Cranberry Goat Cheese Log

I recently purchased a cranberry goat cheese log from Trader Joe's. Although I enjoyed the flavor combination, overall it was ehhhhhhh. I discovered that making it with fresh cranberries makes a BIG difference.I took this one to a holiday party last night, and guess what? Someone else brought the Trader Joe's log. Do I need to even tell you which one got gobbled up???

• 1/4 ounce package of gelatin
• 1/4 cup water
• 12 ounce package fresh cranberries
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup of cranberry juice ( I used water for this)
• 1/4 cup raspberry liqueur
• 12 ounce log goat cheese

Mix the gelatin and 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl. In sauce pan combine cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, cranberry juice and liqueur. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes.Pour in the gelatin mixture and cook until it becomes as thick as jelly.Place the cranberry mixture in the fridge for a few hours. I made mine the night before I planned on serving it. Once the cranberry mixture is cool, unroll a 20 inch piece of plastic wrap. Spoon about 1 cup of the cranberry sauce onto the middle of the plastic wrap. Spread the sauce in to the shape of a rectangle, slightly longer than the goat cheese. Place the goat cheese on top. Spoon another 1/2 cup of cranberry sauce over the top of the goat cheese. ( I had about 1/2 a cup of cranberry sauce leftover ). Now you need to wrap the log up in plastic wrap. Once wrapped, use your hands to spread the sauce evenly around the cheese. At this point I placed the log in the fridge. It travels well this way, so when I arrived at my cousins holiday party I just unwrapped it and served with crackers. I wanted to garnish with a couple holly leaves, but the snow was too deep to get to it, maybe next year....

Grape Salsa, Brie and Walnut Tarts

On turkey day this is what my guests will be biting into first. I did a trial run yesterday with my older brother. After tasting just one, he looked at me and said "ten." I live for tens, I rarely get them, lots of eights and nines, just not many tens.How could you go wrong? A crispy filo cup filled with toasted walnuts, warm brie and grape salsa. Now you ask, 'what the hell is grape salsa?' I can't really explain, you are just going to have to read on. I just know its the perfect topping to this delectable appetizer.

• 1 cup of seedless red grapes cut in half
• Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion
• 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• ground pepper
• 2 packages of mini filo shells (I purchased Athens brand, 15 baked shells in each box)
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 8 ounces of brie, rind removed (I prefer French Brie)

Pre heat oven to 325. Place the grapes and kosher salt in a food processor, mix till coarsely chopped. Put chopped grapes in a strainer, let sit for 10 minutes. I pressed down on chopped grapes to remove excess liquid. Separately mix the green onion, vinegar, oil, rosemary, garlic and pepper. Mix in the strained grapes. Now you may say to yourself, "let me just take a swig of this fresh grape juice that I just going to toss.." Don't, the salt kills it. I did this because I hate waste, I totally gagged. Just pour it right down the drain.

Now you are ready to assemble these lil tartlets. Place the shells on a baking sheet and fill each one with about 1/2 teaspoon of toasted walnuts. Now top the walnuts with a small amount of brie (a little less than 1 teaspoon). Finally add the grape salsa on top, again about 1/2 a teaspoon. Bake for about 7 minutes and serve immediately. Just wait for the "tens."