A Tart for Thanksgiving

Canadian Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  What I wouldn't give to head back to my youth for my mom's Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings and the beautifully decorated table, extended family gathered together, eating off the fancy china and everything.  Not that it couldn't happen now - it's just harder to get everyone together.  For one, it's a bit of a boat ride to head back for one dinner.  Not that time travel is any more of a possibility.

In looking for something to make with sweet potatoes other than the traditional sweetened version from my mom's recipe files or this more American version with marshmallows (don't knock it 'fore you try it!) I came across this recipe for a galette made with sweet potatoes, caramelised onions and goat's cheese.  And the star ingredient - balsamic vinegar.  The onions were caramelised with a little sugar and vinegar which I felt gave the dish a deeper flavour and the whole thing was absolutely delicious.

 

OK.  Not the whoooole thing.  And it had nothing to do with the recipe.  Having followed the recipe for the filling exactly, which turned out perfectly, I went severely wrong when I lacked some of the ingredients to make the pastry and decided to wing it.  Winging pastry results in, well, not so good results.  When making this again I will follow the recipe to the letter buy a puff pastry base. 

If I knew how to put a big red cross over this image I would.  No no no - don't wing pastry.

I did discover, however, that balsamic vinegar gives boring, old sauteed spinach a bit of a kick when I splashed a little in the pan thinking the side might complement the tart.  It really did.  So a minor disaster with pastry turned into victory dance for spinach.  And not just the metaphorical kind - I might have actually danced a little.

I think individual versions of this tart on a puff pastry base would make a great starter to Thanksgiving dinner.  Might be on the menu this weekend!  With a side dish of balsamic spinach.  If you're celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend, what's on your menu? 

Cranberry Blueberry Chutney/Relish/Jam

I would love to be getting on with my Christmas baking but with the puppies, I'm finding it very difficult to get anything done!  Yes, I'm wearing pyjamas and it's midday.  I could put them in their crate but then I wouldn't get to cuddle them and they're so cute and widdle and snuggly wuggly (insert more baby talk here).  I'm one more Facebook mobile upload away from being the crazy dog lady (what? I'm already there?!)

So food for thought - and this actually made me go "hmm" - What makes a chutney, chutney?  A jam, jam?  And a relish, relish?  Research I might take on this afternoon while confined to puppy cuddles but I thought I could spur a little discussion on here.

On Monday, I made a quick cranberry sauce to accompany an orange chocolate mousse.  Having only used a little bit, I decided to turn the rest into a hmmm, chutney? relish? jam?  Maybe it depends on how it's put to use?  I made a tart with it but also had a little on crackers.  It would be delicious on toast and a great sauce for turkey (oh no, is "sauce" now in the mix?).

Chicken and Cranberry Goat's Cheese Tart

Cranberry and Blueberry Chutney/Relish/Jam or Sauce

1 cup fresh cranberries
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup frozen blueberries 
1/4 cup marmalade
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Bring cranberries, sugar and water to a boil.  Stir in marmalade and allow sauce (relish, chutney, jam?) to simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add blueberries and spices and reduce until when the bottom of the pan is scraped with a wooden spoon the sauce (relish, chutney, jam?) divides in two and the pan is visible for a short while.  Transfer to a container to cool and serve with turkey, chicken, crackers, on toast, on pastry, with sausage, and anything else that might go well with it.  The sweet, tarty flavour is a great contrast to a strong cheese and I love the sweet and savoury combo.

So, where do you stand on the chutney, relish, jam debate?