Cranberries

Wow. Today's been the sort of day that turns tea-tottlers into binge drinkers. That's saying quite a bit as I have a reputation for being kind of unflappable. Anyhoo, I hear there's a holiday coming up and people are looking for some good cranberry recipes, so I thought I'd offer a couple favourites.

This time of year I fill my freezer with bags of cranberries and then miserly ration them out through the rest of the year. They were pretty expensive around here, but last week they went on sale for $1.39 a bag so I stocked-up. It almost seems a shame to waste them for Thanksgiving.

In my experience, the less you fuss with the cranberry sauce, the better. Cooking them in sugar and water according to the directions on the bag is still the best use I've ever found. A bit of orange zest stirred-in at the end is nice, but by the time you're adding sections of citrus fruit to it, you're overpowering the cranberries. This is a common tactic carried out by people who do not like cranberries. I'd just skip it rather than subject it to that treatment.

On the other hand, cranberry bread with orange juice can be delicious. Or how about Cranberry Ice Cream?

Over the years, I've made numerous cranberry pies (not even counting the "pie" I made last week) and the following is my all-time favourite. It would be a perfect finish to any Thanksgiving meal.

Cranberry Raisin Pie:

You Will Need:

Two Crust Pastry
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons flour
1/3 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cups cranberries, halved
1 cup raisins
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
butter for dotting at end
cream for brushing
sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Mix together in a pot everything except extract, butter, cream and sugar. Bring to a boil slowly (medium heat) and boil gently for five minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into bottom crust, dot with butter, and cover. Make slit to vent. Brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 30-40 minutes.