November 23, 2015 – Cranberry Salsa

In This Issue:

Cranberries
RECIPE: Cranberry Salsa
<For Making Cranberry Salsa>

INTRO   

“Celebrate with Cranberry Salsa”

INTRO TEXT   

Looking for a fast and festive appetizer? This Cranberry Salsa is just the answer! It’s delicious and a cinch to assemble. It takes advantage of an often stereotyped, seasonal fruit and presents it in a new way. Try it this Thanksgiving week and a few more times throughout the holiday season.

Holiday Hours

Thanksgiving Checklist - repeat

MAIN BODY:

Cranberries – straight from the bog! 
Cranberries are a curious fruit; a beautiful garnet red, they’re lighter than they look and possess a strong acidic flavor. Grown on evergreen shrubs and vines in northern temperate climates, the cranberry harvest season stretches from mid-September to early November.

Cranberries love the acidic, peat-based environments of bogs, a unique natural environment. Commercial cranberry growers mimic the sandy, damp environment in many ways. 

Because cranberries are light for their size and have inner “air pockets,” they float in water. This characteristic is handy at harvest time when the berries are shaken loose, fields flooded and the fruits skimmed off the top – a process known as wet-picking.

Sidebar Factoids:
20% of the cranberry harvest will be consumed during Thanksgiving week.
Wisconsin is the largest producer of cranberries.
Cranberries are super-high in antioxidants.
Blossom heads look like a sandhill crane – perhaps the origin of the “cranberry” name.

Cranberry Salsa

Cranberries once had a bad rap – no doubt from some canned jelly incarnation that once graced every holiday table. More recently, we’ve been reintroduced to cranberries as a delicious juice on its own or paired with complementary fruits. This fabulous recipe advances their popularity even more! Cranberries are clearly back in vogue!

Coarsely chop all ingredients in a food processor:

1 (12oz) bag fresh cranberries
2 jalapeños, seeded and coarsely sliced
4-6 scallions, green and white parts, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped, packed
1 tablespoon lime juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup sugar, more to taste if desired
1/4 teaspoon cumin

Tip: At first, the salsa will appear flat, almost brownish in color. Let is stand for an hour to allow flavors to mingle. The cranberries will release their juices turning the dish into a beautiful, eye-catching, deep red color.

Do-Ahead: This salsa stays fresh in texture and taste for several days. Mix and chill until time to serve. It’s a super-handy dish to have on hand for drop-in guests.

Serve: This dish may be served salsa-style as a dip with crackers, or as an appetizer plate atop a bed of cream cheese, or assembled into individual appetizer bites.

For Making Cranberry Salsa:

CUISINART FOOD PROCESSOR
An essential kitchen appliance with plenty of power. It chops and purees, slices and grates. It’s like having a sous chef at your side!

EPICUREAN CUTTING BOARD
Choose a firm, stable  cutting surface that is kind to your knives. This one is dishwasher safe.

WUSTHOF 6” CHEF’S KNIFE
One of our favorite knives when cooking. It’s neither too large or too small – it’s just right for tackling slicing, dicing, mincing and chopping tasks.

Cooking Technique: Pulsing in a Food Processor
It’s difficult to think about our kitchen life without a food processor being part of the toolkit! It has unique abilities different than a blender or stand mixer. One key technique to master when operating a food processor is an operation known as “pulsing.” Your food processor may even have a button marked “Pulse.” Pulsing is a short burst of power that produces a start-stop sequence. The knife blade chops the food, while the stopping motion causes the food to fall to the center. This “start-stop” action allows the food to be chopped without becoming pureed. While pulsing, scrape down the sides of the work bowl frequently so that an even consistency is realized.

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“Relish the moments of sharing with others and time spent together.”