Day Five: Cranberry Orange Bread Recipe

For Day 5 of the PammiCakes 12 Days of Christmas Indulgences, it is all about tart cranberry orange bread.  I love making quick breads.  They are easy and the perfect pastry to make when you are in a pinch for a hostess gift.  This bread is perfect for breakfast, snacks or served along with a cup of tea.

 

The flavor combination of cranberries and oranges, to me, is one of the best pairs to incorporate into breads or muffins.  I love the tart, fresh cranberries mixed with the tangy orange, and balanced out by the sweet bread.  This bread would be a perfect addition to you dessert buffet or a great accompaniment to your Christmas breakfast.  I hope you enjoy!   

 
Cranberry Orange Bread Recipe
Makes one 9x5 inch loaf
Preheat oven 350^o
 
1/2 cup sugar
Zest from 1 orange
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup fresh orange juice
3 egg whites, lightly beaten
4 tablespoon melted butter
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) fresh cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

In a large bowl, mix sugar and orange zest.  With your hands, massage the zest and sugar together to infuse the sugar with the orange flavor.  Now, mix in both flours, baking powder and salt. 

Next, incorporate the orange juice, egg whites, butter and vegetable oil.  Whisk together until smooth.  Fold in the fresh cranberries and walnuts with a spatula. 

Line the bottom and sides of the loaf pan with wax paper.  Pour the bread batter into the lined loaf pan and place into the center of the oven.  Bake for 45-50 minutes.  Once the bread is cooked, let the bread cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, remove onto a cooking rack.

Day Four: Poinsettia Sparkler Cocktail Recipe

 

The Poinsettia Sparkler is the fourth recipe on the PammiCakes 12 Days of Christmas Indulgences.  The Poinsettia Sparkler is a sparkling wine or champagne cocktail that is the perfect match for any of your holiday gatherings.  This drink is smooth, tart, bubbly, festive and very easy to drink. 

This cocktail is the perfect way to great your guests for your holiday party. Wouldn't these look beautiful served on a silver platter?  Who wouldn’t feel welcomed and special being presented with these cocktails?  I know I would.  These cocktails are perfect for a celebratory cocktail party, dinner party or brunch.  Top them off with some fresh cranberries that will float on top for a gorgeous garnish. 

 
Poinsettia Sparkler Cocktail Recipe
Serves 1
 
Sparkling white wine
1/2 ounce Cointreau
3 ounces cranberry juice
Fresh cranberries

Chill a champagne flute with ice for a few minutes.  Discard ice.  Next, pour the Cointreau and cranberry juice into the chilled champagne flute.  Stir them and top off the rest of the flute with the sparkling wine.  Garnish with fresh cranberries.
 
Tips:
1)      This cocktail can be made non-alcoholic by using sparkling cider or tonic water.
2)       Want to kick it up a knotch?  Add one ounce of vodka or tequila to the drink.

Quinoa Salad Recipe

This quinoa salad was created a few months back when Bill and I competed in our “Chopped Challenge.”   Quinoa was one of Bill’s secret ingredients and he came up with this excellent side dish that we have made a staple in our recipe box.  Quinoa is an excellent source of protein, essential amino acids, fiber, and iron. 

This quinoa salad has crunchy almonds, sweet dried cranberries and tender asparagus accented by sesame oil.  This flavor combination that Bill came up with goes wonderful as a side dish with fish, chicken or beef.  You could also have it by itself for lunch or a snack.  We have only had this salad warm, but I will definitely serve it cold this summer at a BBQ.

Quinoa Salad Recipe

1/2 cup whole almonds

1 cup quinoa
2 cup chicken stock
1cup chopped asparagus, 1/2 inch size pieces
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon sesame oil

In a small pan, toast the almonds.  Be sure to keep an eye on these as they can burn quickly

In a small sauce pan, combine chicken stock and quinoa.  Bring the mixture to a boil, cover with a lid and turn down the heat to a simmer for 15 minutes.  Once cooked, fluff the quinoa with a fork.

While the quinoa is cooking, steam chopped asparagus for 10-15 minutes until tender. 

In a large serving bowl, combine quinoa, toasted almonds, cranberries, asparagus and sesame oil.  Serve warm or cold and enjoy!

Tips:

1)      Quinoa doesn’t have much flavor, so we prefer to cook it in chicken stock.  If you want to keep this vegetarian, it would be excellent in vegetable stock.
2)      We have used green beans instead of asparagus for this recipe too!
3)      Serve this warm or cold.
4)      If you prefer, you can chop the almonds once they are toasted.

Cranberry White Chocolate Baked French Toast Recipe

One of my favorite parts of grocery shopping is walking by the bakery section and smelling all of the fresh baked bread.  I have very, very, very little self restraint when it comes to bread.  So I find myself bringing home a large loaf of fresh baked French bread for just Bill and I.  Even for me this is a lot of bread for two people.  It is always amazing the day of, but I have a difficult time keeping it fresh over the next few days.  So I came up with this baked French toast recipe to use up my day old bread. 

Baked French toast is delicious and less hassle than making typical French toast.  Just throw it all into a baking dish, let it sit over night and then put it in the oven.  Baked French toasts are perfect for a brunch as it allows you to enjoy your time with your guests while the oven does all of the work, but you end up with the flavors of a French toast.  Feel free to mix up the cranberries and white chocolate with any other flavors that you enjoy. 

Cranberry White Chocolate Baked French Toast Recipe

Preheat oven to 350^o

1/2 loaf French bread, day old and cut into chunks

4 eggs

2/3 cup milk (I used Skim)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup white chocolate chip chunks

Place the French bread chunks into an 8X8 baking dish. 

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon.  Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread.  Next, sprinkle the cranberries and white chocolate chunks over the bread egg mixture.  If necessary, use a spoon and stir the bread so that it is evenly coated with the egg mixture.

Place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.  When ready, bake for 25-30 minutes until top is golden brown.

Serve warm and enjoy!

Day Twelve: Cranberry Walnut Bars Recipe

Day 12 of the PammiCakes 12 Days of Christmas Indulgences brings you Cranberry Walnut Bars!

The combination of cranberries and orange is such an amazing match.  They work perfectly together in these bars with the walnut and butter base.  My family loves to make these bars for many occasions and they are always a crowd pleaser. 

Cranberry Walnut Bars Recipe

Preheat oven 350^o

1 3/4 cups walnuts

2 cups flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 sticks cold butter – cut into chunks

1/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut

2 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 can whole berry cranberry sauce

In a food processor, coarsely chop ½ cup of the walnuts.  Place in a small bowl and set aside.

Again, in the food processor, pulse remaining 1 ¼ cups walnuts, flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and butter until dough clumps together.

Add 1 cup of dough into the small bowl with the reserved walnuts.  Add shredded coconuts.  Mix together and form small clumps.

Take remaining dough and pat it into the bottom of a 9X13 pan lined with parchment paper.  This is the base of the bars.

In a second small bowl, mix together the cranberry sauce and orange zest.  Pour the cranberry sauce over the dough in the 9X13 pan.  Then, sprinkle the walnut coconut mixture on top. 

Bake for 40 minutes or until the top browns.  Allow to cool completely in pan on a rack before cutting.  Lift the parchment paper and bars out of the pan before cutting.