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Spicy Cranberry Sauce – Christmas Eve Dinner

By December 22, 2013May 6th, 2015Gluten Free, Recipes, Seasonal, side dishes, Vegetables

cranberry spicyI am so excited my son Trevor is arriving on Christmas Eve from Boulder to spend the holidays here.  I am planning a small family dinner party to celebrate.

I have a group of friends that have been gathering together for over 30 year on Christmas Day so my dinner will be on Christmas Eve.  I feel so blessed to have these life long friends.  We have been partying together since the 60″s.  It is so much fun to see everyone with their grown up children and families.   It is such a special time of year.

Today I go out food shopping to begin my preparations.  Here in Long Island we have Miloski’s Turkey farm up in the beautiful North Fork, which has been raising free range turkey’s since 1946.  It is such a special treat having fresh turkey grown locally.   Too bad I won’t have time to stop at some of the vineyards for wine tasting.  I will save that adventure for another more leisurely day.

I am making a spicy cranberry sauce to go with the turkey this time.  I love a little spice in my food and so does my family.  I eat lots of cranberries this time of year. You can read about all the health benefits of cranberries in this post.   I am using raw sugar, it is a special occasion after all.

I have adapted this recipe from David Tanis, food writer for the New York Times.

Spicy Cranberry Sauce

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan, Grain Free

6 servings                                               PRINT RECIPE

3/4  cup raw organic sugar
1/2 cup water
2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 serrano  pepper, seeded and minced
1 Tb lemon juice
1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt
¼ tsp cayenne
1 Tb ginger, peeled and grated or finely minced
12 oz  organic cranberries

  • Put sugar and water in a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium high heat. Stir to dissolve sugar.
  •  Add jalapeno, serrano, lemon juice,  salt and cayenne.  Simmer 2 minutes
  • Add ginger and cranberries, stir to coat and bring to a brisk simmer.  Reduce heat to medium-low and let mixture cook, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have softened and very little liquid remains in pan, about 15 minutes.
  • Let cool and taste,  add more salt and cayenne if desired.
  • Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Before the meal we will enjoy some wine from Mattebella Vineyards  a small family vineyard in the North Fork owned by a friend of mine. He gave me a bottle of something special I can’t wait to try.

With the wine we will have:

  • Curried Almonds and Sunflower Seeds
  • Assorted Raw Cheese

The rest of the meal will include:

  • Herb Roasted Turkey
  • Braised Fennel with Carrots and Greens (a  Winter Cleanse recipe, so delicious)
  • Hashed Brussels Sprouts
  • Mashed Potatoes with Gravy
  • Arugula, Radicchio and Endive Salad with Maytag Goat Cheese

For dessert:

  • Blueberry Cobbler my son’s favorite dessert (the frozen wild blueberry taste great in this dish)
  • Assorted Flavors of Paleo Dark Chocolate Bark; I am making almond, ginger and macadamia.  This is a guilt free dessert we can enjoy all week long.

While there are some rich foods in this menu, there are plenty of  delicious, healthy vegetables.  Having lots of vegetables makes it easy to keep the meal in balance.

Lots of love, happiness and abundance to everyone this holiday season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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