[Jamestown1630]

This week: Cranberries. (I’m planning a special-edition Thanksgiving thread in a couple of weeks, but this is NOT IT - so: hold yer horses!)

But Cranberries are good all the time. I usually buy them up when they’re cheap at this time, and stick them in the deep freeze for year-round use in muffins, pancakes, etc.

(If you would like to be on or off of this weekly cooking thread, please send a private message.)

-JT

[miss marmelstein]

We are now into my favorite season! And cranberries along with pumpkin are the harbingers of autumn and winter! And cooking up cranberries - rather than buying the canned stuff - is so much better and easier than throwing that stuff into a wonky sauce pot. Plus, cranberries POP when you cook them - the nicest sound of autumn.

[Liz]

I love Tasha Tudor---her children's books are adorable.
I have her garden book---w/ photos of her amazing lifestyle.

From her book of Christmas.

[Twinkie]

I always liked Tasha Tudor. I think she had to pretty
much jettison the husband, or husbands as they were
on another wavelength. She was very creative; had a
few goats she milked, painted, & wrote and was able to make a living at those sorts of things.

[leaning conservative]

I have not thought about Tasha Tudor in forever. Thanks for bringing her up. I am going to check out more of her work.

[CyberAnt]

I have a quick new recipe. I got the list of ingredients here on FR, and today I tried it out. It’s really, really good.

I cook just for myself, so I’m always looking for things that serve more than one, so I can have a 2nd helping the next day.

Eggs (I scrampled 4)
tomato (diced)
sliced black olives (1/4 C)
Feta Cheese (sprinkled on at the end)

I started by sautéing the tomatoes and black olives in butter; when they were sufficiently heated through, I added the eggs. I did not scramble them ahead - I just laid them on the top of the tomato/olives in the pan. Then, after the eggs began to set, I mixed them in with the tomatoes/olives and just stired until they were done. I then scraped it into a large dish and sprinkled it with a small portion of the Feta cheese.

I seasoned it with salt and pepper only. It was really tasty, and I had enough left over to have it again tomorrow for lunch.

If anybody tries it .. let me know what you think .. and if you added something different in the way of seasoning.

[Aliska]

I made these several times last winter but I don't remember putting the orange in, must have done something. I didn't like the topping so I used the oatmeal topping one for the Honey Peach Muffins with Oat Streusel Topping which look delish but I haven't made them yet. Could rehydrate some dried apricots and maybe substitute those.

I cut the cranberries in half and reserve well I will use one cup. One half to go into the batter, halved, and 1/2 to place on top of the streusel cut side up. You won't regret making these.

If I don't have buttermilk, I use sour milk up to about 4 days, or can use sour cream thinned with milk or plain yogurt. I improvise a lot.

I can't wait to stock up on bags of cranberries for the freezer although I could used the dried, soaked in cold water.

Another trick I do is I like this store brand just add water pancake mix, don't measure, just stir up enough to fit my smaller fry pan, 10-inch I think. Makes a plate-sized pancake. I use a big spatula to flip it, sometimes miss by just a little. After I put the batter in the hot oiled pan (I use a little butter and margaring, don't recommend olive oil), I add a liberal amount of washed rinsed drained frozen cranberries, don't bother to thaw. Then when you flip them, the cranberries will start popping. I love that sound! Then I use the cheaper syrup with liberal real butter. Yum.

Orange Cranberry Buttermilk Muffins

Honey Peach Muffins with Oat Streusel Topping

I saved both these recipes so if you have trouble copying them, let me know and I'll post them with attribution. Sometimes when I embed a photo, the site doesn't like it and munges it away. I always save a photo with recipes I copy from the web, have quite a collection now.

[Conservative4Ever]

My mother taught me this very recipe for cranberry sauce. She even had a certain cut crystal bowl reserved for this one dish for one day of use. Thanksgiving dinner was a serious and formal business in my youth. I loved every bit of it.

[Califreak]

Cranberry upside down cake is good.

Also like to make orange budt cake with cranberries and walnuts

[kalee]

Cranberry Orange Jam I recently got this recipe from a friend.

2 bags (12 ounces each), fresh or frozen
2 cups sugar
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 cup water
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Place all ingredients in a stockpot and bring to a boil.Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 to 30 minutes uncovered, stirring frequently to help remove water, until mixture is a little thinner than jam (mixture will thicken more as it cools).

Remove from heat and mash well with a potato masher, until all cranberries are in small bits.

Keep in an airtight container in refrigerator for 3 to 4 weeks.

[doorgunner69]

My wife makes a bodacious cranberry sauce with brandy worth waiting all year for.

That the remaining brandy and any rum go down nice with eggnog is another issue.

Costco has had a delicious cranberry bread recently I was surprised that I enjoyed, like a better flavored raisin bread when toasted.

[pugmama]

I did the pie last year, but not the ice cream. Pie was wonderful.

Cranberry-Pecan Pie and Pumpkin-Pie Ice Cream

Provided by: Chef Larry and Marc Forgione

Ingredients
Pie crust

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbs. plus 1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small squares
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs. solid vegetable shortening
1 tbs. white vinegar

For the filling

1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup bourbon
3 eggs
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup chopped pecans

Pumpkin-Pie Ice Cream

2 cups cream
1 cup milk
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cups pumpkin purée
5 egg yolks
2 tbs. light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tbs. Linzer spices (or substitute pumpkin-pie spice)
1/2 tbs. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. Angostura bitters

Instructions

Pie crust

In a food processor or medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and salt briefly. Add the butter and shortening, and cut the ingredients together until the mixture resembles small crumbs. In a separate bowl, combine the vinegar and 2 tbs. water, and add to the crumb mixture, mixing briefly. If necessary, add just enough cold water for the dough to come together. Gather it into a ball, then wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least half an hour. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out fairly thin into a neat circle. Fit it, without stretching, into a buttered deep 9 1/2- or 10-inch pie pan. Form a high fluted border. Chill the pie shell.

For the filling

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a saucepan over low heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool completely. In a large bowl or KitchenAid mixer, add the maple syrup, salt, vanilla extract, bourbon, and eggs, beating until well combined. Add the cooled melted-butter mixture, and mix well. Stir in the cranberries and pecans, and pour into a prepared pie crust. Bake the pie for about 40 to 50 minutes or until the filling is firm. Cool to room temperature before serving with pumpkin-pie ice cream.

Pumpkin-Pie Ice Cream

In a saucepan set over medium heat, combine the cream, milk, sugar, and pumpkin purée, and stir until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is simmering. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Temper the yolks by slowly drizzling one third of the milk-cream mixture into the yolks, constantly stirring gently (but not whisking) with a whisk, taking care not to cook the yolks. Pour the tempered egg yolks slowly into the milk-cream mixture while constantly whisking. Stir in the corn syrup, salt, Linzer spices, powdered sugar, and Angostura bitters. Return the saucepan to the stovetop, and, over low heat, stir the custard until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 5 to 8 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Transfer the custard into an ice-cream machine, and freeze according to the manufacturer’s specifications. Serves 8.

[pugmama]

Make these every year

Cranberry Margaritas

1 1/4 cup cranberry juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup fresh frozen cranberries, rinsed
3/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
3/4 cup tequila
1/2 cup Grand Marnier
ice

Pour half of mixture in the blender and fill rest with ice. Blend. Repeat with second half of mixture. Makes minimum of two blender batches.

[CottonBall]

Sorry, I don’t like cranberries. They make my mouth pucker.

[Ellendra]

I never actually like cranberry sauce. But, once when I was making candied fruits for Christmas presents, I decided to candy some cranberry sauce since it was a seasonal thing. It was outstanding!!! I’ve made it a couple times since just because.

Candied Cranberries (Plus Cranberry Syrup):

Ingredients:
-1 can cranberry sauce, or one batch homemade sauce provided it jelled up, or even some leftover sauce. This recipe’s not picky, as long as it set up well.
-Sugar

Also needed:
-non-reactive container with lid
-dehydrator

Slice the cranberry sauce about 1/4” thick. Put a layer of sugar in the bottom of the container, lay some of the slices on top, and cover with more sugar. Proceed in alternating layers until you fill the container, or run out of cranberry sauce, whichever comes first.

Let the slices steep for 2 days. Then drain the juice into a saucepan. For every cup of liquid, add about half a cup of sugar, and simmer until dissolved. Let cool, then pour over the cranberry slices. Let steep for 2 more days.

Using the fruit roll up tray on your dehydrator, dry the slices overnight. if they’re still sticky, you can roll them in more sugar. they should have a wonderfully chewy texture, similar to the better-quality gummy candies, but with a better flavor.

Take the liquid that the slices were steeping in, and simmer until it reaches about 220F on a candy thermometer. Let cool and use on pancakes or ice cream, or to flavor drinks.

(This works well with canned pears and pineapple, too. Other fruits have mixed results.)