Thanksgiving's coming up, so time to start sharing recipes. This is one of the recipes I make every year - family tradition and probably the best cranberry sauce I've had. I'll give amounts, but really do all ingredients to taste, vary them up based on whim, whatever...
2 cups cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup brandy
Cover a baking sheet with tin foil and spread your cranberries on top of that (this will help with cleanup at the end), and sprinkle with your sugar. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, shaking the tray every 3-4 minutes, until all or most all of the cranberries have popped.
Put cranberries into a bowl, stir in cinnamon and orange marmalade until absorbed. Add the brandy and stir that in until absorbed. Cool to room temperature before serving, at least 30 minutes - this stores very well, so I usually make it the day before.
Note that you stir in the brandy while the sauce is still hot - most of the alcohol cooks off. We served this when we were kids with no problem, but I'd avoid serving it to children under, say, five.
Comments
The amount of alcohol is really insignificant
The brandy is usually about 40% alcohol by volume and with the volume of other ingredients, the recipe reduces that concentration by at least a factor of 10, so the final percentage of alcohol would be less than 4% when it has not evaporated at all. Even if you stirred the brandy in when cold there would be some evaporation and with the amount of sauce eaten by each person the amount of alcohol becomes insignificant, even for small children. I would not even say anything to anyone about the brandy, because the placebo effect would be greater than any actual effect of the alcohol.(Except maybe for any alcoholics in the crowd who MIGHT be affected, I don't know about that?)
with love,
HER
Once in a while I bare my soul, more often my soles bear me.
Aftershock Trifle
That's what the UK needs, an excuse to have a Christmas dinner a month early. (Yes, I'm joking.)
Here's a suggestion for a seasonal dessert: Aftershock trifle.
First you need the biggest mixing bowl you can lay your hands on.
Jam Swiss Roll, not trifle sponges (my mum taught me that)
Black cherry jelly (Jell-O)
Black Aftershock and kirsch
Seedless grapes, sliced ripe pears, raspberries etc - but not pineapple or kiwi fruit 'cause the jelly won't set
Strawberry Angel Delight - not custard
Birds Dream Topping
Cadbury's Flake, Morcello cherries, Rowntrees soft jellies, fruit pastilles, jellybeans and 'hundreds and thousands' (sprinkles?) to garnish
I'm sure you can spot which ingredients to leave out if you want a child-friendly version.
Mmm...Nikki trifle is always a great holiday treat.
This does seem to have that wonderful dark tart jelly and sort of sangria with cream sort of thing going on. Though some of the stuff will need replacing over here in North America.
Bailey Summers
Love this recipe:)
Though with the marmalade and the brandy in this I'm so thinking a nice browned and crispy goose or duck would be so great with this too or even some pork roll with the herbs and crispy skin.
Bailey Summers
Oh...you could do a melted Brie with this too!
If you don't want to do the meat thing you can get some puff pastry and dollop a little in the bottom and the put in a wheel of Brie or other such cheese and add a good amount of this on top and then just fold the pastry over it and bake it.
It'd be a good appetizer.
Bailey Summers
That's an excellent idea
I'll have to give that one a try. I've had melted Brie but never made it. You're right that it would go very well with the cranberries. I'll give that a try.
Titania
Lord, what fools these mortals be!