A plate full of Thanksgiving leftovers... including this cranberry sauce!
Doesn’t the kitchen smell so good this time of year? Seems like there’s always something baking or stewing or being stirred up. Then flavors and aromas linger, and plates are prepared and laid out for snacking and nibbling on all kinds of wonderful things. Goodies, treats, and savory specials. For those of us who enjoy doing the cooking, there are always new things to try. But it’s that holiday feast, the simple and traditional turkey dinner – with all the fixings, of course – that still remains my favorite meal.
From the looks of the photo above of a plateful of leftovers from Thanksgiving, you’d think this recipe was for the gravy, since I’m big on smothering everything, and no matter how much I make, we always run short for pouring over leftovers.
But this is about that cranberry sauce. It was a new recipe – combining ideas borrowed from two family recipes. An accident or experiment? In any case, it came out even better than I had hoped. Made a batch for Thanksgiving and plan on doing it again for Christmas. Thought I’d write it down before I forget it, and figure this one is special enough to share. This is GOOD. Hope you try and enjoy.
Cranberry sauce with zip and zing
In a heavy, large saucepan, combine:
1 bag cranberries
1 ½ cup sugar
1 ½ cup water
1 ½ cup vodka
2 tablespoons crystallized ginger, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground clove
Bring this mixture to a boil, then cover it loosely and let it simmer for about 35-45 minutes or so, until much of the liquid is reduced and it starts to thicken like heavy syrup. I don’t know if it’s the sugar or natural pectin in the cranberries, but it will gel on it own with heat and time. Pour the thick syrupy sauce into a bowl and cool in the fridge until set.
Lee's pumpkin chiffon pie
On a side note here: Lee baked the Pumpkin Chiffon Pie and I just had to share a photo of her final product. I’m thinking this picture makes up for the not-so-pretty one I used at the top of this post. I’ve always wondered what to do to make this tasty pie look a little more attractive than just an orange pie with blobs of whipped cream on top. Lee spread the top layer of whipped cream evenly over the pie, then used a cookie cutter for a form and filled it the shape with crushed ginger snap cookie crumbs, removed the cookie cutter, and voila! Nice job, Lee! Finally it looks as good as it should.
Oh, and to respond to Lee’s comment about our whipping cream without “power tools” – we take turns. Everyone loves whipped cream, so we pass the bowl and whisk around the table. No one ever complains about doing their fair share of the whipping if it means they get to enjoy their fair share of the final product…