I have become a huge fan of Pinterest lately.  I used to spend a lot of time on various food photography websites for recipe inspiration, but Pinterest has sort of stolen my heart a bit as of late.  If you haven’t tried it, you should give it a little look-tons of inspiration and talent out there in this great big world (not just limited to food pictures, but just about everything under the sun).  I came across the original recipe for these little appetizers through Pinterest, and I was determined to make these for several reasons.

I love Brie.  Brie anything.  Especially Brie around the holidays.   But when I saw these festive little sugared cranberries, I was intrigued.  I had overbought some cranberries around Thanksgiving, so this was a great way to use up the leftovers in my fridge.  The best part?  I had a lot of extra sugared cranberries after making these, so when I headed over to a friend’s house the other night with a few other little appetizers, I brought the sugared cranberries along with me.  They were great alongside some (ginormous) grapes and various cheeses. (And, they looked really festive on my serving plate).

I decided to use up some raspberry jam I had in my fridge as a little garnish to these appetizers.  I thought the raspberry added a little extra hit of sweetness to the cranberries (even though they were rolled in sugar, they still had a little bit of that tartness).

Ah, cheese.  Cheese and fruit.  On crackers.  A fabulous little holiday appetizer, in my opinion.

Cran-Raspberry Brie Bites

Servings: approximately 20 appetizers (you will have leftover cranberries, so feel free to make more or less depending on your needs)

Ingredients

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 cup maple syrup

1 cup sugar

8 ounces Brie cheese

Crackers (whatever kind you want)

Raspberry jam (however much you want)

Mint, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan, heat the maple syrup gently over medium heat until warm.

2. Pour the warm maple syrup over the cranberries until completely covered.  Refrigerate the cranberries until chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.

3. Once chilled, drain the cranberries in a colander.

4. Place the sugar in a medium bowl.

5. Using a fork, gently roll the cranberries in the sugar until completely coated.

6. Place the cranberries on a flat surface (I used a baking sheet) and let dry, at least 1 hour.  Store in the fridge until ready to use.

7. Assemble each Brie bite by placing a slice of the cheese onto each cracker, spread some raspberry jam on top and garnish with sugared cranberries and mint.

Source:  Adapted from Yummy Mummy Kitchen.  Have you seen this website yet?  It’s fantastic!

Are you familiar with Panera’s Broccoli Cheddar soup? Well, I used to be.  I got it every time I went to Panera (usually in bread boule).  The stuff is amazing, isn’t it?  But, unfortunately, it’s not vegetarian.  It’s made with a chicken stock base, and therefore I longingly stare at it on the menu and then order something else (the vegetarian options are also great, in my opinion).  So, when I saw that one of my food blogging friends had made the copycat version in her own kitchen, I decided to try a vegetarian twist on it.  I was not disappointed.

I ended up substituting a vegetable stock base, and I increased the vegetable component to make it a little more healthy.  Coming from one of the biggest cheese regions of the country, I pulled out all the stops and used a high-quality sharp cheddar for the cheese (I used Cabot Creamery’s sharp cheddar….my favorite.)  This recipe does make a lot of servings, so if you aren’t planning to either eat it all or freeze it, I would recommend cutting the recipe in half.  My next challenge?  Trying to make the bread boule…….

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Servings: approximately 8 servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 small onion, chopped

1/4 cup flour

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

3 cup vegetable broth (plus more if needed)

Pinch nutmeg

2 bay leaves

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 carrots, grated

4 cups broccoli florets

8 ounces sharp cheddar, cubed

Instructions

1. In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter.

2. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Remove the onions from the heat and set aside.

4. In a large Dutch oven or sauce pot over medium heat, whisk together the flour, milk, and cream.**It’s very important to be PATIENT here and whisk continuously.  The mixture will be lumpy, but it will smooth out eventually with the heat.

5. Whisking constantly, add the vegetable broth until smooth.

6. Add the nutmeg, bay leaves, and salt and pepper (to taste) and let the mixture simmer,uncovered, for about 20 minutes.

7. Add the cooked onions, broccoli, and carrot, mixing well.  Let simmer for another 20 minutes.

8.  Add the cheese and stir until completely melted, adding more broth if necessary.

Source: Adapted from Blog is the New Black.

This is one from the archives.  Seriously.  How could I neglect a fantastic mac and cheese recipe that can easily be made on a weeknight AND adapted in just about a million different ways? I’m hanging my head in comfort-food shame.

I was in this amazing kitchen store in the downtown Hanover area, and I happened to stumble upon a great cookbook…all about macaroni and cheese.  Feeling a little indulgent, I went ahead and treated myself to a copy (since I was salivating over pretty much every recipe in the whole book)….and….went ahead and stopped on the way home from the store to buy the ingredients from one of the first recipes in the book.

As I said, this mac and cheese comes together in a snap (making the pasta itself is the longest part).  The crème fraîche adds a lot of creaminess to the dish (look for it in the specialty cheese section or in the dairy aisle of your specialty grocery store…if you can’t find it, some people suggest using Greek yogurt as a substitute.  I never have used this myself.)  I ended up using Emmenthal cheese (think Swiss cheese-like), but you could use anything you want: Gruyère, Comté, or Appenzeller.  Add some spices or fresh herbs in there to make it your way.  I have already posted another mac and cheese version, but, really, can you have too many?

Ah, there’s nothing like the ultimate in comfort food, is there?

Creamy Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese

Servings: 4

Ingredients

12 ounces macaroni (whatever shape you like)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup yellow onion, minced

12 ounces Emmenthal cheese, shredded

4 ounces crème fraîche

Pinch of nutmeg

Salt and pepper, to taste

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta as directed until it is al dente, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

2. Return the pasta to the saucepan immediately.

3. Add the garlic, onion, and cheese to the top and mix lightly to coat.

4. Add the crème fraîche, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and butter, stirring well.

5. Add 1/4 cup of the hot cooking liquid to the mixture and stir until the cheese is thoroughly melted, adding more hot water if needed.

6. Stir the mixture until smooth and creamy.  Serve immediately.

Source: Barely adapted from Macaroni and Cheese by Marlena Spieler.