Holiday Cranberry Tart- A Festive and delicious make ahead dessert.

This is a yummy recipe that I got from Bon Appetit magazine 3 years ago. The combination of the clean fresh taste of cranberries and fresh ginger, a creamy mascarpone cheese filling and the crisp chocolate cookie crust is divine.  If you don't like chocolate you can use vanilla cookies for the crust.

The best thing is that you make all of the components 2 to 3  days ahead of time and then assemble them just before serving. It's actually better when the cranberry part sits for a few days, but if you want to do it all the day of you can.

Cranberry Chocolate Tart 

Bon Appetit Nov. 2007

Click here for a printable version of this recipe
Cranberry Topping:
1/2 cup cranberry juice, divided
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1- 12-ounce bag fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
Pinch of salt
4 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger

Crust:
1 1/4 cups chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (made from about 6 1/2 ounces cookies, finely ground in processor) You may also use vanilla wafer cookies or shortbread cookies instead.
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 to 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Mascarpone Filling:
1- 8-ounce container mascarpone cheese- an Italian cream cheese you can find at most stores now
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup chilled whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Thin strips of crystallized ginger (optional garnish)

Preparation
Pour 1/4 cup cranberry juice into small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand until softened, 15 minutes. Combine 1/4 cup cranberry juice, cranberries, and next 5 ingredients in medium saucepan; bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until cranberries are tender but still plump, 5 minutes. Strain into bowl; set cranberries aside. Add gelatin mixture to hot juice in bowl; stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir cranberries back into juice. Chill until cranberry mixture is cold and slightly thickened, at least 8 hours or overnight. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2-3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Stir chopped crystallized ginger into cranberry mixture one hour before assembling.

For crust:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Combine chocolate (or vanilla) wafer cookie crumbs, sugar, and salt in medium bowl; add 5 tablespoons melted butter and stir until crumbs feel moist when pressed together with fingertips, adding remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter if mixture is dry. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Bake chocolate crust until beginning to set and slightly crisp, pressing with spoon if crust puffs during baking, about 14 minutes. Transfer tart pan to rack and cool crust completely before filling.

For mascarpone filling:
Using electric mixer, beat all ingredients except ginger in medium bowl just until thick enough to spread (do not overbeat or mixture may curdle). Cover and chill.

Assembling Tart: Up to 6 hours before serving
Spread mascarpone filling in crust.
Spoon cranberry mixture evenly over mascarpone filling.
Chill at least 2 hours and up to 6 hours.
Garnish with crystallized ginger strips, if desired.
Cut tart into wedges and serve cold.

Bourbon or Rum Sauce for all your pies, cakes or anything!

This is the best sauce for any kind of pie. We eat it on apple, pecan, and pumpkin pies at Thanksgiving. It's the sauce that they serve at a restaurant called Pappadeaux's Restaurant in Houston. It is thick and creamy and not too sweet. The perfect compliment to a pie, cake or even a spoonful stirred into a cup of coffee. Happy Thanksgiving!

Bourbon Sauce

• 1 1/2 cups of whipping cream
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 small box of vanilla instant pudding mix
• 3 TBS Bourbon, whiskey, brandy or rum
• 1 tsp of vanilla

Pour the cream into a medium mixing bowl and beat just until it starts to thicken.
Add the milk and beat to combine
Slowly beat in the instant pudding mix
Add the vanilla and liqueur and continue whipping until it is well blended and is a thick sauce consistency. It should be almost as thick as pudding and shouldn't be runny. 
Place into a sealed container and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. It will thicken up as it sits. This can be made a day ahead as it stores very well.

Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

This recipe is as southern as you can be and oh so good.  

Pappadeaux's Sweet Potato Pecan Pie
1 Unbaked pastry for a single crust 9"-10" pie shell

SWEET POTATO FILLING
1 1/4 c Cooked, mashed sweet potatoes -(about 1 large or 2 medium potatoes) I microwave my potatoes but you can also bake them.
1/4 c Brown sugar
1/4 c Granulated sugar
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1/4 c Heavy (whipping) cream
1/4 t Vanilla extract
Pinch of salt 3/4 t Ground cinnamon
3/4 t Allspice
3/4 t Nutmeg
3 T Softened butter

PECAN PIE FILLING
1 1/4 c Sugar
1 1/4 c Dark corn syrup
3 Eggs, lightly beaten
3 T Unsalted butter, softened
1/4 t Vanilla extract
Pinch of salt 3/4 t Ground cinnamon
1 1/4 c Chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 Deg F.

• Sweet potato filling: 
• Combine mashed sweet potatoes, sugars, egg, cream, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and butter in an electric mixing bowl and beat at medium-low speed until smooth, do not overmix. 
• Spoon sweet potato filling into the pastry-lined pie pan. 

• Prepare Pecan Pie Filling: 
• Combine sugar, syrup, eggs, butter, vanilla, salt and cinnamon in an electric mixing bowl and beat on low speed until syrup is opaque, about 4-5 minutes. 
• Stir in pecans, mix well.
• Fill shell evenly to the top with with pecan filling. 

• Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until a knife inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean. 

Pie can be stored at room temperature for 24 hours. It is fabulous served with  Bourbon Sauce on top.