Merry Christmas Cranberry Salad

I have never been much of a cranberry fan. Or a Jello fan either. I must harbor strange childhood memories:

• A family holiday tradition was making a cranberry relish that had only three ingredients -- freshly ground whole cranberries and whole oranges, sweetened by as much sugar as you wanted (or not.) The grinding was fun, but I really didn't like the texture of the relish. My adult senses are wiser.
• I distrusted any food that you could see through. Or that jiggled. I didn't think it was fun food;  it just reminds me of bad school cafeteria fare. Although cafeteria food has much improved, I do believe Jello is still a staple. I would eat it only to strengthen my nails.

This salad was different. It has been the regular contribution of a family to our annual church Christmas dinner. Last year I was so bold as to ask the man (who I didn't know too well) for the recipe. He immediately began rattling off the precise measurements.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, Dave," I said. "Let me get a pen!" I was really surprised that the recipe had Jello in it; although I wondered as I was writing things down, if plain gelatin and fruit juice would be a good way to make this. But first, try it as written. I did . . . and I still liked it.

After I thanked him and started walking away, Dave, the retired accountant, said, "You know, it's not a cheap salad to make." and then he began itemizing the cost of each ingredient. Even the math-challenged me recognized that it wasn't a bargain. But it is Christmas, after all, and generosity prevails.

When I asked what his family called it, he just shrugged and said, "We always just called it Christmas salad."

So that's what we'll call it here.

Christmas Cranberry Salad
3 cups whole cranberries
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 large package raspberry Jello (any red flavor will do)
1 cup grapes, seeded and halved
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup crushed pineapple, undrained

Cook the cranberries over medium heat  until they have popped. Add the sugar and Jello and stir until dissolved. Remove from stove-top and cool until the mixture starts to thicken; then add the grapes, walnuts and pineapple. Chill  until ready to serve.

Merry Christmas to you and yours . .  and best wishes for a happy new year!

Make Limoncello for Christmas Gifting

If you got right on it this weekend, you could easily be giving away beautiful bottles of your own homemade limoncello for Christmas.  It’s really very simple and only takes about a half-hour or so hands-on time. It's just the steeping that takes time.   The only hard part is planning far enough ahead to allow that steeping.  And, like I said, if you start this weekend . . . .

I made some a few years ago in preparing for a big summer blast we hosted.  (It was so big, we haven’t had one since!) That same year, I also made mojitos.  Must have been when they first came into vogue.  Trouble was that both those drinks are really best when it’s hot and you need a really refreshing, cool beverage.  Wouldn’t you know it was blowing rain and 45 degrees the day of our soiree?  That’s probably the real reason we haven’t had a bash in a while!  So . . . although the mojitos still went, I had lots of limoncello left.  But I didn’t complain; I like it a lot.  It’s great on its own or mixed with club soda, or spiking up some lemonade.  I haven’t tried it on ice cream, but I hear that’s good, too.

My sister made up this batch.  It’s on its last leg of mellowing and will be ready to decant into pretty bottles for holiday gifting.

After helping her finish the concocting, I figured out why mine didn’t sell so swell – and I can’t blame it on the weather.  This batch was nice and clear and I recall my first batch was a bit cloudy.  Her recipe clearly cautioned to make sure you let the simple syrup cool to room temperature before adding in the second step.  If you add the syrup while it’s still warm, you’ll get a cloudy mixture.  (Now they tell me!)

The person who submitted this recipe to food.com -- (McMysteryShopper) -- in 2006 said the secret to this particular version was the addition of the zest of one lime.  The contributor also stressed removing the zest only; if you use a peeler and any white pith remains, get rid of it.

So order yourself some pretty bottles online this weekend and you’ll be ready to share some very festive and warming homemade gifts.  Italian or not, they'll love it.

Limoncello

from food.com

The zest of 12 lemons

The zest of 1 lime

2 (750 ml) bottles 100% proof vodka, divided

2 cups water

2 cups granulated sugar.

Place the lemon and lime zest in a large jar with a screw-top lid and cover with one bottle of vodka.  Leave mixture to mellow for 2 weeks in a dark place.

After mixture sets, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar has dissolved.  Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature.  (This is very important.  If the sugar syrup is still warm the limoncello will become cloudy instead of clear.)

Using a coffee filter or a fine sieve, strain the vodka from the zest and mix it with the remaining bottle of vodka and the syrup.  Pour the liqueur in bottle, seal tightly and let mellow in a dark place for at least 10 days before using – or gift giving.

For drinking straight, store the limoncello in the freezer.

Holy Moly! It's Christmas Cannelloni!

The centerpiece of our family Christmas dinner was my all-time favorite Italian dish: cannelloni. Everybody but the littlest kids liked it, but I wanted them all to eat more, longer, because it took a little more than 30 minutes to get it together! The time consuming part was making the crepes. I guess I could have bought dried manicotti shells, but it wouldn’t have been as special. And it had to be special of course . . . it’s Christmas! (And I’ve been so occupied cooking and all, I haven’t made the time to keep up the blog. Ironic, huh?)

The crepe making (as opposed to crepe hanging) really was a fun job, with a little help from some Christmas music cranked up. The first crepe is always a mess – it’s just for practice as Julia says. And once you get the heat just right and your rhythm going, you’re a one-man assembly line. Ethel without Lucy maybe. If you’re interested in making the crepes, go here. Otherwise, just buy the shells. But I have to warn you, they won’t be as good. The crepes are rich and tender and the perfect envelope for the ground beef, chicken liver and spinach ensemble. And the two different colored, and flavored, sauces were just the right finish. A little extra cheese, a little extra butter for browning and the dish is complete. Very Christmassy.

The beauty of the whole dish was, for me, that it could all be done ahead of time, no last minute fussing to get everything to the table, which meant more time for visiting. A good swap of time. And spending time with family is the best part of Christmas. The food comes second.

Cannelloni
Adapted from Three Rivers Cookbook #1
From the Child Health Association of Sewickley (PA)
Submitted by Mrs. Edward A. Montgomery, Jr.
Makes 36 cannelloni. Serves 12-16

For Filling:
2-10 ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
4 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds ground chuck
6 chicken livers
¼ c grated parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons heavy cream
4 large eggs, slightly beaten
2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil

For Béchamel Sauce:
½ cup butter
½ cup flour
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon nutmeg (or three or four scrapes of a fresh nutmeg)

For Tomato Sauce:
4-15 ounce cans plain tomato sauce
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano

For topping before baking:
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350. Butter (or spray) two 13 x 9 pans, preferably glass.

Heat oil in a large skillet and cook onion and garlic over moderate heat for 7 – 8 minutes, until soft, not browned. Add spinach and cook for another five minutes. When all of the mixture is gone, transfer to a large bowl.

Melt half the butter in the pan and add the chuck, browning lightly and stirring constantly to break up the meat. Add to bowl. Melt the rest of the butter and add the chicken livers to the pan and cook until lightly browned outside and pink inside. Chop the livers coarsely and add to the bowl. Add Parmesan, cream, eggs and herbs and stir all together until thoroughly blended.

Place about 2 tablespoons filling down the middle of a crepe, fold the edges over the middle and place seam side down in prepared casserole.

For Béchamel sauce: Melt the butter over moderate heat, add the flour, then slowly add the milk and cream. Whisk it together and bring it to a low boil, then turn down to a simmer until sauce coats the wires of the whisk.

For Tomato Sauce: Mix the herbs into the plan sauce. Or just use jarred spaghetti sauce, with very little or mild seasoning.

To assemble: Pour the Béchamel sauce evenly over the filled crepes. Then distribute the tomato sauce evenly over all, too. Sprinkle with Parmesan, and dot with butter. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes. Slide under the broiler, if you want, for a few minutes to brown the top.