My mom thinks the Thanksgiving table isn’t complete without cranberry sauce. When I was a kid, she opened a tin can of gelatinous cranberry sauce each Thanksgiving and served it alongside her roast turkey.

I never saw her take more than one taste of the sauce and it was ALWAYS the thing that remained untouched on the dirty dishes that my sister and I were responsible for hand washing while the adults retired to the living room for coffee and sherry.

When the Thanksgiving hosting duties were passed on to me a few years ago, I was hopeful that I’d find a more flavorful and natural way to incorporate this tart little berry into the Thanksgiving feast.

But when my husband and I made a tasty cranberry and orange relish to serve with our turkey, my mom was disturbed. I don’t think she recognized the cranberry out of its tin-can form and she complained about our “untraditional” approach. In fairness, she also could have been referring to the spice rub on the turkey and/or the sausage and sourdough dressing.

Now mom brings her own little can of cranberry sauce to holiday gatherings, and I reluctantly plate and serve it, careful not to disturb any of the identifiable, I mean “traditional,” tin-can indention marks.

Instead of trying to replace mom’s cranberry sauce, I’ve found it’s best to find new ways to add the deliciously tart and sweet berry to other parts of the meal.

Cranberry mimosa

1 to 2 tablespoons cranberry juice

sparkling wine

fresh cranberries

Place a few fresh cranberries in a champagne flute. Add a tablespoon or more of cranberry juice to the glass. Fill with sparkling wine. Serves one.

Cranberry Almond Goat Cheese Log

Servings: 2 logs

11ounces goat cheese

1 tablespoon orange zest

1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries

1 cup natural sliced almonds, divided

Place goat cheese in food processor work bowl. Pulse several times until cheese is crumbled. Add orange zest and chopped dried cranberry to crumbled goat cheese. Pulse for 5 seconds, or until cheese mixture will start to form a ball. Remove cheese mixture from work bowl and separate into two balls. Form each cheese ball into a log shape approximately 2-by-4 inches each. Place half of the almonds onto a piece of wax paper. Roll one goat cheese log over almonds, covering the entire surface of the log, gently pressing to assure the almonds stick.

Repeat with the remaining second log and almonds. Wrap the logs individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours before serving. Serve on bread and crackers. Cheese logs can be stored in the fridge for one week.

Source: Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association.

Cranberry Pineapple Cheesecake Tart

Ingredients:

Crust

1 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons ice water

Filling

2 – 8 oz. Packages of cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 large eggs

Topping

1 – 8 oz. Can crushed pineapple

1 cup sugar

1 pkg. (12 oz.) fresh cranberries

Method:

Crust

Mix flour and salt in medium bowl. Cut in shortening to form fine crumbs. Blend1/3 cup flour mixture with water. Add to flour mixture in bowl. Mix together and roll out to fit a 9 or 10 inch tart pan with removable bottom. Fit into pan, place on baking sheet. Refrigerate while making filling.

Filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In mixer bowl beat cream cheese, extract and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Pour into prepared pastry shell. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until crust is light brown and filling is set. Place on wire rack to cool. Chill in refrigerator.

Topping

Combine pineapple with juice, cranberries and sugar in medium saucepan. Cook until berries pop and most liquid has gone. Cool. Spread over chilled cheesecake.

Optional Garnish:

Decorate top with whipped cream or frozen topping, sugared cranberries and sliced almonds.

Source:

Massachusetts Cranberry Harvest Festival Recipes 1997, Second Place - Best of Show

Lorraine G. Garr

Cranberry Sorbet

Ingredients:

3 cups Cranberry Puree (see recipe below)

1 ½ cups sugar

juice of 1 lemon

Pour cranberry puree into 2 quart saucepan and place over medium heat.

When juice is simmering, add sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved.

Remove from heat and pour into a heat-safe container.

Refrigerate overnight, or until cool.When ready to make the sorbet, stir the juice of one lemon into the mixture, then freeze in 1 or 2 batches in an ice cream machine, according to manufacturer’s instructions.Sorbet is ready to eat.

For a firmer sorbet, transfer to a plastic container and place in freezer.

Cranberry Puree

1. Combine 1 cup of fresh or frozen cranberries and ¼ cup of water in saucepan.

2. Bring to boil and turn down to a simmer.

3. Simmer for 3 minutes.

4. Cool to room temperature.

5. Transfer to blender and blend until smooth. Be careful not to blend cranberries while hot as the pressure will cause the blender lid to pop off.

Source: Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association

Fresh Cranberry Relish

Makes 6 servings

One 12-ounce bag of fresh or frozen cranberries

1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup orange juice

1/4 cup orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier or Triple Sec

2 to 3 tablespoons orange marmalade

If using fresh cranberries, wash, pick through, and dry them thoroughly.

In a medium saucepan, mix1/3 cup of sugar with the cranberries and the remaining ingredients. Taste to adjust sweetness and add more sugar if desired.

Place over medium-high heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until the berries pop. You may serve hot or cold.

Culinary Institute of America.