It’s finally here! With using up my last can, I was a little worried. But, I can breathe a sigh of relief, my pantry is again restocked with what I feel is an essential ingredient. I am talking about cranberry sauce, of course.
While everyone is collecting a can or two for the big feast, I am grabbing four, five, OK maybe a dozen to last me until they are abundantly available again.
It’s not because I am foreseeing a shortage. In my kitchen, this tart and sweet condiment just doesn’t make an appearance a few weeks during the holidays — it is an ingredient that I use all year round!
I never understood, why it is considered a seasonal food but this is apparent in its sales; Ocean Spray, the nation’s largest producer of cranberry sauce, reports that of the 86.4 million cans it sells a year, 72 million of them are sold between September and the end of December. All I can say is: you are really missing out.
When you look at cranberry sauce, jellied or whole berries, you have to look at it from a different angle. Think of it in terms of a fruit that’s simply sweetened, thickened and waiting to be used.
Its tart flavour can complement so many dishes. Mix some maple syrup with cranberry sauce and used it as a glaze for a pork loin. It also works well with roasted chicken or duck or even vegetables like Brussels sprouts, green beans and especially sweet potatoes. The sauce caramelizes and sticks to give a sweet tart zing to food. Add the jelly to barbecue sauce to create a flavourful and different taste for your summer barbecues.
There are so many flavoured mustards and mayonnaise so it’s not outrageous to take a dollop of either and blend it with a little cranberry sauce — it is a great way to pep up the ordinary “ho hum” chicken, ham, and turkey sandwiches.
Continuing with the condiment theme, if you whisk the red sauce or throw it in a blender with some white wine vinegar, you have yourself a nice vinaigrette that’s good on mixed greens or salads with endive and chicory; it transforms an ordinary salad into a delicious treat.
Another idea is to place your cranberry sauce in a strainer to remove excess liquid. Beat eight ounces of cream cheese until creamy, add a teaspoon of vanilla flavouring and a cup of the drained cranberry sauce; beat until smooth. This makes a great fruit dip to eat with vanilla wafers or graham crackers. You could also top with whip cream and eat as a parfait or as a breakfast spread on your morning bagel or toast.
Using cranberry sauce in baking is truly where its sweet and tangy flavours shine.
It is no different from canned fruits like cherries, peaches or apples. Add a cup to cake batter to add moisture, flavor and texture. Throw it into a muffin or quick fruit bread recipe. Not so good for the jelly stuff, but you can use the whole berry sauce as a substitution to blueberry or corn muffins.
Try adding a little cranberry sauce with your favourite cobbler recipe. Cobblers are very forgiving about the exact quantity of fruit that goes into their fillings, so you can easily combine sweet fruits with the tart sauce. By making pear, apple or blackberry cranberry sauce cobbler, it will bring in a contrast of tart flavours and tone down the sweetness of the dessert.
I’m not sure why, but I always attribute majestic qualities to cranberry sauce, so it seems fitting that it should sit regally on top of a plain cheese cake. Again, just make sure you strain the berry sauce to remove liquid, and add bit of sweetener.
Finally, tradition may have married cranberry sauce to turkey, but its true mistress is baked brie cheese! Warm brie cheese topped with cranberry sauce is a melty dream come true; the combination of tart cranberry sauce and creamy rich brie cheese is irresistible!
There are so many ways to have this combination. Make an easy and elegant appetizer by topping a round of baked brie with sweetened cranberry sauce and toasted pecans. Serve with assorted crackers, gingersnaps, apple slices or pear slices.
If you are on a hunt for dainty finger food appetizer, try brie cheese and cranberry sauce baked in flaky puff pastry.
For every day, try a twist to the grilled cheese sandwich — add cranberry sauce and brie cheese between slice of bread. The result: the bread turns buttery crisp while the insides are sweet and robust and utterly creamy divine.
Cranberry Muffins
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons rolled oats (reserve the 3 tablespoons for the tops)
½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1½ cups leftover cranberry sauce
½ cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a 12-cup standard-size muffin tin. In a large bowl, blend together the flour, 1 cup oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cranberry sauce, milk, vegetable oil and egg. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups — about three-quarters to all the way full. Sprinkle with the three tablespoons oats. Bake for 20 minutes or until tops spring back when you touch them and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out dry. Let cool for about five minutes. Serve.
Cranberry Brie Puffs
Half of a 397 ml package frozen puff pastry (1 block)
1 cup cranberry sauce
¼ cup all-purpose flour, for flouring work surface
6 oz (175 g) brie, rinds removed, cut into 24 equal pieces
Thaw pastry at room temperature for about 1 hour or until soft enough to roll out. Preheat oven to 400F (200C). Sprinkle work surface with flour and roll out puff pastry into a 12-by-9-inch (30-by-23-cm) rectangle. With a pastry scraper, cut the dough into 24 equal squares. Press pastry into mini-muffin pans. Put a piece of brie in each muffin cup. Divide cranberry sauce among the muffin cups. Bake puffs for 15 to 20 minutes or until puffed up and golden brown. Serve warm.
Cranberry Pear Cobbler
6 cups thinly sliced pears
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup cranberry sauce
1/2 cup chopped pecans, chopped and divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350F. Generously grease 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Mix pear slices, cranberry sauce, 1/4 cup pecan and cinnamon. Arrange in an even layer in the baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together egg, evaporated milk, and melted butter. Pour milk mixture into flour mixture all at once, and stir until smooth. Pour mixture over apples, and sprinkle top with 1/4 cup pecans. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes.
Gingered Cranberry Sweet Potato
6 medium peeled sweet potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 3 pounds)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ginger, fresh and grated
2 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce
Orange rind for garnish
Place potatoes, covered, in a 2-quart casserole dish; microwave at high for 10 minutes or until tender. Combine sugar, ginger, margarine, orange juice, and salt in a 2-cup glass measure. Microwave at high 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Add sugar mixture and cranberry sauce to potatoes; toss gently. Microwave at high 10 minutes uncovered, basting with sauce twice during cooking. Garnish with orange rind, if desired.
Madhu Badoni is a Red Deer-based freelance food writer. She can be reached at madhubadoni@gmail.com or on Twitter @madhubadoni. Watch for Madhu’s Masala-Mix blog on www.reddeeradvocate.com.