Hi Everyone,
I was debating about whether to share today’s recipe with you or not. It’s not because it doesn’t taste good, because it’s tastes fantastic, but it’s more of a Thanksgiving dish. But then I thought about it and I spoke to others and they told me, it’s cranberries! Christmas screams cranberries! A lot of people have a big turkey dinner at Christmas and what goes perfect with turkey? Cranberries!!! You know what? They are right and this chutney/sauce is to good not to share!
This chutney is amazing! It’s thick, full of dark cherries, sweet pears and tart cranberries. It’s quite a perfect combination if I say so myself!! Since cherries are out of season, I picked up a bag of frozen ones from Target. For seasoning my sauce, I used Trader Joe’s Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. If you don’t have the Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar, my guess is that a balsamic vinegar and freshly squeezed orange would work great too!!! If you like cranberry sauce, I think you will like this one, it’s sweet but not overly sweet. I’ll leave it to you for adding additional sugar. I’m more of a fan of tart then I am sweet when it comes to dinner/side dishes. I like sweet for more like cookies and cake! 🙂
I have to tell you, I made this for my Thanksgiving dinner, last Thursday, however we actually never had our dinner until Sunday. That’s what happens when it’s just the two of us! We had a serving for 8 of cranberry sauce and a turkey that is 16lbs! Needless to say we have been having turkey all week! However, I’m not going to complain about that! I love turkey!!! It’s the only time of year I really have it. A fresh turkey roast is so much better than the stuff you get at the stores!! I can’t wait to share my recipe with you, but that will come later.
Now back to cranberries!! Mmmm, how I love cranberries, but I think you know that if you looked at my recipe page! But did you know I never liked them till about 4 years ago, when I decided to make a cranberry sauce and once I had a taste of that, I was in love! I can tell you, I don’t like the canned cranberries! I just love the homemade sauce. It has so much more flavor. The Cranberry, Cherry and Pear Chutney is sweet, but you get a slight pucker when you get a cranberry. The sauce is really easy to make, just throw everything together in a large pot and cook for about 45 minutes. That is it! I really don’t know why we only have cranberries in November and December? I’m personally going to stock my freezer up on fresh cranberries, so I can have some in the spring time! Have you ever froze cranberries?
Did you know that Cranberries are also call bounceberries? It’s because they bounce when ripe. Also only 3 fruit, which are the blueberry, the Concord grape and the cranberry (all power foods) – can trace their roots to North American soil. Plus they are commonly consumed during Thanksgiving and Christmas but can, and should, be used every day. Pretty nice! I am sure you know all the beneficial fact of cranberries! Let’s just say they are healthy as long as you don’t load them with sugar!
- Serves: 4 Cups
- Serving size: ½ Cup
- 3 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 2 cups cherries, sweet, dark (I used frozen)
- 1 medium pear, firm, ripe, peeled and cubed
- ½ cup water
- 2 tbsp. Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar (Trader Joe's)
- ¼ cup brown sugar or more to taste
- ¼ tsp. nutmeg, ground
- ½ tsp. cinnamon, ground
- Place all ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil and simmer for about 45 minutes, until fruit is tender and sauce is thick; stirring occasionally.
Well my Friends, I have to admit, it’s been kind of an odd week with recipes. Lots of odds and ends. I haven’t cooked much at all because I’m trying to finish off my turkey. I have had turkey sandwiches, salads, wraps or I have been eating it plain all week. I can’t believe I haven’t gotten sick of it! I can’t believe I still have a ton left! I think I’m going to try freezing it! Can you freeze turkey?
Time for me to get going! Have a great weekend!!
Toodles,
Jennifer
P.S. The winner of the Stonewall Kitchen Holiday Jam Pack is
Author: barbara n
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Barbara e-mail me at [email protected]
Jennifer, I’m imagining this over yogurt, sounds wonderful as a relish or a topping!
Oh my stars that looks so good and I would so have this for Christmas!!
It’s totally still time for cranberries! This chutney looks fantastic!
i freeze cranberries all the time – stockpiling them for the winer now. the chutney looks great can’t wait to try it.
Hi Jennifer,
I’m planning to make this for Thanksgiving, but the only champagne vinegar I could find was over $10. Can you suggest a good substitute? Thanks.
Wow Sue over $10 is crazy! I bought mine at Trader Joe’s. You could always use a different infused vinegar if you’d like. Not sure what kind? I know they have an inexpensive pomegranate ones that would probably work great too.