Roasted Balsamic Cranberry and Brie Crostini

Thanksgiving is the perfect time of year for discovering and experimenting with new foods - after all, there are so many other good food choices around that even if the experiment flops, it can be quietly scraped into the garbage and it's existence earnestly denied. But when something pops - oh boy does it pop! 
I was a little bored, so I decided to jettison the traditional cranberry sauce this year. But since I refuse to have thanksgiving sans cranberries, I knew I would have to find some new way to put them back on the table - if only for my own benefit. I found this recipe on pinterest, and knew it could either be quite awful, or simply amazing. Since I am an optimist, I went for it. And I won Thanksgiving.


Roasted Balsamic Cranberry and Brie Crostini

• Toasted baguette slices or crostini (I cheated and bought mine, but you can make your own fairly easily. See the original recipe for a good example).

• 12 ounces fresh cranberries

• 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• ½ cup sugar

• 1 Tablespoon rosemary

• 4 ounces triple cream brie

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

1. In a small bowl, stir together the cranberries, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and rosemary. Spread these out on a rimmed baking sheet. (They get pretty sticky, so if you want to avoid scrubbing, line the pan with parchment paper or tinfoil).

1. Place the cranberries in the oven. Roast for approximately fifteen minutes. At this point, the cranberries should be popped open with juices running out. Remove cranberries from the oven and transfer to another bowl before they glue themselves to the sheet.

1. Top each baguette with a slice of brie and a spoonful of cranberries. Garnish with thyme if desired. These can be served while the cranberries are still warm, or you can make the components ahead of time like I did and store them in the fridge. Simply assemble and serve at room temperature when you're ready!

Courtesy of Neighbor Food blog

Cheese and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

24 fresh mushrooms, stems removed

1 (10 oz. package) frozen chopped spinach

2 ounces cream cheese

4 ounces feta cheese

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Wipe mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel. Thaw spinach in a colander; squeeze out as much of the moisture as possible. In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients except mushrooms and parmesan cheese; mix well. Fill the mushroom caps with cheese-spinach mixture and place on a cookie sheet (use a cookie sheet with sides to contain the liquid emitted from the mushrooms during baking). Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top of mushrooms. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through. Serve warm. Yield: 2 dozen.

Compliments of Shari Bailey.

Superbowl Chip Dip

With football season starting up, this is a good recipe to have on standby - SO good, and so simple!

12 oz cream cheese
1 can El Pato Salsa de Chile Fresco

Mix together till smooth.

*You may not want to use the entire can of sauce, as it can be pretty spicy - start with half, mix and taste, then add more till it hits your limit.

*It may be easier to mix if the cream cheese is warm and soft first, then when you are done - chill it in the fridge till you are ready to serve with chips of your choice.