Lakes Region Foodie: Cranberries — Radical or conservative?

No traditional holiday dinner is complete without the dish of shimmering ruby red jelly that we know as cranberry sauce. In my family, there are always two dishes: One dish is known as the "conservative" sauce, the other as the “radical” sauce.

The two dishes earned these family names many years ago when my brother-in-law named them so after tasting both. We had always gone with conventional cranberry sauce, the recipe found on the back of the Ocean Spray bag of berries. I was experimenting with a recipe I’d seen for a cranberry conserve (with onions, raisins, orange zest) which was definitely the “Radical” — as my brother-in-law named it. Now we have to have both to make the feast acceptable to all assembled. We don’t offer the jelly in the can (the one that looks like Jello!) That is too conservative.

Here is one of our favorite recipes for “Radical” cranberry sauce. It is from Sara Leah Chase’s cookbook, "Cold Weather Cooking.” It keeps for several weeks and she advises “it is best if brought to room temperature before serving.”

Whole Cranberry Sauce

1 pound fresh cranberries

½ cup port wine

½ cup fresh orange juice

1 cup diced dried apricots

½ cup (packed) light brown sugar

¾ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup pecan halves, lightly toasted

Place the cranberries, port, orange juice, apricots and sugars in a sauce pan. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries are cooked, and the sauce is thick, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool, and stir in the pecans. Store covered in the refrigerator. Makes about 4 cups.

Every Family has their own traditions, and Radical or Conservative Cranberry Sauce is one of my family’s.

A very happy holiday to all of you, and Bon Appetit!