cranberries

various dates

Have you ever tried eating a cranberry? They taste horrible, pure acid. It is only through a clever ad campaign and LOTS of added sugar that people started buying these. Nowadays, they seem to have become a staple of Thanksgiving and the year-end holly days.

From mid-October on, the new harvest of fresh or frozen cranberries are available in the stores. Canned cranberry is available year-round. 

A. pomegranate-cranberry compote / sauce

2014-11-27 a.o.

Cranberry compote is easy to make. The only thing you need besides the cranberries is loads of sugar to make them edible. Serve as side dish, sauce or both.  

Pomegranates are also red and sweet, but not nearly as sour as cranberries. While I had it available, I always added up to 2 cups pomegranate juice per 1 lb. cranberries. It reduced the need for sugar and imo also greatly improved the flavor.

Celery adds another flavor accent that I found very advantageous for this sauce.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 3 cups:

  • 1 lb. fresh cranberries
  • sugar, loads of sugar
  • S&P

optional:

  • up to 2 cups pomegranate juice
  • 2 celery stalks
Pic1: boiled onion, cranberry sauce

Directions

2019-10-28 — celery cranberry sauce

Pic2: pomegranate juice, cranberries, celery
Pic3: add sugar
Pic4: simmer

2019-10-28

Pic5: with chicken, cabbage
Pic6: with turnips
Pic7: with turkey, stuffing — 2014-11-27

 

frozen sauce

2017-05-29 

Pic8: pork ribs, frozen pomegranate-cranberry sauce
Pic9: all done
Pic10: served 

B. garlic shrimp with cranberry confiture

2019-10-28

I was making garlic shrimp and had some cranberry sauce at hand. I added a few tablespoons, a bit of red cooking wine and simmered it down into a thick confiture.

This is very different from the regular cranberry sauce, so much sweeter. Very little of the cranberry tartness remained when I was done.

2019-10-28

Pic11: garlic shrimp, cranberry sauce
Pic12: garlic shrimp with cranberry confiture

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for each serving:

  • 6-12 jumbo shrimp, fully cooked
  • garlic-infused oil
    or olive oil + 3-4 minced garlic cloves
  • 1/2 cup (pomegranate) cranberry sauce
  • S&P

Directions

  • Heat olive oil.
  • Add minced garlic, sauté until nearly soft.
  • Add shrimp. Sauté on both sides for several minutes
  • Stir the cranberry sauce into the oil. Add 1-2 tbsp. red cooking wine.
  •  Simmer over low heat until the sauce starts to thicken and becomes all sticky.
  • Serve over the shrimp. Enjoy.