This Cranberry Curd Pie will WOW your holiday guests

Every year, I usually panic buy 2 or 3 bags of fresh cranberries, worried there’s going to be a shortage.

Once I make cranberry sauce and then cranberry sauce muffins, and I still have some left, that’s when this cranberry curd tart happens.

It starts with a classic graham cracker crust with some cinnamon added for extra flavor. There are also gluten free crust options, which I discuss below.

Then, fresh cranberries, orange juice, orange peel and sugar come together on the stove in very much the same way you’d make a traditional cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving (except you’ll be blending it smooth and adding eggs to make it custardy). 

The end result is a dessert with a striking appearance and a tart-but-perfectly sweet taste.

The post Cranberry Tart Pie appeared first on Foxes Love Lemons.

I truly didn’t know it at the time I was first developing it, but my gin rosemary cocktail has become one of my go-to drinks, pretty much all year ’round. And it turns out that quite a few of you like it, too!

In the spirit of making spirits bright, today I’m sharing a cocktail that is perfect for the holiday season, but can be enjoyed any time of the year, really.

This Cranberry Rosemary Cocktail comes together lighting quick, with just a few ingredients. Make one or two, or stir up a big pitcher of it! If you’re having a party, don’t forget the shrimp deviled eggs and phyllo cup appetizers!

The post Cranberry Rosemary Cocktail appeared first on Foxes Love Lemons.

What are your thoughts on Thanksgiving appetizers? I think it kind of depends on what time you eat your main dinner.

I know some families that will do an appetizer lunch earlier in the day, but then have their main dinner with bourbon glazed turkey and grandma’s old fashioned dressing and all the other trimmings later in the evening.

My gathering usually eats our meal around 3pm, so we keep appetizers pretty simple (maybe a very small charcuterie board idea) so that we don’t fill up too much before the main event. I mean, I like to save some room for Thanksgiving salad and Thanksgiving fruit salad, because I’m a weirdo.

This simple baked goat cheese cranberry appetizer for Thanksgiving is a little something to nibble on that won’t fill you up terribly.

Plus, like my cranberry tart pie, this appetizer with goat cheese is a nice way to incorporate cranberries into this seasonal meal if traditional cranberry sauce just isn’t your favorite thing.

The post Baked Goat Cheese Cranberry Appetizer appeared first on Foxes Love Lemons.

The irony of being a food blogger who makes a VERY small real-life Thanksgiving dinner has always amused me.

But for the holiday, I’m usually cooking for just four adults and one kid. It makes Thanksgiving dinner a very low-stress meal to host, because cooking for five doesn’t require shuffling dozens of pans and casserole dishes into the oven (or multiple ovens, which we don’t have!).

On the the other hand, it also makes it impractical to prepare a HUGE feast – there’d just be way too many leftovers to deal with (even after making my leftover mashed potatoes recipe and cranberry sauce muffins the next day), and food waste bums me out.

So, in real life, I stick to just the basics, which is usually a small Cajun turkey or turkey with maple bourbon glaze, mashed potatoes with homemade gravy, cranberry sauce, my husband’s grandma’s old fashioned dressing, and green beans or maple glazed Brussels sprouts.

But this blog is where I kind of live out my Thanksgiving FEAST fantasies (and test and eat them in the weeks BEFORE the holiday).

In my dreams, I envision a table loaded with a dozen side dishes, like Thanksgiving salad and roasted acorn squash slices and every other vegetable imaginable. Oh, and Thanksgiving Rice! Let’s talk about this Thanksgiving Rice recipe.

“Made this for Thanksgiving this year. Absolutely delicious. So easy to bake in the oven. Was perfect at 50 minutes.”

—Cindy

The post Thanksgiving Rice appeared first on Foxes Love Lemons.

While you generally won’t find me going out to a fancy restaurant for a pre fixe dinner on Valentine’s Day, I still like to mark the occasion in some way at home.

Sometimes I’ll make a special Valentine’s Day dinner of lasagna cottage cheese or my crab-stuffed salmon recipe but other years, it’s just easy Valentine’s dessert shooters after a takeout pizza.

And sometimes I’ll just feel like snacking with fun charcuterie board ideas and following it up with some chocolate creme brulee.

You all know I love an epic snack board, as I’ve already shared everything from my wine and cheese board to a spooky Halloween charcuterie board to a fall-themed Thanksgiving charcuterie board.

Whether you’re hosting a Galentine’s party for the girls, or having a cozy night in with your sweetie, why not put together a Valentine’s Day snack platter of your own this year? I’ll explain it all, including the best way to make heart shaped food, below.

The post Valentine’s Day Snacks (& Heart Shaped Food) appeared first on Foxes Love Lemons.

Just like almost every food blogger you might follow, I’m double checking my Thanksgiving recipes list this year and trying to figure out what I might be missing. If there’s something that I don’t have that you’d like to see, please, let me know. I love suggestions for what to publish next!

So far, I’ve figured out while I have a classic roasted turkey with maple bourbon glaze and a Cajun turkey, I don’t have a ham recipe (although I do already have a recipe for leftover ham and potato soup, oddly). I’ll be fixing that with a delicious new ham recipe published here in a few weeks.

I also realized I didn’t have a classic gravy, so I published my technique for how to make gravy from scratch.

And while I have a very popular Thanksgiving salad, Christmas salad and Easter salad recipes, I don’t yet have a Thanksgiving fruit salad recipe.

Thanksgiving fruit salad (and Christmas fruit salad) may or may not be something that has a spot on your holiday table, and that’s OK. I think it’s a nice addition to a meal for a large crowd (even a brunch buffet), especially if lots of kids are in attendance. Kids love fruit an absurd amount.

But this fall fruit salad is delicious for taste buds of all ages. The sweet fruit is balanced with a bright and delicious dressing. Serve it in your prettiest bowl.

The post Thanksgiving Fruit Salad (Fall Fruit Salad) appeared first on Foxes Love Lemons.

When I told you last week that I had overbought cranberries, I really wasn’t kidding! I used a bunch to make my cranberry curd pie, some to make a cranberry appetizer, and then I ended up using the last of them to make a BIG batch of cranberry sauce.

I have plenty of sauce for Thanksgiving, spreading on turkey leftover sandwiches, and for my mom to just eat with a spoon, like she likes to do.

But still, we’re going to have some extra cranberry sauce. I’ve already made a batch of these Cranberry Sauce Muffins to use some of it up.

And, with such a small Thanksgiving this year, I might be making another batch after Thanksgiving, too!

“Delicious! Nice high muffins. A great way to use leftover cranberry sauce.  I doubled the recipe.  Glad I did because these are so yummy.”

—Kathy

The post Cranberry Sauce Muffins appeared first on Foxes Love Lemons.

So lately, it’s become apparent that expanding my list of charcuterie ideas is something of a hobby / passion project for me.

If I have a week where I don’t have much client work going on, my grocery cart is subconsciously navigated to the cheese counter of my store.

Before I know it, I’m brainstorming a breakfast charcuterie board or smoked salmon platter, or even a charcuterie chalet.

They’re so much fun to put together, they’re beautiful to photograph, and let’s face it: eating a big ol’ platter of cheese and goodies for dinner isn’t the worst thing.

So today, we’ve got a Winter Cheese Board with German Beer Cheese Fondue to talk about. Here’s what we have going on:

(more…)

The post Winter Cheese Board with German Beer Cheese Fondue appeared first on Foxes Love Lemons.

“One of the best desserts I’ve ever made.” I don’t say something like that lightly, because let’s face it: even though I’m not the biggest dessert fan, I HAVE made a lot of desserts. In culinary school, I made pastries and all manner of sweets for months on end.

At my recipe testing job for a publishing company, I spent two weeks straight perfecting a rolled pumpkin cake. I made that same cake, day in and day out, trying to get it just right. Thanksgiving Rice Krispies treats took a few rounds to get perfect, too.

And now, I have freelance clients who do request desserts from time to time. So, “best ever” is a high bar.

(more…)

The post Cranberry Chocolate Chip Clafoutis appeared first on Foxes Love Lemons.

It’s official – I’m a middle-aged woman now. I actually LIKE cranberry sauce these days. I remember hating it as a kid (as most children do, I think), and even turning my nose up at it just a few years ago. It was just . . . such an old lady thing to eat, and so sour and weird.

Why was there fruit on my plate with all this savory food? My mother and mother-in-law were the only ones that partook in this side dish, so I would make a small batch just for them, send them home with any leftovers, and be done with it.

(more…)

The post Hard Cider Cranberry Sauce appeared first on Foxes Love Lemons.