or divide into 8 parts and press into 8 individual tart pans, 3-inch round x 1 inch deep. The crust should be thick.
• Bake empty tart shells 12 to 15 minutes, or until edges begin to brown. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile make pastry cream, and prepare berries.
• Pastry Cream: Mix 1/4 cup sugar and cornstarch in a bowl until smooth. Add egg yolks and mix until a paste is formed. Stir in 1/2 cup milk.
• Combine remaining milk and sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Pour hot mixture into mixture in bowl, whisking constantly. Pour back into pan.
• Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and thick. Remove from heat and stir an additional minute. Stir in vanilla and transfer to a bowl. Cover with buttered parchment paper touching top and chill a minimum of 2 hours or as long as 2 days.
• Cranberries: Combine sugar, jelly and orange zest in sauce pan and boil until thick, about 5 minutes. Fold in cranberries, and cook another 1 or 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool, then assemble tart.
• To Assemble: Spread prepared nut crust with a layer of chilled pastry cream and top with cooled cranberries. Serve chilled.

ORANGE BRAZIL NUT TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 10 inch round cake pan with parchment paper, butter and flour.
• In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow. Add the orange zest and vanilla, whip until light and fluffy and set aside.
• In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of the Brazil nuts with the flour and set aside. Reserve the remaining nuts for the garnish.
• In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Sprinkle in the salt and continue beating until soft peaks form. Alternate folding in the nut and flour mixture, and the beaten yolk mixture, until combined. Pour into the prepared pan.
• Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Set on a rack to cool, about 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edge to loosen and invert onto a platter. Remove the parchment let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Place cake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Working over a bowl to catch the juices, peel the grapefruits and oranges and cut between the membranes to remove the sections. Remove the seeds. Arrange the sections over the cake. Pour the juice through a strainer and drizzle over the cake.
• In mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add the sugar, whisking until stiff peaks form, about 10 minutes. Gently fold in the reserved 1 cup of ground Brazil nuts.
• Spread the meringue evenly over the cake and bake 1/2 hour. Cool on a rack and serve.

CRANBERRY PEAR TART WITH GINGERBREAD CRUST

Steps:

• Make pear mixture: In a saucepan, combine cranberry juice, sugar, cinnamon stick and lemon juice.
• Bring to boil and add pears.
• Heat until it just comes to simmer and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes, or until the pears are just tender.
• Remove from heat, stir in cranberries and let mixture cool.
• Chill, covered, for at least 8 hours.
• (may be made 2 days in advance) Crust: Blend together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt.
• Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• In a small bowl, stir together egg yolk and the molasses.
• Add to flour mixture and mix until combined well but still crumbly.
• Turn out onto 10 inch tart pan with removable rim and press onto bottom and up sides of pan.
• Chill crust for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Prick crust all over with fork, line with foil, fill with pie weights or dry beans, and bake in lower third of oven for 15 minutes.
• Remove foil and pie weights and bake crust a further 10 minutes.
• Let cool.
• Transfer poached pears and half the cranberries with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, discard cinnamon, and reserve syrup with remaining cranberries.
• In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, sour cream, milk, vanilla, zest and a pinch of salt.
• Stir in the drained cranberries.
• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Spoon half of custard into the crust.
• Slice 4 of the pear halves crosswise on the diagonal, arrange decoratively over the custard alternately with the unsliced pear halves, and spoon remaining custard around pears.
• Bake tart in middle of oven for 50-55 minutes or until custard is just set.
• Remove rim of pan and let cool.
• (may be made up to 8 hours in advance, cooled completely and chilled) Boil reserved syrup until reduced to 1 cup and is jelly-like in consistency and transfer cranberries with slotted spoon to a plate to cool.
• Brush pears with some of cranberry glaze and arrange cranberries around edge of tart.
• Serve warm or chilled.

CRANBERRY NUT TARTS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, stir together the butter and cream cheese. Mix in the flour until well blended. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• While the dough chills, make the filling. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, melted butter and vanilla. Stir in the cranberries and walnuts.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Roll the dough into 1 inch balls. Press the balls into the cups of mini muffin pans so that the dough covers the bottom and sides. Fill each one with a generous teaspoon of the filling.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges of the tarts are lightly browned.