Citrus and Sherry Cranberry Sauce

Perfect Pairing:  Citrus and Herbs de Provence Rotisserie Turkey Breast

No surprise that I am following up the turkey recipe with a cranberry sauce!  Homemade cranberry sauce is so easy there is really no excuse to buy the canned stuff.

Fresh cranberries are combined with orange zest and juice, sugar, a cinnamon stick, and some sherry.  You can probably skip the sherry if you don’t want to invest in a bottle.  I use the cheap cooking sherry which is great in soups or for deglazing pans, so I like to have it on hand.

This cranberry sauce is perfect served alongside of the Citrus and Herbs de Provence Turkey Breast.  The citrus in the sauce and the zest in the turkey rub are great together.  Don't get me wrong, this cranberry sauce would be fabulous with any turkey!  

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Pumpkin Pecan Shortbread

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Manchego Cheese with Brown Butter Honey Sauce

Click "Read More" for the recipe...

Tweet

Overnight Muesli

Perfect Pairing:  Favorite toppings

I used to do a lot of international travel with my job and became a bit of a hotel breakfast buffet connoisseur.   The European buffets especially intrigued me.  Broiled tomatoes for breakfast?  I can get on board.  Blood sausage?  Never.  They always had a large selection of deli meat and cheese with hard rolls and butter.  That was pretty standard.  The buffets usually had muesli as well.  I was a huge fan of that dish. 

According to Wikipedia, Muesli is "a popular breakfast meal based on uncooked rolled oats, fruit and nuts.  It was developed by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital.  It is available in a packaged dry form, ready made, or it can be made fresh."  I guess that is why it is often called Bircher Muesli.  Thank you Wikipedia!  I often wondered that.

I always assumed muesli was filled with cream (and maybe it is at the hotels), but I realized I could make my own version with very little fat and it still tasted like it was doused with rich cream.  Rolled oats are soaked overnight in fresh orange juice and water.  The next morning I add a grated granny smith apple and fat free Greek yogurt.  The yogurt is what makes it creamy and rich.   I love making muesli at the beginning of the week and enjoying it all week for breakfast.  It is a super healthy breakfast that is also very filling.  It is a refreshing change from hot oatmeal, if that is your standard.

You can top off muesli with a variety of toppings like berries, coconut, pecans, walnuts, almonds, honey, peaches, bananas, raisins, etc.  My favorite combination is berries, honey, sliced almonds, and dried cranberries. 

 

Tweet

Lemon Trifle and Garden Woes

Perfect Pairing:  Trifle Bowl

See that little sprig of mint on top of that trifle?  I did not grow that.  I am apparently incapable of growing things. 

I am the daughter of a farmer!  My mom and grandma have some of the greenest thumbs I know!  What happened to me?

I would like to blame it on too much shade in my yard, the draught this summer, over-watering, or perhaps someone just hates my plants and killed them, but unfortunately, I think I am just no good at plants. 

Every year I get so excited to plant my window boxes.  I have very little sun on my patio so I stick to shade-loving varieties.  I always try to grow herbs as well, knowing that this probably futile because of lack of sun. 

I have had trouble in the past, but never like this year.  This summer was a complete and utter flop.

Let’s just go on a little plant journey.

In early May I went to a fabulous nursery in Chicago called Gethsemane Gardens with my mom, brother, grandma, and nephews.  It was a nasty day outside but we persevered and spent a couple of hours there.

My grandma Rosie has the ultimate green thumb.  I have never met anyone that knows more about flowers.  What an appropriate name!  I love this picture of grandma and my nephew.

My nephews had fun acting like statues, climbing on the carts, collecting flowers that fell to the ground to give to their mom, and jumping in puddles.

A great time was had by all and I walked out with the makings of a beautiful window box and a great herb pot.  I was already planning the dishes I would make with my fresh basil, rosemary, thyme, chives, and mint, and I was thrilled with the final window box!

 A few weeks go by and my herbs start to look really sad.  I confer with my personal garden specialist, mom.

Then my window boxes just fail.  Everything, and I mean everything, dies.  I chalked it up to lack of sun.  I talked to my association and they agreed to cut some limbs from my trees. 

Ok, I was ready to start over.  My mom (garden specialist) came for a visit and we bought new plants and replanted the window boxes.

A few weeks go by and everything dies, again.  People, believe me, I was watering only when dry, using miracle grow, deadheading, etc.  I don’t know what happened.

I was determined to have pretty flowers on my patio so I went back to Home Depot and bought all new flowers, and dirt.  Third time is the charm, right? 

 Or am I just insane?

 I must just be insane. 

So currently I have window boxes with only asparagus fern and one basil plant (that would be the fourth one, for anyone who is counting) that is struggling to make it.  I think I am done with planting this summer. 

I think we can all agree that I should not be giving out plant advice, but I feel confident telling you to make this lovely dessert.  I have been making this trifle for years.  It is easy and refreshing.  The best part about it is that it is very light, practically fat free.

The Perfect Pairing for this dessert is a trifle bowl.  You could certainly make this in any bowl but I love using an actual trifle bowl so you can see the layers.

Tweet

Blueberry Cobbler Bars

Perfect Pairing:  A crowd

I ran across this recipe on Framed cooking blog.  I have discovered lots of tasty things on her site!  The photographs are beautiful.  You could definitely lose track of time clicking through all of her great recipes.  I made a batch of these blueberry cobbler bars over Easter weekend and they were a big hit with the family.

The crust and topping is like lemon shortbread.  I love the method of making lemon sugar with the zest of two lemons.  It actually made the entire kitchen smell like fresh lemon. 

The only thing that made me thick twice about the recipe was the amount of butter.  I just couldn’t bring myself to unwrap the final stick so I made the recipe with two sticks instead of three, and it was perfectly fine.  In fact, it was delicious!  You would not miss the extra butter.

The Perfect Pairing for this recipe is a crowd.  The bars are made in a 12x17 inch pan so it makes a huge batch. 

Tweet

Lemon Pudding Cake

Perfect Pairing:  Fresh berries

If someone told me I had to choose between lemon and chocolate desserts, I would have a hard time with that answer.  I love all things lemon.  This dessert is perfect for any fellow lemon lovers.  It is not to be confused with the lemon yogurt cake I posted about awhile back.  They are completely different, although, both delicious.

I ran across this recipe on foodgawker and bookmarked it for a special occasion.  Side note… if you are not familiar with foodgawker, you should check it out.  The food photography is amazing.  I have had a few photos accepted but many, many…. many declined.  Every time I visit that site I am motivated to work on my food photography.  It really is an art.  Anyway, when I ran across the photo of the lemon pudding cake I was intrigued.  I decided to make it for my mom’s birthday, which is a very special occasion!  Especially this year... ; )

The dessert was fabulous.  I really don’t know why it is called a pudding cake because there is no pudding involved.  I would compare it to soufflé.  It separates into layers so that the top is cake-like and the bottom is a smooth sauce.  I thought it tasted like lemon meringue pie on the second day, if that makes any sense.  I followed this recipe exactly as well as the tips given in the post.

The Perfect Pairing for lemon pudding cake is a topping of fresh berries.  The combination is light and delicious.  I will definitely be making this again!

Tweet

Berries n' Cream

Perfect Pairing:  Post holiday diet

If your holidays were anything like mine you enjoyed some really great food and drinks over the season.  No wonder the gyms are so full on January 2!  I think after the holidays people actually look forward to hitting the reset button.  I know I do.  I think it kind of goes along with taking down the decorations and the Christmas tree.  Eating healthy and getting into a normal schedule just feels good.

This week I am going to post some healthy recipes that still taste great.  I will kick it off with one of my favorite go-to desserts, Berries n’ Cream.   The sauce is made from sour cream (fat free or reduced fat), brown sugar, vanilla, and Kahlua (optional) and is served over a combination of fresh berries.  The berries are tart and fresh and they pair so nicely with the sweet sauce.  Sour cream and brown sugar may seem odd but I urge you to give it a try.  One serving of the sauce (about six servings in a recipe) has only 50 calories.  That is why Berries n’ Cream is the Perfect Pairing with a post holiday diet!

Berries n’ Cream

Lindsay at Perfecting the Pairing

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

·         8 oz sour cream (reduced fat or fat free)

·         2 Tb brown sugar

·         ½ tsp vanilla

·         1 Tb Kahlua (optional)

·         Fresh berries

Directions:

In a small bowl combine the sour cream, sugar, vanilla, and Kahlua (if using).  Stir until everything is evenly combined.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or until the sugar fully dissolves.  Serve over fresh berries.

Tweet