Pomegranate Granita

Not just for pomegranate. This is really how you make a granita with most any juice (sweet or savory). I did grapefruit yesterday. Granitas are a fun way to get your fruit juice, but they're also a classy thing to serve in between courses when you're attempting to host a fancy dinner.

• 1 cup pomegranate juice (or other juice)


• 2 tbsp sugar (or more, up to you)


• pinch of salt

You want to use fresh juice. So squeeze that grapefruit and mush those pomegranate seeds.

In a bowl, whisk everything together until the sugar & salt have dissolved. Strain (if necessary).

Put mixture into a small, shallow, nonreactive dish (I used gladware. I know, I'm fancy).

Place the dish on a level surface in the freezer & freeze, stirring occasionally with a fork, until coarse, frozen crystals form. Takes about 2-3 hours. Sometimes more. Cover and keep frozen until ready to serve. Scoop granita into small bowls & serve immediately.

Cranberry Chutney

This stuff will make your kitchen smell like Christmas! It's knockout delicious and you can make it a few days ahead.

• 1lb fresh cranberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (I used dark)
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup chopped apple
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery

Combine the first 9 ingredients in a pan or dutch oven. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until juice is released from cranberries, about 15 minutes.

Stir in remaining ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 15 minutes or until thickened; stirring occasionally.

That's it! Chill before serving. Also, it will keep in the fridge (in an airtight container) for up to 2 weeks). I cut the recipe in half and it came out just fine as well.

Here it is!

Gruyere Cheese Puffs

These are a little tricky, but really good when you get them right. Have a look:

• 1 cup water
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into tbsps
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 2.5oz Gruyere cheese, cut into 1/4 inch dice (about 2/3 cup). I used cave-aged.
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper

They're simple to mix up. You preheat your oven to 400 (according to the directions) and line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment. In a medium saucepan, combine the water with the butter & salt and bring to a boil over moderate heat.

Reduce to low, add the flour all at once & beat with a wooden spoon until the batter is smooth & pulls away from the sides of the pan. Beat for 1 minute longer to dry out the batter.

Remove from heat & let the batter cool for 5 minutes. Then, beat in 1 egg at a time, beating well between additions. Stir in cheese & pepper. Drop tbsps of the batter onto the prepared baking sheets & bake for about 20 minutes or until puffed & golden. This is where I had trouble. The original directions actually said 30 minutes but that was so way off. I gave them 20 minutes and got these:

Nice, right? We tasted them, and the bottoms tasted burnt. Now, does this look like a burnt puff to you:

Well, maybe a little. But it tasted BLACKENED. Not just a little brown. Some were ok though. And the ones that were, tasted great. As for the burnt ones, just remove the bottoms and they're delicious. But not too fancy for a party. Some that came out only moments earlier were ok:




Thats the bottom - same color as the top, right? Still tasted a little overdone. Crap. So I took the last batch out way early and got these:



Are you lauging yet? These little guys didn't puff up all the way and tasted more doughy, but they were DELICIOUS!!! Anyway, try making them. Maybe lower the heat a bit. And watch them really carefully. They keep well, too. The baked puffs can be frozen for up to 1 month (hello Christmas!). Just thaw them and warm them up in the oven a bit before serving.

I'm serving mine with cranberry chutney (recipe to follow)...

Grapefruit Granita

Making this for my parent's 40th anniversary dinner. I'll be posting the rest of the recipes, as well as the full menu later. Grapefruit granita, lemon sorbet, any kind of light citrusy frozen treat can be served in between courses to cleanse the palate. And it's also just kind of fun.

• 2 ruby red grapefruits
• 2 tbsp sugar
• pinch salt

Juice the grapefruits to get about 1 cup of liquid. In a bowl, whisk together the grapefruit juice, sugar & salt until dissolved. Pour mixture through a strainer into a small, shallow dish.

Place the dish on a level surface in the freezer & freeze, stirring occasionally with a fork until coarse, frozen crystals form. About 2-3 hours.

Cover & keep frozen until ready to serve.

Scoop the granita into small bowls and serve immediately. Garnish with a paper-thin slice of lemon.

Lemon Curd

Lemon curd isn't only for fancy tea parties. It's delish all by itself or with scones (especially my ginger scones!)

• 4 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 lemons, juice & zest
• 1 stick butter, cut into pats & chilled

Add enough water to a medium saucepan to come about 1/2 inch up the side. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, combine egg yolks & sugar in a medium size bowl (preferrably metal) and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute.

Measure lemon juice out & add to egg mixture along with the zest. Whisk till smooth. Once water reaches a simmer, reduce heat to low & place bowl on top of saucepan (bowl should be large enough to fit on top of the saucepan without touching the water.) Whisk until thickened, about 8 minutes, or until mixture is light yellow & coats the back of a spoon.

Remove to a clean container & cover by laying plastic wrap directly to the surface of the curd.

Refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

Basic Crostini

This is a great garnish, goes good in creamy soups and on its own.

• italian rustic bread
• olive oil
• sea salt

Heat broiler. Slice an italian rustic bread (I used french) on the diagonal 1/2 inch thick, then cut slices in half. Place bread on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush with olive oil & season with sea salt. Broil until lightly browned around the edges - this happens fast so check it every 30 seconds!

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Prosciutto, Pear & Gouda Canapes

Saw something similar to this on either aol or msn's cooking page. Here's my version. Lovely little finger sandwiches. Made these for my BFF's 31st. They're just fancy enough for a special occasion, but delicious for any palette.

• box of melba toasts (square kind)
• 2 pkgs prosciutto
• 2 pears (used bosc)
• gouda
• small arugula

Lay out the melbas, pile on the arugula, place a slice of gouda, then pear on each and wrap with the prosciutto.

Crab Salad Hors d'œuvres

It's my best friends birthday and I wanted to make something delicious. I kind of just mixed things is as I went until it tasted right to me but I think I can give you most of the measurements.

• 1 container, crab meat. Doesn't have to be the lump jumbo kind because you're going to break it down anyway.
• mayo, about 2 heaping spoonfuls
• 1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
• 1/4 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• about 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• sea salt
• phyllo pastry cups
• spring onion

Mix crab, mayo, celery, pepper, sauces, lemon juice and maybe a bit of black pepper. At this point I put mine in a sieve for a bit to strain out extra liquid.

Put crab mixture into phyllo cups, top with thinly sliced spring onion, sea salt and maybe some lemon zest. I hope she likes them!

Kelly's Three Cheese Hot Artichoke Dip

My sister-in-law, Kelly made this for us when we went to visit her in Pittsburgh a couple of months ago and I begged her for the recipe. It's *that* good.

• 1 package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 can artichoke hearts (14oz), drained & chopped
• 2 green onions, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella (or 3 cheese italian mix)
• dash of hot sauce
• dash of worcesterchire sauce
• salt & pepper
• red pepper flakes
• 1/2 container frozen spinach, squeezed to remove excess water

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand held electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the mayo until smooth. Add remaining ingredients & stir together until combined.

Transfer the dip to a pie plate or shallow gratin dish.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden & bubbling.

Serve hot with crostini, veggies & especially Ritz Crackers!

Swedish Meatballs

This is another recipe from my mother (which means some of the ingredients don't have specifications for amounts). But this is hard to mess up.

• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup water or milk
• 1 lb ground beef
• 2/3 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 2 tbsp minced onion
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp shortening
• sour cream

Blend soup with water (or milk). Combine 1/4 cup soup mixture, beef, breadcrumbs, egg, onion, parsley & salt; shape into balls about 1" in diameter.

Brown meatballs in shortening. Pour remaining soup over meatballs.

Cover and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. OR you can bake them at 350 for 20 minutes. Whatever you do, just make sure you pour off some of that excess grease before serving. Over what? Massive egg noodles work for me.

3-Ingredient Sausage Balls

Another of my mom's. Three ingredients. Yes really. It's delicious - feed this to everyone you know. Ok not the vegetarians, but everyone else.

• 2 cups Bisquick
• 10oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1lb package hot sausage (any kind, beef or pork)

Combine everything together (uncooked) & roll into balls (about 1-2 inches big)

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

THAT'S IT!!!

Leftover Cheese Spread

Ever find yourself with a fridge full of small bits of all kinds of leftover cheeses? Don't waste those post-party leftovers! Put them all together for the classic "Fromage Fort" - leftover cheese spread. You'll pat yourself on the back for being so thrifty and not letting good food go to waste:

• 1 lb leftover cheese. Any kinds, as many kinds, it doesn't matter. The recipe always seems to work. Just make sure it's all room temperature so it mixes well.
• 1/4 cup dry white wine.
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter (you can get away with less).
• 2 tbsp parlsey (fresh is better but I did fine with dried).
• 1 clove garlic.

Mix all ingredients in food processor till well blended. Serve soft or refrigerate to make it a bit firmer.

Goes great with your leftover toast, bread, crackers, fruit, cold cuts....

...yeah I stole the picture. wanna fight about it?