The Thanksgiving countdown has started in our house … 16 days?!?! (Where has this year gone?)
So don’t be surprised if you see more than our fair share of side dishes O’Mamas-style in the next two weeks.
One my every-year responsibilities for about the last 20 years has been to make the cranberry sauce. A job I gladly took on because I was the only one in the house who refused to eat cranberry sauce from a can because fresh homemade cranberry sauce takes about 15 minutes to make and is so much better than all congealed and gelatinous. (Want me to tell you how I really feel?)
But as the years have passed my cranberry sauce has evolved. I started with the recipe on the bag (Cranberries and sugar and water). Then I started replacing the water with juice (orange juice, lemon juice, apple juice). Then I started adding fruit (anything citrus).
But there was always sugar. (Unrefined, maybe, but sugar nonetheless)
A few years ago I tried it with stevia, but then I realized that I don’t actually like the taste of stevia.
So I was back to sugar.
And then it was all about jalapeños and grapefruit.
Evolution. That’s the name of the kitchen game.
Now I’m obsessed with ginger. For the wonderful kick it adds to most any dish. For the Ayurvedic health benefits. For the exotic complexity it adds to even the most simple dish.
And I recently acquired 12 pounds of local raw honey.
Ginger + raw honey = yum
Ginger + raw honey + tangerines + cranberries = WOW … where has this idea been all my life?
So here’s this year’s recipe …
Tangerine Honey Ginger Cranberry Sauce
- 1 bag of fresh cranberries (picked through and washed)
- 2 ripe tangerines
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 3/4 cup raw honey
DIRECTIONS:
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined. Transfer to a glass or non-reactive container and refrigerate overnight. Pick a pretty serving dish, garnish with a little cilantro or tangerine wedges, and be excited for leftovers when you can add this to a turkey sandwich.
Makes a little more than a pint.
What’s on your side dish menu this Thanksgiving? Share your ideas in the comments, please, because we’ve only got 16 days and I have a lot more experimenting to do!!!
We’re linked up:
Kelly the Kitchen Kop
Delicious Obsessions