cranberry sauce – TasteFood

Condiment, entertaining, gluten-free, holiday, Thanksgiving, Uncategorized, Vegetarian, Winter

Cranberry Orange Chutney

Tradition has it that a Thanksgiving turkey dinner is not complete without a cranberry sauce. Tradition also has it that every November I find myself scratching my head, trying to reinvent a cranberry sauce. I have nothing against cranberries, mind you, nor a sauce, for that matter. I couldn’t imagine the holiday table without a heaping bowl of glistening ruby berries cooked to a sludge in a tart compote. Yet, for many years, I would make a simple cranberry sauce and present it at the table … and each year, I would wrap up the sauce after our dinner, nearly untouched, and store it in the refrigerator for goodness-knows-what future purpose.

So, now I make my cranberry sauce with a twist. If leftovers are imminent, then why not step out of the comfort zone and make a jazzy sauce that can be creatively repurposed? A straightforward cranberry sauce consists of cranberries and sugar, which (to me) is one-dimensional. I spice up my reimagined sauce, and transform it into what could also be called a chutney – in other words, a condiment that has legs: a tasty vibrant sauce that will carry me through the holiday and entertaining season.

Chutneys are a raucous slurry of dried and fresh fruit simmered with citrus and sugar, a glugg of juice or a splash of spirits, infused with winter spice and woodsy aromatics, with a kick of heat to wake up the palate. A chutney will not only provide puckery pizzazz to your Thanksgiving table, it will seamlessly multi-task beyond your turkey dinner. You can spread chutney on a sandwich, add it to a cheese and charcuterie board, dab it on cocktail crostini, or dollop it over a meaty roast. With this in mind, perhaps you should make a double recipe of this cranberry chutney for Thanksgiving. Then you will be assured of leftovers.

Cranberry Orange Chutney

Makes about 2 cups
Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes, plus cooling time

12 ounces cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup port wine
3 coins cut from a finger of fresh ginger
1 (3-inch) sprig fresh rosemary
1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
Zest of one orange
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the cranberries burst, and the chutney thickens, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Discard the ginger, rosemary sprig, and cinnamon stick. Transfer the chutney to a glass container and refrigerate for at least one day to allow the flavors to develop. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 1 month. Serve at room temperature.

Condiment, gluten-free, holiday, recipe, Thanksgiving, turkey

Cranberry Fig Chutney

November 14, 2018December 12, 2018by Lynda Balslev2 Comments

Cranberry Sauce 2.0
Add a little zing to your sauce

Thanksgiving dinner is not complete without cranberry sauce. And while I have nothing against the traditional sugary cranberry combination, I find I crave an extra depth of flavor in the standard sauce – and so I devised this chutney. What I like about chutney is it’s a combination of fruit and savory ingredients, and not timid about incorporating herbs, spices, and even a kick of heat. In other words, it nails many of the flavor senses (sweet, sour, salt, bitter, heat) that, to me, yield a more satisfying mouthful.

In this chutney, dried figs add a mellow, nutty sweetness, and fresh ginger and orange add perfume and zing, all of which balance out the cranberries’ natural astringency, while allowing them to remain the star of the show – after all we’re talking Thanksgiving here.

The good news is that this chutney is not exclusively for the Thanksgiving table. It also makes a great condiment for other fruit-loving proteins such as pork, duck, and lamb. I like to serve it as an accompaniment on a cheese platter as well, or dabbed on goat cheese-smeared crostini.

Cranberry Fig Chutney

Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Makes about 2 cups

18 dried black mission figs, quartered
1/2 cup Port wine
12 ounces cranberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
Juice and zest from 1/2 orange
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (2-inch) rosemary sprig

1. Place the figs in a small bowl and pour the Port wine over the figs. Set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Combine the cranberries and sugar in a heavy medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Add the figs and Port wine, the ginger, orange juice and zest, pepper, salt, and rosemary sprig. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, until the cranberries burst and the chutney has thickened, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Discard the rosemary sprig. (The chutney may be made up to 3 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate. Serve at room temperature).

Baking, cake, Christmas, Desserts, holiday, Thanksgiving

Cranberry Streusel Coffee Cake

November 30, 2012January 6, 2019by Lynda Balslev13 Comments

~ Cranberry Streusel Coffee Cake ~

For the past few days I’ve been reaching around a big container of cranberry sauce sitting in my refrigerator – a left over from our Thanksgiving dinner. I’ve pointedly ignored it until yesterday, when I realized I needed to take action, either by freezing it or repurposing it. I am done with turkey for the moment, so the thought of freezing sauce for another round of dolloping over a roasted bird was not terribly enticing. Baking, however, was something I could get excited about. It’s been raining cats and dogs lately, and the holiday season is before us, so something warm, spiced and sweet, wafting fragrant aromas from the oven into the kitchen would be perfect.

Cranberry Streusel Coffee Cake

Use a whole cranberry sauce (not gelee) for this recipe – preferably homemade. A recipe for a quick and easy sauce is included at the bottom of this post. Serves 12.

Streusel:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cubed

Cake:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt
1 1/2 cups whole cranberry sauce

For the streusel:
Combine all of the ingredients except the butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to blend. Add butter. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Set aside while you prepare the cake.

For the cake:
Heat oven to 350 F. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. Beat sugar and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the zest, vanilla and cinnamon. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add to the butter and sugar in 3 batches, alternating with the yogurt and finishing with the flour. Spread half of the batter in the prepared pan. Spoon the cranberry sauce evenly over the batter. Spread the remaining batter over the cranberry sauce (it will be sticky). Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the cake. Bake in oven until knife inserted in center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool on rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. The flavors will develop as the cake cools.

For the cranberry sauce:
Place 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon orange zest and a pinch of salt in a heavy medium saucepan. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries burst and the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.