Holiday Parties

From Meg's Kitchen

Tis the season to be jolly, overeat and toast all the goodness that surrounds us.  I have had to miss a few parties and gatherings this year because of cataract surgery (eyes are still adjusting but for the first time in over 50 years I do not have to wear glasses all my waking hours).  But there have been a few food related events I have attended or hosted that have included memorable dishes.

Yesterday I attended my art group's 2nd annual holiday potluck luncheon (there are 12 awesome members in this group, who are not only great and/or budding artists but also wonderful cooks).  I brought a chocolate hazelnut meringue cake from Martha Stewart (you can get the recipe through Google) and everyone thought it was great.  BTW, it is a gluten free recipe.  My favorite dish was probably one of the simplest - sliced (peeled) persimmons topped with pomegranate seeds.  I have made persimmon bread in the past (my aunt had a persimmon tree and was very generous).  But I had never tried the fruit raw.  Man, have I missed out!

I did not use all the raw cranberries that I purchased for our Thanksgiving feast and I saved them knowing that I would find a use for them.  Lo and behold ( OK, looked up the phrase because I had no idea what it meant and it is supposed to mean "look and see") I found a recipe for 1 1/2 cups raw cranberries which is about what I had left over.  The recipe was provided by a Pacific Northwest chain grocery store.  I made a few changes, are you not surprised?  The recipe follows.

Roasted Cranberry and Goat Cheese Flatbread

This is supposed to serve 8 but the 4 of us ate it all as an appetizer...  But it was the only appetizer served.
It takes about 45 minutes to prepare.

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
3 TBSP maple syrup (pure maple syrup would be wonderful but not necessary)
1 TBSP chopped green onions
1/2 tsp dry thyme or 1 tsp leaves of fresh thyme
2 flatbreads (about 14 oz each - I used Trader Joe's gluten free flatbread)
4 oz goat cheese
1/2 cup chopped pecans
For topping: Honey or Agave syrup to drizzle on and chopped greens (about 1/2 cup) such as arugula, water cress, spinach...

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a small pan mix the cranberries, syrup, onions, and thyme.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until the mixture begins to thicken.  Remove from the heat and stir to break down the cranberries.  The mixture will thicken as it cools.

While the cranberry jam is coming together, bake the flatbreads on an oven rack until the breads are just crispy - about 5 minutes.

Remove the breads from the oven and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Spread the flatbreads with the cranberry jam and top each one with the goat cheese (you might consider layering the goat cheese on the bottom and spreading the cranberry jam on top because it wasn't easy for me to spread the cheese over the gooey jam.  Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the flatbreads and return them to the oven for about 5 minutes.

Garnish with chopped greens and drizzle with Agave syrup or honey.  Cut into small wedges and serve immediately.  Leftovers (if any!) can be refrigerated. 

Variations:  You could substitute the cranberry jam and goat cheese  with orange marmalade and brie cheese or fig jam with blue cheese...  the variations could be endless.