Autumn Fruit Dip

8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 t Vanilla Extract

Whip together serve with variety of fruits

Bacon-Wrapped Root Vegetable Gratins

Makes 24 mini gratins | Prep time: 35 minutes   from Edible Seattle January/February 2009 

Stack fingerling potato, carrot, and parsnip pennies between pinches of Parmesan cheese, wrap them in bacon, and bake them into bite-sized vegetable gratins--the result will turn someone into a root vegetable enthusiast in one mouthful. You'll need to cut rounds of roughly the same diameter out of the vegetables, so look for specimens similar in shape.

8 parsnips, peeled

3 carrots, peeled

1/2 pound fingerling potatoes

2 1/4 t flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups finely grated Parmesan cheese
24 (3-inch) segments bacon (from twelve 6" slices)

 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 24-cup mini muffin tin with vegetable oil and set aside.

 Cut 24 pieces each from the parsnips, carrots, and fingerling potatoes; each piece should be about 1" around and 1/4" thick. Reserve remaining vegetables for another use.

 Arrange 24 parsnip slices close together on a cutting board. Sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon flour, salt, and pepper, then add a pinch of Parmesan cheese (about 2 tablespoons total) to each piece. Top with carrots, making little towers, and repeat with another 3/4 teaspoon flour, salt, pepper and cheese. Add potatoes, flour, salt, and pepper, and end with cheese.

 Press each bacon slice into the bottom of each muffin cup, so the ends hang over the edges slightly. Add a scant 1/2 teaspoon cheese to the bottom of each cup. Place one vegetable stack in each cup, and press down slightly.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until bacon is browned and crisp. As soon as you can handle them, use a knife to loosen the gratins from the pan and transfer to an ovenproof plate. Repeat with remaining ingredients and serve immediately, or rewarm for 10 minutes at 350 degrees before serving.

Pomegranate Salmon Dinner & Vinaigrette

Green Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Baby Spinach Leaves

Apple Slices

Candied Walnuts or Almonds

Crumbled Goat Cheese

Vinaigrette

3 T Pomegranate molasses

2 T Red Wine Vinegar

1 T Dijon Mustard

1 T Honey

2/3 C Olive Oil

salt/pepper to taste

Pomegranate Sauce/Molasses

4 Cups Pomegranate Juice

1/2 C Sugar

1 T Fresh Lemon Juice

Cook on low heat for 50 minutes till reduced 1 1/2 cups for Sauce

Cook on low heat for 70minutes till reduced to 1 cup for Molasses

Pomegranate Glazed Salmon

Brush salmon with molasses and bake salmon at 500 degrees for 9-11 minutes. Watch closely.

Drizzle remaining warm glaze over salmon prior to serving

Serve with Wild Herb Rice

Sprinkle Pomegranate arils/seeds over plated Salmon, salad, and rice

Maple Cranberry Sweet Potatoes

6 medium Sweet Potatoes, cut into chunks
Pinch of Salt
Boil sweet potatoes in salt water till tender. Place in greased 9x13 pan.

1 cup Maple Syrup
1 1/2 cups whole uncooked Cranberries
3 T Butter
On low heat, bring syrup to a boil reduce, stir in cranberries and butter cook about 5 minutes.
Pour mixture over sweet potatoes. Bake 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Topped with chopped Walnuts if desired.

Butternut Squash Soup

2 TBL butter
1 small onion
1 piece (2 inches)fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves
2-3 lbs. butternut squash
1/4 cup orange juice
salt and pepper
sour cream
spicy pumpkin seeds

Melt butter and cook onion in sauce pan over medium heat. Add ginger, garlic, and cut up squash. Cook 6-8 minutes. Stir in 4 cups water and bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer until squash is tender about 20 minutes. Puree soup in two batches still in OJ. Serve hot in cups top with seasonings, sour cream and seeds

Butternut Squash Spinach Salad

1 medium butternut squash
2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
baby spinach leaves 1 bunch
Cut squash unto 3/4 inch cubes. Drizzle cut squash with oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread squash in a single layer roasting pan. Roast at 425 degrees until tender 35-45 minutes.
Transfer squash to salad bowl with spinach, gently toss with goat cheese.

Roasted Squash with Maple Butter

Prepare Butternut Squash:
Cut off top and bottom
Halve squash lengthwise
Scoop out seeds with a spoon
Peel with a vegetable peeler (if desire)

Maple Butter:
1 TBL Butter
2 tsp pure maple syrup
season with salt and pepper
Fill each cavity with maple butter

Place Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place cut sides up in roasting pan. Season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Serve with salads, as fries, with maple butter, as soup.

Wild Walnut Rice

½ cup walnut pieces
¼ cup hard apple cider
1 can chicken broth
1 T. butter
1 cup wild rice blend
Toast walnut in a small skillet over medium heat for few minutes till toasted. Set aside. Boil cider, broth, and butter in a saucepan; add rice mixture. Cover reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Season with salt & pepper. Garnish with toasted walnuts. Serve with Pork Tenderloin

Pork Tenderloin with Pears

3 T. butter
3 Bosc pears, peeled, cored, and quartered
Melt Butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add pears & saute until lightly browned, remove from pan.

1 lb Pork Tenderloin, trimmed, sliced into 1 inch thick medallions
½ cup flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup hard apple cider (find it in the beer section, comes in a six pack, you can buy just one) (This stuff is delicious, but don’t drink the extra you need it in the rice!)
1/3 cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Season pork with salt & pepper, and then dredge in flour.
Saute pork medallions for 2 minutes on each side in the same pan the pears were sauteed in; remove from pan.

Combine broth, cider, cream; add to the pan to de glaze.
Bring to a boil, and then add vanilla extract.
Boiled until reduces by half, slowly, be patient.

Return pears and pork to the pan along with any accumulated juices.
Boil until thick, slowly, be patient.
Season with salt & pepper if desired. Serve with Wild Walnut Rice