Citrus Panna Cotta

The following citrus flavored panna cotta comes from the fun food blog Bunky Cooks:

Yogurt Panna Cotta with Grand Marnier

Serves One

• 1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from 1 envelope)
• Pinch ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 1 navel orange
• 1 tablespoon orange liquor (I used Grand Marnier)
• 3/4 teaspoon mild honey, orange honey would also work really well 

1. Dishes to use: 1-cup ramekin (4 inches across and about 2 inches deep) – if you are going to unmold the dessert, like a panna cotta) or a glass dessert dish
2. Whisk together yogurt, sugar, vanilla and orange zest in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Put water in a very small saucepan and tilt pan so that water is on one side, then sprinkle gelatin and cardamom evenly over water. Let stand one minute to soften. Heat mixture over low heat, stirring, until gelatin is dissolved, about thirty seconds. Whisk hot gelatin into yogurt until combined well. * Do this step quickly so the gelatin does not have time to set up. Pour yogurt into ramekin or dessert glass and chill, covered, until set, about one and a half hours.
3. While yogurt mixture is chilling, cut peel and white pith away from orange with a sharp knife. Working over a small bowl, cut segments free from membranes from the orange, letting segments fall into bowl, then squeeze one tablespoon of juice from the rest of the orange and, if necessary, from membranes. (You should have about one tablespoon of orange juice.)
4. Bring orange juice, Grand Marnier and honey to a simmer in cleaned very small saucepan, stirring, then simmer until reduced to about one tablespoon, about one minute. Pour syrup over segments in the bowl, gently stirring to coat. Cool to room temperature, about ten minutes.
5. If unmolding – Run a thin knife around edge of ramekin to loosen panna cotta, then dip ramekin into a bowl of hot water thirty seconds and invert pudding onto a plate. Spoon syrup over panna cotta and arrange orange segments around sides.
6. You can also serve the panna cotta in a dessert glass and pour some of the syrup over the top and arrange several orange slices on top of the dessert.

Pumpkin and Orange Soup

The following recipe comes from Chow and Chatter. It is a colorful fall soup, featuring a rich pumpkin and citrus flavor, sure to be a hit at holiday gatherings :-)


Ingredients:

• half a roasted New Zealand winter squash or any desired pumpkin
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 a chopped red onion
• 1/2 a glass of white wine
• one teaspoon of cinnamon
• 2 cups of vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup of fresh orange juice and one tablespoon of orange zest

Method:

1. saute onion and garlic in olive oil, add the squash for 10 minutes 
2. then add the stock, wine, orange juice and zest and boil for 10 minutes 
3. then blend the soup with a hand blender 
4. serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon and enjoy :-)

Orange and Nut Bread

The following first class recipe comes from The Ungourmet a wonderful Oregan based food blog:




Orange Apricot Date Nut Bread


by theUngourmet


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped apricots
• 1 cup coarsely chopped dates
• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp grated orange zest
• 1/3 cup Grand Marnier
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray oil bottom of one large loaf pan or two regular sized loaf pans. Line with parchment paper. Grease and flour the parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, combine the apricots, dates, ginger, orange zest and Grand Marnier. Allow to sit for thirty minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium speed for about one minute, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add the eggs, honey and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and orange juice alternately to the egg mixture and mix just until combined. Fold in the apricot date mixture and the pecans by hand.
4. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan(s). Bake for 50-60 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for about ten minutes and then transfer to a wire rack for cooling.
5. Note: I happened to have an oversized loaf pan that worked great for this recipe. If you have regular size loaf pans (9x5x2) you will want to use two pans.