Maple Barbecue Sauce

 

 I promised to post this last year after Christmas, I think, but apparently never found the time.  So,  here we go with the recipe for 

HOMEMADE MAPLE BARBECUE SAUCE

2 cups plain tomato sauce (this would be 16 ounces, or two 8-ounce cans)
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup molasses
2 Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. each garlic powder, smoked paprika, Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. each salt, pepper, onion powder

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat.  

Continue to stir and simmer for 10-15 minutes so flavors can meld together.

Transfer to a jar and store in the refrigerator for up to several weeks.

(Maybe be frozen for longer storage.)

This barbecue sauce, free of white sugar and high fructose corn syrup, is so good.  We love it and it makes a wonderful kitchen gift.

Homemade cranberry sauce with cherries, ginger and lime

 

I recently came upon this recipe in the November 2008 issue of Cook & Tell, a delightful recipe newsletter I subscribed to for years.  It's no longer being published, alas.  But I have all of my old issues and peruse them when I can.  I especially love the December issues, but a few days before Thanksgiving I browsed through a couple of November ones -- and spotted this recipe.  There was no need to make cranberry sauce for the Thanksgiving feast, as my daughter was making the whole berry kind, and the kids prefer jellied.  So I filed this away in my memory bank in case turkey or chicken make it onto the Christmas menu with our crowd.  Now I'm sharing it here so I can't forget where I put it!

CRANBERRY-CHERRY SAUCE WITH LIME AND GINGER

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 Tblsp. crystallized ginger, chopped
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup water
1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries

Place the sugar, cherries, lime juice, ginger, salt, and water in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring till the sugar dissolves.  Add the cranberries and simmer till the berries burst and the sauce thickens, about 8 minutes.  Chill at least 2 hours before serving.  Makes about 2 1/2 cups.  

Doesn't that sound delectable?  And easy?

Homemade jellied cranberry sauce

Photo from Chowhound.com

Have you ever made your own cranberry sauce?  I've made whole berry sauce and all sorts of cranberry relishes, but up until this past Thanksgiving I had never tried making the jellied type of cranberry sauce.

It all started when my daughter mentioned she was having trouble finding the organic canned cranberry sauce she usually buys.  Everything else, even good brands, contains high fructose corn syrup, and her kids like jellied cranberry sauce so much, she wants it to be somewhat healthier.   I said I would try making some to bring to Thanksgiving dinner at their home.  There was a recipe on the cranberry bag.

Well, that recipe didn't work out so well.  I prepared and refrigerated it on Wednesday night, but by Thursday morning it had still not set.  I would have caved and simply brought a can of regular jellied sauce from my pantry, but I only had whole berry.  Not wishing to disappoint anyone, my sweet husband pleaded with me to let him try making some, as we had plenty of cranberries.  So I looked online and found this recipe: Jellied Cranberry Sauce via Chowhound.  The recipe said it would need to chill for at least 2 hours, but we had started our Thanksgiving morning early and had plenty of time for that to happen.

 I was surprised how quickly the recipe came together.  Before I knew it, the sauce was cooked and strained and ready to add the unflavored gelatin.  (We opted not to use the cinnamon stick and orange zest, although I'm sure those would have been yummy additions, because we wanted it to taste more like the canned jellied sauce.)

It came out delicious and the kids raved over it: "Good job, Grampa!"

My daughter asked for the recipe and said she would never have to buy the canned sauce again.

I'm sharing this recipe now so you will have plenty of time to buy cranberries and unflavored gelatin, which not everyone has in their pantry, if you would like to try this.  I do definitely recommend purchasing Ocean Spray cranberries.

Hope your family enjoys this delicious homemade sauce if you try it!

Tart Cranberry Butter

Photo from Taste of Home

For today I thought I would share a kitchen gift that's on my want-to-try list: Tart Cranberry Butter.  This is not whipped butter with cranberries in it, as you might guess, but is a tart cranberry spread, somewhat like apple butter.

Wouldn't this be a good kitchen gift, perhaps tucked in a basket with a half dozen cranberry-orange scones or some baking powder biscuits?  Sounds good to me!

(Of course, it would also be nice on a turkey sandwich, as in the photo!)

A recipe to try for Christmas dinner 2013

(Photo from Taste of Home)

I came across this recipe in a back issue of Country Woman magazine:  Cranberry Sauce with Walnuts and think it would be lovely to serve with Christmas dinner.  That it includes toasted walnuts, not to mention apricot jam, sounds so festive.  I have the ingredients on hand to make this, so I think I will try this recipe the next time I roast a chicken.  We can then test it out and see if we'd like to serve it at Christmas.  I'll let you know how it comes out!