Baked Brie with Plum Preserves and Spiced Pecans

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Walkers Shortbread sent me the most amazing box full of goodies. This time not only did they send me a large selection of their fantasic cookies, for this shipment Walkers Shortbread partnered with Bonne Maman. Bonne Maman is the creator of gourmet, all-natural, preserves and jellies produced in France. Their preserves and jellies are made without the use of preservatives, artificial coloring, or high fructose corn syrup. I have been a long time fan of Bonne Maman's wonderful products. I adore the little jars, with their iconic red gingham lids that the preserves come in almost as much as I love the preserves and jellies themselves. So cute and delicious!! Anyway I was so excited about all the great products Walkers sent in this box. 

The theme for this shipment is Festive Recipes for Autumn and Holiday Entertaining. Walkers Shortbread included their Highland Oatcakes in this box. The oatcakes are a savory oat cracker, and like all Walkers products are made from all-natural ingredients. I had never tried Walkers oatcakes before. They have now become my go-to cracker for any cheese platter. The oatcakes have a wonderful nutty flavor from the oats that pairs beautifully with cheeses. 

The holiday season is busy so I decided to share this really simple but beautiful and delicious baked brie recipe. It takes very few ingredients and can be put together in matter of minutes. Perfect for the busy holiday season! 

Make the spiced pecans ahead of time and store them in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks. Try not to eat all of the spiced pecans beforehand (it will be really tempting!) and you can throw this baked brie together in under 15 minutes! 

Cranberry Salsa

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With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I wanted to post this cranberry salsa. At my families Thanksgiving Day celebration, we prepare pretty much the same meal every year. It's sort of the unwritten law that foods can be added but none of the traditional dishes can be left off the menu from year to year. Everyone in the family has his or her favorite that must be included. This is even true with our cranberry sauces. We have some that want the kind from a can, others that demand a fresh cranberry relish, and some (me) that love this hot cranberry rum relish. I'm sure that this salsa would be wonderful with the Thanksgiving meal, but we already have more than enough cranberry sauces on our table. So I'm not going to make this one for Thanksgiving Day. No this salsa has an even higher calling. If you're from Alabama, or pretty much anywhere in the South, you already know that THE most important football game of the year is played the Saturday after Thanksgiving. No, the Super Bowl isn't being played early this year. This game is waaayy more important than the Super Bowl here in Alabama. It's the day the Iron Bowl is played, Alabama vs. Auburn, with a year of bragging rights at stake. If you are a native Alabamian, you're pretty much born into allegiance to one or the other of these two teams. While the game is being played, everything else is put on hold for those 3 or so hours. With a game of this significance, of course tailgating food is required. So whether you are an Auburn or Alabama fan or a fan of some other team that plays a game after Thanksgiving, this cranberry salsa is great for game day. If football isn't your thing, and you couldn't care less who wins the Iron Bowl (gasp! sacrilege!!) this spicy/sweet cranberry salsa would be divine on a sandwich of leftover turkey and sharp cheddar cheese...drool!
   

This salsa is the perfect addition to any holiday party!

Cranberry Salsa
Printable recipe

Ingredients:

1 (12-oz.) package fresh or frozen cranberries
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 navel orange, peeled and coarsely chopped
2/3 cup sugar

2 green onions, roughly chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped crystallized ginger
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro*

Method:
1. Pulse cranberries in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Pulse orange zest and next 6 ingredients in food processor 3 to 5 times or until orange, ginger, and pepper are finely chopped. Stir into cranberries; cover and chill 2 to 24 hours.

*Make Ahead: Prepare recipe as directed, omitting fresh cilantro. Freeze in an airtight container up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Stir in cilantro just before serving.

Source: Southern Living Nov. 2011 (adapted)