Wordless Wednesday or Hot for the Holidays!

Cranberry Relish

Cranberry Relish

If you can find any fresh cranberries in your local market, rather than stringing them with popcorn for your Christmas tree, I hope you are able to make this recipe!  

My friend Susan at From Beyond My Kitchen Window turned me on to this recipe and I've been making this relish for years, and everyone really enjoys it!  This relish is the perfect match for turkey, chicken or pork dinners, It's also great on leftover turkey or chicken sandwiches too.  

Sam Hoffer at My Carolina Kitchen also uses her cranberry relishes as an appetizer on a crostini with blue or gorgonzola cheese - how delicious!  Sam also has three amazing cranberry sauce recipes you should check out too!  

Ingredients
3 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1 medium orange, cut into eights (ends, & seeds removed)
1 cup sugar (or eqivalent artificial sweetener)

Directions:
Slice unpeeled orange into eighths and remove any seeds. Place half of the cranberries and half of the orange in food processor. Pulse until evenly chopped. Tranfer to a bowl and repeat with the other half of orange and cranberries. Stir in sugar to taste and store in refrigerator of freezer.

Oh, if you find any fresh cranberries, be sure to pick up an extra bag or two for your freezer.  The cranberry season is a short one, and cranberries keep nicely in the freezer for up to two years!

Enjoy!

P.S. Isn't the color beautiful!

One Year Ago This Week

Roasted Pumpkin, Cranberry, Sage, Brown Butter & Scallops

Two Years Ago This Month

Beef Stew & Books . . . hmmm

I've also linked up my Cranberry Relish recipe with Foodie Friday's at; 

Rattlebridge Farm & 

Simple Living and Eating

Pie Memories in Review for Thanksgiving

A Dear Friend's Apple Pie

Another wonderful friend's Cranberry pie recipe

Pecan Pie 

Apple pie deliciousness!

Lemon 

Delicious Peanut butter Pie

Tomato Pie

Pineapple Cream

Pumpkin

Multi-berry pie

My Heros & Family Folklore

This photo was taken at the family homestead in Massachusetts.  Pictured here is my grandfather with three of his four sons.  Three sons served in World War II.  My grandfather served in The Great War (WWI) in France.  In this photo are my dad holding the hat and too young to serve, my Uncle William the sailor, and my Uncle Jimmy the army soldier.  Not pictured is my Uncle Peter an army veteran who also served in WWII.

I've recently learned about some family folklore.  It has been said that my grandfather lost all his hair overnight after three of his four sons enlisted.  And me being a precocious child used to call my grandfather "Baldy Murphy" ~ sorry Grandpa!

My Grandpa and I used to play little mind games with each other.  We weren't allowed to walk on the hardwood floors, only on the oriental rugs (go figure).  So, I would walk with half my little foot on the rug, and the other half on the hardwood floor - staring him down the entire time I walked to his candy dish!  I was never reprimanded, just loved by him and my grandma!

My grandparents were blessed to have their sons all return safely, marry, and have families of their own.  They were all wonderful men, and I miss each of them dearly. I'm so proud that they protected and served our country for the freedom that we enjoy today.

I would also like to acknowledge all service men, women and their families, from every part of the globe, who have served and sacrificed for their countries past and present.

Tomato Pie

Here it is the winning pie that didn't win (you can read about that in this post And the Biggest Loser Is! )  So, I'll enter it again next year!!!  This is a great way to use up those tomatoes that are ripening on your window sill - if you have any left, I still have a few.  

This pie would be great for a ladies or a light luncheon, and don't be afraid to serve this to the guys, my husband and my friend Susan's (From Beyond My Kitchen Window) husband really enjoyed this pie!  

We seriously love this savory pie, and I hope you do too!

Tomato Pie Recipe 

Prep time: 10 minutes                                 

Cook time: 55 minutes
If you want to take this recipe up a notch, you can caramelize the onions while prepping the other ingredients. If you do that, double the amount of onion. (I tried this but didn't care for it with this pie, I prefer adding the raw onions.)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 9-inch pie shell (store bought or homemade) 
• 1/2 yellow or red onion, chopped 
• 3-4 tomatoes, cut in half horizontally, squeezed to remove excess juice, roughly chopped, to yield approximately 3 cups chopped tomatoes. (I also added green tomatoes, and love it)
• 1/4 cup sliced basil (about 8 leaves)* 
• 2 cups grated cheese (combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack, or Gruyere or Mozarella) 
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise 
• 1 teaspoon (or more to taste) of Frank's Hot Sauce (or Tabasco) 
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

*To slice basil, chiffonade them by stacking the leaves on top of each other, roll them up like a cigar,
starting at one end slice the "cigar" crosswise in thin slices.

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place pie shell in oven and cook for 8-10 minutes or longer until lightly golden. If you are starting with a frozen crust, you'll need to cook it a little longer. If you are using a homemade crust, freeze the crust first, then line the crust with aluminum foil and pre-bake it for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes. 
2. Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the chopped tomatoes, using either paper towels, a clean dish towel, or a potato ricer. 
3. Sprinkle the bottom of the pre-cooked pie shell with chopped onion. Spread the chopped tomatoes over the onions. Sprinkle the sliced basil over the tomatoes.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, Tabasco, a sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper. The mixture should be the consistency of a gooey snow ball. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes. 
5. Place in oven and bake until browned and bubbly, anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes. 

Serves 6

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P.S. A little pet peeve & blog request. If you have comment moderation turned on, you do not need "Word Verification."  I have heard that many followers will not leave comments with "word verification" turned on, because sometimes the words are such a hassle to decipher. I know on occasion it's taken me 3 tries to leave a comment!