Working Towards Thanksgiving

[shipperx]

So I've made headway towards Thanksgiving. My sister and I have coordinated the menu. I hit the grocery store tonight (for things which can be pre-made or will keep. The salad stuff and the asparagus will have to wait until later.) And tonight I made the cranberry sauce -- with a different recipe than usual. Usually it's best if it keeps a few days allowing the flavors to meld. This one smelled delicious when making so I have high hopes for it (It had a 4 star rating from Bon Apetit so here's hoping).



Cranberry Cherry Compote

1/2 lb small (1-inch-wide) shallots or pearl onions
(preferably red), left unpeeled
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or vegetable
oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup white-wine vinegar
1 cup dry white
wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried sour cherries (5 oz)
2 cups fresh
or frozen cranberries (8 oz; not thawed if frozen)
1/2 cup water

Blanch shallots in a 3-quart saucepan of boiling water
1 minute, then drain. Peel shallots and separate into cloves if necessary.

Cook shallots in butter in 3-quart saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, 1
minute. Add sugar and 1 tablespoon vinegar and cook, stirring frequently, until
sugar mixture turns a golden caramel, 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully add remaining
vinegar, wine, and salt and boil, stirring, 1 minute (use caution, as mixture
will bubble up). Add cherries and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally,
until shallots are tender and liquid is syrupy, about 45 minutes.

Add cranberries and water and gently boil over moderate heat, uncovered,
stirring occasionally, until cranberries have burst, about 10 minutes. Transfer
compote to a bowl and cool completely.

Cooks' note:
Compote keeps, chilled in an airtight container, 5
days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Comments

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

I never would have thought of putting shallots in a cranberry compote.

I've copied this recipe, though, since we were just looking at cranberry compote recipes to use this week!

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I have a Cranberry Chutney that I can verify is delicious.

It uses a package of dry apricots, currants, and fresh cranberries with some a touch of orange juice, brown sugar, freshly grated ginger, and cayenne pepper (it's a Chutney with a kick, but it's excellent. We've just used it for so many years that we're kind of "meh" on it now, but the first few years we made it, it was an enormous hit.

[timeofchange.livejournal.com]

Sounds yummy. I'm going to give it a try.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

It smells WONDERFUL while making it. Having tasted it after making it, it's not as sweet as most cranberry sauces and is a bit more savory. But it is yummy. I did reduced the number of shallots just a little because it did seem like a lot. And I'm considering adding a little fresh ginger next time...but that's because I've gotten used to the heat of the ginger/cayenne/apricot/cranberry/currant sauce that I usually make.

[timeofchange.livejournal.com]

Ginger! Perfect. I love ginger and I can imagine how divine it would be in this recipe. I have both regular and candied ginger. Maybe I'll chop the candied stuff to add. It will give a kick and also some additional sweetness. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[timeofchange.livejournal.com]

I made it, adding approx. 1/8 cup of finely minced crystallized ginger, a frozen cube of crushed ginger (I'm guessing this approximately 1 tsp. fresh finely minced ginger) and 1 tsp. dried minced orange peel. It's delicious. I don't like super sweet cranberry sauce so this is sweet enough for me. The ginger adds a wonderful heat. Even my 11-y-o son thinks it's yummy. Thanks for posting. This, with the modifications, is definitely being added to the permanent menu. I imagine it would be good with beef, pork and lamb as well as poultry.