Cranberry cuisine perfect for Thanksgiving
For a traditional Thanksgiving, there must be cranberries on the table in some form. This native American berry was probably on the menu at the first Thanksgiving.
Think outside the ho-hum can of sauce and consider one or more of these ways to use cranberries — fresh or dried — in your feast.
Wilted Kale and Cranberry salad and Cranberry-Apple Pie can be made the day before. Cranberry-Stuffed Acorn Squash will look and taste great next to that pile of turkey or ham or your plates.
Don’t just open a bottle of wine — use cranberry juice and fresh, frozen whole cranberries to make a festive wine punch just right for the season.
Wilted Kale and Cranberry Salad
•1 tablespoon olive oil
•1 bunch kale, stemmed and torn into pieces
•1 clove garlic, minced
•1/2 cup water
Dressing
•1/2 cup olive oil
•1/4 cup red wine vinegar
•1/2 cup orange juice
•2 tablespoons soy sauce
•1 teaspoon dried minced onion
•1 teaspoon ground ginger
•Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Topping
•1/3 cup dried cranberries
•1/4 cup pumpkin or sunflower seeds, lightly toasted
•1/4 cup slivered almonds
Saute kale and garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet until fragrant and kale is bright green, 2 to 3 minutes. Add water to skillet; cook and stir over medium heat until kale wilts, about 5 minutes more. Drain.
For dressing, whisk 1/2 cup olive oil, vinegar, orange juice, soy sauce, onion, ginger, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Add kale mixture to bowl and toss until kale is evenly coated. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.
Divide into individual salad plates. Sprinkle cranberries, seeds, and almonds over the top and serve.
Cranberry-Stuffed Acorn Squash
Halve an acorn squash lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Brush the flesh with 1 tablespoon of melted butter, then sprinkle with 1 tablespoon. dark brown sugar and a dash of salt.
In a medium bowl, mix 1/4 cup fresh cranberries; 1/2 cup cubed, peeled apple or pear; 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats; 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar; and 2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds. Spoon mixture into squash halves, dividing equally, and dot with 2 tablespoons butter.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 55 minutes, then cover with foil and bake until squash is tender, 15-20 minutes longer. Let cool slightly. Serves two. Multiply recipe as needed.
Sparkling Cranberry Wine Punch
•1 bottle sparkling white wine or white grape juice
•1 bottle cranberry juice cocktail
•2 cups fresh cranberries
Freeze cranberries and chill wine and juice. Fill a pitcher half full of sparkling wine. Top off with cranberry juice. Add frozen cranberries and stir.
Cranberry Apple Pie
•1 9-inch unbaked deep dish pie shell
•5 to 6 large tart apples
•One 12 ounce package of cranberries
•11/2 cups sugar
•1/3 flour
•2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
•3/4 cup packed brown sugar
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1 teaspoon cinnamon
•11/2 cups all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel, core and chop apples into chunks the size of cranberries. Chop cranberries. Combine apple pieces, cranberries in a large bowl. Mix together sugar and flour. Add to fruit mixture and toss to combine. Fill pie shell with fruit mixture and dot with 2 tablespoons butter.
In a small bowl, combine 2/3 cup butter, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and flour with a pastry blender until crumbly. Top pie with crumb mixture.
Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and fruit filling is tender and bubbly. Cool on wire rack. Makes eight servings.