12 Days of Christmas

Yesterday began the 12 Days of Christmas in the Budding Gastronomer household. A personal challenge to churn out a delicious, holiday-related baked good each day for 12 days, finishing Christmas day.

When I was a child, I remember the feeling that Christmas would never, ever arrive. The countdown to Christmas seemed like an interminable parade of endless days. Grown-ups would sit at the adult table and talk about how quickly time flies, and yet to me it seemed to just creep by. They would prophesy that as I grew, there would occur some alteration in the space-time continuum that would cause time to suddenly pass faster and faster each year. I scoffed. That would never, ever, happen.
And yet, here we are. I firmly believe that it is a sign of aging when you turn around and Christmas is suddenly upon you again - it seems as though it was just Christmas last year, and somehow the year has passed and it is holiday season once more.

Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas: Cranberry Pecan Bread, recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse. Ah Emeril, you had me at orange liqueur.  I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed in this recipe - I guess I expected more oomph from Emeril (king of "Bam!"). It just seemed to be missing something. Also, the cranberries all sank to the bottom of the loaf, so the top of each slice was a little bland, and the bottom was a tad soggy. I'll try this recipe again sometime, but will mix it up to add some oomph. Nutmeg? Ginger? Tossing the berries with flour to keep them from sinking?

Cranberry-Pecan Bread

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2002

Prep Time:

25 min

Inactive Prep Time:

30 min

Cook Time:

1 hr 20 min

Level:

Intermediate

Serves:

1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup orange flavored liqueur
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick, halved
• 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries (or defrosted if frozen)
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 cup chopped, toasted pecans
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

In a saucepan, combine the orange liqueur, sugar, water, cloves, and cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the cranberries. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the berries burst, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the berries cool in the liquid. Remove the cinnamon stick and cloves and discard.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 1/4 by 5 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan.

In a mixer bowl, using the mixer on high speed (or using a hand mixer), cream the sugar and butter. Add the eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Into a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk and orange juice. Alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk mixture to the creamed butter, beating after the addition of each. Fold in the reserved cranberry mixture, pecans, orange zest and vanilla. Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake until a tester comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes.

Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Can be made ahead. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature 1 day or freeze for up to 2 weeks.
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