This month I’m participating in NaNoWriMo. Since I won’t have as much time to blog, I asked some of my favorite bloggers to guest post for me – and some of them were actually willing to do it. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do; they have become my friends through this crazy little thing known as the internet, and I’m grateful for their support. -Tricia
By Amy James
I met Tricia at BlogHer’12 this year in New York and I’ve been following (stalking) her ever since. I was so excited to see her again at the Aiming Low Non-Conference in October and I’m thrilled she asked me to guest post today! She’s just as Southern, hilarious, and charming as you think she is, by the way.
We eat Thanksgiving-type foods throughout the season in our house. Candied sweet potatoes, dressing, and green bean casserole are reserved for the big day, but one day a year is just not enough for turkey, pecans, and cranberries.
Here are a couple of updated holiday dishes you can cook for Thanksgiving dinner (and not upset your sorta crazy cousin because cranberry sauce and pecan pie are her specialties), for a dinner with friends, work potluck, or for your family tonight.
Cranberry Salsa
This salsa is a fabulous alternative to cranberry sauce. It’s so fresh tasting! You can serve it with turkey, with chips as an appetizer, over a block of cream cheese for company, or give it as a hostess gift in jar tied with a pretty ribbon during the holidays.
12 oz. fresh cranberries
large bunch fresh cilantro
5-6 large green onions
juice of 2 fresh limes
1/2-3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Add cranberries, lime juice, cilantro, green onions, and 1/2 cup sugar to the food processor and pulse until combined. Taste salsa, and add more sugar and salt if necessary. Serve with tortilla chips.
Salted Pecan Caramel Tart
If you don’t have a tart pan with removable bottom, you can bake the crust in a 9×13 pan and then just cut it into squares. But don’t leave off the salt! It turns a delicious tart into something spectacular.
3 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2/3 cup butter
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1 teaspoon fleur de sel or coarse salt
In a food processor, pulse butter, flour, and powdered sugar until it resembles coarse meal. Pat mixture evenly into a lightly greased 11-inch tart pan.
Bring brown sugar, honey, butter, and whipping cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in pecans, and spoon hot filling into prepared crust.
Bake at 350? for 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Cool on a wire rack until completely cool. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Remove sides from tart pan and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
Amy blogs at Our Everyday Dinners, where she chronicles her success and struggles in preparing a healthy dinner for her family of 5.
2 Comments on "Cranberry Salsa and Salted Caramel Tart Recipes"
How fun! Love the post and the introduction to your blog. Finding fabu healthy dinners is hard these days. Thank you for the inspiration!
Thanks for commenting, Meredith!