Cranberry Sauce Alternatives

I love when

Delilah Snell is on Good Food – I always feel inspired. She owns

The Road Less Traveled, an eco store in Santa Ana. She is also a master preserver. We asked her to come on the show this week to talk about alternatives to cranberry sauce, which after all, isn’t exactly a local berry. She recommends doing plum jam, an onion marmalade or even a pomegranate jelly. Recipes, including one for cranberry sauce, after the jump.

POMEGRANATE JELLY WITH ROSEMARY

4 cups pomegranate juice

6 cups sugar

2 lemons or oranges, juiced

1 box liquid pectin

1 sprig rosemary

Add everything BUT the pectin to a boil in a non-reactive stockpot. Reduce to a simmer for a few minutes. Remove the rosemary and add the pectin. Boil hard for 1-2 minutes (please keep your eyes on the jelly-if it overflows you will be bummed because your stove will be covered in a gooey mess), stirring constantly. Turn off heat and pour into warm jars. When the jars have cooled, put in the fridge where it will keep for about a month.

This is one of my favorite recipes because it is sweet and tangy (I ADORE TART), and especially because this recipe is a great excuse to open up a bottle of bubbly. Right now I am big on the Fresh & Easy Cava kick-it’s a steal at $5, tastes pretty damn good and is perfect for cooking or cocktails.

CRAN-CAVA JAM

1 bag fozen or fresh cranberries

1 cup sugar

1 cup orange juice

1 cup Cava/Champagne

Bring everything to a boil in a non-reactive stockpot, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened about 20 minutes. Cranberries naturally have high pectin so it should not take long at all to get a jam-like consistency. Pour into jars and keep in the fridge for up to a month.

….with the rest of your Cava….

muddle a few cranberries in a mason jar along with the juice from 1/2 an orange. Add ice and Cava-YUM!

A great alternative to the cranberry is pomegranate. Both have that rich red color and the tart-sweet factor. In this recipe I steep rosemary with the pomegranate juice, which adds another layer of flavor and a surprise-but compliments meats really well. If you don’t have rosemary, no biggie!