Cranberry-Pomegranate Chiffon Pie and Ben’s Gingerbread Hall of Fame

It is once again my pleasure to bring you two of my favorite Christmas traditions: a delicious recipe you can serve at Christmas dinner, (this year, Cranberry-Pomegranate Chiffon Pie in a Graham Cracker Crust with White Chocolate Sauce), and the 2011 inductees into Ben’s Gingerbread Hall of Fame. With a two-part article there’s much to show, so let’s get started!






Part 1: Ben’s Gingerbread Hall of Fame Class of 2011


Gingerbread cookies are, of course, one of Christmas’ most cherished traditions. One of my favorite things is to use them to commemorate people or images that made a special mark during the year. (Click here to see the previous inductees, along with a recipe for a great-tasting pecan pie with cranberries and bourbon.)


And now, please welcome the Gingerbread Hall of Fame, Class of 2011!



Angry Birds



Sock Monkey



Sue Sylvester



William and Kate Royal Wedding


Part 2: Cranberry-Pomegranate Chiffon Pie in a Graham Cracker Crust with White Chocolate Sauce



A delicious dessert is the perfect finish to a special dinner. This Cranberry-Pomegranate Chiffon Pie tastes great, is easy to make, and is low-fat too! (If you've never worked with unflavored gelatin before, this recipe is a good example of why you might want to add this wonderful and useful ingredient to your arsenal.)

This recipe makes one 9” pie. (You might also want to save the directions for the graham cracker crust and the white chocolate sauce separately, since those will be useful for lots of other dishes, too!)


First, let’s make the crust. (If you use a purchased graham cracker crust, just skip this step and go on to the filling directions.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


To make 1-1/2 cups of crumbs, put about 12 low-fat graham crackers in a large (1 gallon size) food storage bag.






Use a rolling pin to crush the crackers and make the crumbs. (Try not to let on how much fun this is to do.)





In a bowl, combine the crumbs with ¼ cup sugar, a pinch of ground cinnamon, and a pinch of ground nutmeg. Add 5 tablespoons of melted butter substitute.



Combine until the mixture has the consistency of wet sand.








Spread the batter into a 9” pie pan, pressing down using fingers or the flat bottom of a glass.





Bake for 10 – 15 minutes until light brown and firm to the touch. Allow the crust to cool before filling.







To make the chiffon filling:


You'll need a bottle of cranberry-pomegranate juice.


Place a mixer bowl, mixer blades, and ½ cup of juice in the freezer until very cold.







In a small saucepan, bring ¾ cup juice to a boil. Pour into a bowl or mixing cup, add 1 packet (1/4 ounce) of unflavored gelatin and stir. Add ¼ cup sugar, and stir well.


Let the mixture cool until it is the consistency of unbeaten egg whites, about 20 minutes.


Place ½ cup non-fat dry milk and the ice-cold juice in a mixing bowl. Beat on high speed 3-4 minutes, or until soft peaks form.


Add  2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and continue beating.


Gradually add ¼ cup of sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form.




Gently mix the cooled gelatin mixture into the beaten dry milk mixture to form the filling.







Pour the filling into the cooled pie shell, cover and refrigerate three hours or until firm.









Finally, to make the white chocolate sauce:
Finely chop 3.5 ounces of white chocolate and place in a bowl.








Combine 6 tablespoons of fat-free half-and-half and 1 tablespoon light corn syrup in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.





Pour the boiled mixture onto the chocolate in the bowl. Let stand for 1 minute.









Add ½ tablespoon of butter substitute and stir until smooth. (If the sauce thickens too much when cooled, add a splash of skim milk to thin.)





To complete the pie:


Once the pie has cooled and is firm, sprinkle the top with finely chopped pecans.






Slice to serve. As you plate each slice, top it with the white chocolate sauce using a spoon or squeeze bottle as shown in the photo at the top of the recipe.


Wishing you all a joyous [fill in the name of your favorite December celebration]!




See you next week with another delightful treat for your cooking and eating pleasure!  Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

"Gobble and Squeak": Pan-Fried Thanksgiving Leftovers Patties

Posting a recipe for enormous amounts of turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, or some other traditional Thanksgiving food might seem an easy choice only a few days before the big day. However, I realized while planning this week’s recipe post that anyone who’ll be cooking Thanksgiving dinner probably already has their recipes in place and isn’t likely to change them at this late date. So I started thinking about recipes you’d want and, truth be told, the choice wasn’t all that difficult.


THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS!


There are a lot of directions in which one can take Thanksgiving leftovers: sandwiches, of course. Casseroles, pot pies, and hash are just a few more that come to mind. Today I’m happy to give one of my favorite leftover recipes the Thanksgiving treatment.


I’ve posted on a traditional Bubble and Squeak before. Briefly, it’s a style of cooking that originated in England during World War II, when the British mainland was being hit hard and food shortages made it necessary to make the fullest use of everything they had. One result was made by chopping up whatever meat, potatoes, and vegetables were left over from the previous night’s meal, mixing them together to form a patty, and pan-frying it. Mostly likely as a result of the sound the patties seemed to make in the pan, the dish came to be known as “Bubble and Squeak.”


This week’s recipe takes a similar approach with typical Thanksgiving leftovers: turkey, vegetables, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. Appropriately (I hope), I call it, Gobble and Squeak. And if you don’t have all the ingredients exactly the way they’re described in the recipe, feel free to improvise. This is more of a general method than a recipe calling for precise measurements. (In the photo above, I've served it with a simple Caesar salad on the side.)


So have some fun with this tasty, and just a bit different, way of serving those leftovers.


This recipe makes about 8 burger-size patties.


In a bowl, stir together 1-1/2 cups of leftover vegetables; 1 clove of minced garlic, 2 tablespoons of mustard (I used spicy brown mustard); 2 tablespoons fresh chopped (or 2 teaspoons dried) sage; and 1 tablespoon fresh (or 1 teaspoon dried) tarragon. Let the mixture rest for five minutes while the flavors blend.


Chop 1 pound of turkey into small pieces and mix with the other ingredients in the bowl till combined.



Stir in mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and stuffing in equal amounts, starting with ½ cup of each and adding more of each in equal amounts until the mixture has a texture that can be formed into patties. (For 1 pound of turkey I used a total of 1 cup of each.) Add salt and pepper to taste.


Optional step: If desired, mix in 2 egg substitute eggs and let the mixture rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before forming the patties. (This will make the mixture a little more cohesive while it’s cooking.)


Divide the mixture into 8 burger-size patties.









Coat a large skillet or grille pan with olive oil. Working in batches, cook the patties on both sides till browned. (I cooked mine about 3 minutes per side.)


Serve on a plate or a bun, topped with leftover cranberry sauce and optional cheese, add a salad or favorite side dish, and you've got a delicious meal that's easy to make!


Bonus Recipe: Just in case it turns out you do need a recipe for your Thanksgiving dinner, click here for a delicious Pecan Pie with Cranberries and Bourbon recipe I posted a while back.




Visit again next week for another good-tasting, kitchen-tested recipe using ingredients that are easy to find! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and kiss somebody you’re thankful for. After that, always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)