EDF Cooking Contest--Cranberry Challenge

[BretWeir]

Appetizer: Cranberry-Gorgonzola Tart

I started by making a walnut shortbread pie crust.

3/4 cup walnut halves
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
2 sticks butter

Pulse the walnuts in a food processor until finely ground. Add the other dry ingredients and pulse until incorporated. Cut the butter into cubes and gradually add to the food processor, pulsing to form a coarse meal. Press the dough into a 9" tart pan and bake at 300 degrees for about 50 minutes. Let cool.



For the filling, I used:

8 oz cream cheese
6 oz crumbled gorgonzola dolce
2 tbs milk
1 egg
3/4 cup dried cranberries
2 tbs chopped green onions

Combine cream cheese and gorgonzola with hand mixer until blended. Add milk and egg and beat until combined. Fold in cranberries and green onions. Spread mixture in baked tart shell and garnish with pecan halves. Bake at 450 degrees until filling is set (20 to 25 minutes).



Let cool for a half hour; cut into wedges and serve.

The gorgonzola and cranberries set each other off nicely. I served this with a salad of mixed greens, dried cranberries, slivered almonds, shaved parmesan and balsamic vinaigrette.