‘Tis the season to enjoy cranberries, in all their beauty and (with a bit of sweetening) their deliciousness. This WFD entry is a joint venture by Hanging Up My Tusks (in the middle) and pixxer (at the edges), since both of us have favorite recipes we want to share with you. We’ll add some more recipes in the comments, too.
[pix] I wanted to start with a bit about the berries themselves. A quick search led me to the Massachusetts-based cranberries.org, which told me, among many other things, how cranberries grow (see box), where they grow (the northern part of the country), and their health benefits.
The cranberry is a Native American wetland fruit which grows on trailing vines like a strawberry. The vines thrive on the special combination of soils and water properties found in wetlands. Wetlands are nature's sponges; they store and purify water and help to maintain the water table. Cranberries grow in beds layered with sand, peat and gravel. These beds are commonly known as bogs or marshes and were originally formed as a result of glacial deposits.
We could have cheated and just copied all the recipes from cranberries.org into this diary, but you can go there yourself and check those out. Below are the ones we, personally, love, and love to make.
Also, there are “Cranberry Tips” right at the end. Please add your own in the comments!
What’s for Dinner? is a Saturday evening get-together where friends share recipes, talk about good food and help others answer culinary questions.
We welcome you to our virtual table every Saturday evening 4:30 PT/7:30 ET. If you would like to write a post for an upcoming date just send a message to ninkasi23!
Let’s start with dessert!
Many years ago, our little family — that would be, at the time, pixxer, Mr pixxer, and pixxer-son — decided to have a Thanksgiving dinner in which each traditional ingredient was used in a different part of the meal than usual. Instead of a side dish of cranberry sauce, the cranberries turned into dessert, in this recipe from The Martha’s Vineyard Cookbook, by Louise Tate King and Jean Stewart Wexler. It’s a big favorite of ours. [Link is to the edition we have — there is also a newer one out there.]
Cranberry Pudding
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cranberries (washed and picked over)
- ¾ cup sugar, divided
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped walnuts
- 6 Tbsp melted butter, divided
- 1 egg
- ½ cup flour
[You can top with vanilla ice cream if you like — we have never done this.]
Thoroughly butter an 8” pie plate and place the cranberries in it. Mix ¼ cup of the sugar, ¼ cup of the butter, and all the walnuts. Pour over the cranberries. Combine the rest of the sugar (½ cup) with the flour. Beat the egg well, and add the flour/sugar mix and the remaining (2Tbsp) of melted butter. Beat briefly and pour over the cranberries. Bake 45 minutes at 350F. Serve warm, and top with ice cream if desired (the authors recommend the ice cream).
[Tusks takes over] I resisted getting a microwave for the longest time, but in 1984 we moved and my new stove had a built-in microwave. I figured I might as well learn how to use it and I purchased what I soon called my “bible”, Mastering Microwave Cookery by Marcia Cone and Thelma Snyder. I quickly became a fan of the microwave (mainly because the stove it was attached to had a ceramic cooktop and was infuriatingly slow) and this cookbook is chock full of great recipes. Here’s one of my favorites, a cranberry upside-down cake.
cape cod jewel cake
- 6 T butter
- 2 cups fresh whole cranberries
- 2 T orange juice
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup flour
- ½ t baking powder
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 t vanilla
In 9” glass pie pan combine 2 tablespoons butter, cranberries, orange juice, and brown sugar. Cover with wax paper (to keep the cranberries from spattering) and cook on high for 4-7 minutes, or until butter and sugar are melted and the cranberries partially pop. Stir once during cooking. When done, spread the mixture evenly over the bottom of the dish.
Meanwhile, beat 4 tablespoons butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add remaining ingredients, alternating dry and wet ingredients, and blend till smooth.
Spoon batter evenly over cranberries and place pie plate on a microwave-proof cereal bowl in the microwave. Cook on medium for 8 minutes, then on high for 3-7 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Let cake stand for 10 minutes, then invert dish onto a serving plate.
How about an old-fashioned salad —
This one uses canned, jellied cranberry sauce. This is a recipe I (Tusks) found early in my marriage in the 60’s. It was a favorite then and now and it’s always one of the first dishes on the table to disappear. Doesn’t hurt that it’s easy peasy to put together.
Sour Cream Cranberry Salad
- 2 three-ounce packages raspberry jello
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 can jellied cranberry sauce
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup sour cream
Mix 1 cup boiling water and cranberry sauce till reasonably smooth. Dissolve jello in remaining cup boiling water. Combine mixtures and pecans and pour ½ of combined mixture into an 8" square pan and chill in freezer for 30 minutes or till fairly firm. Spread sour cream on top of firm jello and gently pour on the other half of the cranberry mixture. Cover and refrigerate till set.
Or perhaps a cocktail?
plus a non-alcoholic version
This makes a refreshing drink for young or young at heart. I first had it at one of our legendary neighborhood soirees. So easy to make and a very different vehicle for cranberries. Bottoms up!
Cranberry Shrub Recipe
by David Leibowitz (given to Tusks by a former neighbor)
- 1 cup (250ml) water
- 2 1/4 cups (235g) fresh or frozen cranberries
- 3/4 cup (150g) sugar
- 8 allspice berries, crushed, or another spice
- 1 cup (250ml) apple cider vinegar
1. In a medium saucepan, heat the water, cranberries, sugar and allspice until the mixture starts to boil. Reduce the heat and cook at a very gentle simmer until the cranberries are completely soft, about 8 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and pass the cranberries through a mesh strainer, letting the liquid drain into a bowl. Press down on the cranberries to extract as much juice as possible from them without pressing too hard, as you don’t want to get any solids into the shrub. (You may want to reserve a few nice cranberries if you’d like to use them as a garnish before pressing them down.)
3. Add the vinegar to the cranberry syrup and transfer the shrub into a bottle or jar, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use. The shrub mixture can be kept for several months in the refrigerator.
To make a Cranberry Shrub Cocktail, fill a cocktail shaker halfway full of ice. Add 3/4 ounces of shrub and 2 ounces of bourbon, along with 1 teaspoon maple syrup and three drops of a favorite cocktail bitters. Shake until well-chilled, then pour in a cold glass. Garnish with leftover cranberries skewed on a toothpick or a strip of orange zest. An option to jazz it up would be to add 1/2 ounce of orange-based liqueur, such as Grand Marnier or Cointreau, to the cocktail mix in the shaker.
To make a non-alcoholic cranberry shrub beverage, add 2 tablespoons of cranberry shrub to a tumbler. Fill three-quarters full with crushed ice, a slice of orange, and fill with sparkling water. To take it in another direction, you can add some Lillet to it.
https://www.davidlebovitz.com/...
Inevitably — but in these cases, quite interestingly — cranberry sauces:
SMOKY CRANBERRIES
The next two recipes come from The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook (1st volume), this first one via Jacqueline McMahan. This one and the chutney recipe below are both from Hanging Up My Tusks who grew up in New Mexico and is a life-long fan of everything hot and spicy. This one’s low on sugar, so good for all those who are watching their carbs.
Yields 2¼ cups
- 12-oz bag of cranberries
- grated zest of one orange
- 1 red apple, cored, cut into pieces
- ½ jalapeno chile, seeded
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 dried chipotle chile
Combine the cranberries, orange zest, apple and jalapeno in a food processor. Chop roughly. Transfer the mixture to a large saucepan. Add the orange juice, honey, sugar and chipotle chile. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. Serve as a relish with the turkey or on next-day turkey sandwiches, using sturdy Italian bread.
HOT-SWEET CRANBERRY-TANGERINE CHUTNEY
Serve this tangy condiment with turkey or other poultry, or with grilled lamb chops. It should be made at least 2 days ahead of time. From The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook contributor Laxmi Hiremath.
Yields 3 cups
INGREDIENTS
1 bag (12 ounces) cranberries, stemmed and washed
2 small tangerines, unpeeled, halved, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 green cardamom pods, husked, seeds ground
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
PREPARATION
Combine all the ingredients except the walnuts in a large, heavy, nonaluminum pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until the cranberries pop, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the nuts. When completely cool, spoon the chutney into sterilized jars. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 days before serving. Serve at room temperature. Note: This chutney will keep up to 3 months in the refrigerator. PER TABLESPOON: 25 calories, 0 protein, 6 g carbohydrate, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 15 mg sodium, 0 fiber.
[pixxer returns] This next one we have made many times for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. It’s from Gourmet, November 2002, and can now be found on epicurious, which is still a great site for trustworthy recipes. This is half the published recipe:
Kumquat and Cranberry Compote
- 4 — 5 oz kumquats, trimmed and quartered lengthwise (about ¾ cup)
- ½ cup water
- 5/8 cups sugar (½ cup + 2T)
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger
- 1 whole star anise
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
To cook, just mix these in a saucepan and let simmer till the cranberries pop open. Remove the star anise so no one bites into it, and then let the compote cool so no one gets burnt. We love it!
Cranberry Tips!
Pick over the cranberries to be sure you don’t use any bad ones!
Cranberries, like all fruits, go bad if left too long. Rub them gently between your thumb and fingers to be sure they’re still good and hard. Compost any squishy ones.
I don’t trust the usual freezing instructions!
The usual advice is just to pop the bags of cranberries, as bought, into the freezer. But if you have not opened the bag, you have not checked for bad berries — and when they are defrosted, they’ll all be softish, so how’re you gonna tell? Vitamix has a better suggestion (and also other tips, as well as recipes at that link): “To freeze cranberries and enjoy them throughout the year, place berries in a single layer on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer. Once completely frozen, you can transfer them to freezer-safe bags or airtight containers.” So, you can pick over them, choose only the good ones, and safely freeze them for later use.
Well, we couldn’t leave this out, hm?
So, What’s For Dinner at your house?
Tell us in the comments.
And be sure to let ninkasi23 know if you’d like to present a diary in the What’s For Dinner series!