Slow Food in a Modern Kitchen

Happy Turkey Day everyone! Today for our slow food lesson I thought I would introduce you to the simplicity of making one of my favorite holiday side dishes, cranberries.

I have always been wary of the cranberries that seem to be served still in the shape of the can they came in, placed in a pretty serving dish as if that’s going to fool everyone into thinking that this is actually eatable food. It’s a shame really.

Cranberry sauce is one of the easiest things you can make on Thanksgiving and once you taste and see how yummy the real thing is, I promise you won’t be going back to the tin shaped version any time soon.



Basic Cranberry Sauce
Zest of 2 Oranges
1 cup of water
1 Cup of sugar
12 oz. (about 3 cups) of fresh cranberries

Fill a medium size sauce pan with the water and add the orange zest, simmer for about 5 minutes to release the orange oils. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the cranberries and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the cranberries have popped and are translucent (basically it will look like cranberry sauce!). Cool and enjoy.

If you want to add some spice, toss in a cinnamon stick or a few cardamom pods during the simmering. Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

If you really want to jazz it up, here is my family's recipe (well, my variation of) for holiday cranberries.



Pincus Family Cranberries
1 recipe of Basic Cranberry Sauce (still hot)
1 packet of plain gelatin (1 oz.)
1 cup pomegranate juice (any red juice will do but I like the kind that comes from an actual fruit)
1 1/2 cups of crushed or roughly chopped pineapple, rinsed and drained
1 cup of mandarin orange segments (11 oz. can), rinsed and drained
1 cup of chopped walnuts

While the basic cranberry sauce is simmering add the packet of gelatin to the juice and let bloom for at least 1 minute or until the sauce is finished cooking. Add the juice/gelatin mixture and the rest of the ingredients to the still hot cranberries. Stir to combine. Chill overnight or until the gelatin has set. This is not a super thick sauce so no need for a Jell-O mold, it’s better served in a pretty bowl!

I hope you enjoy your time in the kitchen this holiday and make some yummy slow food with and for those you love! Happy Thanksgiving.

~ Shawna of Pinkkiss Pottery