Brandied Cranberries

In my family, we all refer to cranberry sauce as simply ‘cranberry.’

I don’t know how this got started, but I would hazard a guess it was because as a kid, my favourite food for a good long while was cranberry. It didn’t even have to be the good homemade kind; just the kind shaped like a can was good enough for me. Relatedly, my favourite doll was a terrifying plastic doll with blond hair and a tattered pink dress named, I kid you not, Cranberry.

When I was a teenager, I learned how easy cranberry is to make, and I’ve been making it every year for Thanksgiving ever since. This year, when I realised Eleanor had her own recipe for ‘brandied cranberries’ in the box, I got excited: a new way to make cranberry in honour of one of my favourite holidays!

But then I read the recipe and realised it’s basically the exact same recipe I’ve been making for half my life every year on Thanksgiving.* So I made the cranberry, thinking it would be exactly the same as the stuff I’ve always made… until I got to the brandy.

¾ cup of brandy is a huge amount of brandy, you guys. That’s 6 ounces of brandy, or 4-6 shots, depending how you measure a shot in your house. And it’s not added to the cranberry until after you remove it from the oven, meaning that almost none of it cooks off (some probably still does, because the dish sizzles like crazy when you pour in the alcohol). This means that this cranberry is boozy enough that if I were hosting a Thanksgiving dinner with children present, I would probably not serve it to them… unless their parents were desperate to make them take a nice, long nap.

However, it also means that this cranberry is insanely delicious. Decadent, rich, and with that perfect balance of sweet/sour/bitter that makes me want to pour it all over everything I eat. And if no one's looking and you stir a wee spoonful into a glass of bourbon, top it with a dash of bitters, and serve it with the biggest ice cube you can find in a sort of holiday riff on an Old-Fashioned, no one will complain, I guarantee it.

We're not celebrating too much this year since today is a work day in all countries except the US, but I've been dwelling on the things I'm grateful for all day, and here are just a handful:

• Amazing friends near and far.

• The cosiness of winter in Scotland.

• Commuting by bus every morning and the insane amount of books I’ve been able to read because of it.

• A flat with a giant bay window that overlooks my favourite street in Edinburgh.

• A husband willing to sit through a Bring Me The Horizon show this week, even though he’d rather have been playing video games.

• When you find grapes so ripe they crunch when you bite into them.

• All of the incredible trips I’ve been able to take this year, to Miami, San Francisco, Liverpool, Glasgow, Tulum, Paris, London and Berlin… and to Vienna next month!

• Tesco selling cranberries so I don’t have to schlep to the fruit market.

• A Christmas tree shop that delivers!

• Candles that make the entire flat smell like winter.

• Living on a block with 2 chocolate shops, a florist, 2 bakeries, 3 coffee shops and a wine shop

• Turning 30 and finally feeling like I might know myself at least a little bit better.

But most of all, I’m thankful to have a warm, safe home to share with my husband in a beautiful city I call home in a wonderful country we’ve adopted as our own. Hugs to you from the Recipe Box Project kitchen, and remember today to be grateful for all the things you have! 

*Minus the crushed pecans and orange zest, two ingredients I definitely prefer to include.

the verdict:

5 spoons out of five. This is perfect, unpretentious, easy and impossible to mess up cranberry sauce. Serve it with turkey, serve it with roast chicken, serve it on a scone or on a spoon or over ice cream or in a cocktail and it will be perfect no matter what!

the recipe:

Brandied Cranberries

the directions:

Preheat oven to 175C/350F.
Wash cranberries well and place in a single layer in a shallow baking dish.
Sprinkle sugar evenly over cranberries, then cover dish tightly with foil.
Bake 45-60 minutes until cranberries are burst and sauce has formed.
Remove from oven and add brandy immediately.
Allow to cool, then serve or store for later use.

the ingredients:

16 oz fresh cranberries
1 1/2 c sugar
3/4 c brandy

No-Bake Pumpkin-Spice Latte Pie, or, Java Pumpkin Pie, 1970s-style

Well, I've done it. I've definitively proven that Eleanor was 100% ahead of her time when it comes to baked goods. While the rest of us would only discover the joys of the Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2003 when Starbucks brought it to us at an unprecedented scale, Eleanor knew the secret wonder of pumpkin + coffee + spices ever since the 1970s, and now you can too!

There's a family legend around here that goes like this: one time when I was a toddler, I demanded to call my grandmother before we visited her later that week. We got on the phone, and I told her I was excited to come see her.

'What are we going to do when you come visit, Blair?' asked my grandmother innocently.
'WE WILL MAKE A PUNKIN PIE.' I stated vociferously.
'But it's August...' said my grandmother, already trying to talk me out of it.
'WE WILL MAKE A PUNKIN PIE.' I said again.
'Ok,' said my grandmother, 'how will we make this pumpkin pie?'
'FIRST we go to Publix and get the vipping cream!' I exclaimed, ever clear on my priorities.*

And that was how I learned, as a very small toddler, that you can talk your grandparents into making a pumpkin pie in the off season if you just explain to them in a step-by-step manner exactly what you require.

But back to the pie at hand: We all know the PSL is a little played out-- even the most diehard addicts would have to admit that when Pringles started making pumpkin spice crisps, the novelty of PSLs may have started to wane. So this year, instead of thinking up the most random dessert/breakfast/meal/drink that you can pumpkin-spice-ify, why don't you take it back to the OG pumpkin-spice product and make this pie. It's warming, it's comforting, you make the whole thing in one bowl and you don't even have to bake it!

Plus, if you bring this to your Friendsgiving celebration on Thursday, I can guarantee you'll be the hit of the party. I mean, who DOESN'T love pie and coffee? Bonus points if you serve it with homemade, vanilla-scented whipped cream, but seriously, no one is going to turn down a slice of this even if you serve it plain.

*It's important to recognise that, as a toddler, I didn't care at all about pumpkin pie, but I loved whipped cream. I had learned that my parents wouldn't generally give me a squirt of whipped cream straight from the can if I asked without pumpkin pie, but with pie present, I could, at the very least, lick all of the whipped cream off of my slice before I ate it.

The verdict:

5 spoons out of five. There's pie and then there's pie when it comes to Thanksgiving, and even though I recognise that there is nothing the world needs less than another pumpkin pie recipe this time of year, the fact that this one is no-bake (NO CROWDING OUT YOUR OVEN!) and infused with strong coffee (CAFFEINE TO COMBAT YOUR TURKEY COMA!) really set it apart. No matter whether you're the type who likes to stick with the classics on Thanksgiving (like me!) or the type who likes to experiment with new and unusual dishes each year, this riff on the classic is the perfect dish for you... and your friends, if you decide to share!

The recipe:

No-Bake Pumpkin-Spice Latte Pie

the directions:

Put cold milk and gelatin into blender or food processor container.
Add hot coffee, cover and process on low until gelatin dissolves (be sure to scrape the bottom every now and then, where the blades don't scrape!).
Add brown sugar, pumpkin, salt, spices, and cream, then cover and blend until smooth.
Add crushed ice or ice water gradually and process until ice is liquefied.
Pour into prepared crust and chill until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.

the ingredients:

½ c cold milk
5 tbsp unflavoured gelatin
½ c coffee, heated to boiling
¾ c brown sugar, firmly packed
2 c canned pumpkin
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ginger
½ c cream
1 c crushed ice or very cold water
1 graham cracker crust or pre-baked pie crust (I used this one)

'Happy Birthday, Eleanor! Cheesecake,' or, Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

If Eleanor was still alive, today would be her 95th birthday!* Over the last few months, I've learned a bit about Eleanor and what made her tick, and so, in her honour, November's cheesecake is the first non-plain cheesecake I've made from the box. To me, making a chocolate cheesecake instead of the plain ones of the last nine months was an excitement I don't think anyone who hasn't made one cheesecake a month every month for nearly a year can understand. But I recognise that it may not be the best honour for Eleanor, who, by all accounts preferred plain cheesecake to nearly any other dessert. Nevertheless, I think she would appreciate the effort... even if she didn't understand why I started this project in the first place. I don't know how Eleanor liked to celebrate her birthday, but I can imagine that most years it involved Bingo, a cheesecake, and a lot of time with her friends... and let's be real, that sounds like a pretty great birthday to me.

Grandparents are a rare breed-- when they become parents (and then grandparents), they give up so much of themselves in favour of their children and grandchildren, and it always strikes me how much of that involves giving up their own birthday celebrations. I can't even count the number of photos that exist of me sitting on the lap of one of my grandmother's, helping them blow out their birthday candles, stealing their thunder when I was still tiny. It's not a unique thing: we all do it when a child comes into our lives. We share our birthdays, we share Christmas, we share the holidays-- it's just what we do. But I just turned 30, and, selfishly, I still love having my own birthday. So the older I get, the more I respect that Eleanor shared her birthday with all of us, but still managed to have her own parties, her own celebration, and her own vibrant life, even as a grandmother. She was a strong, brave woman, and I hope that when I'm 95, I'll have inherited some of that spunk.

We're ten months into the Cheesecake Saga, and though I originally counted 13 cheesecakes in the box, I can only find one more recipe now, so maybe I miscounted and perhaps we're closer to the end than I thought! But regardless, here's to Eleanor, and the first cheesecake I've made that came out of the oven without a single crack in it. I think she was probably looking down from heaven and giving my cheesecake just the right amount of je ne sais quoi that it needed... or maybe I'm just finally learning what I'm doing. This one is a bit of a pain-- it involves the food processor (to grind the crumbs for the crust), the mixer (to blend the filling), and then a whole separate bowl (to whisk together the chocolate layer). But somehow, despite all that, it seemed to go faster than the last few and much smoother than my early iterations.

If you've been debating making one of these cheesecakes because you're on the fence about plain ol' cheesecake, then this one is at your service. Creamy and chocolate-y without being overly sweet or heavy, it's straightforward and gorgeous, so it's perfect for taking to a holiday party, making for yourself, or (if you can bear to part with it) eating on Thanksgiving. AND if you HAVE been making plain cheesecakes along with me, then take note that this one doesn't require beating any egg whites OR even separating any eggs (we take our gratitude where we can get it in the House of The Recipe Box Project).

*You may be noticing a theme here, which is that in the month of November, my family has a lot of birthdays: mine, then my mom's, then Eleanor's, then my grandfather's-- all one week apart each. Weird, right?

The verdict:

5 spoons out of five. It's swirly, pretty, smooth and fluffy, and with just enough chocolate to make it exciting.

The recipe:

Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

the directions:

Preheat oven to 165C/325F.
Combine crumbs, 2 tbsp sugar, and melted butter and pat into the bottom and up the sides of a springform pan, then set aside.
In a microwave, slowly melt chocolate chips with ½ c sugar, stirring frequently until melted and smooth, then set aside.
In the bowl of a mixer, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy.
Gradually add ¾ c sugar, beating until smooth.
Mix in sour cream and vanilla.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Divide batter in half and stir melted chocolate into one half, leaving remaining half plain.
Pour chocolate batter into prepared pan, then gently (and as slowly as possible), pour plain batter on top, then use the tip of a knife to marble the cheesecake.
Bake for 35 minutes until just set, then leave it in the oven with the door slightly open until cooled to room temperature.

the ingredients:

1 ¼ c rich tea biscuit crumbs
2 tbsp + 1 ¼ c sugar, divided
¼ c butter, melted
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 c cream cheese
½ c sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs