CRAVINGS

HITTING THE

SAUCE

Four fresh takes on classic cranberry sauce

BY MARY BROWN MALOUF

BEGIN WITH:

THE BASIC CRANBERRY SAUCE

(Makes about 2 1/2 cups)

1 cup water ¾ cup sugar 1 12-oz. package of cranberries Bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add cranberries, bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until berries start to burst. Cool completely, then chill. COLORFUL, TART AND a seasonal must-have, cranberries are the perfect complement to holiday menus. Roast turkey, duck and goose all benefit from the mouth-puckering acidity of cranberries. But it's time to give them a tasty twist. These easy-to-make variations on the classic sauce will have you and your guests asking for more.

1CRANBERRY-APPLE SAUCE Substitute the juice of half an orange for the 4

Tbsp. water. Zest the orange and cut into tiny dice. Chop 1 tart apple into cranberry-sized pieces and add the apple and zest to sugar water with the cranberries. Proceed with the basic recipe. Season with ground cinnamon to taste after removing sauce from the heat.

Garnish with apple fan.

2SPICED CRANBERRY SAUCE Add to basic sauce after removing from the heat: ½ tsp. ground cinnamon 1∕8 tsp. ground allspice 1∕8 tsp. ground cloves 1∕8 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 ½ tsp. grated, peeled fresh ginger Garnish with crystallized ginger.

3CHILI CRANBERRY SAUCE Substitute 1/4 cup white wine for 1/4 cup of the water. Seed and chop a ripe, mild chili pepper (an Anaheim or poblano; or substitute 1/2 ripe red bell pepper and 1/2 ripe jalapeño pepper) and add to water with the berries. Proceed with basic recipe. Garnish with fresh red pepper.

4CRANBERRY-PORT SAUCE Skip the water. Cook cranberries, 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 cup orange juice and 2 Tbsp. grated orange rind together until just a few berries burst. Add 1/2 cup ruby port and cook another 2-3 minutes, until most of the berries have burst. Garnish with orange rind. 2

Think beyond Thanksgiving. Whole raw cranberries freeze beautifully for a month, so try later with duck, rack of lamb, or grilled chicken and jack cheese in a quesadilla. 1

4 3

PHOTOS ADAM FINKLE

KICK THE CAN

Easy ways to jazz up your jelly

Many of us have memories of perfectly can-shaped cranberry jelly on the holiday table. That's great, but if you're looking for a way to jazz the jelly up a bit, here are a few ideas:

• Serve the jelly in slices. • Add texture by sprinkling the jelly slices with chipped, toasted pecans. • Chill the jelly thoroughly, slice and shape with small cookie cutters. • Mash the jelly so that it resembles jam and garnish with orange zest. • Mash the jelly and sprinkle with crumbles of blue or goat cheese.

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EASTER

FOURTH OF JULY

UTE GAME DAYS